Canyon Creek flows from the Flat Tops and is a spawning tributary to the Colorado River located near New Castle - but much more of the stream could be available to fish coming up from the Colorado were it not for an existing box culvert structure under Interstate 70 that restricts fish passage into 10+ additional miles of available upstream habitat.

Now, spawning fish will have the chance to return to Canyon Creek thanks to a collaborative project developed by TU with in-kind assistance from Wright Water Engineers (WWE). Using a design for baffles and hemispheres to be placed along the floor of the culvert, the newly installed structures provide velocity shelters for spring-spawning fish making their way upstream at higher flows, and increase depth for those fall spawners moving upstream during lower flows.

This collaborative project was made possible thanks to technical and logistical assistance from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado Department of Transportation, and generous financial support from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado River Water Conservancy District, Trout and Salmon Foundation, and Trout Unlimited donors including the Eagle Valley Chapter.

Check out this video showing the project from pre-construction through design and to post-construction conditions, produced by our partners at WWE.