Sportsman's watchman

A tribute to outdoorsman/journalist charlie meyers

By Karl Licis Special to The Denver Post

On Saturday, the property through which the Dream Stream flows will be dedicated as the Charlie Meyers State Wildlife Area in his honor.

Following, in random order, are some shared thoughts from people with a connection to the stream of dreams.

* * *

"Completely sated." Roger Hill is an expert angler, innovator and author of "Fly Fishing the South Platte River: an Angler's Guide," the first insightful book addressing the Dream Stream. He lives in Colorado Springs and is credited with procuring 12 miles of barbed wire for the Cheyenne Mountain chapter of Trout Unlimited for fencing the property in order to keep out the cattle.

"It's always been a challenge, but also very rewarding. It's had great hatches and demanding fish, but when you were on them it was incredibly good. I have many fond memories of days when the fishing was so good I would leave the river completely sated by the early afternoon."

* * *

For future generations. Sinjin Eberle is board president for Colorado Trout Unlimited, which has been involved in every aspect of making the Dream Stream what it has become. Eberle has limited Dream Stream experience, but he coordinated CTU's Buffalo Peaks project in the upper South Platte drainage. There he met Meyers.

"I was telling him all about the project and he was listening, but he also was observing every mayfly and every rising trout. He was fully in tune with every bit of the nature that was all around him, and that really drove home the point to me about why we're doing these things — the need to pass it on for future generations.

"The Dream Stream, along with two or three other rivers in Colorado, is widely known nationally and internationally, and he was a big part of making it what it is."

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_15236345

Colorado River makes threatened list

By Bobby Magill

Coloradoan

The Colorado River through Rocky Mountain National Park and Grand and Eagle counties was highlighted this week as one of the most threatened rivers in the U.S. by environmental group American Rivers. The group creates an annual list of rivers it considers threatened by development, water depletion and other factors.

More than 60 percent of the water in the Colorado River's headwaters has been removed by water diversion projects, feeding growing cities on the Front Range and elsewhere in Colorado, harming the river's trout fisheries and riparian areas, said Ken Neubecker of Colorado Trout Unlimited.

"If you take all the water out, you kill the river," he said.

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20100604/LOVELAND01/100604003

Front Range projects are river threats, group says

GJ Sentinel

By Gary Harmon

The upper reaches of the Colorado River are endangered by proposed expansions of two transmountain-diversion projects, an advocacy group said. The projects, the Windy Gap Firming Project and the Moffat Tunnel Collection System Project, would increase diversions from the upper Colorado River by at least 48,000 acre-feet a year.

The threat to the river’s fishery, boating and water supply to downstream users placed the Upper Colorado River at No. 6 in the 2010 list of the nation’s most-endangered rivers by American Rivers.

The American Rivers list puts a needed spotlight on how much water is taken from the Colorado River Basin, Ken Neubecker of Colorado Trout Unlimited said.

“We need to start looking at whole picture not just the balkanized water-supply picture” of the way the Colorado River is divided up between the Front Range and Western Slope, Neubecker said.

Trout Unlimited hopes it can use American Waters’ listing of the river as endangered “as a vehicle to raise awareness on the Front Range about the cost of their water” in terms of water quality and quantity on the other side of the mountains, Neubecker said.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/front_range_projects_are_river/

"Refresh" South Platte River

World Fishing Network Denver's Trout Unlimited chapter has embraced the Pepsi Refresh Project and has submitted their idea for "Refreshing" South Platte River.

This Pepsi program is helping organizations, groups and individuals do some good around their communities by supplying $1, 300, 000 in awards each month. At the beginning of the month "ideas" are submitted for each grant amount and the public is able to vote on the ones they would like to see succeed.

It is called the South Platte Project and their plans for restoring the river don't stop with the clean up. This Trout Unlimited chapter plans on making an environment that will encourage children and youth to get out doors and fishing.

After the area has been cleaned up and all the mandatory adjustments like bank stabilization and low flow channels for boating have been made they plan on stocking the river and with the help of volunteers they will monitor the river's improvement as well as working with the area's young people.

The Denver chapter of Trout Unlimited began the research and planning of the South Platte Project in the spring of 2009 and in February of this year the project was approved and is now underway. They need the financial support being awarded by Pepsi to be successful. You can find out more and help by voting here.

http://www.wfn.tv/news/index.php?blog=405038

Thompson Valley students spawn successful Trout in the Classroom program

By Carl McCutchen • Loveland Connection Wednesday was a new day, a day to let go as the first year of the Trout in the Classroom program at Thompson Valley concluded.

Hewson and Carlson stood by Hunter as he prepared the fish for the move, as did wildlife biologist Dan Stubbs.

Even Sharon Lance, president of the Trout Unlimited Cutthroat Chapter, who sponsored the Trout in the Classroom project with the Division of Wildlife, was on hand to see the fish move on.

Lance said that because of the program’s success, Hewson and his students showed this year, she plans on launching five more Trout in the Classroom projects in the fall.

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20100514/LOVELAND01/100513016

South Platte River under siege by trash

By Scott WilloughbyThe Denver Post

"It's the most degraded river in the state for sure," Kahn said. "What this could be — should be — is a recreational paradise. It's right in the middle of town, and people should be out here able to use it without worrying about their kids getting sick and without seeing all kinds of nasty debris on the side of the river."

With that in mind, Confluence Kayaks has teamed up with Denver Parks and Recreation partners at The Greenway Foundation and river stakeholders such as Colorado Whitewater and Denver Trout Unlimited (TU) to form an entity known as Protect our Urban River Environment, or PURE. PURE has initiated efforts to work with municipal leaders along the South Platte in Arapahoe, Denver and Adams counties to increase the focus on preventing trash and debris from getting into the river and its tributaries, as well as the actual removal.

The first step, organizers say, is to retrofit sewage and storm-water outfall pipes with pollutant traps designed to collect the garbage before it flows into the river, rather than pulling it out piece by piece. The group has approached the state's Water Quality Control Commission about listing the river as "impaired" because of the amount of trash. The river is undergoing an EPA-enforced effort to reduce levels of E. coli and other pathogens, and PURE would like to see a similar Total Maximum Daily Load established for trash.

"We were encouraged by the momentum that these guys had established and encouraged them to work to develop an appropriate benchmark to list something for trash," said Andrew Todd, a Water Control Commissioner and TU member who took part in Sunday's cleanup.

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14964622

Fracing disclosure notice good news

Durango Herald The news (Herald, April 19) that petroleum giant ExxonMobil supports the disclosure of chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process associated with gas and oil drilling here in La Plata County and across the West is a significant step in the right direction. The company deserves a pat on the back for taking this stance.

In the past, the industry has been loath to disclose the chemical cocktails that are injected into the ground to help break up rock and release the flow of natural gas. This makes Exxon- Mobil's recent announcement even more significant - if this industry giant, which is poised to take over XTO Energy here in Southwest Colorado, can unveil the contents of its fracturing fluid, others will hopefully follow suit.

As the company noted in a recent Herald article, this disclosure will certainly encourage other companies to use greener chemicals to access natural gas. Not only can exposure to these chemicals at the drill site prove harmful to people, but throughout the West, these unnatural chemicals have turned up in groundwater. Drinking wells have become polluted and unsafe in areas of Wyoming and here in Colorado. It's worth it for industry to unveil the contents of its proprietary fracturing fluids if for no other reason than to give health officials a head start in treating illnesses caused by the accidental ingestion of this material.

On a larger scale, this move is good for our most precious resource - our water. Not only is this resource vital to human health, but it's absolutely needed to maintain healthy fisheries and wildlife populations. The need for cold, clean water is particularly important to native trout, and there have been instances in Colorado where drilling and fracturing pose serious threats to indigenous cutthroat trout populations.

As a sportsman, and a representative of Trout Unlimited, I congratulate ExxonMobil for making this gesture, and I encourage all of the operators in our corner of Colorado to do the same.

Chuck Wanner, president, 5 Rivers Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Durango

http://durangoherald.com/sections/Opinion/letters_to_the_editor/2010/04/23/Fracing_disclosure_notice_good_news/

Cutthroat enemy: Dreaded lake trout

By Karl Licis Special to The Denver Post

The decline in Yellowstone cutthroats is a serious concern, and efforts to restore the natives by several governmental agencies and the private sector are underway.

"They're the only indigenous trout in the region; they've been there for thousands of years," said Dave Sweet, chairman of the Wyoming Council of Trout Unlimited, who recently made a presentation to the Cutthroat Chapter of TU in Denver to raise awareness of the decline.

"They're such an integral part of the national park that losing them would be a tragedy," Sweet said.

While the origin of the lake trout is unknown, the consequences have been unmistakable. The lake-trout population has exploded while the cutthroats have been devastated.

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14905995

Projects mean better floating, fishing

By TRACY HARMONTHE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Three Trout Unlimited chapters and the Colorado Division of Wildlife headed the Trout Home Improvement project which provided strategically placed boulders where brown trout can rest from the strong current, feed and reproduce on their own to maintain the population naturally. Bushes and vegetation planted along the banks are vital for shade for the fish and also support insect life.

Sillox said Trout Unlimited members will be back this spring to conduct more plantings where some of the willows died. The members also helped with the informational signs that explain the benefits of the project.

 "Southern Colorado Greenback chapter paid for the three bases — about $1,000. Pueblo Community college's student welding program constructed the bases," Sillox said.The Canon City Recreation and Park District paid for the powder coating of the bases and installed them, while the Division of Wildlife paid for the informational panels recently installed on the bases.

"There was a whole bunch of different groups involved in the project and it is nice to see a lot of people involved," Sillox said.

http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2010/03/07/news/local/doc4b933fc3e9dbb021565462.txt

Plotting the Alpine Triangle

Trout Unlimited looks for support in protecting 126,000 acres in San Juans

by Dale Rodebaugh Herald Staff Writer

A national river-conservation group is drumming up broad support for congressional protection of 126,000 acres in the San Juan Mountains where, a spokesman says, spectacular scenery, remnants of a rough-and-tumble past and recreational opportunities make the area a virtual paradise on Earth.

“The area is one of Colorado's most unique off-road and backcountry resources," said Ty Churchwell with the Five Rivers chapter of Trout Unlimited in Durango, who is heading the preservation campaign. “Our motto is 'Keep It Like It Is.'"

The target area - anchored by the towns of Silverton, Ouray and Lake City - is called the Alpine Triangle, although the shape more resembles a polliwog, with a long tail heading northeast down the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. This high-country terrain, Churchwell said, attracts 300,000 visitors annually who hunt and fish, admire towering peaks and wildflowers, explore 195 miles of four-wheel-drive roads, camp and backpack and visit old ghost towns and abandoned mines. The number of visitors doesn't include those who arrive in Silverton by train, he said.

“We want to form a coalition that includes counties and municipalities, watershed groups, sportsmen, private landowners, recreational-vehicle groups and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad," Churchwell said. “They all have an interest in conserving our heritage and our economic viability."

http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/Earth/2010/03/04/Plotting_the_Alpine_Triangle/