Forests, fish and skiers have place in drought plans

By CHRIS WOODKATHE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

In the water itself, Trout Unlimited is assessing what the worst impacts of climate change could be, said Greg Espegren, aquatics specialist.

The group uses a conservation success index to measure the viability of species. It is particularly concerned with the cutthroat trout in the Colorado River basin. The risks include wildfires that degrade streams through erosion and sedimentation, increased water temperatures and winter floods.

http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/10/12/news/denver_bureau/doc48f187cc381ab122676862.txt

Current affairs on state water

By Mark Jaffe The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 10/05/2008 01:10:04 PM MDT

Denver and the northern district have the water rights to take those 48,000 acre-feet from the streams and rivers of Grand County.

"For years Denver Water's position was: 'These are our water rights; we're exercising them,' " said Kirk Klancke, manager of the Winter Park Ranch Water and Sewer District. "So this dialogue is a big step."

What Grand County officials are seeking are ways to soften and manage the impacts of removing more water.

The county has spent $800,000 on a stream-management plan that indicates what a healthy flow would be for each reach of stream and river flowing through the county.

The towns of Winter Park and Fraser, in cooperation with Trout Unlimited, initiated a $750,000 project to reconfigure a stretch of the Fraser River so it would run faster and have deeper pools for fish.

The county spent $60,000 this summer to pump an additional 1,500 acre-feet of water into Lake Granby so it could be released this fall to help buck-up the Colorado and prevent another Labor Day dry-out.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_10635332

River Rehab

photos by David Halterman

Now that river levels have dropped, monsoon season is over, and tuber sightings are as rare as ants teeth, the banks of the Animas River have been calling for a bit of attention. Well, they got it last Saturday morning as local volunteers came out to cash in on a little river karma while tidying up the shoreline. Organized by Ty Churchwell of Trout Unlimited, the river maids were given gloves, trash bags, water, and as many Cliff Bars as they could stuff into their pockets and sent out to clean a predetermined 1/4 mile stretch of river, between 32nd Street and Santa Rita Park. Whether it was beer cans, whiskey bottles, underwear or shopping carts, the crews dragged and bagged an assortment of river garbage, while the city did its part by collecting and disposing of the mess from collection points along the river trail. Keeping Durangos lifeblood unspoiled is everyones responsibility, so thanks to those who came out on Saturday to do their part.

Photos at: http://www.durangotelegraph.com/telegraph.php?inc=/08-09-18/day.htm

With heavy lifting, river restored at Middle Fork

 by Charlie Meyers on September 18, 2008 The story on the outdoor page of Wednesday’s paper gave a fairly straightaway account of how Colorado Trout Unlimited has executed a $300,000 stream improvement project on the Middle Fork of the South Platte, where it crosses Highway 9 between Fairplay and Hartsel.

With money from the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s Fishing is Fun program, Park County and private donors, the conservation organization achieved meaningful channel restoration on a 1.5-mile stretch that had suffered degradation from uncontrolled cattle grazing.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/sports/2008/09/18/with-heavy-friendly-lifting-river-at-middle-fork-restored/

Stream's habitat gets help

By Charlie MeyersThe Denver Post

FAIRPLAY — The setting, someone said, suggests Patagonia, that part of Argentina where rivers spill down from the Andes to the delight of peripatetic anglers and filmmakers.

A backdrop of majestic mountains, sweeping loops of flowing water, trout rising in nearly every bend.

Instead, this place exists less than two hours from Denver where the Middle Fork of the South Platte River bisects Colorado 9 at what once was a stage stop called Garo.

Fishermen know the site as Buffalo Peaks Ranch, a possession of Aurora's water department, a place of public access and a point of concern where it involves the extended health of a river that suffered historic abuse, mostly from an invasion of cattle.

Colorado Trout Unlimited aims to help. The conservation organization is hip-deep in a project designed to improve habitat on 3 1/2 miles of a stream whose fish-holding capacity has been diminished by variety of ills.

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_10481592

CU study: Reservoirs partly responsible for invasive lake species

Boulder Daily Camera By Brittany Anas

A growing number of dams and man-made reservoirs is leading to a surge in unwelcome lake-water lurkers, such as zebra mussels and spiny water fleas, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado.

Impoundments create “stepping-stone habitats” for invasive species to sneak into natural lakes, ponds and waterways, where they disrupt the natural habitat.

The research team combined data on water chemistry, the distribution of five “nuisance invaders” and boating activity from the Great Lakes region for the study, according to Pieter Johnson, an assistant professor at CU and one of the lead authors.

Zebra mussels recently jumped to reservoirs in the West, including Colorado, Johnson said, leading to mandatory boat inspections at some landings. Other invaders are either already in Colorado — the rainbow smelt and water milfoil — or have a high probability of being introduced, such as the spiny water flea and rusty crayfish, Johnson said.

In Boulder, officials are looking to hire two inspectors this month to make sure zebra mussels don’t hitchhike on visitors’ boats and make their way into the Boulder Reservoir, disrupting the biodiversity, said reservoir manager Stacy Cole.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/sep/03/cu-study-reservoirs-partly-responsible-invasive-la/

Dealing with river trash

Durango Telegraph by Missy Votel

Summer flows on the Animas have receded, but the trashed remains from one of the busiest river seasons in memory have hit an all-time high. At least that’s the feeling among several local river users who say unprecedented recreational use of the river this summer has taken its toll, and they are asking the city to step in.

“This was the busiest year I can remember in terms of boaters, and more importantly, tubers,” said Ty Churchwell, president of the Five Rivers Branch of Trout Unlimited. “And the trash along the river shows it.”

A member of the city’s Animas River Task Force, an advisory committee to the Durango City Council, Churchwell and other members of the Task Force met with the city this week to discuss options for alleviating the trash problem, most notably beer cans, bottles, orphaned flip flips, Styrofoam coolers, and popped tubes and other miscellaneous discarded river craft

“It’s on the minds of everyone on the task force, and we want to ask the city about what can be done,” he said.

http://www.durangotelegraph.com/telegraph.php?inc=/08-09-04/localnews.htm

It's not too late to save valued parts of Grand County

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Sky-Hi Daily News

There are organizations at work to preserve our natural and cultural resources.

Among them are the Middle Park Land Trust, Trout Unlimited, the Grand County Historical Association, Friends of the Fraser River, Colorado Cattlemen's Association, Colorado Riparian Association and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Depending on your interests, there are ways to get involved.

Grand County still has a window to control the look and feel of its own future. As we can see from our neighboring mountain communities, that window of opportunity doesn't stay open forever.

http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20080821/EDITORIALS/272343/1070/AE&parentprofile=-1

Grand County loses land, water as traditions fade

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Tonya Bina Sky-Hi Daily News

Development on the Front Range causes 100 percent loss to the rivers in Grand County.

It's a known fact that much of the water taken is used to keep residential landscapes alive.

“Truthfully, 50 percent of the water that they use in those municipalities is growing Kentucky bluegrass. That's not necessary,” said Kirk Klancke, Grand County’s foremost river-water advocate.

“So they take it from us and kill this natural environment to create an artificial one, to grow an imported grass from a humid environment in a high plains desert. It's completely illogical.”

http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20080821/NEWS/272332/1079&ParentProfile=1067

Fish feeling aftermath of metals spike

No brook trout found in latest round of sampling by state biologists in Snake River

By Bob Berwyn

summit daily news

SUMMIT COUNTY — Last summer's spike in zinc and other metals in the Snake River has persisted, spelling more trouble for trout in the polluted stream.

Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists were disappointed by the absence of brook trout when they surveyed a section of the Snake near Keystone last week.

“It’s definitely a step backwards,” said fisheries expert Jon Ewert, who had hoped that the brookies would re-establish themselves after last summer's gully-washing storm that sent a surge of poisonous metals down the drainage.

Since then, concentrations of zinc seeping from the abandoned Pennsylvania Mine high along Peru Creek have remained near double what they were before the storm, at about 1,200 parts per billion, far above levels deemed toxic for trout.

Zinc kills trout even at concentrations that aren't harmful to humans. Levels in the Snake River have long exceeded state and federal limits.

Some scientists studying potential cleanup options for the Snake River believe that the rainstorm last year may have fundamentally changed the drainage from the mine, leading to the chronically higher levels. Other experts think that the reported increase in zinc concentrations may be related to the way the monitoring data is being analyzed and interpreted by the labs, said Lane Wyatt, a Summit County water-quality expert.

“The zinc levels were a huge surprise,” said Trout Unlimited's Elizabeth Russell, one of the leaders of a task force looking at how to improve water quality in the Snake River. “We didn't think they’d stay that high over the winter.”

http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20080815/NEWS/104721337/1078&ParentProfile=1055