Front Range projects are river threats, group says

GJ Sentinel

By Gary Harmon

The upper reaches of the Colorado River are endangered by proposed expansions of two transmountain-diversion projects, an advocacy group said. The projects, the Windy Gap Firming Project and the Moffat Tunnel Collection System Project, would increase diversions from the upper Colorado River by at least 48,000 acre-feet a year.

The threat to the river’s fishery, boating and water supply to downstream users placed the Upper Colorado River at No. 6 in the 2010 list of the nation’s most-endangered rivers by American Rivers.

The American Rivers list puts a needed spotlight on how much water is taken from the Colorado River Basin, Ken Neubecker of Colorado Trout Unlimited said.

“We need to start looking at whole picture not just the balkanized water-supply picture” of the way the Colorado River is divided up between the Front Range and Western Slope, Neubecker said.

Trout Unlimited hopes it can use American Waters’ listing of the river as endangered “as a vehicle to raise awareness on the Front Range about the cost of their water” in terms of water quality and quantity on the other side of the mountains, Neubecker said.

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/front_range_projects_are_river/

Upper Colorado River makes list of endangered rivers

By Tonya BinaSky-Hi Daily News

The Upper Colorado River has secured a spot on America's Most Endangered Rivers list, released today by American Rivers.

The threat of two new water diversion projects that could “sap the life from the Upper Colorado” was a main reason the river was chosen for the report's No. 6 spot.

“The most endangered river listings get the attention of media and policy-makers,” said Randy Scholfield, spokesperson of Trout Unlimited's Western Water Project. “It does help to highlight some of the threats facing these rivers and helps them get the grassroots support they need.”

http://www.skyhidailynews.com/article/20100602/NEWS/100609984/1079&ParentProfile=1067

Drilling sites garner little interest

BY BOBBY MAGILL

Coloradoan

Corey Fisher of Trout Unlimited said that might show there isn't much interest in new energy development in North Park and that the industry believes the area is an exploration zone. Despite the lack of interest, the parcels that sold are in sensitive trout habitat, he said.

One parcel straddles the North Platte River and one of its tributaries, while the others are near the headwaters of different tributary streams.

"Development on any of those leases could be problematic," Fisher said, calling those streams "irreplaceable fisheries."

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20100524/NEWS01/5240307/Drilling-sites-garner-little-interest#pluckcomments

BLM targets Alpine Triangle recreation plan

by Dale Rodebaugh

Herald Staff Writer

"We believe the BLM does a fabulous job of managing the Alpine Triangle, especially given its limited budget," Ty Churchwell, with the Five Rivers chapter of Trout Unlimited, said Friday. "It does little to change the current management plan, while recognizing that the resource is under ever-increasing pressure from recreational users." Churchwell said the motto for the Trout Unlimited campaign is: Keep it like it is. He said his organization wants to give the BLM long-term direction on management and possibly funding.

The BLM can't advocate for or endorse any particular legislative action, Churchwell said. The land is public and self-governance is the cornerstone of discussions.

"It's up to citizens to direct the BLM as to how we'd like to see our public lands managed," Churchwell said. "The (BLM) recreational plan is a good indicator of the beliefs of Alpine Triangle stakeholders and a tool we can use as we start discussions about the future of the area."

http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/2010/05/23/BLM_targets_Alpine_Triangle_recreation_plan/

Tour reveals river damage in Edwards

Sarah MausolfVail Correspondent Post Independent

The Eagle River Watershed Council and Trout Unlimited invited stakeholders on a rafting trip to tour the length of river where the $4 million restoration project is taking place.

About two thirds of the river restoration project is complete, said Melissa Macdonald, executive director of the watershed council. In 2008, workers added stones along the banks that pinch the water into a narrower, deeper channel. That helps keep fish healthy when the river is low. This stretch of the river gets wide and hot during low flow times, which is bad for fish, Macdonald said.

“The fish will either die or leave,” she said.

As houses and parking lots proliferated upstream, Ash said water that would normally soak into the ground instead flowed into the river. That runoff carried extra sediment downstream, depositing it in this stretch of the river.

That sediment caused the river to widen out, and clogged pebbles along the bottom that are an important habitat for the bugs that fish eat.

The restoration project has been fixing those areas to make them more friendly for trout.

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20100522/VALLEYNEWS/100529972/1083&ParentProfile=1074

Plans to Open North Park for Drilling Fought

KUNC

Kirk Siegler

Most springs, when the snow melt is furious, Bill Dvorak grabs his raft and tackle and heads to a wild and remote stretch of the North Platte River northeast of Steamboat Springs. "It's one of those rivers that I really love," Dvorak says. "I've always described it as close as you can get to an Idaho river in Colorado."

He leads outfitting trips that start at 9,000 feet, winding through the Northgate Canyon Wilderness Area, eventually spilling out into a sparsely developed basin known colloquially as North Park.

"It's kind of like the Serengeti of Colorado," Dvorak says. "There's so many animals up in that North Park area, and it definitely deserves some sort of consideration before you would go in there and destroy some of that habitat."

Dvorak is an organizer with the National Wildlife Federation, which along with Colorado Trout Unlimited and other groups have filed formal protests against Thursday's lease auction. The auction includes about 11,000 acres in the North Park area. The groups worry roads and well pads necessary for oil and gas drilling will fragment habitat for wildlife such as the sage grouse, antelope and mule deer.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kunc/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1647955/Regional/Plans.to.Open.North.Park.for.Drilling.Fought

Interior Department opening Colorado's North Park to gas and oil drilling

By Bruce Finley The Denver Post

Over the protests of conservation groups, federal land managers are moving to open 11,160 acres of North Park for gas and oil drilling.

The valley between the Zirkel and Medicine Bow mountains sustains antelope, elk, moose, bighorn sheep, raptors, trout and sage grouse.

But the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management — despite recent vows to emphasize conservation — decided the nation's need for domestic oil justified the decision to allow drilling in the North Park area.

Conservation groups protesting opening the North Park parcels for drilling include Colorado Trout Unlimited, the National Wildlife Federation, Western Resource Advocates, WildEarth Guardians, Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and the Colorado Environmental Coalition.

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_15047935

Sportsmen object to hasty North Park oil and gas lease sale

Colorado Independent

By David O. Williams

“We’re not saying oil and gas development should be prohibited in North Park,” said Brad Powell, energy director for Trout Unlimited. “But we should let the planning process play out and ensure that proper protections are in place before making any long-term commitment to oil and gas development on these leases.” http://coloradoindependent.com/52517/sportsmen-object-to-hasty-north-park-oil-and-gas-lease-sale

South Platte River under siege by trash

By Scott WilloughbyThe Denver Post

"It's the most degraded river in the state for sure," Kahn said. "What this could be — should be — is a recreational paradise. It's right in the middle of town, and people should be out here able to use it without worrying about their kids getting sick and without seeing all kinds of nasty debris on the side of the river."

With that in mind, Confluence Kayaks has teamed up with Denver Parks and Recreation partners at The Greenway Foundation and river stakeholders such as Colorado Whitewater and Denver Trout Unlimited (TU) to form an entity known as Protect our Urban River Environment, or PURE. PURE has initiated efforts to work with municipal leaders along the South Platte in Arapahoe, Denver and Adams counties to increase the focus on preventing trash and debris from getting into the river and its tributaries, as well as the actual removal.

The first step, organizers say, is to retrofit sewage and storm-water outfall pipes with pollutant traps designed to collect the garbage before it flows into the river, rather than pulling it out piece by piece. The group has approached the state's Water Quality Control Commission about listing the river as "impaired" because of the amount of trash. The river is undergoing an EPA-enforced effort to reduce levels of E. coli and other pathogens, and PURE would like to see a similar Total Maximum Daily Load established for trash.

"We were encouraged by the momentum that these guys had established and encouraged them to work to develop an appropriate benchmark to list something for trash," said Andrew Todd, a Water Control Commissioner and TU member who took part in Sunday's cleanup.

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14964622

Misconceptions about oil and gas drilling in the West

Denver Post Guest Commentary

By Chris Wood, the president and chief executive officer of Trout Unlimited.

Recent reports show oil and gas drilling in 2009 was at an 18-year low. Before the fingers start pointing at Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar for putting a stranglehold on the oil and gas industry, let's clarify that first statement: Oil and gas drilling in 2009 was at an 18-year low in Canada.

Some industry trade groups may blame Salazar for the declining trend in oil and gas activity in the Rocky Mountain West, but the reality is that the global recession isn't relegated to Vernal, Utah, Pinedale, Wyoming, and Rifle, Colorado. Well counts all across the western U.S. and Canada fell last year, with the province of Alberta seeing a 50-percent cut in the number of wells drilled in 2009 compared with 2008.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14710621#ixzz0ivLkQiVS