The fish will die regardless: With some Western reservoirs set to run dry, officials lift fishing limits

EnvironmentThe fish will die regardless: With some Western reservoirs set to run dry, officials lift fishing limitsWildlife officials in Colorado and Oregon are allowing anglers to take as many fish as they want from some reservoirs expected to be hit hard by drought.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00The Thief Valley Reservoir in Oregon, pictured in August 2024, is expected to go dry. State officials have removed limits on fishing. Oregon Department of Fish and WildlifeShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 2, 2026, 5:01 PM EDTBy Evan BushFish all you want — they’re doomed either way. That’s the bleak message wildlife officials have given at a handful of reservoirs across Colorado and Oregon.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Both states face stark drought forecasts, with some reservoirs expected to run dry by summer’s end. Given that water managers don’t expect water supplies — or, consequently, the fish that rely on them — to last in those locations, officials have taken special administrative action to remove limits for anglers.“We have a number of reservoirs that we expect to get exceptionally low this year,” said Tyler Hoyt, an assistant district fish biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. “We took a proactive approach this year and opened the seasons up early to allow anglers to go out and make use of those fish.” In Oregon, the three reservoirs where fishing limits were lifted all store water from the Powder River, a tributary of the Snake River, which flows through the northeast part of the state. In Colorado, officials recently allowed a period of unlimited fishing on the Antero Reservoir on the South Platte River in the central part of the state and approved another to start Monday on the Nee Noshe Reservoir to the southeast.Water flows out of the Antero Reservoir and into the South Platte River in mid-May. Denver Water is sending the water to the nearby Cheesema...