News Article

Colorado Parks and Wildlife approves fish salvage for Antero Reservoir

All bag and possession limits for all fish species have been lifted through sunset on May 13, at which point Denver Water will close public access to the property.

Editor's note: This news release was originally published by Colorado Parks and Wildlife on April 21, 2026. It is republished here with permission from the original author, Kara Van Hoose, Northeast Region Public Information Officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Read more about Denver Water's decision to move water from Antero Reservoir.

Reservoir with mountains in the background and overcast skies — Antero Reservoir in Park County, Colorado, photographed in 2018. Denver Water's system is designed to move water from Antero to more efficient reservoirs during drought, as Antero is subject to extreme water loss via evaporation. Water will be moved to Cheesman Reservoir in 2026 to prevent significant loss of water to evaporation. Antero Reservoir sees a high ratio of evaporation to storage because it is a shallow reservoir with a wide surface area. Deeper reservoirs with less surface area, like Cheesman Reservoir, see less evaporative loss. Photo credit: Denver Water.

PARK COUNTY, Colo. — In order to minimize imminent fish loss due to Denver Water’s planned reservoir drawdown, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has authorized an emergency public fish salvage for Antero Reservoir in Park County. Effective immediately, all bag and possession limits for all fish species will be lifted through sunset on May 13, after which Denver Water will close public access to the property. All other regulations, including a valid Colorado fishing license and legal methods of take, will be enforced. Motorized boating and commercialized fishing will not be allowed. Hand-launched vessels and shoreline angling are permitted.

“Colorado Parks and Wildlife appreciates the public’s help in harvesting fish from Antero and utilizing those resources as much as possible,” said Kyle Battige, CPW Senior Aquatic Biologist. “We are currently evaluating the feasibility of CPW-led salvage efforts and hope to rebuild into a high quality fishery once the reservoir is filled in the future.”

Antero Reservoir is positive for New Zealand mudsnails, an invasive aquatic nuisance species. They are small and easily hidden in mud on angling equipment. New Zealand mudsnails can survive out of water for up to 50 days. Anglers are urged to clean, drain and dry all of their gear before using it in another body of water.

The water, land and recreation at Antero Reservoir are managed by Denver Water. Questions regarding the drawdown, timeline or public access, can be directed to Denver Water.

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.