Federal officials say they’re one step closer to finalizing a plan to remove invasive fish from the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials announced Tuesday that they had initiated the formal process to make adjustments to the river's flow.
The department has proposed altering the dam's output to reduce water temperatures and disrupt the spawning of predatory smallmouth bass that thrive in warmer waters.
The altered flows could run through 2027.
As levels in Lake Powell have dropped smallmouth bass and other invasive species have passed through the dam and have gained a foothold in the river.
Without intervention the fish could wipe out native species like the 60,000 or so threatened humpback chub that live at the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers.