One Step Forward in Protecting the Denver South Platte

Local residents and advocates for the Denver South Platte received an early holiday gift last week, as the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission agreed to set a hearing in September 2022 to reconsider its 2020 decision rejecting a strengthening of water quality protections for the improving Denver South Platte and lower Clear Creek. A coalition of groups from Green Latinos to Denver Trout Unlimited to Conservation Colorado joined in requesting the re-hearing of this issue; their petition was approved by the Commission last week. (You can read more coverage with the Colorado Sun here.)

Many of the community and conservation partners who petitioned for this rulemaking also took part in an earlier statewide rulemaking, where they defeated a broader proposal to weaken “antidegradation” protections for a range of Colorado waterways. While the Commission rejected the rollback proposed earlier this year, they did not at that time agree to revisit the standards applying to the Denver South Platte and Lower Clear Creek - even though the level of protection on those reaches was inconsistent with the Commission’s statewide policies.

The issue arose in 2020 when the Commission rejected antidegradation protections for the reaches, despite them qualifying under the statewide rules and being recommended by staff. Community members and allies were particularly upset by the Commission’s rationale which said such water quality protection was appropriate for “pristine mountain waters” – raising significant pushback from urban river advocates and local communities on environmental justice grounds.

“So much work has gone into improving the Denver South Platte – with even more to come – and it makes no sense to allow weakened water quality protections to jeopardize all that progress,” said Sam Agnew, President of Trout Unlimited’s Denver Chapter. “We’re grateful that the Commission recognized the need to take a fresh look at this issue and hope the new rulemaking will give the river the stronger protections it deserves. Denver TU will stay vigilant in monitoring this issue in 2022 and any other plans that arise that could possibly negatively impact our home water.”

The new Winter 2022 issue of High Country Angler is live!

Check out the new Winter 2022 issue of High Country Angler e-zine! Featuring these stories:

• DENVER FLY FISHING SHOW BY BENNETT J. MINTZ

• Q&A WITH LANDON MAYER BY THE ARTICULATE FLY

• CLARKS FORK OF THE YELLOWSTONE BY BRIAN LARUE

• OF ELK, ICE, AND ANGLING BY HAYDEN MELLSOP

• TROUT HEALTH BEYOND THE WATER’S EDGE BY NANCY JOHNSTON BRAMLETT

• WINTER FLY FISHING HOT SPOTS BY PETER STITCHER

• STREAM GIRLS RETURN TO THE WATER BY BARBARA LUNEAU

• FIT TO BE TIED BY JOEL EVANS

• A CONVERSATION WITH EMMA BROWN BY HCA

• THE LAST CAST BY JOHN NICKUM

December Currents: A voice for Colorado's Rivers!

Check your inboxes! This month’s Currents newsletter includes stories such as:

• Thank you for your support during Colorado Gives Day!

• RareWaters Membership Gives Back

• Cabin Creek Aquatic Organism Passage Project

• Get Hooked on Winter Fishing in Colorado

• Improving the Canyon Creek Fish Passage

Infrastructure bill a win for Colorado land, water

Repost from the Daily Sentinel

By MATT MOSKAL

Last month the American people and Colorado sportswomen and men got a big and long-awaited win with the signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This truly bipartisan infrastructure legislation makes major investments in helping the nation and our state create high-paying jobs, invest in our rural communities and address the impacts of drought on our coldwater fisheries.

Thanks to the critical leadership of Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, we have the single largest investment in our nation’s physical infrastructure and waterways in more than a generation.

In a big state like Colorado, it is easy to see just how desperate the need is for strong investments in our infrastructure. Colorado anglers, thank Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper for their foresight and initiative in getting this legislation across the finish line.

Bill will benefit fish habitat

Colorado Trout Unlimited lauds provisions of this legislation that will deliver major benefits for coldwater fish and their habitats, including abandoned mine restoration, removal and rehabilitation of obsolete dams, forest and watershed restoration, replacement of old culverts and fish passage barriers and increased efficiency of water management and transport systems.

It reflects the understanding that our rivers and streams are as much a fundamental part of the nation’s infrastructure as bridges and dams.

The infrastructure bill also comes with commonsense solutions for climate and drought impacts to our fish and wildlife. For instance, it funds the Legacy Roads and Trails program. This program provides millions in dedicated funding for repairing, upgrading and sometimes removing 375,000 miles of roads, 12,000 bridges and 143,000 miles of trails managed by the U.S. Forest Service, in the service of reducing sediment or fish barriers in our public waters.

This is a high priority for us due to the widespread adverse impacts of poorly maintained roads and trails on wild and native trout streams. By reducing habitat fragmentation, investments through this program will also make fishery habitat more resilient in the face of climate challenges.

Improving water security

The agreement recognizes the critical role of our water infrastructure and watershed health in improving water security as climate change makes conditions hotter and drier. It invests $400 million in the WaterSMART program, $100 million of which is dedicated for watershed restoration projects, and dedicates another $250 million for aquatic ecosystem restoration and protection projects.

Another $100 million supports local action through funding watershed groups’ planning and project development, to help ensure the infrastructure bill’s funding makes possible the best multi-benefit projects for improving watershed health, fish and wildlife habitat, and clean drinking water for Coloradans for generations to come.

Reducing wildfire risk

The deal also helps reduce wildfire risk in Colorado by investing in risk reduction and ecosystem restoration. It includes $3.37 billion for projects that reduce wildfire risks on U.S. Forest Service lands, with $100 million of that funding allocated for collaborative, science-based ecosystem restoration projects.

Another $2.13 billion is dedicated to ecosystem restoration, with $80 million specifically for a collaborative, aquatic-focused, landscape-scale Aquatic Restoration Program to restore fish passage or improve water quality on federal and non-federal land through voluntary, cooperative agreements.

These provisions will help Colorado mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfires while also ensuring that our valuable coldwater fisheries can prepare for, withstand, and recover from fires.

The far-reaching provisions of the infrastructure bill help protect Colorado’s water resources in the face of hotter summers and drier winters. And, it will help secure the fishing and outdoor heritage of many working-class Colorado families.

Thanks to bipartisan leadership from pragmatic House and Senate members including Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, we have an actual governing win for the American people.

Matt Moskal is the President of Colorado Trout Unlimited and is based in Denver. Colorado Trout Unlimited is a member of the Water for Colorado Coalition.

Colorado River District Celebrating Partnerships & Innovation

Ballot Measure 7A passed with bi-partisan support in November 2020, and the Community Funding Partnership began. It was great to see voters joining together to support our Western Slope waters and the River District’s vital role in sustaining them. And Trout Unlimited is proud to have been a part of those efforts in building common ground around healthy and productive rivers and watersheds across western Colorado.

Now with $4.2 million in grant money available for Western Slope water projects every year, the Colorado River District has worked hard to identify multi-benefit projects, streamline the application process, and get your tax dollars right back to work in the community. Over $3 million has already been awarded this year to 23 diverse projects! Learn more about the Community Funding Partnership and awarded projects here.

The video above previews a few of the outstanding projects which have been awarded grant funding through the Community Funding Partnership. Stay tuned for more videos in the year to come as the Community Funding Partnership shares project stories that showcase Colorado's beautiful West Slope.