RESERVE, N.M. (AP) - Construction is set to begin on a fish barrier project along a creek in the western New Mexico.

U.S. Forest Service officials said Sunday the public should expect to see heavy equipment along Forest Road 28 between Snow Lake Road and Willow Creek for the next two months.

The Willow Creek fish barrier project is just north of the boundary of the Gila Wilderness.

Officials say the barrier will assist in the recovery of the Gila trout, which has been federally listed as threatened since 2006.

The permanent barrier will follow 10 miles of Willow Creek and prevent non-native trout species from heading upstream.

Federal and state wildlife grants are helping to fund the project.

The Gila trout was first listed as endangered in 1966.

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