Trout Unlimited and Sportsmen for Thompson Divide announced the roll out of a series of profiles which look at the role the Thompson Divide plays in the lives of area locals. The series features a cross section of people who depend on the Divide for everything from it’s capacity as a place to escape the modern world, to a living landscape capable of maintaining local agricultural operations.

Located west of Carbondale, Colo., the Thompson Divide is one of the most pristine places in the West and is currently under threat from energy development. It harbors some of the best elk hunting in the state, a dozen populations of cutthroat trout, and source waters for numerous renowned fisheries. Trout Unlimited has been working with sportsmen, agencies and industry to find solutions to keep the Thompson Divide as it is, largely by supporting legislation introduced by Sen. Michael Bennet in April of 2013 which would withdraw 183,000 acres from future development.

The profiles feature a series of photos and audio from interviews gathered in the past year and provide a peek into why the area is so important to the people who use it.

First to be featured is Kara Armano, an avid angler, cross country skier and mountain biker. Armano works for Backbone Media, representing companies such as Fishpond, Sage, Rio and Reddington.

“The Thompson Divide is one of those places where you can go and get away from everything,” Armano says. “You want to get back up into nature and reconnect with what it is in these areas that are open and pristine and really well maintained by nature itself.”

Randy Melton, a hunting and fishing guide with Avalanche Outfitters, also featured in the series, further highlighted the area’s importance to sportsmen.

"As a sportsman you've got an even deeper connection to the land. (You feel that) when you're up in the Thompson Divide in the fall when the elk are bugling and you're watching the sun come up with the birds and the little critters running around waking up and you're just sitting there listening, watching and smelling the elk,” Melton says. “You know that smell when you go through the dark timber, you're seeing all the rubs and scrapes, it's all dark and shadowy, the light is going through the dark timber, and you hear that elk bugle for the first time that morning. Your heart starts racing a hundred miles an hour…"

Profiles from the series will be posted every two weeks. To view the project, go to http://new.tu.org/tu-projects/thompson-divide.

For more information about Trout Unlimited's work in the Thompson Divide, contact Aaron Kindle with TU's Sportsmen's Conservation Project at akindle@tu.org