Palisades drawdown to begin

PALISADES, Idaho – The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plans to reduce flows from Palisades Dam this week.

Mike Beus, a bureau hydraulic engineer, said the reduced releases have been timed to coincide with a return to near normal temperatures after recent severe cold weather.

Releases have been set at 1,800 cubic feet per second, or cfs, for the winter. The bureau plans to gradually reduce the rate to about 1,200 cfs by Wednesday.

“We’re trying to get ahead of this so we don’t have to cut more severely later,” Beus said.

The bureau consulted with Idaho Fish and Game Department officials before the cuts. Rainbow trout in the river are expected to be most stressed by the cuts, while cutthroat trout would be less affected.

Wildlife managers have been trying to reduce the rainbow trout population in the river to protect the native cutthroats.

“It’s not all bad,” Beus said of the decreased flows.