Rendezvous

2022 CTU Awards

On October 22nd, CTU announced its annual awards at the Fall Rendezvous in Glenwood Springs.

Outstanding Volunteer:

Jim Williams – for his 17 years of committed service to the river conservation and fly fishing youth camp, as a counselor on site in 15 of those years and as a supporter and advocate for it throughout

Duncan Rose and Raymond Rose – for lending their scientific expertise and leadership in developing river conservation strategies for the upper Dolores River grounded in strong science and addressing the risks posed by changing climate in the basin

Chapter Communications:

Gunnison Gorge chapter for their commitment and consistency in maintaining newsletter and online communications with their members and community throughout the challenges of the Covid pandemic.

Chapter Youth Education:

Denver for their innovation in strengthening the Trout in the Classroom including adaptations that helped sustain it through pandemic challenges with participating schools – including community tanks, live streaming of tanks for remote learning, and improved telemetry for tank condition monitoring.

Chapter Project: 

San Luis Valley for their multifaceted work on Jim Creek in partnership with NTU staff (Kevin Terry) including fencing and maintenance to protect the stream, culvert replacement to reconnect it, habitat improvements to restore habitat, and ongoing brook trout removal to sustain the native Rio Grande cutthroat fishery.

Exemplary Chapter:

Rocky Mountain Flycasters for their strong programs across all aspects of chapter activity, including community partnerships with local businesses, governments, and watershed coalitions; leadership in native trout restoration in the Poudre Headwaters; wild trout habitat protection through riparian fencing with CPW at the Cherokee SWA; and youth education including TIC tanks and an annual summer day-camp

Trout Communications Award:

The Colorado Sun for their extensive efforts to provide meaningful and in-depth local coverage of water issues and challenges – making relevant news and analysis available to educate Coloradans about issues from water quality protection on the Denver South Platte to the basin-wide challenges with demands exceeding supply in the Colorado River basin.

Exemplary Industry Partner Award:

Rare Waters – for their generous support of conservation as part of their business model and their leadership in engaging private landowners with angling recreation and river stewardship.

Mayfly Outdoors – for their support of conservation through various collaborations and their vision and leadership in improving habitat and providing public angling access along the Uncompahgre River in Montrose

Trout Conservation Award:

Andrew Todd for his work in building public interest in angling and native trout through the Flyathlon (combining trail running, fishing, and craft beer drinking) and establishment of Running Rivers as a nonprofit to crowdsource funds through Flyathlon events in support of native trout conservation – to the tune of more than $500,000 to date.

Bruce Hoagland Award for Leadership in Conservation:

Ken Neubecker for his lifetime of conservation leadership as an advocate, educator, and conservator – especially for the Eagle, Roaring Fork and Upper Colorado Rivers; as well as for his efforts in strengthening Trout Unlimited as a force for conservation through his work in helping to establish the Eagle Valley and Colorado River Headwaters chapters.

2022 CTU Rendezvous Recap

Over the weekend of October 21st through the 23rd, Colorado Trout Unlimited held its annual Fall Rendezvous at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs. The weekend was full of leader training, breakout sessions, the ‘State of CTU’ breakfast, national Trout Unlimited staff presentations, discussions with government officials, keynote speeches by fly-fishing industry professionals, and a few happy hours.

Hotel Colorado

The weekend kicked off with chapter leader training focusing on subjects such as communication tools, risk management, fundraising, and more. Afterward, state and national Trout Unlimited staff discussed projects around the state, including abandoned mine cleanups and water projects such as Colorado’s Gold Medal projects. The day ended with a special happy hour properly named ‘the Icebreaker’ where donated Upslope Brewing beer and complimentary food were provided.

Friday Chapter Leader Training in the Roosevelt Room

Saturday morning, during breakfast, CTU president Greg Hardy gave the annual State of CTU where he discussed several important victories in the past year, as well as a vision for the future. After, national Trout Unlimited senior staff Peter Barker, Beverly Smith, and Joanne Theurich (also dubbed PB&J) discussed a vision for engagement and chapter impact. Following these presentations, chapters broke into groups to discuss topics focused on specific regions.

PB&J - Peter Barber, Beverly Smith, and Joanne Theurich - Trout Unlimited

We came back together for a catered lunch, then, a panel discussed the emphasis on the conservation impact of the Colorado River crisis. After a short break, concurrent sessions were held in different rooms that focused on defining your cause and inspiring community engagement, raising your community profile and expanding engagement, and talks on conservation, protection, and restoration.

As we moved into the evening, the annual awards banquet took place where the CEO of Mayfly Outdoors, Jeff Wagner, spoke on creating community through sustainable business. After, the annual CTU awards were announced and presented. See the list below of winners.

CEO of Mayfly Outdoors, Jeff Wagner, speaks to a packed Devereux Ballroom

Sunday morning started with breakfast, then the fall board meeting was held. After, some split into groups for fishing outings led by local members and executive committee members.

Overall, the weekend was a huge success, full of education and social interactions. New and existing members were able to come together to discuss what works for their chapters so others could take home new knowledge to engage their community.

First-time attendee Cade Kloberdanz, president of the Grand Valley Anglers chapter said, “As a first-timer at rendezvous I wasn’t really sure what to expect. In my particular part of the state, we are pretty far removed from most other chapters and from CTU’s main hub which can make you feel really isolated. The rendezvous was pretty incredible at bringing all the chapters together and reminding us that we all have the same mission. The connections and friendships I made in a short time will be an invaluable resource going forward and I can’t wait to attend again next year.” Vice President of Volunteer Operations, Beverly Smith, said, “My cup feels so filled up seeing and being a part of all of the TU goodness in Colorado.”, and Chief Operation Officer, Joanne Theurich, said, “I am so glad we were able to be a part of the meeting.  I am energized every time I spend time with our grassroots volunteers; the work you are doing is amazing and it makes me super proud to be a part of TU!”

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped plan the weekend. It was a huge success, and we can’t wait to see you again next year.

More photos from the weekend:

  

Redstone Call for Attendance

Folks - Need to get a good sense of your chapter's attendance for the Redstone Spring Rendezvous, April 11 - 14 in Redstone Colorado.  We are trying to gauge what level of experience (have members attending been to the event before, or are they new) who will be there, so that we can structure the event accordingly.

Please email Steve Craig or David Nickum with who from your chapter is going to be there, and if they have been there before or not as soon as you can find out.  It will really help the planning process.

THANK YOU!!!

Sinjin