By Charlie MeyersThe Denver Post
"There needs to be some awareness. It's a controversial little creek. There needs to be some regulations. Take Bear Creek, for instance. If it wasn't for the work by Trout Unlimited to get catch-and- release on rainbows, it would be virtually sterile by now."
Audrey Gilpin - Mail Staff Writer Habitat restoration was completed in August at Fooses Creek and the South Fork of the Arkansas River, which feed two antique hydroelectric plants operated by Xcel Energy.
During a tour of the restored sites last week, U.S. Forest Service fisheries biologist Phillip Gaines said the project began after studies found the sites east of Garfield and below Maysville had insufficient fishery habitat.
Collegiate Peaks Anglers and Cheyenne Mountain chapters of Trout Unlimited donated $5,000, Xcel Energy contributed $50,000 and the Colorado Division of Wildlife made in-kind donations to the project.
"Trout Unlimited really came to the rescue," Gaines said.
http://www.themountainmail.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=17539
Durango Herald op-ed from Paul Sheppard, president of the Five Rivers Chapter of Trout Unlimited in Durango: As part of the recent land swap discussion, we should consider values that do not equate well to dollars, as they are priceless.
The U.S. Forest Service recognizes articles identified in the Wild & Scenic Rivers Acts as "outstandingly remarkable values" or ORVs. These are features in the forest of such high value, the Forest Service is directed to manage them so as to retain their character. In order for the people to make more informed decisions about the proposed land swap, I feel it important to share these values.
http://durangoherald.com/sections/Opinion/2009/09/27/Cutthroat__competition/
Thanks to Coyote Gulch for the link!
Trout Unlimited's Elizabeth Russell advocates for federal “Good Samaritan legislation,” laws that would relieve groups like Lake Fork Watershed from liability. She said that in Pennsylvania, the only state with such laws, “clean ups are happening left and right.” http://coloradoindependent.com/38169/colo-water-cleanup-projects-hobbled-by-%E2%80%98good-samaritan%E2%80%99-legal-risks
By DENNIS WEBB/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Friday, September 11, 2009
John Trammel, of the Grand Valley Anglers chapter of Trout Unlimited, is quoted in the report as saying, “It would be a serious mistake to jeopardize the irreplaceable values of native fish on the Roan by drilling in their watersheds.”
http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/news/stories/2009/09/11/091209_3A_roan_sportsmen.html
by Garrett AndrewsHerald Staff Writer
"We're losing that riverbank," said former president of the Five Rivers Chapter of Trout Unlimited Ty Churchwell. "Eventually it will eat its way through Roosa Avenue."
He said that part of the problem is the unstoppable force of nature, the other is human. River users who utilize the free parking along Roosa Avenue often don't walk to a trail to get to the river but forge their own through the native vegetation.
The repair measures have been designed to withstand a 50-year flood, and should be around "for decades," said Churchwell.
All of this serves chiefly as an angler's pow-wow for an initiative that began several years ago with a $400,000 grant to the Greenway Foundation to study what is called River North, from Confluence Park to the northern city limits.
More recently, Trout Unlimited announced a memorandum of understanding with South Suburban Parks and Recreation and the city of Littleton for a study of an extended reach of the river downstream from C-470.
North of this is a jumble of broken concrete, discarded tires and assorted trash that has plagued the river for as long as anyone can recall.
"We'd like to see the Platte turned into a recreational playground, a place that would attract tourists as well as residents, much like with Salida and Durango," said Michael Hobbs, president of the Denver Chapter.
Experts trying to figure out workings of abandoned tunnels to treat Peru Creek heavy metals
By Bob Berwyn summit daily news
Some recent estimates for treating drainage from the abandoned mine range as high as $20 million, according to Trout Unlimited's Elizabeth Russell, who has been leading the effort the past couple of years. That amount includes construction and annual operations and maintenance for as long as 20 years, but it's still much higher than expected. When Trout Unlimited entered the picture, there was speculation that a treatment plant could be built for under $1 million.
“All the work that's been done up there paints a much more dire picture of what we need to do,” Russell said.
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20090814/NEWS/908139987/1055
Daily Camera By Clay Evans Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The cities of Boulder and Lafayette and Trout Unlimited, the national conservation organization with an office in Boulder, aren't exactly thrilled with the idea of further allocating water from the Fraser. But if it's going to happen, as most expect it will, they'd like to see 5,000 acre-feet of storage added to the proposed 72,000-acre-feet expansion and use it to ensure adequate winter flow in South Boulder Creek.
"It's a stream that needs help," said Drew Peternell of Trout Unlimited.
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/aug/11/saving-south-boulder-creek/
By Charlie Meyers The Denver Post
Funded in large part by MillerCoors, the Forest Service and Trout Unlimited and bolstered by a small army of volunteers, the effort will begin the first week of August with a launch of equipment and materials that will make the creek suitable for fish while erasing a rash of environmental scars.
A buck-and-rail fence will be installed to prevent motorized incursion, while a mile of unauthorized road will be obliterated to further aid in stream protection. At the same time, a single-track trail will be maintained for hiking and other backcountry uses.
Design and construction will be managed by Frontier Environmental Services, the firm that earlier was contracted by West Denver TU to design and build the so-called Golden Mile on Clear Creek.
The Clear Creek Watershed Foundation will oversee the project once it has been completed, an effort that includes on-ground remediation and metals reduction.
