Poudre River benefits from Xcel's Day of Service

On September 7, 2013, Xcel Energy and CBS4 sponsored a Day of Service in which volunteers from all over Colorado participated in various environmental stewardship projects from 9:00 am until noon. There were nine total projects that all took place at the same time, and Trout Unlimited was fortunate to be one of the nine projects selected for the Day of Service. Colorado Trout Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Flycasters (Fort Collins TU Chapter) and the Poudre Learning Center (PLC) in Greeley partnered together to organize our event on September 7th. The Poudre Learning Center borders a three mile section of the Poudre just west of Greeley and includes meeting areas, a pond, paved biking trails, trails through the willows, and access to the river. Schools in Greeley use the PLC for outdoor education opportunities.

More than two dozen volunteers arrived at the Poudre Learning Center to participate in the Day of Service. In the short three hour period the volunteers managed to do an impressive amount of work. One of the big projects was clearing vegetation along the river bank to create trails that thousands of schools students and the public will use starting in a couple of weeks to learn about rivers and their ecosystems. The volunteers cut and cleared six large trailer loads full of vegetation. WOW!! The volunteers also threw on waders and got into the river to help improve river access for students. There were three new sets of stairs built out of large rocks found along the river to make getting to the river safe for the students. Volunteers also removed invasive weed species and placed logs along the bank of the river to help guide students to safe walking trails.

All in all the Day of Service was a total success. The work that was done at the Poudre Learning Center was more than we could have hoped for. This day of service was perfect timing for the center because as the school year starts, thousands of students will soon be walking these freshly manicured trails.

This year access to the river will be more important than ever for the Poudre Learning Center because Colorado Trout Unlimited has partnered with them to begin a new program called Exploring and Restoring Colorado’s Rivers. Thanks to the Xcel Energy Foundation, which is separate from the corporation that sponsored the Day of Service, who has awarded CTU funds to grow this program in Greeley.

Exploring and Restoring Colorado’s Rivers is an innovative program offering vertically connected, standards based environmental education experiences. This program provides opportunities for students to learn outdoors along rivers and empowers them to be critical thinkers, stewards of the environment and fosters a conservation ethic that keeps the students invested in the future of the rivers. The program will give Weld County youth the opportunity to learn about aquatic ecology through place-based science investigations. This program engages students when they are in 4th grade, 7th grade and high school in environmental education experiences that are vertically aligned. In 4th grade the students will start a “River Explorers Science Journal” and keep it with them documenting data, thoughts, and pictures year after year. This student-centered program is designed to encourage investigative thinking and problem solving from the students while also meeting Colorado State Science Education Standards. Programming at each grade level engages youth in both STEM fields and outdoor recreation.

We want to thank Xcel Energy and CBS4 for the opportunity to participate in the Day of Service. We hope to be able to participate in the future and grow this event next year.

Also, we want to thank the Xcel Energy Foundation for the funding to grow the Exploring and Restoring Colorado’s Rivers program at the Poudre Learning Center. We can’t wait till we get the students out of the classroom and on the river!

"Day of Service Draws Thousands To Help Mother Nature" - read CBS4's report here. 

Visit this link to see the photo gallery from Xcel Energy's Day of Service.

"Riverstock” raises awareness about Fraser River threats

Beer? Check. Barbecue? Check. Bands? Check. What more do you need for a good time? The steady stream of people who turned out for Trout Unlimited’s “Riverstock” event Aug. 17 at the Crooked Creek Saloon in Fraser enjoyed a full day of good vibrations and cold libations in celebration of peace, love and local rivers.

Between sets, they also learned about the looming threats to the Fraser River’s health posed by Denver Water’s proposed expansion of its Moffat diversion project.

Kirk Klancke, president of TU’s Colorado River Headwaters chapter, organized the event with help from local volunteers, as well as the dozen bands (including BlueCat, Hippie Sideshow Hootenanny and Gary Key) who donated their time and talent to the cause.

The Fraser, a key tributary of the Upper Colorado, is the lifeblood of the Fraser Valley, supporting angling, wildlife, outdoor recreation and local communities. But decades of water diversions have left the river depleted and degraded. Already, some 60 percent of the river is diverted to the Front Range for municipal uses. Denver Water’s Moffat expansion would remove another 15 percent, putting the river system on the brink of disaster.

“Unless these projects include adequate protections for our rivers, we could lose our outdoor quality of life and the reason many of us live here in the first place,” said Klancke. “Riverstock sends a message to the big utilities that local people care about our rivers and streams.”

Inside the saloon, a blues guitarist was shredding some serious Stevie Ray Vaughn licks.  Outside, in the back courtyard, an acoustic duo held forth with their spin on Simon and Garfunkel.

There was something for everyone.

Also playing were short videos about the Fraser and Upper Colorado rivers and their importance to the recreational businesses and overall quality of life of Grand County. Free bumper stickers, posters, and other educational materials went fast, as well as some far-out tie-died t-shirts.

Outside at the curb, facing traffic, a giant green trout (Fraser the Trout, Colorado Trout Unlimited’s mascot) waved a sign that read “Save the Fraser River,” eliciting a steady stream of honks from passing motorists.

Fraser Valley residents “get it,” notes Klancke, and they’re generally well-informed about the details of Denver Water’s project. They understand the depleted Fraser River is on life support, and they want the river protected from more diversions.

TU is asking Denver Water for three basic protections: - adequate peak spring flows to help flush the river and keep its riverbed and aquatic habitat healthy and free of choking sediment; - standards that would prevent Denver Water from diverting water if the river temperature reached levels lethal to fish; - ongoing monitoring and “adaptive management” that requires Denver Water to adjust its operations if the river shows significant signs of decline in the future.

So far, Denver Water has rejected those commonsense protections.

All proceeds of Riverstock will help benefit TU’s campaign to protect and restore the Fraser River.  Go to www.DefendtheColorado.org for more information.

- Randy Scholfield, Director of Communications Western Water Project, Trout Unlimited

Top of the Town!

From 2010 through April of this year, we at Colorado TU had the good fortune to have a knowledgeable and committed supporter at the helm - Board President, Sinjin Eberle.  A lover of rivers, fishing, bike riding, and more, he has been a tireless volunteer leader on efforts from the Buffalo Peaks habitat restoration project to the ongoing campaign to defend the Colorado River headwaters in the face of growing transbasin diversions. We've always appreciated Sinjin's efforts, but we're proud to say that his work has also been noticed by others!  In 5280's annual "Top of the Town" issue, Sinjin was recognized as the "Readers Choice" for Top Environmentalist.  Congratulations on this well-deserved honor, Sinjin - your hard work is making a difference for Colorado!

http://www.5280.com/tott2013/Personalities/10981

Fishing clubs offer new techniques, community involvement

Fishing is a wonderfully diverse sport. There are unlimited ways you can choose to participate. It can be purely an individual activity, where your only engagement with others is when you bid your spouse goodbye and hello at opposite ends of the outing. Or it can be with a large group of anglers, such as a sea-going party boat where there can be dozens fishing together.

While fishing alone or with a friend or two is often my preference, there are times when I like to engage with a number of anglers focused on a common goal. Fishing clubs and organizations are such groups. Throughout the years, I’ve been active to varying degrees with numerous clubs. There are many good reasons to belong.

In my case, the two important reasons include being part of a group of anglers with similar views — be it competitive fishing, fly-fishing or fishing for bass, trout, walleye or catfish — and I want to belong to a group that is involved in the community — be it helping youth learn about fishing, conservation or something else...

The Loveland Fishing Club and Rocky Mountain Flycasters Chapter of Trout Unlimited also do great work in the area. Both are active with youth and conservation, and they arrange fishing excursions. Plus, there are a number of statewide groups organized around nearly every species of fish or aspect of fishing that might interest you, such as muskie, northern pike, walleye, fly-fishing, kayaking and even bowfishing.

Read more from FishExplorer, David Coulson, in The Coloradoan online.

DRA project, a collaboration success story!

The Dolores River Anglers' (DRA) first river project at the confluence of Taylor Creek and Little Taylor Creek, tributaries of the Dolores River, was a great success!  The Chapter received great support from the community, and their out lay of cash for the project was only about 25% of budget because of several generous donations, including one from Western Excelsior in Mancos.  Chris Burkett, DRA Secretary/Treasurer, calculated over 160 hours of TU labor moved 10 tons of rock and emplaced more than 240 feet of Aspen fiber rolls. The crew from the forest service’s hydrology group also provided great support.  According to San Juan National Forest, Dolores District, Hydrologist, Shauna Jensen, "I couldn't have asked for anything better than this" at the completion.  District Ranger, Derrick Padilla said "I am very pleased with the results of this partnership and look forward to more such projects."  The USFS provided the technical expertise and engineering for the project and a core work crew that DRA supplemented with volunteers, funding, and donations of materials.

Dale Smith, chapter vice president and project coordinator said "This project was an excellent opportunity for Trout Unlimited's newest chapter in Colorado, the Dolores River Anglers, to partner with the local District of the San Juan National Forest.  Our purpose was to prevent degradation of a wonderful resource, to help protect native cutthroat trout, and protect water quality in our homewaters drainage."

DRA learned a lot from these folks and are looking forward to their next project together.  Fish sampling and a paper draft have already begun for a stream crossing rebuild on Rio Lado, another creek in the Dolores River drainage.

Check out The Cortez Journal's write up on this great collaborative project!

Anglers & Hunters Say "Thanks" to Bennet and Tipton for Hermosa

Colorado TU, in conjunction with its partners in the Sportsmen for Hermosa coalition, have recently launched a series of advertisements in local newspapers and on southwest Colorado radio to thank Rep. Scott Tipton and Sen. Michael Bennet for their leadership in introducing the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act.  (Read more about the new legislation here.) Print ads thanking the Congressman and Senator for their bipartisan efforts appeared in western Colorado newspapers including the Durango Herald, Silverton Standard, and Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. (Click here to see a larger PDF version of the advertisements,)  Radio ads will be airing in early July as well, featuring local sportsman and TU member Buck Skillen giving voice to the appreciation hunters and anglers have for our elected officials stepping up to protect the Hermosa watershed - a mecca for wild and native trout fishing and big game hunting that includes one of Colorado's most valued backcountry "roadless" areas.

"Senator Michael Bennet and Congressman Scott Tipton: thank you for making the effort to preserve the Hermosa Creek Watershed," Skillen said in his radio spot. "Through your joint  efforts, our children and grandchildren will continue to have the opportunity to enjoy our backcountry heritage of fishing and hunting in the San Juan Mountains."

Trout Unlimited's Ty Churchwell added, "As sportsmen we often ask our elected officials to help protect important habitat and access for hunting and fishing, and we need to be just as ready to express appreciation. So we're very happy to have this chance to say a heartfelt thank you to Senator Bennet and Congressman Tipton for their work to protect one of southwest Colorado's real hunting and angling treasures."

Youth Camp to Yellowstone

Our chapter, St Vrain Anglers, became interested in the project to research the movements of invasive lake trout in Yellowstone Lake as a prelude to determining ways to suppress their numbers or eliminate them, and we wanted to support that program financially. A member donated a Winston Tom Morgan Favorite rod with a Ross Evolution reel to be used as a raffle prize for donations. As we were organizing the raffle, another of our members, Mike Turner, died from complications of Parkinson's disease. We decided to make the donation in his name as a memorial to this much-loved man. Our initial efforts started off with a bang: we sold about half of our 100 tickets quite quickly. Sales dragged, however, through the winter, and we became concerned about selling all 100. About 35 tickets remained unsold as of our May meeting. An angel then swooped in and bought the remaining tickets, so we met our goal of donating $2000 to the Yellowstone project. This angel and I assigned the tickets to outstanding students we know- kids from our own chapter's Kids Learn to Fly Fish Program as well as many campers from past CTU Youth River Conservation and Fly Fishing camps.

We held the drawing in late May. The winner was Ben Ward, a member of the 2011 CTU camp. Ben was invited back to the 2012 and 2013 camps as a youth counselor, assisting the adult counselors with camp activities. Ben was chosen as a youth counselor because of his leadership as a camp participant, and because of his extensive involvement with his local TU chapter in Trinidad, CO. You might say that Ben was the perfect person to win the raffle.

As a CTU camp counselor, I had the pleasure of presenting the rod and reel to Ben the first evening of this year's camp, held at High Lonesome Ranch near DeBeque, CO. To say Ben was surprised would be an understatement. The look on his face was priceless. So, Ben, congratulations- here's to many years of enjoyment with your new rod and reel.

---Dick Shinton

Evergreen TU shares message of angling and stewardship

Evergreen Trout Unlimited members are more than fishing enthusiasts. Many routinely volunteer to work on conservation efforts, compile fish counts and monitor flows in Bear Creek. Part of their outreach efforts include educating mountain-area children on fly-tying and fly-fishing.

Several members will teach children how to fish at Camp Comfort, a bereavement camp hosted by Mount Evans Home Health & Hospice this weekend and July 26-28.

ETU also stocks the pond at Buchanan Recreation Center, in return for which they get free days to fish at the pond.

Members are often active in Youth Outdoors Skills Day, where they provide instruction on casting, fishing and fly-tying. They helped out recently at the opening of Staunton State Park, near Pine Junction. Trips to Jefferson County Public Schools' Mount Evans Outdoor Lab are always on the calendar...

While the goal is to share their knowledge with the next generation of anglers, the message is environmental stewardship.

Read more about Evergreen TU in The Denver Post online.

Ty Churchwell, Backcountry Coordinator, SCP

Having spent the last ten years or so engaged with TU, both in chapter leadership and on staff, I have a wonderfully unique perspective on our work as a ‘One TU’ team.  A decade ago, I had the pleasure of joining our local chapter in Durango just in time to fill a vice president’s void, then two years later stepped into the president’s seat.  I cut my conservation teeth performing chapter fundraising, youth education, learning water policy and developing relationships at all levels, all as a volunteer.  I found a family of trout warriors and a great desire to do conservation work full-time. Six years ago I joined the team of National TU’s public land programs, the ‘Sportsmen’s Conservation Project’ (SCP), headquartered in Durango.   I share office space with the director of our programs, Steve Kandell, who oversees about 28 staff in all eleven western states.  We’re the ‘…and their watersheds’ part of TU’s mission statement.  It is my pleasure to represent hunters and anglers in discussions around our public lands.

I primarily work on placed-based initiatives, which are directed at being legislative in nature at the federal level.  The campaigns I’ve coordinated were for special areas of BLM or USFS public land that had been identified as vital to sportsmen, such as the Alpine Triangle and Hermosa Creek.  I’ve also had the opportunity to assist colleagues in all areas of TU, on campaigns such as Browns Canyon, the San Juan Wilderness bill, Thompson Divide, Roan Plateau and the Public Land Renewable Energy Development act.  My work takes me to discussion around ATVs, mines, native trout, timber, oil/gas development, elk habitat, mountain bikes, sage grouse and on and on.  Our public lands are our birthright and trout fisheries rely on them.

At present my time is almost exclusively directed at the Hermosa Creek effort, a campaign of somewhat notoriety.  Hermosa Creek has long been a focus area for TU in SW Colorado.  A bill to protect the entire basin now works its way through the halls of Congress, including a wilderness component.  Each day seems to bring new developments.  Many consider Hermosa Creek to be one of the top bills in the country to possibly break the gridlock of public land bills in DC.  Congress has only enacted one wilderness bill since 2009.

The Animas River, my home water, is the poster child for Acid Mine Drainage in America.  The upper basin near Silverton is laden with heavy metals from historic mining.  I work with local stakeholders such as BLM, EPA, CDPHE and mining interests to resolve our water quality problem.  I worked with Rep. Tipton and Sen. Udall in crafting ‘Good Samaritan’ legislation, which was introduced in 2013, but has languished.  Thankfully the Animas’ water has been diluted by the time it reaches Durango and we enjoy a world-class brown trout fishery right in town.

I have always been a trout bum, for as long as I can remember.  Those beautiful trout have brought me great joy with wonderful friends and exciting travels.  I owe them!

Ty Churchwell - tchurchwell@tu.org

Boulder Flycasters get Fairview High School On the Water

Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado recently began implementing the National Fishing in Schools Program through their Physical Education Department. In order to enrich the program experience, the Boulder Flycasters got involved by offering additional instruction and education opportunities. Our support of this program got the kids outdoors seven days working on casting, fishing & streamside entomology. This is six more days than they had been outdoors all semester!  Two days were spent on the school softball field receiving casting lessons from Bruning Rangel, Manager of the Boulder Orvis store, and a casting competition led by Larry Quilling.

Wallace Westfeldt from Front Range Anglers and Jim Shelly from the City of Boulder Water Treatment Department, tag-teamed for great sessions on entomology. Wallace taught the classroom basics and shared samples while Jim led a stream side collection day on South Boulder Creek near the McGinn ditch diversion. It was a strategically placed sampling location close to the US 36 highway bridge where students could escape the persistent rain showers. This is a great learning experience for the students. The biggest disappointment was running out of time to sample more than one location.

Ron Donahue, Drew Thomas and Larry Quilling led the students through fly tying. Ron is the expert demonstrator, Drew is a natural teacher and I am a hack! The cool part of these sessions is the concentration and focus the students have during their tying sessions. The flies they tied were used by the students to catch fish later at Viele Lake.

George Gumerman, Robert McCormack, Jake Lemon and Larry Quilling all helped the students test their skills at Viele Lake. There were four days the students spent at the lake and each day 5 to 6 fish were caught. It was not always pretty but the fishing caught the attention and interest of many of the kids. With high schoolers in the last two weeks of the spring semester, this is quite an accomplishment.

In summary, this program takes a lot of work and coordination but it is fully worth the outreach effort. We may only teach twenty-seven students in the class but the effect of our class goes well beyond the classroom. Other teachers and administrative staff know who we are and what we are doing for their school. Principal Don Stensrud asked that I thank our board for the program. Students shared their experiences with other students and other teachers noticed our presence. I am glad we have been able to re-establish this program and look forward to the fall when we can hopefully connect the class with a fishing field trip on the Poudre as we have done in past years.

---by Larry Quilling

The National Fishing in Schools Program (NFSP) has added numerous school sites throughout Colorado over the past year and will continue to expand with assistance from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation. This program provides a great first touch that gets students excited about fly fishing. TU can be a great partner by enriching the programs as detailed above. To bring NFSP to your school or find existing NFSP programs in your area, please contact Jake Lemon, Colorado TU Youth Education Coordinator at 720-354-2646 or jake.lemon@coloradotu.org.