Forest Service backs off Boulder Creek poisoning plan

BOULDER, Garfield County — Forest Service officials have indefinitely called off a plan to poison an 8-mile stretch of Boulder Creek to kill non-native trout and replace them with Colorado cutthroat trout.

Resident opposition to the plan was vehement, with town officials accusing the federal agency of failing to consider viable alternatives such as netting or fish barriers.

A letter by Mayor Bill Ruse to the Forest Service said impacts to the water for irrigation, livestock, crops and gardens were not properly considered.

Multiple other groups launched opposition to the proposal to dump rotenone, which is  widely used in fish poisoning projects.

"Basically, the rotenone kills not just the target brook trout, but also the aquatic insects upon which the stream’s ecosystem relies as well as any amphibians unfortunate enough to be there when the poison is applied,” said Michael Garrity, executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, based in Helena, Mont.

The Forest Service had contended the poison would have flowed only a half mile downstream of the project area and would have been countered with a neutralizer called potassium permanganate.

Boulder Creek is a year-round creek that flows from Boulder Mountain into Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.

The Forest Service rescinded its proposal impacting Boulder Creek earlier this month.

— Amy Joi O'Donoghue, Twitter: amyjoi16