Lake Mohave to be lowered for fish habitat work

The federal agency that controls the Colorado River will temporarily lower Lake Mohave by more than 10 feet over the next month to aid recovery efforts for an endangered fish.

Starting this week, water in the reservoir formed by Davis Dam, downstream from Lake Mead, will be lowered gradually to accommodate work on some fish-rearing ponds for the endangered razorback sucker.

The Bureau of Reclamation is warning boaters to expect reduced access on boat ramps and to be cautious out on the water, where the declining water level could expose hazards.

Bureau spokeswoman Rose Davis said Lake Mohave is lowered every year at this time for fish-related work, but this year it is being decreased by about 3 feet more than usual.

Workers need the water down so they can "muck out" overgrown vegetation from the ponds where young razorback suckers are kept until they grow to at least 12 inches long, Davis said.

Once the fish in the ponds grow large enough, they are tagged with microchips and released back into the lower Colorado River system.

The razorback sucker can live up to 40 years and grow to about 3 feet long.

The fish once was found throughout the Colorado River drainage, but its range has been reduced by habitat loss. It landed on the endangered species list in 1991.

The water in Lake Mohave will start rising again in early November as work on the ponds is finished. Updated information on water levels at Lake Mohave and other reservoirs on the lower Colorado is available at www.usbr.gov/lc/riverops.html under "Current Conditions."

You can contact the National Park Service at 293-8986 for information about Lake Mohave and other sites within Lake Mead National Recreation Area.