DEBEQUE CANYON, Colo. (KKCO) - Wildlife officials have fish climbing ladders across the Western Slope and now they have them checking in as well.

Near De Beque Canyon, off Interstate-70, it may look like a series of columns poking out of the Colorado River, but for fish, it's a ladder. The pillars slow down water flow, giving fish an easier way upstream. "We have promising potential for a lot of fish using the fish ladder," says Bob Burdick with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Burdick says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been tagging endangered fish for the last couple decades. The agency uses small microchips similar to those put in household pets. "Stock fish all receive these PIT tags and any of the wild fish we catch in the wild also receive a PIT tag," says Burdick.

Now, with a new monitoring system at the Price–Stubbs Diversion Dam, biologists can tell if an endangered fish is traveling up or down stream through the ladder.

"Just since we've put the antenna in, we've had two pike minnows move up here that's more information than we've gotten in the last two years," say Project Leader Michelle Shaughnessy.

The system was installed Aug. 12, runs on solar power and sends data back to officials via telephone every time a tagged fish swims through.

The next closest monitoring device is upstream and requires trackers to take fish out of the water by hand. Shaughnessy says populations of native fish give a good indication of where the balance sits between human and wildlife use of the river. "The fish are sort of a test. Do we have an ecosystem that is healthy? And the fish are telling us we really don't," he says.

Shaughnessy says tracking their movements can help wildlife officials restore that balance. "If we can figure out a way to balance the needs of the fish and the needs of us then we'll have a nice healthy ecosystem for future generations," he says. It’s a goal reached one rung at a time.

The tracking system costs around $120,000 and will be used indefinitely.