Blog — Colorado Trout Unlimited

Boulder-produced film up for conservation award

Boulder Weekly By Steve Weishampel

Trout Unlimited is proud of its success stories. They’re plastered throughout the conservation group’s website, describing completed restoration projects and habitat preservation efforts across the U.S.

Its next success could come on the silver screen, thanks to a documentary project co-produced by Louisville resident Randy Scholfield, who works for Trout Unlimited’s Western Water Project in Boulder. The short film is one of six finalists in the national Intelligent Use of Water Competition, which awards prizes for films that present solutions to water issues.

Scholfield’s entry, Water Partners — filmed by Kathy Kasic of Metamorph Films of Montana — is just over eight minutes and highlights Trout Unlimited’s efforts across the West to preserve streams and rivers.

“We wanted to make a film about our work restoring streams in the West, partnering with ranchers and farmers to restore these streams,” Scholfield says. “People famously have fought over water in the West. But going forward it’s going to take more cooperation to ensure we have adequate water.”

The film emphasizes partnerships with ranches, which Scholfield says are central to Trout Unlimited’s mission.

http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-6337-boulder-produced-film-up-for-conservation-award.html

TU Celebrates the Outdoors with Native Greenbacks

Day trip highlights legislative threat to state’s roadless areas As part of Great Outdoors Week, Trout Unlimited (TU) members and staff traveled to the Bard Creek roadless area Thursday to fish for the elusive Greenback cutthroat trout. The day trip, taken not far from the I-70 corridor near Empire, was taken to highlight the importance of roadless areas to sportsmen and women in Colorado.

“Roadless areas are absolutely essential to coldwater fisheries here in Colorado,” said Aaron Kindle, TU’s Colorado Field Coordinator. “For native trout, their habitat is disproportionately located in roadless areas. For the rest of our coldwater fish such as rainbow, brook and brown trout, they all live in rivers and streams whose headwaters are in roadless areas. If we don’t take care of our headwaters, we won’t have the excellent fishing downstream that we enjoy today.”

Trout Unlimited chose to take part in Great Outdoors Week to highlight a current threat to these key backcountry lands. Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) recently introduced H.R. 1581 – the Wilderness and Roadless Area Release Act of 2011 – that if passed by Congress would release over 43 million acres of backcountry public lands from roadless protections and pave the way for significant development.

“I don’t think people realize how critical roadless areas are to sportsmen,” Kindle said. “Here in Colorado, our top fifteen game management units all contain over 66,000 acres of roadless lands, and all of our major rivers have headwaters in these areas as well. If we don’t keep our backcountry lands intact, hunting and fishing as we know it might cease to exist.”

TU maintains that Rep. McCarthy’s bill – dubbed the Assault on our Sporting Heritage Act by sportsmen – fails to take this into account and attempts to throw away a nation’s sporting opportunities for questionable short-term economic gains. In addition, the bill could damage Colorado’s economy by reducing the steady income provided to the state’s rural areas each year by returning hunters and anglers. “The beauty of keeping these areas intact is that the benefits never go away,” Kindle added. “Keep them intact and we’ll always have fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreation. Develop them, and the benefits could go away for good.”

“I love the adventure and excitement of coming to a pristine area that has native fish,” said John Davenport, a member of TU’s Denver chapter. “There’s always something unique about traveling to a backcountry area to seek fish that have been in this creek for thousands of years. As we made our way up the creek, it became clear why fish and game prefer these undeveloped landscapes. It became quieter, the signs of houses and roads dissolved, and the water in the creek became increasingly clear and cold. In order to fish for these amazing trout, you have to venture into the backcountry.”

Bard Creek is small, but creeks like this are critical to the Greenback cutthroat trout. And while the anglers on Bard Creek didn’t catch many of the brightly colored wild fish, they ended their adventure satisfied by the unique sights and sounds of a day spent in the roadless high country. “We got to spend the day in area that reminded us of yesteryear,” Davenport said. “The stream was cold and clear, the views were impeccable, and the sense of adventure was tangible. I hope that our children and grandchildren can come to places like this and mingle with wild creatures in ways that humans have done for millennia. We can’t let opportunities like this slip away.”

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Help Defend the Upper Colorado

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Soon, up to 80% of the Upper Colorado could be diverted to the Front Range. Take action today!

Problem

The Upper Colorado River is one of the west’s most iconic - and most at-risk - rivers. Today, over 60% of the Colorado River's native flows are permanently removed at its headwaters and diverted to cities and suburbs across the Front Range, leaving behind a trickle for fish and wildlife, recreation, agriculture, and the local communities that depend on the Colorado River and its tributaries.

And now, despite severe impacts to fish and recreation and public outcry, water providers want to take more through the Windy Gap Firming Project and Moffat Tunnel expansion, putting the Upper Colorado River and key tributaries like the Fraser River at risk for a system-wide collapse.

Solution

The Upper Colorado River and its major tributaries like the Fraser River can be saved for future generations if and only if water providers commit to doing the right thing - developing water projects in a way that keeps the river flowing and cool. The following must be included in each project:

  • Intensive monitoring of fish populations, water temperature, water quality, and flows on creeks and tributaries that supply water to both projects to determine if and when rivers and streams decline.
  • A commitment to change when and how much water is diverted if the river shows signs of collapse. Warm water temperatures, water quality problems, and fish population or macroinvertebrate declines are all conditions that warrant changes in the amount and timing of water diversions.
  • Funding set aside to restore and repair the river. In cases where the river becomes too shallow to support fish and/or meet the state's water quality standards, funds should be invested in an Endowment to cover the costs of necessary restoration. This could include deepening the channel or adding willows and other plants to create shade and keep water temperatures within an acceptable range for fish.

Take Action

If you care about the Colorado River, please consider taking the following actions to keep the river and its fish and wildlife alive:

About the Moffat + Windy Gap Firming Project

The following is intended to provide a brief overview of both water projects that threaten the healthy of the Upper Colorado River and its tributaries like the Fraser River:

  • Windy Gap Firming Project. Water provider Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District has proposed to increase the amount of water they currently pump from Windy Gap Reservoir to the Front Range from 50% to 80% of the river's native flows and storing it across the continental divide in a new reservoir (Chimney Hallow). The river below Windy Gap is already in serious decline with documented losses in trout, stoneflies, sculpin, and water quality. Colorado TU is calling for a comprehensive mitigation package including protections for water temperature and flushing flows, a “bypass” to help reconnect the Colorado River where Windy Gap’s dam has severed it, and funding for river restoration.
  • Moffat Expansion Project. Water provider Denver Water has proposed to significantly increase its diversions from the Fraser and Williams Fork Rivers to provide additional supply its Denver-metro customer base. While Denver’s recent west slope agreement promises some help in addressing existing river problems, it does not address the impacts of the new project on fish and river health. TU is advocating for a responsible mitigation package including protections for flushing flows and stream temperature, as well as funding for river restoration as an “insurance policy” to ensure healthy flows and fish continue to exists within the Colorado, the Fraser, and key tributaries like Ranch Creek.

Questions? Contact Erica Stock, Colorado TU Outreach Director.

Land and Water Conservation Fund sees broad support

2011 has been a wild year, to say the least, with regards to the number of direct assaults on many of the laws and funds that protect open space, clean air and water, and other environmental concerns.  Under the guise of deficit reduction and job creation, many of the bedrock conservation laws that protect the natural resources we all need are being targeted. The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was originally designed by Congress to dedicate a small portion of royalties from oil and gas development on Federal lands and offshore drilling to open space and land conservation, is arguably the target most severely impacted by these cuts.  Congress is currently trying to divert more than 90% of its mandated royalty funding to other non-conservation purposes.

However a new study illustrates the public's appreciation for the fund and the benefits that it provides to all Americans as a payback for some of the world's largest companies to be allowed to profit from our public trust.  Are we ok with giving away our great outdoors for a short term financial task?

NewWest did a great article on this study...click here to read more.

 

Two projects slated to improve habitat on the Roan Plateau

SILT, Colo. -- Visitors to the Roan Plateau over the next few months will be seeing several habitat improvement projects being conducted by the Bureau of Land Management in the East Fork Parachute Creek drainage, including several planned prescribed fires and construction of a fish barrier. BLM is also working with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Trout Unlimited to install a fish barrier in East Fork Parachute Creek as part of an effort to maintain native Colorado River cutthroat trout in this drainage.

http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Information/newsroom/2011/august/two_projects_slated.html

Trout, Climate, and You!

Sometimes in the chaos, there is opportunity to step up and take the bull by the horns - make a difference and all that. A recent study suggests that trout will be heavily impacted by climate change - here is an excerpt that should shake every conservationist or angler (or angler-conservationist) to the bone...

Today’s paper, in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also predicts that by 2080, rainbow trout, whose native habitat includes Idaho in the Rocky Mountain states, could be reduced by 35 percent. Two introduced trout species in the study will not do well, either: Brook trout habitat could decline by an estimated 77 percent, and brown trout by 48 percent.

That stinks...we gotta do something!  (See the full article here)

Well, we are. As recently as a couple of weeks ago, a team of volunteers descended upon the Roan Plateau to work on a tiny section of Trappers Creek - a place they have been working for around 20 years! Climate change or not, these native cutties are important, and ColoradoTU and Grand Valley Anglers have been busting it to keep that stream intact and cool.

In the Steamboat Springs area, TU is working on Elk Creek on a major restoration project. In Durango, the 5 Rivers Chapter has been driving the Hermosa Creek restoration for years, and is collaborating with state and federal agencies to make change happen. And there are many, many more places TU is working to conserve, protect, and restore.

Its worth it. You can pitch in to - there is plenty to do!

Welcome to TU, Steamboat Springs

After a long drought in the northern reaches of Colorado, we would love to officially welcome the Yampa Valley Fly Fishers Chapter to Trout Unlimited. The link below is a great story by Explore Steamboat welcoming them to the fold. Awesome!

http://www.exploresteamboat.com/news/2011/aug/11/steamboat-group-hooks-trout-unlimited/

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Guide Notes from the Upper Colorado

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Greetings to all from the beautiful Upper Colorado River, where after a long, wet spring, the river has finally started to drop. For a while there it seemed as though the entire summer might get washed away, but once the river dropped from those high levels, it cleared rather quickly and the fishing sprung to life immediately. In the first few weeks of July the river was more productive and fun that it has ever been, with big rolling waves rivaling those found in Glenwood Canyon, interspersed with eddies along the sides where the fish stacked up. The big news this year has been the return of the rainbows, which we have now in numbers not seen since the late eighties. The DOW stocked some Hofer rainbows near Kremmling a few years ago, and over the past five years or so they have been migrating downstream in increasing numbers. What was once a brown trout dominated river has become more diverse, with the ratio of browns to rainbows seemingly equal, and even a few more whitefish than usual. An even more exciting trend is that the rainbows have been somewhat larger than the browns thus far, and even the rainbows that are smaller fight above their weight class.

Now that the river levels have come down, the fish have begun to disperse to their normal hidey-holes, no longer deep below the fast-moving current. It’s been interesting to see what former good holes have been covered in a layer of pink sand, and what new spots have been created. The once-lush lawn behind my shop is now a sandy beach, and the spit of land which was in front of the riverside camp spot at Jack Flats is gone. The river gouged a new channel right past it and tethering more than one boat there is tight.

Another odd thing is the amount of bugs we’ve had, or more correctly not had. In a typical year, we’ve have big trico hatches in the morning, some PMDs and Green Drakes later in the day, and caddis hatches off and on all day, but this summer they’ve been scarce. Instead, we’ve had little midges coming off, and the occasional confused caddis looking for love in the wrong places (or times). Even the grasshoppers have been a bit scarce this year.

One theory I’ve heard is that the hatches are simply delayed due to the deeper water, and the reduced sunlight making it to the river bottom. I’m hoping that’s true, and that we’ll be in for a fall to remember once the river level drops a little more.

On our trips, I’ve been rigging my clients with two rods each – a four weight rigged with a double dry combination, and a five or six weight rigged with a streamer or two. On the dry rig, we’ve generally been using a high-vis caddis as the top fly, followed by a tiny Trico or cream colored midge as the second fly. As we make our way down the river, we’ve been tossing streamers into the eddy line and having pretty good results. It’s been a long spring for the fish too, and they seem to be more than willing to munch on smaller versions of themselves in lieu of macroinvertebrates. When we do see sippers in the foam, breaking out the lighter rods and tossing dries at them is still productive.

It’s been a memorable river year so far for a variety of reasons, and so it would only stand to reason that we might have great fishing right up to the Thanksgiving freeze-over this year!

Jack Bombardier, Confluence Casting Gypsum, Colorado (970) 524-1440

www.confluencecasting.com

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Clear Creek restoration project underway: Trout Unlimited West Denver hopes to improve fish habitat, sense of stewardship

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Building on past success, the Trout Unlimited West Denver chapter is about to begin restoration on about three-quarters of a mile of Clear Creek, northwest of Golden.

The Canyon Reach project, with multiple funding sources, will begin near Jefferson County Open Space Park’s Mayhem Gulch development then continue upstream to the vicinity of the park’s paved turnout just below the Colorado 119 and U.S. 6 junction.

Glen Edwards, Trout Unlimited West Denver’s local project director, said the restoration of Clear Creek habitat as a fishery resource is one goal, along with building a sense of stewardship in the community for the entire Clear Creek watershed.

“(We’ll) go down in the stream, move some of the natural rocks to make for better winter habitat — deeper holes and feeding lanes and just places for fish to survive the winter,” he said.

The major portion of the nearly $264,000 in funding came from the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s Fishing is Fun program, to the tune of $168,700. Some $60,000 will come from Jefferson County Conservation Trust Fund allocation, and the Water Conservation Board added more than $20,000. Trout Unlimited West Denver is contributing funds and volunteer work.

Read more:

Clear Creek restoration project underway: http://yourhub.denverpost.com/golden/clear-creek-restoration-project-underway/flTVkh3U7FBtcYiSnEb2VK-story