PUEBLO, COLO. -- Heavy equiptment will be rolling down the Arkansas River for the next few months, splashing 3,000 boulders into the current.
Monday began the second phase of the Division of Wildlife improvement projects started in 2004 to better habitats for local fish below the Pueblo Dam.
Biologists for Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the construction is a temporary inconveniece for anglers, but the long-term benefit is more structures to hold fish.
"If you imagine all the fish that are swimming around in the river, they all want to find a place to eat. They all want to find a place to stay, and they don't want to be crowded. What we're doing here is adding more structure and more habitat for them," Michelle McGree, local biologist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife explained.
It's almost like adding a rest stop off the Arkansas River Expressway. There's fast food as the current flows by, and time away from traffic in pools along the river bank.
It's not all about the fish, though.
Since the first phase of the project's completion in 2005, the Arkansas River has become a popular fishing location.
Local fisherman are looking forward to the "honey spots" of fish hanging out, waiting to be caught.
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