Wednesday, December 27, 2006

It's quite a fishery down there now Here's a background piece about the issues around Black Canyon National Park from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. They write, "The dams eliminated the Gunnison River's natural hydrograph through the canyon, evening out flows during spring runoff, when the river should be raging with floodwater, said Ken Stahlnecker, chief of resource stewardship and science at Black Canyon. The gorge used to be the Gunnison's transition zone between warm water and cold water, but the dams cooled the river at the expense of native fish species. 'Now we see more of the trout species, rainbow and brown primarily, and it's quite a fishery down there now,' he said. The natural hydrograph needs to be maintained because it's the signal for fish to spawn, and it flushes the river channel of debris, said Wendy McDermott, executive director of the High Country Citizens Alliance. Thanks to the Ditch and Reservoir Company Alliance for the link. Category: Colorado Water 6:30:24 PM     Energy policy: Green fracing The Denver Post is reporting that the oil company planning to drill on Grand Mesa in the Grand Junction and Palisade watersheds plans to go green. From the article, "The company planning to drill for oil and gas on the slopes that hold the drinking-water source for Palisade and Grand Junction has promised not to use the toxic substances that are generally pumped into the ground to fracture rock formations. Instead, Genesis Oil & Gas will put a 'green' slurry into the watershed on the Grand Mesa. It will be a mix of more innocuous substances such as citrus oils and other organic materials. What is being called 'green fracing' is an attempt to push more environmentally friendly fluids into the ground under high pressure to fracture the rock and allow oil and gas to reach wells. More companies are switching to green frac fluids on Colorado's Western Slope, especially in areas close to residents or drinking-water supplies." Category: 2008 Presidential Election 6:34:13 AM

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