Winchester Diversion Project
"Look at how clean those gravels are," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee Dave Skates, "browns are trying to spawn in the canal. As I looked into Winchester canal where Skates was pointing, toward the bright patches where the gravel bed had been swept clean by spawning fish, I saw a flash of yellow and then a wake as two thick-bodied Brown Trout, spooked by our shadows, streaked down Winchester canal.
Each year, thousands of fish become trapped in canals in the Wind River watershed. Many of these fish never make it back to the river, and die when the ditch is shut off each fall. During the first week of December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began a project that will serve as a model of how an irrigation diversion can be redesigned to be "fish friendly."
The renovation of the Winchester canal diversion will serve several purposes: it will prevent fish entrapment in Winchester Canal and improve fish passage on Bull Lake Creek. The project was overseen and funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in collaboration with the Nature Conservancy (owners of the Winchester Ranch) and the Office of the Tribal Water Engineer.
The initial phase of work involved removing a 3 foot high concrete check that spanned the entire Bull Lake Creek channel and prevented fish migration during low flows. This structure was replaced with a series of specially-designed rock weirs that will divert water into the canal while allowing fish movement past the diversion structure, even at low flows. A similar project was completed on lower Mill Creek last summer by the USFWS with great success. In the next phase of the project, a new headgate will be installed to replace the old wooden structure.
To solve the problem of fish entrapment, a fish screen will be installed in Winchester canal near the headgate to prevent fish from becoming trapped in the canal. Because juvenile fish can squeeze through some pretty tight spaces, effective fish screens are not as simple as an iron grate over the headgate. Different types of modern fish screens include "turbulent fountains", "rotating drums", and various types of self-cleaning screens. The USFWS will be choosing a fish screen to match the specific size and needs of the Winchester canal. For more information about the Winchester diversion project, contact Dave Skates (USFWS) at (307) 332-2159.