Diversions

The Windy Gap water diversion project would deal a major blow to a portion of the Colorado River that is already struggling to survive.

Denver Post

By Gretchen Bergen

Article Last Updated: 10/26/2008

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District hopes to divert as much of its 30,000 acre-feet of water as possible from the Colorado River every year to the East Slope. Northern proposes building a reservoir near Carter Lake for storing Windy Gap water to serve cities like Loveland, Greeley, Fort Lupton, Broomfield and Longmont.

With about 60 percent of the upper Colorado already being diverted by Northern and Denver Water, this project would take another 20 percent of a river struggling to survive. When you dry up the rivers, you dry up a majority of our tourism industry and our economy. You dry up the reason anglers, rafters, kayakers, birders and picnickers spend their vacations in Colorado. You dry up critical riparian habitat, which makes up 2 percent of Colorado land yet supports 98 percent of its wildlife.

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_10799046

Big rewards or big impact?

By Douglas CrowlLoveland Connection

Loveland officials say the proposed Chimney Hollow Reservoir could add enough to the city’s water supplies to guarantee coverage during a 100-year-drought at least until 2030.

But detractors wonder at what cost a 90,000-acre-foot reservoir filled with Windy Gap water will have on the already struggling Colorado River.

“We feel that Windy Gap is digging this hole deeper and not helping figure out the problem,” David Nickum, executive director of Colorado Trout Unlimited, said before a recent public hearing on the project.

Many people concerned about the proposed reservoir wanted to extend the public comment period for the Windy Gap Firming Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement, so they could review the 600-page document to see if it addresses Western Slope water concerns.

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081017/LOVELAND01/81016038

New drilling technology aims to dodge pollution

9News Colorado Trout Unlimited's Executive Director David Nickum sums up the danger posed by energy development on the Roan: "You have an industry that, unfortunately, is chemical dependent and it's accident prone as we've seen by numerous spills in the area."

If inspections are the best defense, the odds don't seem to favor the environment.

http://www.9news.com/seenon9news/article.aspx?storyid=101835&catid=509

Fishers, hunters worry development could spoil Roan Plateau

9News.com Accidental spills are just one of the threats that wildlife on top of western Colorado's Roan Plateau might face, now that the federal government has opened the door to drilling there.

One of the species that could wind up living in the shadow of drilling is believed by many to be a state genetic treasure.

Fly fisherman Ken Neubecker describes catching Colorado River Cutthroat trout as "combat fishing."

"They like to stay undercover. It's a short cast. They're only a few feet away," he said.

The trout love to hide out under a line-snaring tangle of overhanging willow.

Neubecker talked to 9NEWS as he stood beside a 15 foot wide, 8 inch deep strip of clear stream, meandering at the base of a ridge. It's a dauntingly steep mile down from the top of the ridge, which like scores of others, forms the undulating top of the Roan Plateau.

http://www.9news.com/seenon9news/article.aspx?storyid=101766&catid=509

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/