Rio Blanco (Colorado) on:
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Rio Blanco is a
The San Juan–Chama Diversion Project, which was started in 1971, diverted water from the river at the Blanco Diversion Dam and eventually led to reduced water flow and a loss of aquatic habitat in the Rio Blanco. In 1998, Colorado included a 12-mile reach of the lower Rio Blanco on its list of impaired waters for failure to support its aquatic life due to sediment. A grass roots project organized by the residents aided by numerous local statewide and federal agencies to restore the stream channel to match the altered flow regime, resulted in the river's physical and biological function and water quality being improved. In 2008, Colorado removed the Rio Blanco, including the 12-miles of the lower reach, from the state's list of impaired waters.
Parts of the river range from wide, and fishing is permitted along the side creeks including Rito Blanco. Most of the trout are in the range.
There are of the river that were transformed by
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
that is a tributary of the San Juan River in southern Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, United States. The stream originates in the San Juan Mountains
The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry ...
and flows for through the San Juan National Forest
The San Juan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering over 1,878,846 acres (2,935.7 sq mi, or 7,603.42 km²) in western Colorado. The forest occupies land in Archuleta, Conejos, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezum ...
and private lands to its confluence with the San Juan River in Archuleta County, Colorado
Archuleta County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 13,359. The county seat and the only Colorado municipalities, incorporated municipality in the county is P ...
. Colorado classifies the Rio Blanco as an Aquatic Life Coldwater Class 1/Recreation Class 1 waterway supporting water supply and agricultural uses. The river also features native cutthroat trout
The cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii'' clade) is a clade of four fish species of the Family (biology), family Salmonidae native to cold-water Tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. ...
and introduced rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...
fishing.
Restoration project
The San Juan–Chama Diversion Project, which was started in 1971, diverted water from the river at the Blanco Diversion Dam and eventually led to reduced water flow and a loss of aquatic habitat in the Rio Blanco. In 1998, Colorado included a 12-mile reach of the lower Rio Blanco on its list of impaired waters for failure to support its aquatic life due to sediment. A grass roots project organized by the residents aided by numerous local statewide and federal agencies to restore the stream channel to match the altered flow regime, resulted in the river's physical and biological function and water quality being improved. In 2008, Colorado removed the Rio Blanco, including the 12-miles of the lower reach, from the state's list of impaired waters.
Fishing
Parts of the river range from wide, and fishing is permitted along the side creeks including Rito Blanco. Most of the trout are in the range.
There are of the river that were transformed by hydrologist
Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...
Dave Rosgen, from being wide and shallow to a deep flow that now supports a variety of trout. Rosgen's plan included placing boulders and old trees on the river banks to direct the waters toward a channel that would be more defined. He also constructed a tube to divert away the gravel and sand, which allows water to flow through, but the sediment is routed to a holding area which is regularly emptied and used elsewhere. Cost of the renovation was about $1 million. The three-mile stretch may be fished by guests of El Rancho Pinoso, a privately owned ranch near the river.
See also
*List of rivers of Colorado
This is a list of rivers and streams in the United States, U.S. Colorado, State of Colorado.
##Alphabetical list, Alphabetical list
##Tributary chart, Tributary chart
__TOC__
Alphabetical list
The following alphabetical list includes many import ...
* Stream restoration
Stream restoration or river restoration, also sometimes referred to as river reclamation, is work conducted to improve the environmental health of a river or stream, in support of biodiversity, recreation, flood management and/or landscape develop ...
* Restoration ecology
Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from Conservation movement, conservation in that it attempts t ...
References
{{authority controlBlanco
Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to:
People
*Blanco (surname) Fictional characters
*Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
*Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge''
*Graboid#El Blanco, ...
Blanco
Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to:
People
*Blanco (surname) Fictional characters
*Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
*Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge''
*Graboid#El Blanco, ...
Blanco
Blanco (''white'' or ''blank'' in Spanish) or Los Blancos may refer to:
People
*Blanco (surname) Fictional characters
*Blanco, a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
*Blanco Webb, character in the BBC sitcom ''Porridge''
*Graboid#El Blanco, ...
Fish of North America
Colorado River Storage Project
Aquatic ecology