GREEN RIVER - Native Wyoming fish are going to find it easier to move through two creeks and a river on the Wind River Reservation thanks to a federal program that aims to restore fish migration by removing passage barriers.

Easier movement in the creeks will allow for increased spawning opportunities, which should lead to increased fishing opportunities for Wyoming anglers over the long run, agency officials said.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service external affairs officer Matt Kales said the agency and its partners will pool $4.8 million this year to remove 91 barriers to fish passage in 26 states, including Wyoming.

Scheduled for Wyoming are three projects in Fremont County, which total $90,000. Modifications will be made to fish passage barriers on Mill Creek ($25,000), Bull Lake Creek ($45,000) and on the Popo Agie River ($20,000).

The agency estimates the work should open about 60 miles of waterways on the reservation to increased fish passage.

In Wyoming, drop structures, small dams and irrigation diversion structures are most the most typical creek barriers.

USFWS fish specialist Morgan Elmer said the overall goal of the program is to restore migration, historic spawning and rearing habitat for a variety of native fish species. Those species include native cutthroat such as the Colorado River cutthroat trout and Snake River cutthroat trout, sauger and mountain whitefish, among others.

The three Wyoming projects will all involve irrigation modifications. Headgates will be built up on various irrigation outlets on the creeks to allow most of the river or creek to run free, according to plans.

Elmer said the projects aim to specifically benefit sauger and ling in Mill and Bull Lake creeks and in the Popo Agie.

"It's important to remember that none of these projects come at the expense of the irrigators … they're all voluntary and we're not taking away water meant for the land," said Elmer. "The projects benefit the fish and the irrigators both."

Kales said the USFWS is providing $2.8 million in Fish Passage Program funds this year.

He said the funds will be supplemented by another $2 million in matching funds from a wide array of partners. The partners range from civic and conservation organizations to state and local government agencies, and includes the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Since 2001, the program has resulted in the removal of 158 fish barriers across the country, according to USFWS data.

The program - which Kales said is one of the most popular for the USFWS - employs a voluntary, nonregulatory approach to restore natural flows and fish migration.

Kales said projects can be as small as inserting culverts under roads or railroad tracks or as large as the removal of whole dams.

He noted the removal last February of the 95-year-old Embrey Dam near Fredericksburg by a military explosives team as an example of one of the agency's larger projects.

Many of the small dams targeted for removal date as far back as the American Revolution. Those dams were built to accommodate early barge traffic or to provide power and irrigation for the country. Over the years, many of the dams were abandoned but remained in place, which blocked populations of fish and led to declines in fish numbers and in recreational fishing opportunities.

Kales said completion of the 2004 projects in all 26 states will open 19,364 acres and more than 3,048 miles of waterways.

Elmer said the Wyoming projects represent the continuation of past work. Two years ago, the USFWS opened 15 miles of stream on Mill Creek by replacing two drop structures and one major irrigation diversion with natural rock structures.

Southwest Wyoming Bureau reporter Jeff Gearino can be reached at (307) 875-5359 or at gearino@trib.com.