Help Stop Water Raid on the San Luis Valley!

Water is Colorado’s lifeblood, and that is certainly the case for the San Luis Valley. From the region’s vibrant agricultural community to its natural and recreational treasures like the Rio Grande River and the Great Sand Dunes, water has been essential to the Valley. Unfortunately, demands for water in the Valley already outstrip supplies and changing climate will only make the challenges even greater. Valley residents have been collaborating - including through water sharing partnerships facilitated by Trout Unlimited - to bring ground and surface water use back into balance.

Now those collaborative efforts are in jeopardy, as the misleadingly named “Renewable Water Resources” (RWR) proposal seeks to pump groundwater out of the San Luis Valley and export it to Colorado’s southern Front Range. RWR sponsors have now asked Douglas County to provide $20 million in Covid relief funds to promote the project. The San Luis Valley’s environment and communities - not to mention Douglas County taxpayers - stand to lose with this damaging boondoggle of a project.

You can help by contacting Douglas County’s commissioners and asking them to reject RWR’s request and to instead invest in other water solutions working with willing communities and in environmentally sound ways.

Utah Railway Could Spell Trouble for Colorado Rivers

A proposed new rail line in Utah would result in up to 10 two-mile-long trains daily of heated rail cars filled with waxy crude traveling along the Colorado River and through some of Colorado’s most vulnerable landscapes.  

 The proposed Uinta Basin Railway would connect oil fields in Utah to the national rail network, specifically the Central Line adjacent to the Colorado River through Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Eagle and other small towns, along the Colorado and Fraser Rivers and through Denver before heading south and east to refineries in Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast.

 The project has sparked opposition from more than 70 counties, municipalities, and sanitation districts and dozens of environmental groups. Concerns are many. Eagle County has filed a lawsuit to stop the project, citing the need for further environmental assessment, and the local elected officials have opposed the project, voicing concerns that a derailment could devastate local tourism. Others say the project will more than quadruple the production of the Unita Basin oil fields – an increase of more than 350,000 barrels per day – and cause more than 53 million tons of additional carbon pollution per year. And there are concerns that increased traffic through the Moffat Tunnel would prompt a reopening of the Tennessee Pass rail line, putting the Eagle and Arkansas Rivers at risk.

 Colorado Trout Unlimited has reached out as well to our elected officials, voicing our concern for the environmental devastation that will occur when there is a derailment - and it is a question of when, not if, as the Environmental Impact Statement estimates there will be an average of 0.89 accidents per year involving a loaded train and another 0.89 accidents involving unloaded trains; Table 3.2.2). Waxy crude is solid at room temperature and each of the railcars on these two-mile-long trains is heated to around 110 degrees to keep the substance liquid.

 As they move through Colorado, these heated oil tankers will travel along the river – through the center of Glenwood Springs and on through Glenwood Canyon, Eagle County, through Gore Canyon and Grand County along the headwaters of the Colorado river, then along the Fraser River through Winter Park and the Moffat Tunnel. East of the tunnel the train will rumble through 33 tunnels and navigate horseshoe curves as it makes its way to Denver and beyond.  

 It is all too easy to envision the dangers. Picture what the Colorado River would look like if even one of the tanker cars split open and spilled its load of 29,400 gallons of waxy crude, which solidifies as it flows into the river. The devastation to the river ecosystem would be catastrophic. Picture oil tankers heated to 110 degrees derailing in tinder-dry forests on the West Slope or the bone-dry grasslands of the Front Range. In an era where more and bigger fires are predicted, it’s easy to see another Troublesome Fire on the West Slope or another out-of-control grass fire on the Front Range sparked by one of these heated tankers.

 Colorado Trout Unlimited does not oppose all oil and gas development and indeed has worked with the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission and other stakeholders on rulemakings to manage such development responsibly.  This project, however, poses unacceptable levels of risk – and the impacts to Colorado have largely been ignored in the federal permitting processes to date as they have looked only at the immediate local effects in Utah’s Uinta Basin.  By raising our voices of concern, we hope that Colorado’s elected officials, CTU, and other concerned groups can get the Uinta railway re-considered by federal agencies like the Surface Transportation Board and the US Forest Service.

Colorado River photo credit: Tony Webster, used under Creative Commons license.

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.

Not enough water to go around: the Colorado River Basin

This is a repost from the CBS News 60 minutes segment all about the Colorado River. The Colorado River has been hitting record low volume as seven states and 30 Native American tribes lying in the Colorado River Basin prepare to make hard choices as water levels plummet due to a 22-year drought. Bill Whitaker reports. Check out the full video segment below.

Repost from: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/colorado-river-water-level-60-minutes-video-2021-10-24/

This is why it's so important to be involved in Colorado's Water Plan, as the Basin Implementation Plans are being updated and we need YOUR input right now thru Nov. 15. It’s time to make your voice heard: What do you think needs to happen in your local watershed for the health of your local rivers, the environment, and water supply?

TAKE ACTION

TU supports bills to modernize and improve oil and gas leasing

Image courtesy of Trout Unlimited/Josh Duplechian

Repost from TU.org:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Trout Unlimited today voiced support for legislation that would help modernize the federal oil and gas leasing system and facilitate responsible energy development on public land.

The Competitive Onshore Mineral Policy via Eliminating Taxpayer-Enabled Speculation Act (COMPETES Act), introduced by U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) and co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV), would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to end the practice of non-competitive leasing.

In the leasing process, lands are offered to oil and gas companies, which bid on them during competitive auctions. Public lands that do not receive bids—often areas with no marketable oil/gas—are offered later at rock-bottom prices, needlessly encumbering public lands. Many of these lands provide important fish and wildlife habitat and are places where public land users hunt, fish, float and hike.

“Here in Colorado where the practice has become commonplace, non-competitive leasing has direct impacts on outdoor recreation and our quality of life,” said Scott Willoughby, Colorado field coordinator for Trout Unlimited. “Agencies like the Bureau of Land Management are already stretched beyond capacity, and increasing that workload for essentially no return needlessly diverts staff resources away from other priorities, like fish and wildlife conservation, outdoor recreation, and managing oil and gas development where it can be done responsibly. We want to thank Senator Hickenlooper for his work on this important legislation and express our support for ending this outdated practice.”

“Non-competitive leasing encourages speculation on public lands at taxpayers’ expense.” Senator Hickenlooper said in a press release. “Westerners lose out when large swaths of land are set aside for speculation instead of conservation or recreation.”

Non-competitive leasing has occurred throughout Colorado, including in North Park adjacent to the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, upstream of the famed Gold Medal stretch of the North Platte River. (Learn more about Gold Medal fishing waters at Colorado Gold). Elsewhere throughout the West, non-competitive leasing creates similar conflicts with fish and wildlife, spurring controversy as the public weighs the risk of speculative oil and gas exploration against the values of healthy habitat and outdoor recreation.

“Of the 2.5 million acres offered for lease since 2017 in Nevada, less than 10 percent of the acreage offered has been sold at competitive auction, ” said Pam Harrington, Nevada field coordinator for Trout Unlimited’s Angler Conservation Program. “Anonymous entities nominate thousands of acres, and the agencies must act on these frivolous proposals. Overwhelmed, both the agencies and interested public try to provide productive input, but in the end, the sales are offered and largely nobody bids. A month later, parcels are purchased non-competitively at $1.50 an acre, which creates unnecessary paperwork and ties up our public lands from its multitude of other uses.”

The COMPETES Act would help turn the BLM and Forest Service’s attention away from needless paperwork and lease reviews and toward critical fish, wildlife and recreation needs.

In addition to introducing the COMPETES Act, Senator Hickenlooper has co-sponsored other legislation to modernize public lands energy development, including the Oil and Gas Bonding Reform and Orphaned Well Remediation Act (S.2177) introduced by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), and the bipartisan Fair Returns for Public Lands Act (S. 624), sponsored by U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Jacky Rosen.

“With the introduction of the COMPETES Act and his co-sponsorship of S.624 and S.2177, Senator Hickenlooper is promoting a comprehensive package to modernize oil and gas leasing and promote responsible stewardship of our public lands,” said David Nickum, executive director of Colorado Trout Unlimited. “We fully support his efforts and we look forward to helping advance these proposals through Congress and into law.”

Trout Unlimited is asking its members to tell Congress how important this issue is to anglers and public land users. Learn more at TU.org.

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Trout Unlimited is the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization dedicated to caring for and recovering America’s rivers and streams so our children can experience the joy of wild and native trout and salmon. Across the country, TU brings to bear local, regional, and national grassroots organizing, durable partnerships, science-backed policy muscle, and legal firepower on behalf of trout and salmon fisheries, healthy waters and vibrant communities.

EPA announces reinstatement of Clean Water Act protections for Bristol Bay, Alaska watershed

Following Ninth Circuit ruling in favor of Trout Unlimited, EPA moves to vacate unlawful 2019 decision to withdraw the Proposed Determination for Bristol Bay and reinstate longstanding proposed protections.   

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would move to vacate its 2019 decision to withdraw proposed protections for Bristol Bay and reinstate the agency’s earlier 2014 Proposed Determination.  These proposed protections would limit the amount of waste water and mine waste discharge that could be released in to Waters of the United States in the Bristol Bay region. The announcement comes in the wake of a lawsuit brought by Trout Unlimited against the withdrawal decision and recent ruling in favor of TU by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. TU looks forward to working with the EPA to finalize these protections, which are critical to protecting Bristol Bay’s world-class fisheries. 

“This is a smart and significant step toward putting more durable safeguards in place for Bristol Bay’s fish, clean water, communities and businesses,” said Nelli Williams, Alaska director for Trout Unlimited. “This is an important layer of protection that makes it much more difficult for the Pebble Partnership, or any other companies in the future, to mine the Pebble ore deposit. Now is the time to get these much-needed protections across the finish line, and we look forward to working with EPA and Congress to get it done. Let’s put the Pebble mine proposal in the review mirror for good so we can focus on a bright, prosperous and fish-filled future for Bristol Bay.” 

“Today’s announcement by the EPA represents a victory for common sense. Blocking industrial-scale mining from Bristol Bay is the right thing to do for the Alaska Native Peoples who have depended on the fishery for millennia,” said Chris Wood, president and CEO of Trout Unlimited. “It is the right thing to do for the 17,000 family wage jobs that the $1.6 billion commercial fishery provides. It is the right thing to for a place that provides half of all of the world’s wild sockeye salmon. Congratulations to the EPA for making the right call and to the thousands of people who fought tirelessly to protect Bristol Bay.” 

In 2019, the EPA under the previous administration moved to withdraw the 2014 Proposed Determination for Bristol Bay—a sudden decision based on politics, not the robust scientific record demonstrating the potential for unacceptable adverse effects. Trout Unlimited sued, challenging the EPA’‘s decision as arbitrary and capricious and contrary to the Clean Water Act’s governing standard. In July 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of TU, finding that the EPA could withdraw a proposed determination only if the discharge of materials would be unlikely to have an “unacceptable adverse effect.” Today’s decision by the EPA recognizes that the agency could not meet, that stringent standard, and fully vindicates TU’s legal challenge. TU looks forward to vigorous engagement in the 404(c) process to ensure that strong and lasting protections are established for Bristol Bay. 

Courtesy of Fly Out Media

In November 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a key federal permit for the proposed Pebble mine, concluding that the project could not comply with Clean Water Act standards and that the mine would be “contrary to public interest.” In the wake of that decision, Bristol Bay Tribes, business owners, sport anglers and hunters, tourism operators, commercial fishermen, and thousands of advocates from across the country have called on the Biden Administration to establish permanent safeguards for the southwest region of Alaska.  

As wild salmon populations decline globally, Bristol Bay’s prolific wild salmon runs and the economies they support make it a place of international importance. This summer, over 65 million sockeye salmon returned to Bristol Bay, making it a record-breaking year for the world’s largest sockeye fishery. Healthy salmon runs underpin the Bristol Bay region’s economic, social, cultural and ecological well-being. More than 30 Alaska Native Tribes in the region depend on salmon to support traditional subsistence ways of life. 

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Trout Unlimited, the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization, is dedicated to caring for and recovering America’s rivers and streams, so our children can experience the joy of wild and native trout and salmon. Across the country, TU brings to bear local, regional, and national grassroots organizing, durable partnerships, science-backed policy muscle, and legal firepower on behalf of trout and salmon fisheries, healthy waters and vibrant communities.  In Alaska, we work with sportsmen and women to ensure the state’s trout and salmon resources remain healthy far into the future through our local chapters and offices in Anchorage and Juneau. 

Contacts:  

• Nelli Williams, Alaska director, Trout Unlimited, (907) 230-7121, nelli.williams@tu.org

• Chris Wood, CEO and president, Trout Unlimited, chris.wood@tu.org

Volunteer opportunities at a river near you!

We have some exciting opportunities that will get you outside and at the rivers! Check out this list of opportunities and click to sign up. With your help, we can get our rivers cleaner, healthier, and ready for restoration projects. Thank you and please share with friends and family!

Latino Conservation Week

July 17 kicked off #LatinoConservationWeek, a time where communities will be celebrating and rejoicing in the connections they have with this nation’s diverse landscapes. Organizations across the country will be amplifying and participating in some of the events taking place to support conservation efforts in Latinx communities. Please check them out here:

• Defenders of Wildlife

• HECHO (Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors)

• Wilderness Workshop

• Defiende Nuestra Tierra

• NA Latino Outdoors

• Protégete

• The Wilderness Society

• GreenLatinos

• Hispanic Access Foundation

• Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Latino Conservation Week: Disfrutando y Conservando Nuestra Tierra is an initiative of Hispanic Access Foundation (HAF). Latino Conservation Week was created to support the Latino community getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources. Read More

In-person and virtual events will take place from July 17 - 25, 2021. To find an event, go to LatinoConservationWeek.com

Calling all emerging Latina/o photographers! The second annual #LatinoConservationWeek Photo Contest begins on July 17 & ends on July 25! Find guidelines, important dates, & more at LatinoOutdoors.org/photo-contest  #LCW2021

Trout and Water Temperature: When it's time for a break

Colorado is seeing some intense heat and arid conditions, so we wanted to share this graphic we made of when it's time to give trout a break! Water temperatures tell us so much about the conditions of a fishing spot and how the fish will be reacting. Once you reach past 68 degrees F, mortality chances increase, even with proper catch-and-release. A water thermometer is a cheap and easy tool to add to your fishing gear for your next outing.

Looking for a high-rez version to print or share with friends? No problem, we have multiple formats below that you are welcome to download.

• High Resolution PDF (English)

• High Resolution PDF (Español)

• High Resolution JPG (English)

• High Resolution JPG (Español)

• High Resolution JPG (English and Celsius)

• High Resolution JPG (Español and Celsius)

  • Please note that we rounded the conversion of 18.3333°C to 18.3°C

In the News

Read our article in High Country Angler, Drought Threatens Western Colorado Fisheries written by Ken Neubecker, featuring the CTU Trout Water Thermometer here.

Check Colorado’s Fishing Conditions here.

Check CPW’s Voluntary and Mandatory Fishing Closures here.

Rise to the Future Awards - Durango TU Chapter Recognized

During a virtual ceremony on May 26, Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen and Acting Deputy Chief Tina Terrell announced the 14 employees and partners who are recipients of the 2020 Rise to the Future awards. The awards, created more than 30 years ago, recognizes leadership in stewardship of fisheries, soil, water and air resources on national forests and grasslands. In recent years, the Jack Adams and Lloyd Switch Sr. awards were added to distinguish excellence in wildlife program management.

The winners showcase a wide variety of work on and behalf of national forests and grasslands.

“2020 was a very challenging year. First, a pandemic that changed how we get our work done. A historic fire season in the west and a series of devastating storms in the south,” said Chief Christiansen. “I continue to be amazed at the resilience and perseverance of our employees and partners to face the challenges that come our way.”

Among the many recognized, our partners at the Forest Service, as well as the Five Rivers Trout Unlimited Chapter out of Durango, CO were recognized with the Collaborative/Integrated Aquatic Stewardship Award for their work on the Himes Creek Instream Flow Project.

The Himes Creek Instream Flow Project Team on the San Juan National Forest in Colorado collaborated to achieve critical aquatic habitat protection for a trout once thought to be extinct. Working within the confines of Colorado State Law, the team’s integrated efforts secured instream water flow to protect trout habitat on lands managed by the Forest Service, an accomplishment recognized by the Governor of Colorado. These protections would not be in place without the strong collaboration of partnership. The team includes representatives from the following organizations:

Forest Service: Andrea Rogers, Polly Hayes, Bill Janowsky, Kelly Palmer and Kara Chadwick

Colorado Water Conservation Board: Linda Bassi

Trout Unlimited: Buck Skillen

Colorado Parks and Wildlife: James White

Another award went to one of Colorado’s regional office’s for the Friend of the Fish/Watershed Award going to Doug Wise and the Engineering staff at the Rocky Mountain Regional Office, who are cited for their work using the Great American Outdoors Act to establish a project evaluation team, bringing together multiple resource leads to prioritize projects. The engineering staff has been instrumental in facilitating 15 aquatic organism passage projects in the region, working to address deferred maintenance of the region’s infrastructure. The collaboration between fisheries, engineering, and other programs within the agency provided the region with an integrated and productive team leading the way to complete many beneficial and crucial projects. These projects improved recreational fishing access across the region and opened new opportunities to work with external partners, engage local students, and continue to improve fish habitat on the forests.

Congratulations to the Colorado winners, it is much deserved for all the hard work you do in our state!