Copyright The Denver Post
Just months after the federal government closed on a land exchange with a billionaire, a proposal to institute a permit system on the Blue River has ignited a conversation about river access and fishery health in Colorado. Blue Valley Ranch, a more than 2,000-acre property owned by billionaire Paul Tudor Jones II, and the nonprofit Friends of the Lower Blue River say a permit system is necessary to manage the negative impacts of increasing fishing pressure. On the busiest days in recent years, the Lower Blue River — stretches of which are designated as Gold Medal fishing — has seen up to 45 boats on the river, according to data provided by Blue Valley Ranch. Meanwhile, the ranch’s data also show that fish mortality has increased while the number of fish per mile has dropped significantly in recent years. “The Lower Blue River, long recognized as one of the greatest trout fisheries in the world, is at a crossroads,” the Friends of the Lower Blue River’s website explains. “With increase in use, so have the fishing pressures on the river. … Fish populations are declining, and the river’s world-class trout fishery is quietly slipping away.” As currently proposed, the permit system would only apply to boaters planning to fish the Lower Blue River, while nonfishing crafts or those wading to fish would not need a permit. The Friends of the Lower River launched a stakeholder process earlier this year to determine parameters of the permit system. Read the full story from our partner at vaildaily.com.
