Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials authorized an emergency public fish salvage at Nee Noshe Reservoir on June 1, 2026 [1].
The measure allows anglers to harvest remaining fish from a body of water that is drying out and unlikely to refill. This action prevents a total loss of the fishery's biomass as the reservoir continues to shrink due to an ongoing drought.
Located in Kiowa County on the Eastern Plains, the reservoir sits north of Lamar and south of Eads. Officials said that the drought conditions had reached a critical point where the fish population could no longer be sustained in the dwindling water levels.
The emergency salvage allows the public to catch and keep fish without the usual restrictions that govern the area. This is a common management tactic used when a water body is expected to dry up completely, ensuring that the resource is utilized by the community rather than wasted.
CPW officials said the salvage began Monday [1]. The decision follows a period of declining water levels that threatened the health of the local aquatic ecosystem. Because the reservoir is not expected to fill, the fishery is considered effectively lost.
Anglers are encouraged to visit the site to remove as many fish as possible. The salvage remains in place until the fish population is depleted or the water levels make further harvesting impossible.
“The reservoir is drying and not expected to fill due to an ongoing drought.”
This emergency measure highlights the severe impact of prolonged drought on the U.S. interior's water infrastructure. When state agencies like CPW resort to public salvage, it indicates that the environmental degradation of the water body has passed the point of recovery, signaling a permanent or long-term loss of local biodiversity and recreational resources in the region.
