A work of art for river conservation

The wait is over! The custom Colorado Trout Unlimited hand-sculpted, bronze belt buckles are available for presale. There are two versions, one featuring a cutthroat trout and the other an Adams dry fly. Both are custom pieces made by local sculptor, Dave Richardson. A portion of the proceeds will go directly to support Colorado Trout Unlimited. Click the button below to order your own or purchase it as a gift! Thank you for your support of local businesses and river conservation in Colorado.

The artist, Dave Richardson, is a native Coloradan, a dedicated fly angler and a professional full time sculptor. Learn more about Dave and his work here.

Watch to learn more about the story behind the belt buckles and the artist, Dave Richardson.

Partners stock greenback cutthroat trout into the West Fork of Clear Creek

Members from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Trout Unlimited, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain National Park and the Greenback Cutthroat Trout Recovery Team meet up by Jones Pass before stocking 6,000 greenback cutthroat trout into the West Fork of Clear Creek (photo courtesy of CPW)

Repost of CPW press release

EMPIRE, Colo. - The USDA Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Trout Unlimited, and a host of volunteers stocked 6,000 greenback cutthroat trout fry into Upper West Fork Clear Creek near Jones Pass on Wednesday, Sept. 22.

This is the third location in the Clear Creek drainage where the Greenback Cutthroat Trout Recovery Team has stocked greenbacks into, joining Dry Gulch and Herman Gulch.

“Greenback cutthroat trout reintroductions such as the West Fork Clear Creek are really only able to occur due to the coordination and efforts of each cooperating agency and non-profit partners such as Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Trout Unlimited, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Forest Service and the Greenback Cutthroat Trout Recovery Team to name a few,” said Valerie Thompson, South Zone Fisheries Biologist for the Forest Service. “Each partner contributes in unique ways that enable the success of major conservation projects such as this one on West Fork Clear Creek, where over fourteen years of stream health data was collected, an old mine site was remediated, and stream banks were restored to allow for habitat that is suitable to sensitive aquatic life and now a new home to the Colorado State Fish, the Greenback Cutthroat Trout.”

The fact that this tributary was fishless to begin with made it a good candidate for the greenbacks, among other factors.

“We’ve done temperature monitoring and the temperatures are conducive to support natural reproduction,” said Paul Winkle, Aquatic Biologist for CPW. “It is a goal to get another population of fish on the landscape, so this is definitely an important thing for the recovery of greenbacks.”

This stretch of stream was fishless due to downstream barriers, such as a quarter-mile-long culvert underneath the Henderson Mine Site, among other natural barriers. That saved some heavy lifting, not requiring a reclamation of the stream to remove other non-native species of fish. Removal of all other species is necessary to ensure the successful reestablishment of greenbacks, which are native to the South Platte River basin.

“We knew that there were no fish in that section of Clear Creek and what a great thing to be able to put fish in without having to do a reclamation,” Winkle said. “The more streams of greenbacks we stock along the Front Range drastically improves the conservation status of the species.”

Today, the greenbacks are listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a threatened species. Greenbacks have previously been stocked into Herman Gulch, Dry Gulch, the East Fork of Roaring Creek and Zimmerman Lake. Those all reside within the South Platte River drainage. The sixth body of water in Colorado where the official state fish currently resides is in Bear Creek outside of Colorado Springs.

These rare fish, twice believed to be extinct, are descendants of the last wild population of native greenback cutthroat trout. Researchers from CU Boulder in partnership with CPW discovered in 2012 that the cutthroat in Bear Creek were the last remaining population of greenback cutthroat trout.

CPW’s Mount Shavano Hatchery in Salida is responsible for rearing and delivering all greenbacks that get stocked. They hatch fertilized eggs in its Isolation Unit. Extra milt collected from male greenbacks in Bear Creek goes to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Leadville National Fish Hatchery to fertilize eggs from the greenbacks in its brood stock.

The eggs are then taken to Salida to be hatched and eventually stocked onto the landscape at various sizes. Sometimes those fish are of fingerling lengths (one to two inches), sometimes they are fry. Fry is a recently hatched fish that has reached the stage where its yolk-sac has almost disappeared and its swim bladder is operational to the point where the fish can actively feed for itself.

“Trout Unlimited and our West Denver Chapter have a long history of supporting the Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife in stewardship of the Clear Creek drainage," said David Nickum, executive director of Trout Unlimited. “We are so pleased to see those efforts coming to fruition with our volunteers working side by side with our partners to finally return greenbacks to their home waters in the West Fork headwaters.”

Check out the 9News video coverage on this story.

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!

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!

Today is Colorado Gives Day - Support coldwater conservation!

Gives Day 2020 is here! Give to Colorado TU today and know your support for healthy watersheds and wild trout goes further. Every donation helps us to increase our portion of the Colorado Gives Day Incentive Fund. And every new or increased donation helps us to meet the Freestone Aquatics match. Today is a great day to support the rivers you love and the incredible fishing opportunities our beautiful state offers!

Your Gives Day donation to Colorado TU supports… 

STREAM Girls – a watershed education program that combines STEM-learning with fly fishing and outdoor education on a local watershed

Native trout restoration like the Sand Creek project in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Grassroots advocacy that gets results

Chapter projects that benefit watersheds and communities around the state

Give where you live and fish! Help us make 2021 a great year for healthy rivers and wild trout with your generous donation to Colorado TU TODAY!

Wishing you health and wellness!

--- the Colorado TU team

Rio Grande Cutthroat Restoration on Sand Creek

Written by Kevin Terry

When I first heard about Sand Creek, I was in my first year of my first real job as a fisheries biologist. I was hired to manage the fisheries program for the Jicarilla Apache Nation in northern New Mexico, and the tribe is a signatory to the range-wide conservation agreement for Rio Grande cutthroat trout. I was at my first annual meeting of the group and it was my first introduction to Fred Bunch of the Great Sand Dunes and John Alves, who at that time was the fish biologist in the Rio Grande for Colorado Parks and Wildlife ( CDOW back then). That was 15 years ago. That’s right, the Sand Creek reintroduction project has been in the works for over 15 years!

When I first saw Sand Creek from the top of Music Pass, I knew instantly that it would occupy a space in my heart for the rest of my life. Why, you might ask, but to understand, you need to stand in that very spot too, as there are no words. This was 2014, a full 9 years after I had first learned of the effort to bring back Rio Grande cutthroat to Sand Creek, and the beginning of year 2 with my job at Trout Unlimited as the Rio Grande Basin Project Manager in the San Luis Valley. I was there as part of a team of researchers alongside Andrew Todd and Ben McGee of the USGS, and our task was to characterize the physical and biological attributes of the watershed through the lens of a fisheries reclamation scope. As we stood there, just before our first of many nights spent in the watershed over the next 5 years, I was overwhelmed with our task but incredibly motivated that such a thing might actually be possible, in a place as pristine and intact as Sand Creek. The first few trips were daunting, the watershed huge and intimidating. But we got to work and slowly chipped away at the tasks. We outfitted streams and tributaries with temperature and intermittency loggers, battling through the lush healthy riparian jungle and mosquito swarms that could carry a baby away. We explored tributaries in near vertical climbs to map the perennial sections and determine if fish were present. We used electrofishing and environmental DNA sampling to determine fish species distributions. We captured fish from the lakes and streams and sent in tissue samples for genetics testing. Through the process our team grew, adding Dewane Mosher, the newly hired biologist from Great Sand Dunes National Park and getting staff support from CPW for mapping the lake bathymetry amongst other tasks.

Each year we became more familiar with the lay of the land, finally wrapping our minds around the expansive watershed and gaining confidence in the physical space. The data was adding to our confidence on the biological side of things too. We learned that most of the tributaries were unoccupied by fish, but instead they contributed clean, super cold water, that was even too cold for successful cutthroat reproduction and recruitment. That meant we didn’t have to treat most of the tribs with

rotenone, securing source populations of aquatic invertebrates to recolonize Sand Creek. This information demonstrates the watersheds resiliency in the face of climate change. Ultimately, this became a driving factor for why Sand Creek is so well suited for re-introduction. Even though the tributaries were found to be too cold, the mainstem was just right as goldilocks would say, benefitting from solar thermal gain at the two lakes in the uppermost sections of the watershed at 12,000 feet in elevation. These lakes are very productive, and our genetics work showed that fish could also reproduce successfully in them. Successful reproduction in lakes is very rare throughout the range of the species, and again added positively to the project’s potential. In fact, the information was so promising, that even before the study was fully complete, the Sand Creek project elevated to the top of the list for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the stage was set for a monumental undertaking.

In 2018, our study complete, the details of a treatment plan in the works, the decision was made to attempt to treat the upper portion of Sand Creek in the fall of 2019. Then we got snow, lots and lots of snow, a winter like we hadn’t seen for a long while. This 30-year event was a challenge to say the least, and the lakes didn’t even ice-out until July. A valiant and sincere effort was taken up to try to get it done anyway, but it was just not in the cards in 2019, and the decision was made to postpone.

In 2020 the pressure was on. These projects take so much time and effort (sweat and $$$$$) and we all felt an urgency to get this phase done. CPW, NPS, and TU staff joined up for most of the summer to prepare. We cut trails and flagged routes, identifying springs and seeps. We installed a gauge system and monitored stream flows. Every inch of flowing water was scoured for the presences of fish and importantly the young of year fish emerging from the gravel. Outfitter tents were installed by the Laske family, in preparation of the treatment week. The work was hard, but the team stuck it out. Finally, it was go-time, and 44 people, mostly from Colorado Parks and Wildlife journeyed into Sand Creek during the first week of September 2020. We had a challenging start, with helicopters not able to fly the first day. Plans were modified and there was no giving up. The second day we got after it, treating all of the streams above the waterfall barrier, while the helicopters got running, delivering boats and motors and barrels of Rotenone to the Lakes and base camp. Day three was a repeat of the stream treatment and both of the lakes were treated as well. It was finally done, and all went as planned. An enormous sigh of relief rippled through the troops and we celebrated in exhaustion with a little Colorado whiskey donated by Laws Whiskey. Day 4 was clean-up and de-mobilization, helicopters buzzing around in a flurry and people gathering the gear for the years last trip out.

Personally, this was the single most meaningful and important project that I have been part of in my career. I believe with all of my heart, that Sand Creek will hold this incredible native trout for centuries to come. This is for our children and their children and everyone can experience it, because it belongs to all of us. It is our public land, managed diligently by our National Park Service and the amazing men and women who serve us all in their vital work.

There are too many people to thank for making this a reality. Fred Bunch has been an incredible leader, patiently waiting and guiding a slow-moving ship. Without Fred, this project would never have happened, plain and simple. Dewane Mosher has been an amazing right hand for Fred and the NPS. Dewane and his crew worked tirelessly over the years getting ready for this Project. Nic Medley the NPS fisheries biologist for the region provided incredible support, authoring the fisheries management plan for the park. John Alves, now the senior biologist for CPW, was here in the beginning and he was here in the end too. John and his staff have always kept the door open on this huge project, and when it came down to it, they brought out every tool in the shed and then some. It was incredibly rewarding to share this with John in Sand Creek itself. Mark Seaton and the rest of the San Luis Valley TU chapter team have been incredibly supportive of the project and I am so proud of my chapter for their unwavering support. Raising the money to hire the Laske’s outfitting services was the perfect contribution and a fitting role for good old Valley hospitality. Thanks to Colorado Trout Unlimited and their generous supporters too, for helping the chapter leverage chapter dollars to raise money online. The Laske Family went above and beyond, making things so comfortable, and serving delicious food in a rough place during Co-Vid. There are too many CPW staff to name here, but I need to call out Kevin Rogers for his support over the years. Kevin mapped the lakes, and guided research efforts. My colleagues and friends Andrew Todd and Ben McGee did a fantastic job with the characterization study, which teed it all up. I am incredibly proud of Running Rivers too. This unique non-profit raised over $20,000 for this project! Carrie Tucker, the CPW fish bio in the SE, alongside her crew, did an incredible job co-piloting this project. Lastly, Estevan Vigil, our Rio Grande fish biologist for CPW and his tremendous crew have done an enormous amount of work (and suffered incomprehensible stress loads) to get this project to the finish line. Estevan inherited this huge project and I can’t imagine what was going through his mind the first time we took him into the watershed. Estevan endured with grace under pressure (my high school English teacher would appreciate this Hemingway tribute) dealing with plenty of setbacks and hoops, but he never wavered once. Estevan and his crew should be unbelievably proud. I am so grateful to the entire CPW fish crew. The effort they put forth in the midst of Co-Vid, to bring 40 plus people from around the entire state is simply astonishing. I am so proud of Colorado Parks and Wildlife and thankful to the amazing staff we have in this great state. Because of them, we just might be able to keep our beautiful native fish around after all.

For more information on the Sand Creek Characterization Study, please click here.

You've got backpacks, we've got Greenbacks

On July 28, 2020 over 700 native Greenback Cutthroats were released into the East Fork of Roaring Creek, representing the first population restored in Poudre Canyon tributary since the Greenback species was rediscovered in 2012.

The effort looked a little different this time around due to mandatory social distancing requirements. 43 volunteers and 15 agency staff (CPW & USFS) managed a series of staggered start times, social distancing, groups of less than 10 people each, and a much more strenuous trek to complete the 1st stocking of Greenbacks into new habitat on an important Poudre River tributary was a success. Thanks to all of the volunteers and agency partners, the effort was a huge success!

This project is adjacent to a much larger effort called the Poudre Headwaters Projects (PHP) that is planned to be the largest Greenback Cutthroat recovery project in the history of Colorado. The goal is to restore these native fish back into a part of their historic range on the upper Poudre - including 40 miles of small streams and Long Draw Reservoir. The PHP will create a “metapopulation” of Greenback Cutthroats that will be able to survive future impacts of climate change and catastrophic events.

A big thank you goes out to the volunteers who took time out of their week to help these fish return home!

To learn more about this effort, please check out the Poudre Headwaters Project page.

Videos from Volunteers

On July 28, 2020 Colorado Trout Unlimited organized 6 groups comprised of 8 volunteers and 2 team leaders to transport the Colorado state fish - The Greenbac...

Greenback Cutthroat Trout were stocked in the East Fork of Roaring Creek July 28, 2020. 43 volunteers, 15 agency staff (CPW) and over 700 Greenbacks helped o...

Video taken by volunteer, Bob Fielding. On July 28, 2020 over 700 native Greenback Cutthroats were released into the East Fork of Roaring Creek. The effort w...

June Currents

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote next week on the Great American Outdoors Act, providing full dedicated funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund and providing $9.5 billion over five years to help address deferred maintenance needs on public lands. CTU thanks Senators Bennet and Gardner for their support of this important legislation. We also thank our many members who have reached out to their elected officials in support of public lands; your voices have helped build the political momentum that is propelling this legislation.  If you haven’t yet done so, consider taking a moment to thank our Senators for their efforts on this bill by clicking here. 

Additional stories include:

• CTU Introduces Virtual Happy Hours

• Now Hiring: CTU Youth Coordinator Full-Time

• Keeping it Close to Home: Pike, Bass and Panfish on the fly

• Colorado Water Plan Listening Sessions

• Featured Fly: Matt Callies’ Hare’s Ear Nymph

• Spring 2020 High Country Angler

• Featured Business Partner: Anglers All and more!