Bridging the (Thompson) Divide

Help Protect an Area Vital to Western Colorado Fisheries

Senator Michael Bennet recently introduced draft legislation to protect the area known as the Thompson Divide, near Carbondale, Colorado. The bill is being labeled as a discussion draft with the intent of gathering public input before formally introducing it in the Senate.

Many of you may ask why this area matters to TU? That’s a good question with several answers. First and foremost, the Thompson Divide contains several genetically pure populations of cutthroat trout known as conservation populations. These populations are used as a pure source for repopulating areas where cutthroat have been extirpated and need to be restored. Second, the Thompson Divide is, in part, the headwaters to no less than four major rivers – the Crystal, the N. Fork of the Gunnison, the Colorado and the Gold Medal waters of the Roaring Fork. Third, the area is a premier hunting destination in Colorado. And finally, the Roaring Fork Valley has a decades-old sustainable, recreation-based economy that can remain so, as long as the pristine landscapes that attract anglers, hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts remain intact.

The next question you’ll likely ask is what does this legislation intend to do and why? The legislation aims to permanently withdraw the area from future oil and gas development and provide a mechanism for current lease holders to divest in an equitable manner. For those of you who follow TU across the country, you may remember similar situations we worked on in Wyoming, Montana and New Mexico. The result in those three areas was legislation that did essentially the same thing Senator Bennet seeks to do in the Thompson Divide. The issue is salient right now because the area is under imminent threat to be developed. Citizens, conservationists, sportsmen, ranchers and recreationists are all in the midst of working towards averting any sort of development in the area due to its pristine nature and importance to the Roaring Fork Valley’s outdoor based economy and traditional pastimes.

Lastly, I’m sure you’re clamoring to aid in this effort right away. Well, there’s a way for you to do so. Senator Bennet’s office has set up a website that has maps, a copy of the bill and allows citizens to provide input. I suggest you go to this link and provide meaningful input that explains to the Senator’s office why this is important to you and that there are much more suitable and less pristine areas to develop our domestic resources. Here is the link: http://www.bennet.senate.gov/thompsondivide

We have also set up a couple of resources for your use. For more information got to: www.sportsmenfortd.org or search for Sportsmen for Thompson Divide on Facebook and be sure to like the page so you’ll receive updates. If you could not find something you were looking for or just want more information, please call or email Aaron Kindle at akindle@tu.org or 303 868-2859.

More Fishing is Even More Fun

Through the "Fishing is Fun" program, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has selected 11 projects to improve fishing around the state that will share in nearly a million dollars in matching funds as part of the 2012 grant cycle. Our own Southern Greenback and Cheyenne Mountain Chapters have teamed up with CPW, the City of Pueblo, Xcel Energy, and the Packard Foundation on one such project designed to improve aquatic habitat on a seven-mile section of the Arkansas River through Pueblo.

"This is an important project for a section of river that has been recognized as one of the Top 10 trout fisheries in the United States," said Doug Krieger, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Senior Aquatic Biologist for the Southeast Region, in a July 31, 2012 press release.

Other projects receiving funding include habitat work on the South Platte River in Denver, expansion of a community fishing pond in Kiowa County, aeration of Waneka Lake in Lafayette, an effort to build an ADA-accessible fishing platform on the Arkansas River at Canon City and projects to improve angler access to Clear Creek, the Swan River, Upper South Boulder Creek, Idaho Creek, the inlet to Lake San Cristobal in Lake City and three ponds in Loveland.

To read more about the "Fishing is Fun" program and these projects, please visit the CPW website here.

Hero for a Day: See the Movie

When Field and Stream chose The Trail Creek Restoration Project, a joint effort by the Cutthroat Chapter, the Coalition for the Upper South Platte (CUSP) and the National Forest Foundation as one of its Hero for a Day Conservation Projects they sent a video crew along to tell the story. The result is a nice little story featuring some people you may know. Take a look:

http://www.fieldandstream.com/hero-for-a-day/videos

The Roadless Rule and You

The U.S. Forest Service has issued a Record of Decision for the Colorado Roadless Rule, thus concluding a nearly seven year process to determine the management of the 4.2 million acres of Colorado’s roadless backcountry. These lands are especially critical to anglers as they are the headwaters to every major river in the state and home to the majority of our only native trout - the cutthroat. Colorado is one of only two states to participate in a state rulemaking process for the roadless lands within their state boundaries – the other being Idaho. So what does this mean for anglers and conservationists in Colorado?

The main thing it does is clear up the fog lying over natural resource management that occurs in roadless areas.

It is now very clear how management actions in these areas must be conducted. For instance, 1.2 million acres are now managed as “upper tier”, meaning these areas have greater protection and more prohibitions on the type of activities that are allowed. In these upper tier areas any new oil and gas activities must operate without occupying the surface of these lands. Also, any project in these upper tier areas must protect native cutthroat trout and ensure that these populations remain over the long-term. These upper tier areas have greater protections than they were afforded under the 2001 Clinton-era Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

As for the 3 million acres of non - upper tier lands – these areas are generally well-protected but have numerous exceptions tailored to Colorado’s economic drivers and unique management situations such as ski areas, the coal mining areas near Paonia and fire and fuels management in the Wildland Urban Interface or WUI .

Of course, this is an oversimplified account of the vast array of ramifications of such a detailed rule. However, you the reader, would be bored if I went into the excruciating details. Some people love this stuff though and I’m happy to talk with them about how the new rule affects their favorite backcountry fishing hole or their favorite waters far downstream, but still influenced, by the backcountry headwaters. If you find yourself in this category, please contact me. Or, if you want to read the rule for yourself, here’s the link: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5378039.pdf

The best thing about all this is that here in Colorado, we still have wild, un-roaded landscapes where you can be one with the stream, your rod, a babbling brook and nothing else. Make sure you exercise this privilege and take a youngster with you – it is priceless and irreplaceable.

For more information, contact Aaron Kindle at akindle@tu.org.

Native Trout Grants Available

The Western Native Trout Initiative announces 2012 Small Grants Program request for proposals.

The Western Native Trout Initiative is a nationally recognized Fish Habitat Partnership that seeks to cooperatively restore and recover 19 western native trout and char species across their historic range by funding efforts to raise awareness for the importance of native trout and focusing limited financial and human resources toward the highest-impact, locally-led, on-the-ground projects.

>>Click here to apply.

WNTI covers an area of 1.75 M square miles and includes representation by 12 western states, 5 federal agencies, sovereign tribes, and private conservation groups. Since 2006, the Western Native Trout Initiative (WNTI) has helped to invest over $16 million of private and public funding toward 78 projects that have reconnected, restored and enhanced over 430 stream miles, and helped complete over 500 native trout population assessments to guide collaborative watershed planning and management.

In addition to directing and leveraging approximately $600,000 in federal funding annually toward large, on-the-ground native trout conservation projects, each summer WNTI accepts proposals to help ‘jump start’ or complete smaller, high-impact efforts by community groups to restore or recover western native trout in the rivers, lakes and watersheds where they remain.

Projects considered for funding under the Small Grants Program may include riparian or in-stream habitat restoration, barrier removal or construction, population or watershed assessments needed for prioritization and planning, water leases or acquisitions to improve in-stream flows, and native trout community outreach and education. Individual projects will be funded at a maximum of $3,000.

In order to help applicants put forward the best possible projects, WNTI has a set of criteria by which projects are evaluated for funding. Applicants should address these criteria in their project applications.

>>Please click here to review the grant selection criteria and application instructions.

We would like to thank the National Fish Habitat Partnership, Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, state agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and our private sector partners like Orvis and Patagonia for contributing funds and resources toward the Small Grants Program.

The deadline to submit a project under the Small Grants Program is August 25, 2012. Questions? Contact Robin Knox at rknox@westernnativetrout.org.

You Can Help Kids Explore the Aquatic Life

Colorado TU's Stream Explorers initiative is a watershed learning program for young people in grades 5-10.

Now in development by Colorado TU’s Youth Education Task Force, Youth Education Coordinator Jake Lemon and TU volunteers like you, the Stream Explorers program is a series of hands-on, science based activities that help students understand aquatic organisms as well as – you guessed it – fly fishing techniques.

Would you like to be a Stream Explorers Trainer?

On Wednesday August 22, 2012 we will be holding a training/meeting in the Salida/Buena Vista area for people interested in helping Colorado TU host this program in their respective communities. During the day-long session we’ll “model” each activity and then talk about how we might improve and adapt them to various community settings.

This is a great opportunity. You won’t just be taking part, you’ll play a role in launching the program - and in its ongoing improvement.

Interested? Want to learn more? Click here to read more about the program, or contact Jake Lemon at jake.lemon@coloradotu.org

Session size is limited, so don't delay.

Frontline to Focus on Pebble Mine 7/24

Tuesday, July 24 › 9pmon Rocky Mountain PBS

The Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska is home to the last great wild sockeye salmon fishery in the world. It's also home to enormous mineral deposits – copper, gold, molybdenum – estimated to be worth some $300 billion. Now, two foreign mining companies are proposing to extract this mineral wealth by digging one of North America's largest open-pit mines, the "Pebble Mine," at the headwaters of Bristol Bay. "Frontline" travels to Alaska to probe the fault lines of a growing battle between those who depend on this extraordinary fishery for a living, the mining companies who are pushing for Pebble and the political framework that will ultimately decide the outcome.

View a promo: http://ow.ly/cmhEJ

A Deal to Smile About

Trout Unlimited offers free introductory women's membership.

For the next year, you'll receive all the benefits of a paid membership:

• 1-year subscription to TROUT magazine
• 16-month TU calendar (mailed in the fall)
• official TU membership card
• car rental & hotel discounts
• TU decal
• Local chapter membership

Click here to sign up.

Groundbreaking water deal to boost Yampa flows

Here's an excerpt from Bob Berwyn's piece at Summit County Citizens Voice.

“We are testing totally new waters here,” trust director Amy Beatie said in an earlier interview when the program was announced. “We have our own cash we’re willing to put into the program and our goal is to raise $500,000...."

Read the entire story (3-4 minutes)

photo: courtesy Colorado Division of Parks & Wildlife: Kesha Hess

Thank You Patagonia!

Colorado TU has been awarded a considerable, unrestricted grant from the Patagonia Store in Denver.

Anyone who is around non-profit funding knows that unrestricted grants are usually the toughest to get because they don’t have ‘strings’ attached – they can be used for just about anything (within reason) - to promote or sustain the mission of the organization.

This grant is particularly appreciated, because we were nominated by the employees of the Patagonia store…that’s right, the people who work in our community and see our positive work for Colorado’s rivers are the ones who nominated us for this significant gift. THAT is much appreciated!

As always, I encourage you to consider spending your hard-earned dollars to support the companies who support who support Colorado TU. Patagonia has been a supporter of Trout Unlimited for many years, but this most recent award reinforces my belief that our mission is sound, our execution is good, and people take notice when you accomplish good things.

Thank you, Patagonia Denver!!

Sinjin Eberle Colorado TU President

Denver's Patagonia store is located at 1431 15th St. (15th & Blake)