Lessons learned from innocent fishing tourney

The Coloradoan The Denver chapter of Trout Unlimited, a group committed to "conserving, protecting, and restoring North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds," held its second annual Pro-Am Carp Slam. The event took place on the South Platte River from Evans Avenue in Denver north to Thornton.

Thirteen teams consisting of one professional and one amateur fished two "beats" each, one section in the morning and a different section in the afternoon.

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081012/ENTERTAINMENT06/810120301

The Emerging Environmental Majority

From Red State Rebels Home Page

 Seventy-five percent of Americans in a 2005 Harris poll agreed with the statement, “Protecting the environment is so important that requirements and standards cannot be too high, and continuing environmental improvements must be made regardless of cost.”.....

... Yet a shrinking minority of voters are willing to associate themselves with the loaded term “environmentalist.” In the same poll, only 12 percent claimed that label. Americans like green, but they are less fond of greens. And that has been doubly true for outdoorsmen.

http://redstaterebels.org/2008/10/the-emerging-environmental-majority/

Current affairs on state water

By Mark Jaffe The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 10/05/2008 01:10:04 PM MDT

Denver and the northern district have the water rights to take those 48,000 acre-feet from the streams and rivers of Grand County.

"For years Denver Water's position was: 'These are our water rights; we're exercising them,' " said Kirk Klancke, manager of the Winter Park Ranch Water and Sewer District. "So this dialogue is a big step."

What Grand County officials are seeking are ways to soften and manage the impacts of removing more water.

The county has spent $800,000 on a stream-management plan that indicates what a healthy flow would be for each reach of stream and river flowing through the county.

The towns of Winter Park and Fraser, in cooperation with Trout Unlimited, initiated a $750,000 project to reconfigure a stretch of the Fraser River so it would run faster and have deeper pools for fish.

The county spent $60,000 this summer to pump an additional 1,500 acre-feet of water into Lake Granby so it could be released this fall to help buck-up the Colorado and prevent another Labor Day dry-out.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_10635332

State will stick with roadless plan

Colorado officials worry about a potential loophole that could allow gas drilling in some roadless forests, but don't plan to scrap their plan for managing 4 million acres of the backcountry.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_10638568