The area surrounding Williams Gulch will close Monday as Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers prepare to reintroduce Colorado’s state fish to the creek.

As part of the process, wildlife officers will be removing all non-native fish from the water between Monday and Thursday next week. As a result, portions of Bliss State Wildlife Area along Williams Gulch will be closed.

“The removal of non-native species is being done in preparation for the reintroduction of greenback cutthroat trout to the creek,” officials wrote in a release. “The greenback cutthroat trout is Colorado’s State Fish and is listed as ‘Threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act.”

Williams Gulch was initially stocked with cutthroat trout in 1996, but were not the greenbacks, which are native to the South Platte River basin. For wildlife officers to reestablish the greenbacks and for them to succeed, all other cutthroat trouts must be removed using rotenone, an EPA-approved organic compound used for decades to control fish populations.

As the reintroduction project begins, the U.S. Forest Service will close the area between Sept. 13 and Sept. 17 for public health and safety reasons, officials said.

The project area includes portions of Green Ridge Road and Green Ridge Cutoff.

Following the successful removal of non-greenback cutthroat trout from the stream, the pure breed will be stocked and should result in 2.5 miles of new habitat for the state fish, officials said.

The area surrounding Williams Gulch will close Monday as Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers prepare to reintroduce Colorado’s state fish to the creek.

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As part of the process, wildlife officers will be removing all non-native fish from the water between Monday and Thursday next week. As a result, portions of Bliss State Wildlife Area along Williams Gulch will be closed.

“The removal of non-native species is being done in preparation for the reintroduction of greenback cutthroat trout to the creek,” officials wrote in a release. “The greenback cutthroat trout is Colorado’s State Fish and is listed as ‘Threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act.”

Williams Gulch was initially stocked with cutthroat trout in 1996, but were not the greenbacks, which are native to the South Platte River basin. For wildlife officers to reestablish the greenbacks and for them to succeed, all other cutthroat trouts must be removed using rotenone, an EPA-approved organic compound used for decades to control fish populations.

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As the reintroduction project begins, the U.S. Forest Service will close the area between Sept. 13 and Sept. 17 for public health and safety reasons, officials said.

The project area includes portions of Green Ridge Road and Green Ridge Cutoff.

Following the successful removal of non-greenback cutthroat trout from the stream, the pure breed will be stocked and should result in 2.5 miles of new habitat for the state fish, officials said.