An estimated 30,000 fish were killed in a “die-off” at a pond in St. Vrain State Park over the weekend.
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The fish in Sandpiper Pond, on the northeast side of the park, likely died from a lack of oxygen in the water, according to Nick Julian, a park administrator.
The pond is already pretty shallow, he said, and this year, low water levels and heat have made fish kills like this one more likely. Fish kills have happened before under similar conditions, especially in the park’s shallower ponds, he added.
Rangers cleaned up about a quarter of the fish, and birds feasted on the rest, according to a post to the park’s Facebook page.
Park officials have decided they won’t stock ponds on the north side of the park this fall. Fish will instead be put in the park’s more full, healthy waters — like the Coot and Pintail ponds and Blue Heron Reservoir.
Fish kills can happen every summer, but drought conditions make them more likely. In July, thousands of dead fish ended up in Loveland’s Boyd Lake channel after they died in a privately owned lake upstream.
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