STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. | The commercial tubing season in Steamboat Springs has come to an early end because of low stream flows on the Yampa River.

The city’s three tubing outfitters agreed to suspend their operations Wednesday after river flows became too low to easily float and protect the waterway’s habitat and wildlife.

Rafting companies say it has been a brutal year, with water levels far below yearly averages. This year, the season ended more than a month early under a master plan to limit ecological damage put in place about a decade ago.