A Celebration of Pat Oglesby

Pat Oglesby passed away on December 15, 2016. A lifetime member of Trout Unlimited, Pat was a recipient of the council's highest honor, the Silver Trout award, for his leadership, dedication, and work on protecting Colorado's fisheries. Pat resided in Grand Junction with his wife Carol and was very active with the Grand Valley Anglers chapter of TU. He embodied the true spirit of what Trout Unlimited is all about and will be missed dearly.

The following is a eulogy delivered by Pat's friend Shelley Walchak at the celebration of Pat's life on March 18th, 2017.

By Shelley Walchak

“A limb has fallen from our family tree I keep hearing a voice that says, “Grieve not for me Remember the best times, the laughter, the song. The good life I lived while I was strong. Continue my heritage I’m counting on you, Keep smiling and surely the sun will shine through. My mind is at ease, my soul at rest, Remembering all how I truly was blessed. Continue traditions no matter how small Go on with your life, don’t just stare at the wall. I miss you all dearly, so keep up your chin Until the day comes And we’re together again.” …Author Unknown

The optimistic, upbeat nature of that poem reminds me so much of Pat. It was just about 5 years ago when I met Pat and Carol at the Denver Fly-Fishing Show. I had gone to the show because I had decided I was going to take a year off work and go fly-fishing for a year in the Rocky Mountain States. I needed to find new friends who could help/join me in my quest.  I arrived at the show without knowing a soul and approached the IFFF booth to explain myself. I was immediately told that Pat and Carol were the folks I needed to meet. From that day forward a deep and loving friendship developed.  A year later I started my journey after much consultation from Pat. I was not long into my journey when I called Pat and Carol to see about a trip to the Taylor River to go fly-fishing. Now, a trip to the Taylor would seem like a perfectly reasonable thing to do except it was January…. And of course the Taylor is near Gunnison, regularly listed as one of the coldest spots in the country. It didn’t matter to me – I was going fishing and I didn’t care what kind of weather I was going to have to endure.

On the last day I saw Pat in October, we talked at length about that trip. He said he had been astonished by my single-mindedness – maybe simple mindedness as well. But, he had agreed to go and I met him and Carol for a couple days in Gunnison.

It had snowed feet just days before we got there but Pat and Carol still showed up. He kept asking me if I still wanted to go and I insisted I did. He was willing to see this through and so we headed up toward Avalanche Hole.

Pat decided he was going to stay up top and spot fish for Carol and me. It was somewhere between 10 – 20 degrees and they both thought I was crazy – but I was in love – in love with fly-fishing and I would do anything to be near a river. And so, Carol and I clamored over 5 foot drifts and made our way down to the river.

After four fishless hours and a propane heater gone dry – we made our way back to Gunnison and ate a hearty meal at a local restaurant. It was no surprise to me that Pat ran into some folks he knew. He seemed to know people wherever he went.

Our excursion ended the next day for them as bad weather rolled in and the temperature dropped even lower. Off they headed to Grand Junction although I was bound and determined to catch at least one fish on the river. Bad weather turned into a blizzard and the fish got the best of me.

It was this passion that we shared deeply – as I’m sure many of you will attest to. Fly-fishing can be a very affirming, very spiritual experience. Pat understood that. Fly-fishing is about ritual and mystery. It’s about acknowledging a power greater than our own. Recognizing that we play a small part in the scheme of things.

It’s also about faith. Faith that the next cast will be the one, that the fish on the line will make it onto shore, and that if this day didn’t go well the next would be better. It’s about our connection to each other, taking comfort in each other’s company and joy in each other’s success.

I found that connection with Pat and he will always have a special place in my heart. Saying these words makes me think of a poem by Delmar Pepper that goes like this.

I've finished life's chores assigned to me, So put me on a boat headed out to sea. Please send along my fishing pole For I've been invited to the fishin' hole.

Where every day is a day to fish, To fill your heart with every wish. Don't worry, or feel sad for me, I'm fishin' with the Master of the sea.

We will miss each other for awhile, But you will come and bring your smile. That won't be long you will see, Till we're together you and me.

To all of those that think of me, Be happy as I go out to sea. If others wonder why I'm missin' Just tell 'em I've gone fishin'

Pat did his good deeds by stealth. He never advertised the fact that he helped so many people in so many different ways. He never talked about his numerous acts of kindness. Yet I believe that almost everyone here today has been at the receiving end of that kindness.

I will miss him as a fountain of general knowledge. If I ever needed to know anything there was always a good chance that Pat would know the answer. If he didn't he'd make sure he found the answer for me.

I will miss him most of all as a friend because good friends like Pat don't happen often in a lifetime. Throughout the years, I’d call to speak with Carol, as a friend and editor of my book, and if Pat picked up, it was an hour before I got to Carol. And sometimes, Carol would have to wait for another day.

To honor Pat, I’m going down to the bank of a river. I’m gonna cast my line out over the swells, and hope for lots of fish, and regardless of whether I get a bite or not…I will be glad and thankful to simply be convening with the spirit of Pat, casting out his own line…not just to pass the time, but to make the passing of time a gift, and a lesson on how life ought to be lived…patient, thoughtfully, and with eager anticipation of the nibble or strike at the hook.

I imagine this is what Pat would say if he could be here…

Don’t grieve for me now, I’m free I’m following the path laid out for me. I turned my back and left it all. I could not stay another day To laugh, to love, to work or play. Tasks left undone must stay that way I’ve found my peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void Then fill it with remembered joy. A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss Ah yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow. I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow. My life’s been full, I’ve savored much. Good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch. Perhaps my time seemed all too brief

Don’t lengthen it now with undue grief. Lift up your heart and share with me. I am set free.

I give you this one thought to keep I am with you still. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow, I am the sunlight on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. So not think of me as gone I am with you still in each new dawn. …Author unknown.

Overlap Season

By: Jack Bombardier, Confluence Casting In many mountain towns, there is said to be a fifth season, in addition to the usual four, called Mud Season. That’s true in much of Colorado, but the Centennial State can also claim to have a sixth season, one I like to call Overlap Season.  This occurs when you can fish, ski or golf within the same period of time.  Overlap Season usually begins sometime in March, or can be as late as April, but this year it began in February.  The snow is still deep, the fish are biting, and the fairways are greening up.  Although I’m not a golfer, I do try to make the most of the skiing and fishing opportunities that I can. It’s an awesome time of year to live in Colorado, and makes me glad that thirty-one years ago to this very month, I made it my home.

The Lower Upper Colorado River looks just gorgeous right now, low and clear and as olive as Al Pacino’s cheeks.  Water temps are up to fifty degrees, and from what I’ve seen “fifty” is the magic number in the springtime.  Fifty makes trout very, very happy.

But then your gaze rises above the water’s liquid allure, and up towards the mountains, where the pristine white blaze of perfect, pristine show shines like chrome.  That snow beckons surely as does the river, but there’s the knowledge that the window to enjoy those perfect slopes is closing fast.  To try and fool a fish?, or go carve through some aspen trees at Beaver Creek?  Hope to hold a crimson striped, spawning rainbow trout I I your hand, or hop off a cornice at A-Basin and carve a turn into some wind-deposited powder?  So many choices, and so short an Overlap Season to take advantage of!

How long the river will stay as perfect as it is now, on March 15^{th 2017}, is difficult to say.   With the deep snowpack we have, one would expect the water managers to start releasing water fairly soon to make room for the Big Melt.  But it’s been a weird winter, one which has flipped the pattern of the past few years.  For the past several winters now, we’ve had a lot of snow early in the season, and a lot in the spring, with the middle stretch of January and early February being dry and cold, without much snow.  This season, it was awful early, with Vail and Beaver Creek opening late and the World Cup races at the Beav being cancelled due to lack of snow (and overnight temperatures to warm to make it). But then the snow finally came, and by the end of February we were looking at snowpack numbers we haven’t had since the epic year of 2011.

Now it’s the middle of the March, and not only has the snow pipeline shut off, but the short-term prognosis is for more warm, dry weather. What that means for fishing is that as long as the water in the reservoirs stays up there, the fishing should be great!  This might be the best spring fishing since we had in the drought year of 2012, with one big difference. 2012 was a drought year and though it fished great back then, the Lower Upper was dominated by brown trout.  Low water conditions that fall led to the release of 30,000 catchable-size rainbows into the river, and those rainbows and their offspring are going to be spawning this year. This spring the river has fished well, and should get even better once the bugs start moving.  So if you want to make the most of Colorado’s Sixth Season, get up here soon and make sure you pack your skis and fishing gear.  You can even put a golf bag in the back if you still have room! So please give me a reason to leave my old Volant Chubbs in the back of the Saab, and come fishing!

Buy your Colorado 2017 fishing license now

From Colorado Parks and Wildlife Coloradans can purchase a 2017 fishing license starting March 15 through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. An annual license is good starting April 1, 2017 through March 30, 2018. CPW provides a range of options for anglers from the annual fishing license to the one-day fishing license as well as educational opportunities for those new to angling.

“Colorado provides outstanding fishing across the state for an amazing diversity of species ranging from cutthroat trout and kokanee to walleye and bluegill,” said Doug Krieger, CPW’s aquatic section manager. “I encourage experienced anglers to introduce a friend or family member to fishing this season. Fishing is a great activity to share with someone else and a great chance to get outside and enjoy Colorado’s natural resources.”

CPW stocks 90 million fish annually into waters throughout Colorado in order to ensure good angling opportunities. CPW does not receive general tax dollars and fishing license fees support all statewide hatchery and fish-stocking operations.

Buy a license online at CPW’s secure license application portal or by phone at 1-800-244-5613.

For individuals aged 18 through 64, a $10 Habitat Stamp is required with the first license purchase for the year. For more information, read about the Habitat Stamp.

Youth under age 16 can fish for free and CPW provides opportunities throughout the season to learn how to fish. Check the calendar on the CPW website for upcoming clinics.

Don’t forget to buy a state park pass when you buy your license. Colorado state parks offer 37 places to fish, 365 days of the year.

Get tips and stay up to date on Colorado fishing regulations by reading the 2017 Colorado Fishing Brochure. CPW also sends customers that sign up through the secure license application portal emails providing updated fishing conditions, tips, news and upcoming events as well as regulation updates.

Mike Clark: Bamboo Master

By Randy Scholfield, TU communications director for the Southwest.  When he started making split-cane bamboo rods 40 years ago, Mike Clark had no idea he could make a living from his hobby.

“I built them to satisfy my fishing interests,” he says.

Then, one day, a man wandered into his heated garage workshop and asked to buy one of his rods. He offered to pay $250 for it, which kind of blew Mike away.

“I thought, ‘Wow, I can actually sell these?’”

That was 40 years ago, and Mike Clark has been steadily making traditional bamboo rods—and amassing a legendary reputation for craftsmanship—ever since. His South Creek Ltd. cane rods now sell for thousands of dollars, and there’s a long waiting list.

From his workshop in downtown Lyons, Colo.—a comfortable, rustic space filled with displayed rods and the tools of his trade—Mike makes handcrafted rods, about 40 of them a year. He estimates that he’s made more than 1,000 rods in his career.

A few years ago, there was so much demand that he had a five-year waiting list—that’s right, five years. Mike stopped taking orders for several years just to catch up.

The good news: in 2012, he started taking orders again. Almost immediately, he had more than 80 orders to fill.

He’s tried to find ways to speed up the process and turn out more rods, he says. But it can’t be done—not without sacrificing quality. And he’s not about to do that.

He’s one of those craftsmen for whom tradition means doing things the right way. No shortcuts.

Why bamboo? “It’s natural. It’s simple. It works,” Mike says. The slower, smoother action appeals to many anglers, as does the allure of tradition: bamboo rods got their start in America before the Civil War and reached a high point in the last century, when Colorado rod manufacturers such as Granger, Wright-McGill and Phillipson produced high-end cane rods that are still prized by collectors.

With his finger, he traces the grain down—each grain line is straight as an arrow and matches the grain on the next piece, all down the rod length. You won’t find that on machined rods, he says, where the grain oftectun veers out of alignment. Under stress, that piece can pop out. Hand-planing throughout the process gives the rods more uniform strength and stability.

Mike has designed his rods in the popular taper style of those Colorado companies, but he’s taken that tradition to another level with handcrafted details and exceptional finish.

“People are fascinated that someone is still making bamboo rods by hand, not someplace in China,” says Kathy Jensen, Mike’s longtime assistant and office manager. “What Mike is doing here is a 130-year old technology. He’s still making rods the traditional way.”

He starts with culms of Tonkin cane—the strongest and straightest grained bamboo species—stacked and aged for years in his shop. He then splits them and shaves the strips into equilateral triangles tapered down to precise tip dimensions, using metal forms and block planes. It takes a steady arm and good eye.

That’s a key to his craft: unlike the (still very fine) mass-produced bamboo rods on the market, which are machined, he hand planes each rod strip down to exacting specs. Then he glues the strips together into blanks and adds nickel silver hardware, exotic woods and other finishes.

While there are many amateur and professional cane rod builders out there, few of them plane by hand at every step. Instead, they do “rough cuts” with a machine and then finish planing by hand.

Mike allows that you can make very good rods that way, but the difference of a true custom rod is in the details.

He shows me one of his rod sections. With his finger, he traces the grain down—each grain line is straight as an arrow and matches the grain on the next piece, all down the rod length. You won’t find that on machined rods, he says, where the grain often veers out of alignment. Under stress, that piece can pop out. Hand-planing throughout the process gives the rods more uniform strength and stability.

For Mike, “custom” also means designing rods to the exact specifications of each angler. He likes to spend time with them to learn their casting styles and fishing preferences. “I can tweak a taper for them,” depending on their individual needs. He also follows their lead on aesthetic finishes and materials, from choosing the color of silk threads to adding ivory with scrimshaw or jade reel seats and diamond inlays.

He makes clear, though, that he’s primarily interested in making great fishing tools, not art pieces—he wants his customers to fish with his rods, not hang them on a wall.

Over the years, he’s slowly built his business, largely through word of mouth. He’s friends with local fly-fishing author John Gierach, who has written about South Creek rods and put his own name on a couple of signature rods. He also sells the flies of another famous friend—A.K. Best.

That cachet has attracted bamboo buyers from around the world, including celebrities like guitarist and fly-fishing enthusiast Eric Clapton, whose letter of thanks for a rod hangs on the wall, among many other testimonials.

While Kathy has made a few rods under his supervision, she wouldn’t feel comfortable putting the South Creek Ltd. name on one of her rods.

“Our clients pay for Mike’s high level of craftsmanship and years of experience—you can’t duplicate that.” It’s one reason why, when Mike retires, the South Creek Ltd. name and business will be retired, too.

While Mike’s not planning to retire any time soon, he’s planning to cut back on the number of rods he makes, to about 30 a year.

“We want to slow down and go fishing a bit,” he says.

He’s devoted to his local water, the St. Vrain, and in recent years has worked with the local Trout Unlimited chapter to raise thousands of dollars to restore the river habitat, which was badly damaged by extreme floods a couple years ago.

“We’re getting our fishery back to health,” he says.

Then he excuses himself to get back to his workbench. He has orders to meet.

For more info on South Creek Ltd. rods, go to www.southcreekltd.com.

Meet Dan Omasta, CTU Grassroots Coordinator

Let me begin by saying how honored and excited I am to be a part of the Trout Unlimited family as the new CTU Grassroots Coordinator.  Joining this team of dedicated staff, passionate volunteers, and avid sportsmen and women is a dream come true. Growing up on the dirt roads just east of Parker, Colorado, I was fortunate enough to explore the many streams and lakes that this great state has to offer. In particular, I often found myself hiking up small creeks in the Gunnison Basin in search for the pockets of eagerly-feeding brookies that never once questioned my poor presentation or choice of fly.  By the time I was twelve years old, I had my own fly rod and I was hooked.

After graduating from the University of Colorado with a political science degree focused on land management and environmental policy, I did what any young conservation professional would do – I told my parents that I was moving to Crested Butte to be a ski bum.  This was certainly not the big life decision they were expecting, but (as parents do) they understood my deep connection to the mountains and rivers of Colorado.

While backcountry skiing and raft guiding in the Gunnison Valley certainly had their perks (and still do), after two years into my ski-bum career, I felt a strong drive to get out and do more.  That’s when the second “big life decision” phone call happened: Mom, Dad, I am moving to New Zealand to go fishing.  What started out as an adventure on the other side of the globe quickly turned into a vision for my future.  While living on the North Island, I was lucky enough to work for an outdoor adventure company that paired rafting and fishing with conservation efforts to protect a native species of duck.  The work was more than simply taking clients out for a fun day on the water or getting them into some big fish (and yes, they are big!) – we were out there to check traps, monitor mating pairs, and discuss the effects of the local hydropower regime on the native ecosystem.  This was what I wanted to do when I returned home.

After moving back to Gunnison in 2013, I worked with a team of fellow raft guides and conservationists to start a non-profit rafting company.  River Restoration Adventures for Tomorrow (RRAFT) is a small outfitter dedicated to protecting critical watersheds through community engagement and hands-on restoration work.  Over the past three seasons, our team has worked with over 400 community volunteers and youth to conduct various conservation projects on over 300 miles of riparian corridor throughout Colorado and Utah.  Our trips ranged from cottonwood planting projects with Delta and Cedaredge High School youth, to overnight trips with the Adaptive Sports Center and Peace of Adventure, to 10-day surveys of invasive plant species along the Colorado River in Cataract Canyon with the National Park Service and the Southwest Conservation Corps Ancestral Lands crews.  Not only were we making a difference for the rivers, we were helping to inspire and engage the next generation of stewards.

Rivers hold a special place in my heart.  They are the lifeblood of our public lands and the key to healthy communities.  As we enter this new era of water management, a changing climate, and significantly increased demand for flows, our rivers and headwater streams will need our help now more than ever.

I am excited to be a part of the Colorado Trout Unlimited family as we all work together to protect and restore these critical ecosystems.  I am optimistic in Coloradoans’ abilities to find common ground and their ability to build bridges that allow for mutual benefit.  And I am looking forward to working with all of you – the driving force of TU – to protect our watersheds for the generations to come.  Thank you all for the hard work, resources, and time that you give for our public lands.  I am looking forward to meeting you and seeing you out on the river!

Behind the Fin: Marge Vorndam

How long have you been a TU member?  Since 1987.  I joined the Cheyenne Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited when I lived in Colorado Springs. I was on the Board there as Communications Chairman/Newsletter Editor (before e-mail and computers, we sent out paste-up hard copies every month) and helped with fundraising and projects with everyone there.

After moving South in the early 1990s I transferred to the Southern Colorado Greenback Chapter of TU. After several years, I was on the Board again, serving mainly in the capacity of Communications Chairman. I will be retiring this year, but plan on maintaining an active role in the chapter. Hubby Paul and I are Life Members, and proud of that.

Why did you become a member and what chapter are you involved with?

My Master’s degree is Environmental Studies. Back when I joined TU, my personal interest was to see improvement in and preservation of water quality health across our landscape. The then-NTU mission was directed to that same theme.  NTU decided to change its mission several years ago to focus more on cold-water fisheries, but since I love to fish, it wasn’t a tough choice to stay with TU’s stance on fisheries and watershed conservation and water quality improvement.

What made you want to become involved with TU?

At the time that I chose to join and support organizations with a mission like my interests, TU was front and center!  I embraced their overall action agenda, and still can buy into it as  foremost of the conservation organization on my list.

What is your favorite activity or project that you have done with TU?

Kids’ education.  Several years ago, Jenny Kedward from the local Sierra Club, Pat McGraw, then-President of our Chapter, and I collaborated to do a two-day summer camp program for 12-14 year olds in our community that concentrated on water education and fishing. We conducted it for four years in a row. Our chapter’s Frostbite Fish-Off Tourney, held for several years, is a close second.

I know you won’t tell me your top spot, so what is your second favorite fishing spot or favorite fishing story?

Lake Michigan and Michigan Rivers remain a favorite destination of mine, with my uber-fishing nephew, Kevin Dieleman. He takes me fishing for the BIG fish every time that I’m in MI. While big-fish fishing is a super-charged experience, I really appreciate the fly-fishing scene in Colorado  anywhere.

What does being a part of TU mean to you?

It’s an ultimate experience in helping to preserve the water resource. With a growing human population, more attention must be focused on water and how it is used and abused.  I appreciate what I can do to facilitate that experience for future generations. I was really proud to be part of the development of Colorado’s Water Plan for our area.

What else do you do in your spare time or for work?

I teach online courses for students at various colleges in Colorado and elsewhere related to Environmental Science.  It’s an integral part of what is important to me – getting students excited about what we all can do to support a better world for now and into the future.  Additionally, I am a Colorado Master Gardener and a Colorado Native Plant Master, both of which further my educational goals

A Climate Plan on the Dolores

By: Randy Scholfield, communications director for TU's southwest region. Like many rivers across the West, the Dolores River in southwestern Colorado is on the front lines of climate change impacts. As the climate warms, the river will face lower flows, higher temperatures, and increasing stresses on fish and aquatic life.

How can we more effectively address these changes on a watershed scale? That’s the question driving a recent study by Trout Unlimited and other groups of the Dolores River basin.

“We know there will be change. The question the study addresses is what kind of change can we expect, the approximate timing and what are the impacts,” Duncan Rose of the Dolores River Anglers chapter of Trout Unlimited told the Durango Herald in a recent article.

To find those answers, the TU study—conducted in partnership with Mountain Studies Institute of Silverton—looked at climate models and trends between 1949 and 2012 that showed wetter periods of higher temperatures followed by longer periods of intense drought.

In projecting those trends into the future, some sobering results emerged: based on worst-case drought scenarios, the 46 trout streams in the Dolores Basin could lose some 44 percent of their flows in the next 50 to 70 years. Some streams, especially at lower elevations, might be lost causes to fish habitat, becoming intermittent or vanishing entirely.

But the study found that other middle- and higher-elevation streams could be made more “resilient” against the worst impacts of climate change through adaptive strategies such as habitat restoration, including improving in-stream structure such as boulders and pools to create cooler refuge areas for trout, and restoring streamside vegetation to provide more shade.

As important, the study field-tested an analytical model to determine which stream miles would best lend themselves to these efforts and provide the most “bang for the buck” for conservation outcomes.

“This is a framework that can be used across the West,” says Garrett Hanks, TU's Southwest Colorado field coordinator. “The issues in the Dolores are similar to many of our coldwater fisheries, and if we're going to be active in managing our coldwater watersheds into the future, this framework can inform many levels of TU’s strategy, such as how to identify and prioritize our protect, reconnect and restoration work.”

TU’s stream resilience work gives hope that many of our best trout waters can survive the worst impacts of climate change. The Dolores study could give TU another science-based tool for deciding where and how to dial in this adaptation work in watersheds across the West.

Why Planning 2.0 matters

By Tyler Baskfield, TU Colorado sportsmen’s coordinator South Park is a sportsmen’s paradise of elk herds, dream trout streams like the South Platte, and endless recreation possibilities. For Colorado Front Range residents like me, South Park is a vast backyard playground, just a short hour and a half drive from Denver. It’s one of the crown jewels of public lands in Colorado.

Unfortunately, it’s also currently in the crosshairs of shortsighted partisan politics.

Sportsmen everywhere should be alarmed by an effort afoot in Congress to roll back the public’s say in managing South Park and other public lands.  Now is the time to speak up if we want to protect these special places.

A critical vote is expected in the Senate in coming weeks that may eliminate the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Planning 2.0 initiative through the Congressional Review Act. The House has already voted to repeal the BLM planning rule.

This misguided move to repeal Planning 2.0 is a thumb in the eye of sportsmen and others who believe local residents and governments should have more of a say in how public lands are managed. The BLM developed Planning 2.0 in response to concerns about the lack of transparency in public lands management and the planning process being unduly influenced by special interest stakeholders. Planning 2.0 gives sportsmen, local governments, landowners and residents more input early on in the planning process—and this “smart from the start” approach helps to avoid conflict by bringing stakeholders together to settle thorny land use issues, such as where to site oil and gas development and how best to allow multiple uses of the land while ensuring the health of wildlife, rivers and other natural resources.

South Park is one of the places where BLM is piloting Planning 2.0, and so far the majority of stakeholders have embraced the new planning process. Members of the oil and gas industry, Front Range water providers, sportsmen, environmentalists, Republican Park County commissioners, business owners, agency personnel, ranchers—all praise the increased opportunities for input and believe Planning 2.0 will help protect natural resources while sustaining the local economy.

Sen. Cory Gardner rightly called outdoor recreation “a cornerstone of our economy in Colorado” after the Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Impact Act of 2015 that he authored recently passed the Senate. He clearly understands the importance of outdoor recreation, public lands and wildlife resources to local economies and residents. Outdoor recreation accounts for more than $13 billion in economic activity in Colorado and supports some 125,000 jobs, according to the Boulder-based Outdoor Industry Association.

The foundation of that booming outdoor sector is the health of places like South Park.

Colorado sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts call on Sen. Gardner and other lawmakers to continue to lead and advocate for the state’s important recreation economy and public lands heritage by resisting this reckless stampede to scrap Planning 2.0.

The current administration has a great deal of latitude to implement, or if necessary revise, the rule to ensure that it works for all stakeholders, including public land users, state and local governments and the BLM itself. Using the Congressional Review Act does not help to solve public land management challenges; it will only make it more difficult for the BLM to be good land stewards. The House of Representatives erred when it passed its resolution disapproving of the Planning 2.0, but the Senate doesn’t have to make the same mistake.

Sportsmen everywhere need to raise their voices for public lands. Please take a few minutes to contact your Senators and urge them to oppose efforts to do away with Planning 2.0 and ensure that the public has a voice in public land management.

Speak Out for Sound Management of BLM Lands

  The US Senate will soon be voting on whether to block the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) "Planning 2.0 Rule" - and our Senators need to hear your voice as an angler who values our public lands!  BLM properties in Colorado include some of our most outstanding fisheries like the Colorado River and the Gunnison Gorge, as well as important native trout habitats - and sound planning and management of these lands if essential.

Speak out for sound management of BLM lands!

This new rule updates the BLM’s outdated rule and gives the public a stronger voice in public land management decisions. The revised rule will increase agency transparency and opportunities for public involvement in federal land planning, and ensure that important fish and wildlife habitats and looked at up front and at a landscape level, not left as an afterthought.

Trout Unlimited and our partners in the hunting and fishing community have supported Planning 2.0, but this common-sense proposal is under threat of being repealed by Congress using the Congressional Review Act which would not only block the rule but prevent anything substantially like it being adopted in the future.

Please take a few minutes to contact Colorado's Senators and urge them to oppose efforts to do away with Planning 2.0, to ensure that the public has a voice in public land management!

Behind the Fin: Ed Calmus

How long have you been a TU member?          Around 30 years – not always actively involved before I retired

Why did you become a member and what chapter are you involved with?          

I believe in the mission of TU, the need to protect, preserve, and restore our rivers and streams.  My chapter has always been West Denver TU

What made you want to become involved with TU? 

I have had many memorable experiences that revolved around fly fishing.  I have seen the beautiful and pristine places where trout thrive.  I wanted to do what I can to enable others to have these experiences, now and in the future.

What is your favorite activity or project that you have done with TU? 

Improving our chapter’s communications has been my favorite, from making a better website, to producing videos, using social media, and developing a communications strategic plan.

I know you won’t tell me your top spot, so what is your second favorite fishing spot or favorite fishing story? 

I learned fly fishing on small streams, and graduated to the larger rivers and tail waters.  Recently I have rediscovered the small streams.  Upper Clear Creek and Homestake Creek are favorites.  When I go back to the large rivers, I usually fish the Arkansas.

What does being a part of TU mean to you? 

A chance to give back and help insure future anglers will share in the great experiences of fly fishing.

What else do you do in your spare time or for work? 

I manage an HOA in Frisco, Co, and am on the board of the University of Denver Retiree Association.  I like reading, skiing, fly tying, and tinkering with cars.