FINAL REGULATIONS - CHAPTER 00 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
As Approved Version – 9/07/2006
ARTICLE VII ‑ AQUATIC WILDLIFE

#013 ‑ RELEASE OF AQUATIC WILDLIFE

A.	Except as provided herein, it shall be unlawful for any person to release any native or nonnative aquatic wildlife in Colorado.    

B.	Except as otherwise restricted by these regulations, and provided a person possesses the appropriate stocking permit, letter of authorization or commercial or private lake license, the following species are authorized for release in the drainages indicated:
	
1.	All drainages statewide – rainbow (Oncorhynchus mykiss), brook (Salvelinus fontinalis), brown (Salmo trutta), and cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki), and their hybrids, crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) and (Pomoxis annularis), fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), largemouth (Micropterus salmoides)and smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomeiui), green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) and grass carp (Ctenopharingodon idella).

2.	All drainages statewide, except for salmonid habitat – walleye (Sander vitreum), gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and wipers (Morone chrysops X Morone saxatilus).

C.	Owners or lessees of property may release or otherwise provide for or allow the release of any of the above species of fish into waters of the state (flowing or standing) located on property they own or lease provided they have obtained a stocking permit, or a commercial or private lake license from the Division, unless the person is exempt under Chapter 12, to release such fish.  Stocking permits and lake licenses will be approved or denied based on compliance with all other applicable regulations and a determination by the Division that such stocking will not otherwise negatively impact management of the state’s wildlife resources in the water under consideration.

 D.	Licensed aquaculturists may release any of the above species of fish into waters of the state (flowing or standing), upon receipt of an annual letter of authorization from the Division to be sent upon issuance or renewal of the aquaculture license, provided that such release is in accordance with the provisions of regulations #011, #012 , #013 and #014, and provided that aquaculturists submit an annual report on a form provided by the Division, containing information regarding the facility of origin, date, species, size, number and stocking location of all fish released by the aquaculturist in the previous calendar year.  Provided further, however, that the stocking of non-salmonid species at elevations below 6500 feet in the Upper Colorado River Basin, or northern pike, or tiger muskies, or prohibited species, anywhere in the state, or salmonid species in the mainstem of the Colorado River below Windy Gap Reservoir downstream to the confluence with the Williams Fork River, or any fish in native cutthroat waters, is allowed only if the owner or lessee of the property first obtains a stocking permit, or private or commercial lake license, for that purpose from the Division.

1.	The waters identified in Appendix C, including the upstream tributaries and drainages, are designated as stocking restricted cutthroat trout waters. Maps and a copy of Appendix C will be provided to all salmonid fish production facilities and with each salmonid importation permit issued by the Division.

E.	Except as otherwise provided in these regulations for the Upper Colorado River Basin below 6500' elevation, diploid or triploid grass carp may be released into waters of the state in accordance with the following restrictions:

1.	All shipments of triploid grass carp must be accompanied by a copy of the original certificate of triploidy issued by the U S Fish and Wildlife Service for that lot of fish.

a.	Aquaculture facilities which do not hold diploid grass carp and which have been designated by the Dept. of Agriculture on their aquaculture permits for grass carp as "triploid grass carp only" facilities may hold triploid grass carp over from year to year and release these fish in triploid waters. The triploidy certificate will be accepted for the lot until all fish have been released. 

b.	The triploid certificate for triploid grass carp held in aquaculture facilities which hold both diploid and triploid fish will be accepted until the end of the calendar year.  If stocked after that date, the fish must be stocked as diploid grass carp. Triploid grass carp acquired after January 1 of each year must have a new triploidy certificate for each lot of fish. 

c.   Diploid grass carp can only be held in facilities on the east slope.  If triploid grass carp are held in the same aquaculture facility prior to release, they must be held in containers separate and distinct from those holding diploid grass carp. When diploid and triploid grass carp are held in separate cages in the same raceway, any fish which escapes from a cage will be considered a diploid.  

d.   Diploid grass carp may be transported through the west slope (west of the Continental Divide and in the Rio Grande Basin) only when the destination is on the eastern slope or in another state. 

2.   Diploid or triploid grass carp may be released into standing water or irrigation ditches east of the Continental Divide, except in the Rio Grande Basin.

3.   West of the Continental Divide and in the Rio Grande Basin:

a.	Only certified triploid grass carp may be released into standing waters and must be at least eight inches in length at the time they are released.

b.	Such waters must be screened prior to stocking to prevent escape of fish. All screens shall be maintained so as to prevent such escape, and at least one measurement of the gap size shall not exceed one & one-quarter (1 1/4) inch. All such screens may be inspected on an annual basis by the Division or its designated representative.

c.	The stocking location of all grass carp released in the above waters must be reported to the Division, on forms provided by the Division, within thirty (30) days of release. 	

d.	Grass carp to be held in aquaculture facilities west of the Continental Divide and in the Rio Grande Basin must be a minimum of 8" in length at the time they are placed in the facility.  Any undersized fish that are inadvertently present in a shipment must be removed or handled in a manner to ensure that such fish cannot escape from the facility. 

F. 	Upper Colorado River Basin

1.   Within the Upper Colorado River Basin, and except as provided herein, no person shall release any species or subspecies of fish below 6500 feet in elevation which did not originate naturally, either presently or historically, in Colorado.

a.	Channel catfish and fathead minnow may be released into ponds, lakes and reservoirs below 6500' in elevation, except in critical habitat, provided the receiving water is isolated or its outlet(s) are screened prior to stocking to prevent escape of fish or their progeny.

b.	Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) may be released into ponds, lake and reservoirs below 6500' in elevation but above the 50 year floodplain of those river reaches defined as critical habitat, provided the receiving water is isolated, or its outlet(s) are screened prior to stocking to prevent escape of fish or their progeny.

c.	Certified triploid grass carp at least 8 inches in length, bluegill, black crappie, and  largemouth bass may be released into ponds, lake and reservoirs below 6500' in elevation, including waters located within the 50 year floodplain of those river reaches defined as critical habitat, provided the receiving water is isolated or its outlet (s) are screened prior to stocking to prevent the escape of fish or their progeny. Provided further, that all ponds, lakes or reservoirs within the 50 year floodplain must have an existing, modified or constructed dike meeting standards sufficient to resist at least the 50 year flood.  Minimum dike standards include the following:

1.	The dike must be designed and constructed in accordance with recognized and accepted engineering practices;

2.	The dike must be capable of withstanding the hydrodynamic and hydrostatic forces, and the effects of buoyancy associated with a 50 year flood.

3.	The dike must be five feet above the ordinary high water line (OHWL).

All dikes must be certified in writing as meeting these standards by a qualified engineer, prior to stocking.  The report shall be submitted to the Division of Wildlife and shall include a consideration of depth and duration of flooding, floodplain elevation, dike geometry, dike and foundation materials, dike compaction, penetrations, and other factors affecting penetrations, localized river channel constrictions and conditions, and any other factors that may affect the ability of the dike to withstand flood events. 

2.   Salmonids may be released within the Upper Colorado River Basin except in those river reaches defined as critical habitat.

3.   Smallmouth bass, northern pike (Esox lucius), and tiger muskie (Esox lucius X Esox masquinongy) may be released except in critical habitat, within the Upper Colorado River Basin, and then only if:

a.	The fish are acquired within the basin from an existing population below 6500' in elevation; and

b.	The receiving water already contains the species and is isolated or its outlets are screened to prevent the escape of the fish or their progeny.

All such relocations of fish must be authorized in advance and in writing by the Division. 

4.    All ponds, lakes or reservoirs within the Upper Colorado River Basin which require, or rely upon, dikes or screens to prevent the escape of stocked fish and their progeny will be inspected on an annual basis by the Division or its designated representative.  All dikes and screens shall be maintained to prevent the escape of fish and their progeny.  Whenever screens are required, at least one measurement of the gap size shall not exceed one-quarter (1/4) inch.

G.  Release of aquatic wildlife must comply with all applicable regulations including but not limited to the restrictions in #011, #012, and #014 of these regulations.