GRAND CANYON (KTNV) — Grand Canyon officials are getting a financial boost to help protect several fish species in the Colorado River.
The park recently received $258,000 in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. According to the National Park Service, lower water levels and higher temperatures have allowed invasive species like the smallmouth bass and green sunfish to pass through the Glen Canyon Dam.
Because those species are considered predators, park service officials said it's caused a decline in native fish populations upstream of Lake Powell, including the endangered razorback suckers.
The park service said fish biologists from Glen Canyon and Grand Canyon are working to remove invasive species and are monitoring the Grand Canyon for "signs of smallmouth bass invasion." The biologists will use chemical treatment in selected areas, electrofishing, and netting along a 23-mile stretch of the Colorado River.
Overall, the National Park Service said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act will provide $52 million to fund projects like this across the country.
