[Here we go again! - ed]
A decision last week by the Utah Supreme Court declaring the public's right to fish streams that flow through private property has set off a tidal wave of celebration among anglers.
Whether the ripples extend to Colorado and other Rocky Mountain states remains to be seen.
Ty Churchwell, president of the Five Rivers Chapter of TU, says the reintroduction will include about five miles of Hermosa Creek’s headwaters, leaving more than 20 miles downstream as a multi-species fishery.
“There still will be plenty of water for people who want to catch brook trout and rainbows,” said Churchwell, standing near the site of the fish barrier. “But when people come in here, they’ll experience the creek like it was 100 to 150 years ago.”
Cutthroat trout reintroductions began in the Hermosa drainage more than 20 years ago but that was before DNA testing could prove a trout’s genetics. This proposal would take DNA-tested fish raised from brood stock at the Pitkin Hatchery and put them in Hermosa Creek.
http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/sports/stories/2008/07/29/073008_OUT_wild_and_scenic_WWW.html
Associated Press By JUDITH KOHLER
"I actually think it will be a lively give and take," Chris Wood, chief operating officer of Trout Unlimited, said of the federal advisory panel's meeting on Colorado's plan.
Wood is a member of the panel appointed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service. Speaking as a Trout Unlimited representative, Wood said he's concerned about some of the exceptions in Colorado's plan.
"I'm anxious to hear the state explain the significant number of exceptions," Wood said.
Under Colorado's plan, temporary roads would also be allowed for cutting trees to reduce wildfire risk and some land around ski areas would be removed from the inventory of roadless areas.
"We are comfortable and confident that we can resolve this in a way that preserves our initial understanding and intent for those areas to be kept roadless," said Dreyer, Ritter's spokesman.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
“This would be the first wilderness area in Colorado specifically pushed by hunters and anglers,”said Chris Hunt of Trout Unlimited’s Public Lands Initiative.
The east boundary would be Hermosa Creek, the west boundary along the ridge of the La Plata Mountains plus a portion of the Bear Creek drainage.
http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/sports/stories/2008/07/29/073008_OUT_hermosa_WWW.html
July 30th, 11 AM - 1 PMGregory Park, Glenwood Springs
We're just weeks away from witnessing a transformation of the Roan Plateau in Western Colorado.
On August 14th the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will begin leasing the public lands at the base and atop the plateau for oil and gas development. As many of you know, the Roan Plateau is recognized by Coloradans as both a source of local pride and as an irreplaceable haven for wildlife. The Roan lands provide an unparalleled recreational opportunity to west slope communities and the state.
Given the values at risk, Coloradans have spoken -- BLM's plan for the Roan is just not good enough: • Over 75,000 comments were submitted on the draft plan, with more than 98% favoring more restrictions on drilling. • Governor Ritter issued a set of recommendations for the Roan that would expand protection for water and wildlife, including phased leasing on the plateau. • Congressmen Mark Udall and John Salazar and Senator Ken Salazar proposed legislation to enact the Governor's plan and protect Colorado's water and wildlife. Unfortunately, none of these efforts succeeded in convincing the BLM to draft a better plan. Despite promising to craft a "community-supported" plan, the BLM has failed to listen to our concerns.
Next Wednesday, July 30th, citizens from around the Western Slope and Colorado will converge in Glenwood Springs to demonstrate to the BLM that A RUSH TO DRILL on the Roan Plateau is the wrong approach to meeting our nation’s energy needs. Will you join us?
We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Bill Dvorak Colorado Public Lands Organizer National Wildlife Federation info@ourpubliclands.org
| Herald Outdoors Editor On July 17, Trout Unlimited (TU) sponsored a media tour of the western branch of the creek, which is scheduled to join the East Fork in the cutthroat-only club in the spring of 2009.
The tour gave TU a chance to tout its support of the creation of a wilderness area in the Hermosa Creek drainage, and show how the cutthroat restoration project could compliment any new wilderness proposal.
"Basically, this project is taking the upper reaches of this river and turning it from a multi-species river to a single-species river," said Ty Churchwell, president of the local Five Rivers chapter of TU.
"This is the kind of thing that can be done only in headwaters, and the result will be that anglers will be able to come up here and experience this water as it was a hundred or more years ago."
By Ed Dentry
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
About 28 miles of Hermosa Creek's main stem hold trout, but the native gem is the Colorado River cutthroat, which almost disappeared until a few pure specimens turned up in isolated headwaters.
Ty Churchwell, president of the Five Rivers chapter of TU, says chapter members will help the Division of Wildlife restore the upper five miles as an all-native trout fishery next spring.
"We want the general public to come in here and experience the river the way it was 100 to 150 years ago," Churchwell said.
Any avid fisherman knows the problem of Whirling Disease. This disease, which has affected so many trout populations over the years, is caused by a microscopic parasite. According to Trout Unlimited, “the disease is named for the characteristic swimming behavior that results as the parasite multiplies in the head and spinal cartilage of the infected fish. All species of trout and salmon may be susceptible to whirling disease.”
http://www.snowmasssun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080722/MISC/746645737/1043&parentprofile=-1
The Pagosa Daily Post is doing an entertaining series on the Dry Gulch Reservoir development. Thanks to Coyote Gulch for the links. Part One: http://www.pagosadailypost.com/news/9040/Lots_of_Water,_Lots_of_Debt,_Part_One/
Part Two: http://www.pagosadailypost.com/news/9049/Lots_of_Water,_Lots_of_Debt,_Part_Two/
Part Three: http://www.pagosadailypost.com/news/9064/Lots_of_Water,_Lots_of_Debt,_Part_Three/
Part Four: http://www.pagosadailypost.com/news/9086/Lots_of_Water,_Lots_of_Debt,_Part_Four/
Part Five: http://www.pagosadailypost.com/news/9103/Lots_of_Water,_Lots_of_Debt,_Part_Five/
A previous water rights application for Dry Gulch was approved in 2004, based on a 35,000 acre-foot reservoir — plus the right to refill the reservoir with up to 64,000 acre-feet of water pumped from the San Juan River. That decree by Judge Greg Lyman — which curiously took place just as Archuleta County voters were turning down a ballot measure to fund Dry Gulch — was subsequently appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court by non-profit fishing organization Trout Unlimited. The Supreme Court remanded the case back to Lyman for additional findings of fact, citing several key problems with Lyman’s original decree.
