Colorado

Gold

Colorado is a treasure in high demand. And when it comes to quality trout fishing, our state’s signature Gold Medal waters serve up the motherlode. Anglers expect a lot from Colorado’s “highest quality cold-water habitats,” and it’s time we return the service by delivering the conservation community they deserve.  That’s just what Colorado Gold intends to do.

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What's at Stake?

Gold Medal waters are the pride of Colorado, fisheries designated by Colorado Parks and Wildlife that set the bar for cold-water habitat and offer the state’s best opportunities to catch “quality” trout. But even the Gold standard isn’t immune to the impacts of mining, dams and dewatering, much less the current stresses of explosive use and drought.

We can’t afford to simply sit back and watch CPW do all the heavy lifting. Protecting Colorado’s Gold Medal waters is an ongoing process that demands community-wide effort. Restoring them is even harder. But by coming together as a coalition of anglers and outdoor industry partners, our Gold Medal waters will benefit from the advocacy, education and restoration efforts Colorado Gold is using to fight the threats they face.

What is Colorado Gold?

 

Colorado Gold is equal parts outreach, advocacy and restoration efforts connected by the common thread of Gold Medal water. Trout Unlimited is building the Colorado Gold brand with a unique digital media platform serving as the anchor point where anglers can gain ethical insights on fishing Colorado’s Gold Medal waters while learning about surrounding trout habitat, watershed ecology, important policy issues and ways to engage in TU’s ongoing conservation work. By establishing a direct connection between anglers, the waters they fish and the conservation values necessary to sustain them, TU is ushering in a new era of advocacy and support for Gold Medal watershed conservation.

Gold Medal is more than a measure of fish size. It’s a measure of Colorado’s fisheries.

We’re building an influential alliance of diverse angling and outdoor recreation-related businesses, organizations and people working to increase public awareness, raise funds and help shape policy by moving decision-makers toward conservation-minded Gold Medal watershed management. Branded merchandise from high-profile industry partners like Fishpond, NRS, Rep Your Water, Down River Equipment and others will tap into the soaring public interest in Gold Medal waters to help fund and promote our work across a variety of compelling channels.

Join Us

The Plan

1
INVITE

We’re creating a gathering place for the Colorado angling community by building a brand that elevates the conservation needs of Gold Medal fisheries and the well-managed watersheds they depend on. Pull up a chair.

2
INFORM

Anglers crave content on access, conditions and techniques, and the experts at TU can provide. While we’re at it, we plan to educate them on ways to improve the resource, whether through restoration projects, engaging in issues or influencing conservation ethics.

3
EXPAND

We’re not only growing our coalition, we plan to expand Colorado’s Gold Medal waters and the protections around them. Our unified voice will increase our political clout and ability to impact rivers with tangible conservation, recreation and access benefits.

OUR 30×30 PLAN

Why Now?

Angler interest has never been higher in Colorado, and those looking for opportunities to catch quality trout eventually seek out the 11 rivers and three lakes designated Gold Medal by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. But CPW shouldn’t be the lone voice for conservation. As resident and tourist populations continue to swell, so too will the number of anglers.

Trout Unlimited aims to make the most of that growth by educating, organizing and activating anglers to promote policies today that will make positive impacts on these vital resources for decades to come. Without sustained action by the anglers and agencies who care most about these iconic fisheries, Colorado’s Gold standard could soon be facing depression.

Get Involved

Gold Medal conservation needs champions!

Anglers and Outdoor Enthusiasts: If you are an avid fly-fisher or just love healthy rivers and waters, please join the Colorado Gold Coalition.

Recreation Industry: Trout Unlimited is soliciting sponsorship partners from the angling and outdoor recreation industry to support our history of conservation success by helping us build the Colorado Gold Coalition. Sponsorships can range from simply joining the coalition to financial contributions and/or ancillary products designed to promote and sustain the campaign.

The Colorado Gold website is designed to fill the needs of thousands of anglers seeking details on Gold Medal fishing and capture a new audience of conservation-savvy outdoor devotees through content that is motivating, engaging and inspiring. Along with sponsor recognition, the platform establishes the Colorado Gold brand by promoting products and apparel from corporate partners. Contributions will be used to fund outreach, advocacy and restoration efforts for Colorado’s public lands and waters.

Trout Unlimited encourages cross-marketing efforts amplified through TROUT magazine, Trout Media and outside channels, where the Colorado Gold brand will reach and resonate with TU’s current 300,000 members and supporters. With your help, we can extend that reach even farther and enhance the elements that make Colorado Gold.

TAP INTO COLORADO GOLD

 

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30×30 Plan

Gold Medal fishing waters are the main attraction of the Colorado Gold campaign, and we want to ensure that the state’s premier fisheries receive the recognition they deserve. While the angling public seeks out Gold Medal fisheries as the state’s best opportunity to catch “quality” (a.k.a. big) trout, Colorado Parks and Wildlife defines the current 322 river miles and three lakes designated Gold Medal as Colorado’s “highest quality cold-water habitat.” We like the sound of that.

That’s why we’re working to conserve enough high-quality habitat to merit a 30% increase in Gold Medal fishing waters by the year 2030, alongside our ongoing advocacy efforts to increase protections for Gold Medal watersheds. In the belief that enhanced protections for headwaters feeding Gold Medal fisheries will improve the entire fishery and expand access to quality angling opportunities, we’re pursuing watershed-wide conservation strategies designed to create additional opportunities to partner in CPW’s process to increase the amount of Gold Medal trout waters.

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