We are happy to announce that our 2017 Annual Report is live and available for your viewing. Last year was filled with great work across the whole state and the finishing up of many restoration projects and continuing others! Thank you to everyone who supported Trout Unlimited in Colorado last year.
The great Lefty Kreh passed away Wednesday at 93 years young. Considered by many to be the greatest of fly casting instructors, Lefty was one of the leaders in popularizing saltwater fly fishing and his Lefty's Deceiver fly gained such renown that it was featured on a US Postage Stamp in 1991. Conservation was also a part of Lefty's legacy, as he was a leader in promoting the catch-and-release ethic among the fishing community. The New York Times features an obituary describing Lefty's notable and colorful life in fly fishing: Lefty Kreh, a Fly Fisherman With Few Peers, Is Dead at 93.
An inductee in the International Game Fish Association's Hall of Fame, Kreh was introduced to fly fishing by Joe Brooks. The Hall of Fame profile on Kreh offers a great summation of what Lefty meant to fly fishing. It concludes simply and fittingly:
His greatest accomplishment may be that he has never failed to help just about every person who has sought his assistance and advice. It is said that when Lefty asked Joe Brooks - the man who had so enriched his life - how he could repay him, Brooks replied, “Just share with others what I have shared with you.” And for more than 50 years, Lefty Kreh has been doing just that.
The High Country Angler (HCA) is the official digital magazine of Colorado Trout Unlimited! HCA is published 4 times a year by High Country Publications, LLC., in cooperation with Colorado Trout Unlimited, the 3rd largest TU Chapter in the nation.
(Denver)—Gov. John Hickenlooper has received the 2018 River Stewardship Award from Colorado Trout Unlimited, for actions during his terms as Denver mayor and as Colorado governor that led to significant conservation victories for the state’s rivers and streams. The award was presented Thursday evening, March 8th at Colorado TU’s annual River Stewardship gala at Mile High Station in Denver.
In his remarks, Colorado TU executive director David Nickum lauded Hickenlooper’s long record of bringing people together to find solutions on river health issues:
“In 2007, the Denver Chapter of TU held its first ‘Carp Slam’ tournament, to raise funds for and build awareness of the South Platte River through Denver, promoting a vision of the river as a living centerpiece to a great city. They were fortunate to have an ally in the Mayor’s office, who encouraged and empowered city staff to partner in the effort. In the decade since, millions of dollars have gone into improving the river, its greenway, and promoting economic revitalization along the corridor. Today the Denver South Platte is a river on the rise.”
The Upper Colorado River was another watershed that benefited from Gov. Hickenlooper’s leadership, said Nickum. In decades past, Denver Water had not always seen eye-to-eye with conservationists or with West Slope communities and interest on water diversions and river impacts.
“As Mayor, John Hickenlooper appointed a new breed of commissioners to the Water 
Board—leaders like Tom Gougeon, Penfield Tate, and the late George Beardsley, who encouraged Denver Water to engage with other interests to find cooperative, collaborative solutions – not simply continue the old water fights of the past.” The resulting landmark 2013 Colorado River Cooperative Agreement was groundbreaking and spawned the present Learning by Doing partnership that is meeting water needs while improving the health of the Colorado River watershed.
“That same spirit of collaboration is woven through the Colorado Water Plan adopted by the state under Governor Hickenlooper,” said Nickum. “The Plan encourages projects and programs that benefit multiple uses, from growing cities to agriculture; it supports local collaboration through stream management planning; and it features healthy rivers as a fundamental part of our state’s water values. And that that vision has been supported by real commitment and resources through new state funding.”
Nickum noted that Gov. Hickenlooper had pulled together “the right people, at the right place and time, and with the right support and encouragement, to make these remarkable accomplishments possible. He has done nothing less than create the climate in which river stewardship can thrive in Colorado. And that is the essence of great leadership.”
Colorado Trout Unlimited’s River Stewardship Gala is the state’s largest celebration of Colorado’s rivers and world-class fishing opportunities. In 2017, nearly 400 guests helped 
to raise over $80,000 for Colorado TU’s conservation efforts throughout the state. Funds from the River Stewardship Gala go towards CTU’s work in youth education, protecting statewide instream flows and temperature, reintroducing and protecting native trout, and preserving and restoring the state’s fisheries and their watersheds.
A huge thank you to the guests, staff, volunteers, board members, and of course the donors who made the night a great success.
Trout Unlimited is a national organization with 300,000 members and supporters organized into over 400 chapters and councils nationwide. These dedicated grassroots volunteers are matched by a respected staff of organizers, lawyers, policy experts, and scientists, who work out of more than 45 offices across the country. Our mission is to conserve, protect, and restore North America's cold-water fisheries and their watersheds.
Some of the best hunting and fishing in the West today is found on public land where intact habitat provides all the necessities for healthy populations of wild and native fish as well as trophy herds of elk, deer and other big-game animals. Trout Unlimited's Sportsmen's Conservation Project is looking for a field coordinator to work in Colorado.
We are seeking a staff member to design and implement campaigns that engage hunters and anglers in public land decision-making processes on high-quality fish and wildlife habitat. Denver location preferred, Colorado Front Range communities acceptable.
This is not an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities.
Please send a letter of interest and resume to Katie Becker, kbecker@tu.org. No phone calls, please. Open until filled.
Please fill out this voluntary form and submit it as an attachment to this email address.
TU is an Equal Employment Opportunity & Affirmative Action Employer pursuant to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act & Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistant Act.
TU hires staff without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or disability.
