West Denver TU Partnering with Orvis to Monitor Rivers

PRESS RELEASE from WEST DENVER TROUT UNLIMITED: Trout Unlimited (TU) and Orvis have had a productive collaborative and supportive relationship over the years as reflected, for example, by their work to remove harmful culverts, teach the Nation how to fly fish and, in general, to protect and enhance coldwater fisheries. Trout Unlimited has also benefited from Orvis’ grant program designed to help organizations improve local streams.

Colorado’s West Denver Chapter of TU has been in the forefront of the State’s River Watch program to work with voluntary stewards to monitor water quality and other indicators of watershed health. West Denver has focused its effort primarily on Clear Creek, a local Front-Range stream. However, the U.S. Forest Service has requested that West Denver do testing on U.S. Forest sites throughout the State to help the Agency evaluate the effectiveness of restoration efforts, track on-the-ground conditions that affect the success of trout, identify possible trout strongholds, and monitor water quality changes over time and geography.

However, in order to do this testing, West Denver needed additional testing equipment. Thus, West Denver applied for a stream-improvement grant from Orvis, and received $2,000 to buy needed equipment. This equipment will allow West Denver to obtain high-quality data to educate citizens and decision makers about the condition of Colorado’s waters.

Volunteer Opportunity in San Luis Valley!!

Hidden Mile Volunteer Information The project dates are May 16th to May 24, 2015. You are welcome to work any or all days of the project. Even if you can only come for part of a day it will be greatly appreciated.

The project will be at the Hidden Mile section of the Conejos River. The work will be building and repairing fence to protect the riparian area.

To reach the Hidden Mile go west from Antonito on highway 17

about 21 miles to the Platoro Road (rd 250). Turn right on the on Platoro Road and go about 4 miles until you see a sign and balloons at the work site.

Please wear work clothes, work gloves and sturdy boots. If you have fencing tools please bring them. For those who don’t have tools they will be provided on site. Some work may involve crossing the river so waders would be helpful if you have them.

Please bring lunch and water.

Work will begin at 9am due to the long travel time to the project.

Free camping will be available for all volunteers at Conejos campground located several miles above the Hidden Mile site. The site will have a vault bathroom but no electricity or water.

Volunteer time tracking sheets will be available at the site- please fill in hours and sign out at the end of each day you work and include travel time as part of your total hours.

To sign up for the project please email David Kenvin at slvdrifter@gmail.com or call 719-657-0724 or cell 970-214-4221.

You can also call Marty Jones at 719-589-4327 or cell 719-937-3634.

"State of CTU" Video

At the Colorado TU Rendezvous, prior to passing the gavel on to new President Marshall Pendergrass, Past President Rick Matsumoto shared a video highlighting the "State of Colorado Trout Unlimited" over the past year - it has been a great several months for trout and watersheds in Colorado.  Check it out!

Five Rivers TU/Hermosa Win National FS Award

The Five Rivers Chapter and its partners have been selected for a US Forest Service Rise to the Future Award for their Hermosa Creek project efforts.  The award will be presented by Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell at a formal ceremony in Washington, DC in May. Chapter President Buck Skillen will be on hand to accept the award. The Chapter, based in Durango, will receive the US Forest Service's national “Rise to the Future Award for Collaborative/Integrated Aquatic Stewardship." According to the Forest Service, the Chapter, along with partners at Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the San Juan National Forest, and the Mountain Studies Institute, are being “recognized for their commitment to restore native Colorado River cutthroat trout to a portion of their historic range and share that with students.”

Work toward restoration of cutthroat trout has been taking place since the 1990s in the Hermosa Creek drainage – which was also recently protected as a first-of-its-kind federally designated Watershed Protection Area through legislation sponsored by Senator Bennet and Congressman Tipton. The Five Rivers Chapter has assisted with funding and volunteers for stream improvement and riparian planting projects, helping the agencies as more than 17 miles of Hermosa Creek have been secured for genetically pure cutthroat trout populations. The Mountain Studies Institute has also partnered in providing volunteer support and in using the projects as a working stream laboratory to hold field classes for students Fort Lewis College.

Hermosa  Creek is an amazing example of TU working at all levels as both advocates and as on-the-ground restorers.  The Rise to the Future award is the latest success story for Five Rivers and its long-term efforts on behalf of Hermosa Creek. And the chapter and its partners are certainly not sitting on their laurels - work continues toward connecting separate recovered habitats into a combined “metapopulation” above a downstream barrier point on Hermosa Creek.

Congratulations, Five Rivers TU - and keep up the great work!

Behind the Fin: Matt Moskal

• Name: Matt Moskal
• Colorado Native
• Class of CU Boulder 2010
• Works at Merrill Lynch on a wealth management team with his father
• Best Quote from Matt: "After seeing the spectacle of trout smashing giant Salmon Flies on the surface, she became addicted for life. It was fun to watch her curiosity grow to infatuation right before my eyes. She is now a TU member and one of the better anglers that I know. She even out fishes me, but only occasionally."

For some, they're born with a passion to fish. For others, the passion is born into them. For CTU member, Matt Moskal, the passion for fishing came to him when he was in college just a few years ago.

Moskal doesn't come from a large family of fishermen so getting into the sport wasn't necessarily a big priority for him; until he went off to school at University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado. From there, his obsession for fly fishing was born.

Realizing the beauty within nature, Moskal decided he wanted to help preserve and protect the land and waters in which he loves to fish. With a strong emphasis from his mom, he learned as a child that it is important to give back in any way that he could. So three years ago, he joined TU to help preserve and protect "the spectacular natural playground that we have in our backyard."

As a member of CTU, Moskal has gone about his mission to give back through various volunteer efforts and projects. One of his favorite was a mine reclamation in Alma, Colorado. While working with the Coalition for the Upper South Platte (CUSP), Moskal and other volunteers helped enhance the water quality by cleaning out the water toxins in the river by going right at the source.

"By resolving the toxic problem at its origin, our work truly had a measurable, positive impact on the health of the South Platte," said Moskal. "After the work was done I remember I had an excellent afternoon of dry fly fishing downstream from the project and felt very satisfied that those fish were in good hands."

Being relatively new to both the sport of fly fishing and Colorado Trout Unlimited, Moskal enjoys learning more about fishing, conservation and CTU as much as he can. In October of last year CTU put on a New Leaders Training in Grand Junction, Colorado, where members can learn more about their chapter and ways to improve it.

"The New Leaders Training in Grand Junction this October was another favorite event. The minds of TU’s leaders are remarkable. I was honored to meet other chapter board members and I left feeling more educated than ever about TU’s mission in Colorado."

Becoming a avid fly fisherman over the last few years, Moskal has since taught and helped educate others about the sport and CTU's mission. While backpacking through Black Canyon in the Gunnison Gorge, Moskal watched right before his eyes, his close friend become amazed and infatuated by the beauty of wild trout and fishing.

"After seeing the spectacle of trout smashing giant Salmon Flies on the surface, she became addicted for life," said Moskal. "It was fun to watch her curiosity grow to infatuation right before my eyes. She is now a TU member and one of the better anglers that I know. She even out fishes me, but only occasionally."

Along with protecting and restoring our natural rivers and streams in Colorado, Moskal also enjoys wading into the rivers to cast his line. Like many fisherman he won't reveal his secret spots but he enjoys the waters between Kremmling and Hot Sulphur Springs as well as 11 Mile canyon during the spring time runoff.

Although he claims that nymphing is "unquestionably" the best way to catch the biggest fish in the stream, he still prefers to fish with dry flies right on the surface, "To me, watching the fish rise and eat is the best part of the process. I just don’t get the same adrenaline rush from watching a bobber."

When he isn't fishing, Moskal is either skiing during the winter months or in downtown Denver where he lives and works with his father at Merrill Lynch on a wealth management team. To keep with his mother's teachings that he should help to give back in any way possible, Moskal enjoys working with families as clients to them financially. Being able to see his dad everyday is another big plus for Moskal.

The passion of fly fishing doesn't have to be born and bred. It can come in a split second on the water or in nature. The adrenaline rush of watching a trout rise to eat a fly tied to the end of your line is like nothing else. And Matt Moskal discovered that a few years ago while in college and has never looked back. Since then, he has been actively involved with Colorado Trout Unlimited through volunteer efforts, leadership trainings and even recruiting others.

2015 CTU Rendezvous Registration NOW OPEN!!

2015 Colorado Trout Unlimited Rendezvous:

April 17th - 19th 2015

This is the largest annual meeting held for every TU members, chapters and supporters. This 3-day weekend is packed with workshops, presentations on important conservation issues, the annual business meeting for the CTU Council where new officers will be elected, plenty of time for networking, sharing ideas and socializing, and a Saturday evening banquet featuring delicious food and presentation of CTU's annual awards. This weekend is great for all members (new and old), chapter leaders and anyone interested in what CTU is going to be up to for the next year.

The theme for Rendezvous 2015 is REDDStone, Hatching Colorado's Trout Future. The next few years will be pivotal for the future of Colorado's rivers and trout populations. As threats such as population rises, natural disasters, oil and gas development and uncertain political leadership become more of abundant, it is as important as ever to look at the health of our watersheds and develop a plan for protecting our valued resources. This year at Rendezvous our theme is centered around planning for our future. The presentations and workshops are designed to ask the hard questions, and learn how each of us can be a valuable player in the future of protecting Colorado's trout.

We have lined up speakers this year that will guide our conversations about planning for the future. We are very excited to announce that James Eklund, Director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and Eric Kuhn, with the Colorado River Conservation District will be presenting Colorado's Water Plan and answering our questions about how watershed health will be incorporated into the plan.  Doug Krieger with Colorado Parks and Wildlife will also be in attendance presenting their Master Plan for the next couple of years. In addition to outside agency updates there will be both National and Colorado TU staff, and Chapter Leaders presenting on what TU is doing in CO to plan for our future and protect our water ways and trout populations. Below is a link to the agenda which is currently in Draft form. We will be updating it as we confirm titles of presentations and other logistics.

COME JOIN US at the RENDEZVOUS 2015 to learn more river conservation!! Don't worry, there will be plenty of time for FUN and Fishing!

Click here for additional information and to register!!

CTU Welcomes Our Newest Interns

Colorado Trout Unlimited is excited to welcome three new college students to our team. We have hired one new intern working out of the Denver office and two interns from Gunnison who are being mentored by our local chapter, the Gunnison Angling Society. Denver Internship

Tamara has been hired to assist Denver staff with the Forest Service River Assessment partnership in Northern Colorado. She will be helping to assess rivers using the scientific protocol developed by the Forest Service as well as helping to manage other volunteers doing assessments.

Tamara Burke, River Assessment Intern

Hello All! I am beyond excited to have the privilege of being part of CTU’s team! I am originally from New York but moved out to Colorado three years ago after falling in love with the beauty of this state on my first visit. Since then, I have been able to broaden my education in the environmental science field at Metropolitan State University as well as watch my family flourish and thrive amidst this stunning landscape. Conservation and sustainability are two issues that have helped drive my passion in this arena and I desire to use my education and experience to fight for them. Working with CTU will help shape my values even more and I’m thrilled for this experience.

Gunnison Internship

Gunnison Angling Society is the local Trout Unlimited chapter located in Gunnison. They have developed a partnership with Western State University to hire college interns through their Marketing department to help with event planning and to increase awareness of the chapter in the Gunnison Basin.

Sara George, Communications and Marketing Intern

My name is Sara George and I am a Senior at Western State Studying Environmental Studies and Business. This is my last semester and I am very excited to intern with CTU. I am originally from Chesterland a very small town outside of Cleveland in northeast Ohio. My passion for river conservation and fly fishing started as a kid when my Dad would take me steelhead fishing on the Cuyahoga river. I loved it from the get go and my passion only grew when I moved out west to Gunnison. Rivers are the lifeblood of our country and its our job to protect them!

Phil Conrad, Communications and Marketing Intern

My name is Phil Conrad and I am currently finishing my senior year at Western State Colorado University studying business and entrepreneurship. I am originally from East Grand Rapids Michigan, a small town outside of Grand Rapids. Growing up I was surrounded by water and developed a passion for fly-fishing and river conservation at a young age. After living in Gunnison for a few short years I turned my passion into my everyday job by becoming a guide. Guiding in the Gunnison Valley has given me the opportunity to grow my appreciation and raise more awareness about the significance of river conservation and fly -fishing.

Behind the Fin: Lori Bertagnoli

Behind the Fin is a series created by Colorado Trout Unlimited to showcase the fintastic members, leaders, volunteers, and people that help make us successful.

• Name: Lori Bertagnoli
• Chapter: Cherry Creek Anglers
• Position: Youth Outreach Coordinator
• Grew up in Michigan, now lives in Colorado with her family
• Owns and operates her own sewing business and is a mechanical engineer
• Best Quote from Lori: “Then he asked me what type of fish it was, and I told him that it was a rainbow trout. He then proceeded to scream at the top of his lungs that he had caught a rainbow trout. This happened with the first fish he caught and every fish he caught afterwards… We created a new fisherman that day and it's something he'll never forget”

Cherry Creek Anglers Youth Outreach Coordinator, Lori Bertagnolli is a beginner at fly fishing herself, but that doesn’t mean she can’t get others passionate about the sport of fly fishing and being in the outdoors.

Growing up in Michigan, Bertagnolli spent her childhood fishing the Great Lakes for Walleye, Perch, Musky and Sunfish. After having her daughters, she moved out to Colorado where they would spend their summers camping and fishing. However, the tactics that worked in Michigan wouldn’t work on Colorado trout. So Lori decided to take up fly fishing.

After taking a fly tying class through Orvis at Park Meadows Mall with help from Colorado Trout Unlimited, Lori received a free yearly membership. From there, she got involved with CTU’s mission and began researching other ways she could help out. Through her research, Lori realized that, “the best tactic is knowledge, and your local TU Chapter is a great place to gain that knowledge.”

The Cherry Creek Anglers are her local chapter and after attending a few meetings, Lori renewed her membership to a lifetime status, “The Chapter members were friendly and fun, the meetings always had entertaining speakers that expanded my knowledge of fly fishing,” said Bertagnolli. “I was excited to be a part of a group that helped preserve our local waters and promote the joy of fishing.” Within a year she was a member of the Chapter's Board.

As a member of the board, she helped the Cherry Creek Anglers put on two youth fishing events at Lake Lehow. In the spring, the Family and Friends Fly Fishing Fun Day (F5 Day), taught kids and families all the basics of fly fishing; and in the fall, Troutastic taught kids how to bait and bobber fish.

At the Troutastic event, the mission was to have every single kid, most of who have never fished before, catch a fish. And they, “achieved that goal and surpassed it by a mile!”

“One of the kids I was helping caught his first fish ever and screamed ‘I caught a fish’ at the top of his lungs, over and over again, from the moment he hooked the fish until we net it and got the hook out,” Lori shared. “Then he asked me what type of fish it was, and I told him that it was a rainbow trout. He then proceeded to scream at the top of his lungs that he had caught a rainbow trout. This happened with the first fish he caught and every fish he caught afterwards… We created a new fisherman that day and it's something he'll never forget” Aside from helping kids master the sport, Lori is still trying to work on her own fly fishing skills and as everyone in the sport knows, that is no easy task. Especially for a mechanical engineer who strives to be very precise and technical. “I'm still learning to cast well and in the mean time I remind myself that in most situations the fish doesn't care if you're a master caster with tight loops, or if you can cast 75 feet. He just wants a beautifully presented fly with a good drift.”

While practicing her cast, Lori likes to switch up the waters that she fishes but remembers to always ‘Match the Hatch’. She takes advice from friends and other members of her chapter for new and beautiful places to fish, with the term “beautiful” as the first priority. “I love to fish places that are picturesque and spending a beautiful day on a beautiful river or lake is more important to me than the number of fish I catch. Being able to relax and enjoy nature is a big part of why I love to fish.”

Even though in Yellowstone on the Green River, Lori caught the most fish she’s ever caught, that isn't her favorite fishing memory. But instead, it’s a story from Chatfield State Park with her and her 16 year-old daughter, Claire. “We were fishing in our brand-new pontoon boats for the first time. She began to cast close to the cattails and started to hook a bunch of tiny bluegills. Claire hooked a little guy that was so small she didn't even realize it had taken her fly. Thinking she needed to recast, she pulled her rod back and the tiny Bluegill went flying through the air behind her and was flung off her hook into the middle of the pond. We both had the biggest laugh from that. I kept teasing her that, 'fly fishing' wasn't supposed to mean that the fish went flying through the air. Its special days like that, spent with my daughter outside in the fresh air that are the best memories.”

In her spare time, after working as a mechanical engineer for the automotive industry, Lori began to pursue another hobby of hers, sewing. As her kids got older, Lori opened her own business, Threads of Inspiration, (www.threads-of-inspiration.com). “It is a home-based, custom design embroidery and heat transfer business. I do apparel and gifts for local schools, businesses, and charities. I also create custom gifts for people for special occasions. I embroider the logo-wear for our Cherry Creek Anglers Chapter as well.”

When she isn’t fishing or working on her own business, you can find Lori camping, hiking, traveling, and exploring new places with her family. And even though she won’t consider herself an “awesome angler,” Lori is a perfect example of what fly fishing and CTU is all about.

Colorado TU Membership Survey

Click here to complete the 2015 Colorado TU Membership Survey.  

With over 10,000 Trout Unlimited members across the state, together we represent a strong voice for river conservation.  We are hoping to strengthen that voice by better understanding what is important to our members as individuals and as parts of the whole that is Colorado TU.  We have compiled a Membership Survey with questions ranging from your favorite river basins to the kinds of work, from water issues to public lands, that interest you most.  We want to know why you became a TU member, if there are ways you’d like to get more involved, and more.  Completing the survey should take less than 5 minutes of your time and will help us better tailor our communications to you.

Please consider taking a few minutes today to offer your feedback.  Thank you!

Click here to complete the 2015 Colorado TU Membership Survey.

Pat Dorsey - Guest Speaker (and Fly Tier) for West Denver’s Chapter Meeting on February 4th!

At West Denver Trout Unlimited's February 4^th Chapter Meeting, Pat Dorsey will be the main event!! Pat is the Guide Director and a partner at the Blue Quill Anglers Fly Shop, overseeing 30 plus guides.  He is the recipient of numerous awards and a prolific author—frequently appearing in national fly fishing magazines and writing several best-selling books on fly fishing and fly tying.   He is as native of Colorado, and has been guiding on the South Platte for more than 11 years, spending at least 200 days a year on this stream.

On February 4^th, Pat will talk about fly fishing tail waters, sharing his tips and tactics for fishing these types of waters, covering nymphing, dry fly and streamer fishing.   He’ll be doing double-duty that night and also serve as our guest fly tier as well.  Pat has been commercially tying flies for over 15 years, and he’ll be tying some flies that you’ll want to have in your arsenal.

Doors open at 6 PM at the American Mountaineering Center (10^th Street and Washington Avenue in Golden).  Pat will start tying at 6:30 PM.  We plan on having refreshments (soft drinks and beer).  Please plan on joining us on the 4^th.  A good and informative time should be had by all.

For additional information please contact Chapter President Tim Toohey at tim2e@comcast.net.