Coloradans have a special connection with our headwaters; in many ways we are the headwaters of the nation. For Colorado Trout Unlimited, our members in 24 local chapters across the state engage under the Clean Water Act both as advocates for healthy streams and by filing for and securing permits that allow us to partake in collaborative instream habitat improvement and fish passage projects.
Colorado Trout Unlimited stands with the 2015 Clean Water Rule and we believe it provides a reasonable amount of protection for our coldwater resources and therefore needs to stay intact. America's headwaters are the start of our country's iconic rivers. These waters provide the spawning and rearing habitat for trout, salmon, and other wild and native fish that contribute greatly to the $50 billion recreational fishing industry in the United States. What's more, these streams send clean water downstream, where it is used for our farms and communities.
Water is an important resource for all and deserves the protections that keep it clean, flowing, and usable. To make that happen, we need to protect our waterways from their sources: the small, seasonal headwater and feeder streams whose flow makes up our larger perennial rivers downstream.
Colorado TU submitted comments to the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers on the scope of the Clean Water Act and why headwater protection is so important. Click here to read the full letter written by David Nickum, Executive Director of Colorado Trout Unlimited.
