1,200 Fish Removed and Returned to Arizona's Fossil Creek

In an effort to reconstruct one of Arizona’s few riparian habitats, state wildlife officials are sidelining the native fish of Fossil Creek while they poison the non-natives. All this is possible because of the decommissioning of an out-of-date power plant. “Biologists anticipate that returning spring-water flows to the stream’s original contour will create a unique travertine habitat of dams and pools that will extend over a 10 kilometer stretch. With the power plants inoperative, wildlife officials expect native fish numbers, which had dwindled due to competition from exotic species and decreased flows, to be on the upswing.” Max Foster in the Payson (Arizona) Roundup.