When John Wesley Powell first looked across the Green River, it was warm, silt-laden, and swift, with spring floods that scoured the area, triggered the breeding cycle of many fish, created sand and gravel bars for spawning, and formed marshes and backwaters that provided food and shelter for young fish, insect-eating birds, and other wildlife. The building of Flaming Gorge Dam changed the river’s life cycle: water released from the bottom flowed cold and clear year-round, releases fluctuated daily and sometimes hourly according to power and storage needs rather than natural rhythms, and spring flooding was controlled. Some wildlife, especially native fish, suffered because they were not adapted to a dam-controlled river or the reservoir it created, while a few species benefited, including osprey, whose habitat was enhanced by the clear-water reservoir, and trout, which thrived in the cold, clear water; the tailrace is now considered an international Blue Ribbon trout fishery, and the reservoir has produced more than its share of state records for trophy fish. More recent modifications to the dam and its management have helped restore a better balance for fish by allowing release temperatures to be regulated from any depth to enhance trout habitat and by moderating highly fluctuating flows for power generation through agreements that improve habitat for native fish.