TU in Colorado is hiring!

Colorado Field Coordinator

ABOUT TROUT UNLIMITED

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.

POSITION SUMMARY

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.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Grassroots organizing with local and state hunters/anglers, organizations, local businesses and community leaders.
• Working with local elected officials, legislative officials, and state and federal land management agencies.
• Leading a team-oriented, collaborative effort to maintain and protect the great fish and wildlife values in the area.
• Assist in fundraising.
• Non-supervisory position.
• Will be responsible for helping develop and implement campaigns within allocated budgets.

This is not an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor Degree preferred, will consider experience in lieu of education.
• Knowledge of public land issues and agency planning processes a plus.
• Experience in developing and leading advocacy-oriented campaigns preferred.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and be a self-starter.
• Positive attitude with energy and willingness to do what it takes to get the job done.
• Flexibility, adaptability.
• Proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Very strong inter-personal skills.
• Avid angler/hunter a plus.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Fundraising experience preferred.

HOW TO APPLY

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.

Partnerships Paying Off for Fraser River

The fish are returning to Fraser Flats. It took years of vision and persistence, but Trout Unlimited’s long-game strategy of collaboration on the Upper Colorado River is paying big dividends for anglers and local communities that depend on a healthy river.

Exhibit A is the Fraser Flats Habitat Project. The Fraser River, a key tributary of the Upper Colorado, had been degraded by years of water diversions and other pressures.

TU and a host of water stakeholders joined forces to reverse that decline. The effort, called Learning by Doing, brought together a variety of partners including Denver Water, Northern Water, Grand County, Trout Unlimited, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife to help restore the Upper Colorado watershed.

The group’s inaugural project at Fraser Flats aimed to restore a roughly one-mile stretch of the Fraser between the towns of Tabernash and Fraser, with the goal of providing healthy habitat for trout even during periods of reduced flows. The Fraser in this section had become too wide and shallow, resulting in sedimentation and high temperatures that smothered bug life and pressured coldwater-loving trout.

Design work began last fall. In late spring, more than 150 volunteers turned out to plant willows and cottonwoods along the streambank for shade and bank stability. Then in summer and fall, the group brought in Freestone Aquatics to narrow the river with point bars and other structures to increase velocity and depth of the river. Freestone also created a series of riffle and deep pools to provide better holding water for trout.

The results already have been nothing short of spectacular.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife conducted a fish survey on Oct. 5, shortly after completion of the project, and found dramatic increases in the biomass of brown and rainbow trout in the stretch compared to previous surveys, and an even larger increase in numbers of larger (14" and up) fish.

Preliminary electrofishing survey results from CPW showed the reach experienced a 415% increase in brown trout biomass, and a 550% increase in the numbers of brown trout greater than 14" in length. While rainbows are a smaller component of the population (15% of biomass, 25% of larger fish #s), they also blossomed with an increase of 267% in biomass and a 400% boost in fish over 14".

"We are elated," Mely Whiting, legal counsel for Trout Unlimited, told the local Ski-Hi News. "This is amazing. The biomass [in the river] has more than tripled, just from last year, and only in the matter of a couple of weeks since the project was completed.”

Biologists also reported seeing large brown trout actively spawning in many areas of the stretch. In short, Fraser River trout have wasted no time moving into the improved habitat.

What’s more, starting in spring 2018, the project will also provide public fishing access along a half-mile of the Fraser Flats section.

“This section of the Fraser River is the healthiest I’ve seen this river in the 47 years I’ve lived here,” TU’s Klancke said. “The best part is we’re hoping to do more river improvements like this in the future with our Learning By Doing partners.”

Colorado Public Radio this week aired a segment about the successful project and the "unusual partnership" between TU and Denver Water .

Watch the video below from Denver Water for another good overview of the project benefits.

Silverthorne, TU unveil Blue River Explorer Hike

In partnership with the Town of Silverthorne, the Gore Range Chapter TU in September celebrated the opening of the "Blue River Explorer Hike."  The half-mile hike along the Blue River through the town core of Silverthorne includes multiple interpretive signs highlighting different aspects of the Blue River's ecology, history, and significance in the community. Inspired by the popular "Junior Ranger" program of the National Park Service, the Blue River Explorer Hike program offers a free children's activity booklet and sticker that can be picked up by registering at the Colorado Welcome Center at the Green Village - Outlets of SIlverthorne. The Blue River Explorer Hike is a free, self-guided trail and is open daily. Signs along the trail explain trout biology, watershed management, challenges of water supply in Colorado, and solutions to help mitigate water shortages. Summit County Television produced a brief video about the new trail:

The Gore Range Chapter hopes that the trail will not only help engage and educate youth in Summit County and among its many visitors, but also may inspire others to bring similar educational programs to their home waters. For those that are interested in developing their own Explorer Hike program, Chapter President Greg Hardy can provide all the necessary details based on what the chapter learned in the course of developing the Blue River project (costs, grant opportunities, locally-available fund raising, development material, artist recommendation, etc.)

TU, partners move forward on Fraser River restoration

In this 5 1/2 minute video, Kirk Klancke, Anna Drexler-Dreis and other leaders with the Colorado River Headwaters Chapter share the story of how collaboration among TU, Grand County, Denver Water, and other stakeholders is creating opportunities to restore healthier habitat for the Fraser River and its riparian corridor.

Unveiled at the Colorado Headwaters Chapter's annual banquet in July, the video was part of that evening's theme of recognizing how "conservation starts with conversation", recognizing key leaders including Denver Water board member Tom Gougeon and former Grand County Commissioner James Newberry for their leadership in opening the door for greater dialogue and cooperation among former adversaries in addressing  shared interests in the health of the Fraser River watershed.

To learn more about the work of the Colorado River Headwaters Chapter with the Fraser and Upper Colorado  Rivers, you can visit the chapter website here.

Greenback Spawning at Zimmerman Lake - Success!

FORT COLLINS, CO – It was still dark out when I threw the thermos of coffee into the truck and left Denver for the Zimmerman Lake Trailhead just east of Cameron Pass.  The goal for the day was to join two other fellow TU volunteers and work alongside Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) biologists to help with Greenback Cutthroat spawning at the pristine high alpine lake. Since 2013, CPW and Colorado Trout Unlimited have worked together to establish a population of Greenback broodstock up at Zimmerman Lake that can be used to help populate other streams throughout the cutthroat’s native range.  The recent spawning project took place over four days and engaged a handful of CPW staff along with eight CTU volunteers from various Front Range Chapters.

The spawning process was pretty straightforward and designed by CPW staff to expand the genetic pool of Greenback Cutthroat Trout.  The pictures below highlight much of the process that took place over the four days.  A big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who came out to support this important recovery effort!

CPW set up at the Zimmerman Lake inlet to capture spawning Greenbacks.

Fish were collected with a large net and put into a pen to be sorted and categorized by CPW staff and volunteers.

Fish were sorted based on their gender and stocking year.

RFID chips in the fish help to identify the stocking year and other critical data.

After the fish were sorted, CPW milked the males and females - making targeted genetic crosses among the various lineages to expand the genetic diversity.  The eggs and sperm were combined in bowls, packed into small coolers, put on ice, and shipped to the local fish hatchery in Leadville, CO for breeding.

This process is a critical step in the long-term recovery of the native Greenback Cutthroat Trout.  CTU is proud of the great work that its volunteers provided during these long days up at the lake.  The work undertaken at Zimmerman will help ensure that future fishermen and women are able to chase these rare fish throughout the Front Range for decades to come.

For more information on the project or to get involved with other upcoming Greenback recovery projects, contact Dan Omasta, CTU Grassroots Coordinator (domasta@tu.org).

Greenback Recovery Working Group

The greenback cutthroat is one of last three remaining species of cutthroat trout that is native to Colorado. Their populations were decimated during the initial settling of the west, and for a period of time this species was thought to have become extinct. Later, greenback cutthroats were believed to have been rediscovered, but this proved to be case of mistaken identity. Genetic testing later provided evidence that this “old Strain” of greenback cutthroats were in fact Colorado Cutthroats, an entirely different subspecies of cutthroat trout. It wasn’t until later that a small population of true native greenback cutthroat were discovered in Bear Creek near Colorado Springs. Since this discovery there has been a significant effort to capture the genetic pool of these true greenback cutthroats, breed them in controlled environments, and repopulate native waters with these trout. Much of this work is thanks to the Greenback Recovery working group, currently lead by Colorado TU Grassroots Coordinator, Dan Omasta. This working group is a collaborative effort; including organizations such as Trout Unlimited, the Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Forest Service, and front range CTU chapters. This partnership forms a unified front to work as a single point of contact. The Greenback Recovery Working Group has been effective because they are able to provide much needed volunteers, address funding needs, enhance communications, and work on grant writing across chapters as a single entity.

One of the most significant ongoing projects is the reintroduction of native greenback cutthroat trout to Zimmerman Lake. This lake serves as a spawning ground for these cutthroat, where fertilized eggs are then collected and brought to the Leadville hatchery. The resulting fry are then reintroduced to other native streams.

Another substantial project conducted by the Greenback Recovery Working Group in partnership with Western Native Trout Initiative entails installing 30 temperature loggers into local streams. This project will help Colorado Trout Unlimited collect data in order to evaluate streams for reintroduction, monitor progress, and over time measure the impacts of climate change. There are many other ongoing and upcoming projects that the Greenback Recovery Working Group is tirelessly working on in order to successfully reintroduce native greenback cutthroat trout.

Soon under the Endangered Species Act, the Department of Fish and Wildlife will be forced to review the status of greenback cutthroats. Currently greenback cutthroat trout are listed as a threatened species, but if they are downgraded to an Endangered species there could be significant consequences. It would take significantly more time and money to acquire permitting and conduct environmental impact assessments.  Additionally, if this species becomes endangered, it may no longer be targeted by anglers. This may provide disincentives to protecting this native cutthroat species and limit fishing areas across Colorado. This would hinder one of the most substantial trout recovery efforts even undertaken in Colorado, but with proper funding and volunteers the Greenback Recovery Working Group should continue to successfully reintroduce this cutthroat species thought to have been lost.

To get involved or volunteer please contact Dan Omasta, DOmasta@tu.org, to learn about various opportunities!

Proposed Dam in Maroon Bells Wilderness

By Ken Neubecker, Regional Vice President, Colorado Trout Unlimited The City of Aspen is planning to build a pair of dams in some of Colorado’s most iconic mountain landscapes and streams. One is slated for Maroon Creek, just below the Maroon Bells, and the other on Castle Creek not far below the old town of Ashcroft. These dams would inundate significant portions of these free-flowing streams along with portions of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. Why is this coming up now? Because the City must go to Water Court every six years and demonstrate that they are working to build these dams.

This is not a good thing. Aspen has no need for these dams and reservoirs, no need to wreck these streams or the landscapes they inhabit. Colorado TU, along with partners at American Rivers, Western Resource Advocates and Wilderness Workshop are planning to object to these dams in Water Court.

Back in the 1960’s planners thought that Aspen’s population (1,101 in 1960) would reach 30,000 by the end of the century and that additional water supplies would be necessary. Aspen’s population didn’t grow much. In 2000 it was up to 5,914 and by 2010 had added less than a thousand more. Looking forward, the City’s population isn’t expected to grow much more over the next 60 years either, yet Aspen continues to hang on to the notion that they might, someday, need these destructive dams and reservoirs.

But they don’t, and the City itself claims they’ll probably never build them. Aspen currently holds a substantial portfolio of senior water rights on both streams. According to a study the City itself commissioned these existing rights can accommodate all projected water needs for the rest of this century even in the face of extreme climate change (City of Aspen Water Supply Availability Study, 2016 Update, June 2016).

So why is the City pursuing their conditional rights for dams they admit they will never probably build? Prudence is the excuse, but not a good reason. What the City is saying in court contradicts what they are saying in public. In court, they must say that they “can and will” build the dams. In public they say they probably won’t, but want to preserve the option. Preserving an option, to maybe, or then again maybe not, build the dams may sound prudent but it is not acceptable in Water Court. They either will, or they won’t. There is no “maybe”. Aspen can’t have it both ways.

Aspen’s primary argument is that they may need these additional water sources due to potential impacts from climate change. Climate change is a legitimate concern for water supply, but these dams will not help. Most models show that runoff and river flows will diminish throughout the Colorado River Basin, from Aspen downstream to the delta.

Aspen doesn’t exist in isolation from the rest of Colorado or the larger Colorado River basin. A 2012 study by the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) suggests that “the mean natural flow (of the Colorado River) … is projected to decrease by approximately 9%” by 2060. That means an additional 3.2 million acre-foot deficit in what is already a seriously depleted system (an acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons, or about what two normal families will use in a year). The BOR report also anticipates an “increase in drought frequency and duration”. Lake Powell is currently only half full, and Lake Mead even less (38%). Water shortage in the Colorado Basin is likely to be with us for a long time.

Colorado signed a compact with all the other Colorado River basin states in 1922. This compact requires that a certain amount of water be left in the river for the lower basin. If we do find ourselves amid a major water shortage the demands from the lower basin states will drain any reservoir with such junior rights as Aspen’s (1971). And there are numerous pre-1922 rights downstream that will also demand any water that might be stored behind these dams.

The dams would become empty monuments to the past, straddling diminished streams in what used to be vital and dynamic ecosystems.

Aspen does not need these dams and reservoirs. If they are truly prudent, and progressive, they never will. The people of Aspen would be much better served if the City dropped these outdated dams and develops real solutions that ensure both a reliable water supply and the important ecosystems of Castle and Maroon Creeks. Intact and fully functioning stream ecosystems are a much better hedge against climate change than a pair of outdated and useless dams.

CTU and its partners are willing and able to work with Aspen to develop realistic and modern 21st century solutions for future water needs. Aspen, of all places, can and should take a leadership role and not just keep kicking the can of outdated ideas down the road. We need to work with these streams, not against them.

Lessons from the Roan

By David Nickum For more than a decade, the battle over Colorado’s Roan Plateau—a beautiful green oasis surrounded by oil and gas development—raged in meetings and in courtrooms. At issue: Would the “drill, baby, drill” approach to public lands carry the day and the path of unrestrained energy development run over one of Colorado’s most valuable wildlife areas? Or would “lock it up” advocates preclude all development of the Roan’s major natural gas reserves?

Luckily, this story has a happy ending—and a lesson for Colorado and other states in the West struggling with how to balance the need for energy development with conservation of public lands and irreplaceable natural resources.

The Bureau of Land Management recently issued its final plan for the Roan Plateau, closing the most valuable habitat on top of the plateau to oil and gas leases. The plan, which will guide management of the area for the next 20 years, also acknowledges the importance of wildlife habitat corridors connecting to winter range at the base of the Plateau.

At the same time, the BLM management plan allows responsible development to proceed in less-sensitive areas of the plateau that harbor promising natural gas reserves and can help meet our domestic energy needs.

What happened? After years of acrimony and lawsuits, stakeholders on all side of the issue sat down and hammered out a balanced solution. Everyone won.

It’s too bad it took lawsuits and years of impasse to get all sides to do what they could have done early on: Listen to each other. We all could have saved a lot of time, money and tears.

The Roan example is a lesson to remember, as the incoming administration looks at how to tackle the issue of energy development on public lands.

There’s a better way, and it’s working in Colorado.

The BLM also this month, incorporating stakeholder input, closed oil and gas leasing in several critical habitat areas in the Thompson Divide—another Colorado last best place—while permitting leasing to go ahead in adjacent areas.

That plan also represents an acknowledgment that some places are too special to drill, while others can be an important part of meeting our energy needs.

And in the South Park area—a vast recreational playground for the Front Range and an important source of drinking water for Denver and the Front Range—the BLM is moving ahead with a Master Leasing Plan (MLP) for the area that would identify, from the outset, both those places and natural resources that need to be protected and the best places for energy leasing to proceed.

We have said that we want federal agencies in charge of public lands to involve local and state stakeholders more closely in land management planning—that perceived disconnect has been the source of criticism and conflict in the West regarding federal oversight of public lands.

The MLP process is a new tool that promises to address some of that top-down, fragmented approach to public land management. To their credit, the BLM is listening and incorporating suggestions from local ranchers, conservation groups and elected officials into their leasing plan for South Park.

This landscape level, “smart from the start” approach is one way for stakeholders to find consensus on commonsense, balanced solutions that allow careful, responsible energy development to occur while protecting our most valuable natural resources.

The lesson I take from the Roan? We can find solutions through respectful dialogue—and we shouldn’t wait for litigation to do so. Coloradoans can meet our needs for energy development and for preserving healthy rivers and lands by talking earlier to each other and looking for common ground.

Peaks to Plains Trail

By: David Amalong, Newsletter Editor for West Denver TU. This original article was posted in the Angler's Edge newsletter by West Denver Trout Unlimited.

The first segment of the Peaks to Plains Trail through Clear Creek Canyon opened to the public on July 28, 2016. This initial 3-mile segment of trail along Clear Creek and US Highway 6 in Clear Creek Canyon is just one piece of a much broader vision.

The Peaks to Plains Trail is envisioned to be a 65- mile off-highway trail that will allow travel from the Continental Divide at the Eisenhower Tunnel to the confluence of Clear Creek and the South Platte River in Adams County. The recently completed segment is the result of a partnership between Jeffco Open Space and Clear Creek County Open Space.

The trail includes not only 3 miles of a paved multiuse trail, but features 3 bridges, 6 new formal river access points and multiple overlooks and boulder seating areas. Other improvements include two new parking lots and an expanded parking lot and restroom at Mayhem Gulch. The parking lots are a key component to bringing a new types of visitor to Clear Creek Canyon; cyclists, hikers and walkers.

The majority of the trail meanders along “quieter side” of the Creek, opposite of Highway 6. In doing so, the trail travels through a variety of landscapes, from open meadows, rocky overlooks, and riparian sections close to the Creek. It also gains some elevation in areas offering some great views down into the Creek. Areas that were disturbed by construction have been re-vegetated with native grasses, shrubs and trees.

On several occasions, I have had the opportunity to experience the trail as a fisherman. However; on a recent crisp Saturday morning, I put away my fly rod walked most of the trail to take in all aspects of the trail.

It was encouraging to see extended families walking the trail, leaning over the guardrail at an overlook pointing to trout rising behind a large boulder. Joggers pushing strollers paused at the overlooks on the bridges to catch their breath. Cyclists were numerous and one group took advantage of the informal boulder seating areas to stop for a picnic lunch. There were crowds of climbers at all of the popular areas, and fisherman were ducking in and out of the willows along the banks.

As hard as I tried to be a “pedestrian” and just simply walk the trail, I couldn’t stop myself from making mental notes of all of the new fishing access points to the Creek. With much of the trail being on the opposite side of the Creek from the road, there is a LOT of new creek access. I will honor the tradition of not divulging secret fishing spots, but I have discovered that this trail offers access to great new water that was either difficult or impossible to access in the past.

My overall impression of the trail was extremely positive. The materials used through compliment the character of the Canyon. The improved parking areas provide additional spaces and greatly improve visitor safety and the new signage is clear and concise. The biggest improvement; however, is the trail. It allows visitors to disconnect from Highway 6 and truly immerse themselves in the Creek, the Canyon, and the Landscape.

The next evolution in Clear Creek Canyon will be the design and construction of the Mouth of Clear Creek Canyon. It will extend the existing multi-use trail associated with the Golden Mile through Downtown Golden upstream to Tunnel 1. The concept features two new pedestrian bridges as well as the proposed Welch Ditch Tail which will improve climbing access and connect the Peaks to Plains trail to Chimney Gulch Trail. Parking areas will be upgraded in two locations to accommodate the large demand in this stretch.

The Animas: a vision of health

By Randy Scholfield

Take a look at this picture. Yes, there is hope for the Animas River.

You remember the Gold King mine spill from last August, which dumped 3 million gallons of toxic heavy metal sludge into the upper Animas and sent a yellow-orange plume sweeping downstream through Durango and on into New Mexico.

Amazingly, the spill didn’t seem to immediately impact the Gold Medal trout population through Durango. And a recent survey of the fish population confirmed that they’re doing well.  Again, that picture, taken during the survey, speaks volumes.

But the fact remains that the Animas—and many other rivers and streams across the West—remain  impaired by day-in, day-out toxic mine seepage. On the Animas watershed, the discharge amounts to a Gold King spill every few days. You can’t see it, but it’s there—and has been for decades.

That’s why the upper few miles of the Animas, below Silverton to about Cascade Creek, are largely barren of fish and aquatic life.

A couple weeks ago, I met my colleague Ty Churchwell for a tour of the new Superfund sites in San Juan County, including the Gladstone area, home of the Gold King Mine. It was eye-opening.

The abandoned mine complex surrounding the town of Silverton is extensive and daunting. Amid the spectacular fall colors and scenery, the mountains are pockmarked with leaking adits, tunnels and waste piles. For years, Churchwell told me, the Animas River Stakeholders Group has worked to identify and characterize each site – what’s the chemistry of the discharge, is the site public, private or abandoned?

The ARSG identified roughly 60 trouble sites, a mixture of point- and nonpoint-source (the former could be a leaking mine opening, or adit, the latter is more dispersed runoff, such as from a waste pile). And they set out to address some of the sites they could legally clean up (the non-point source sites).

Of those 60 sites, four are particularly bad and make up the lion’s share of pollutants entering the Animas watershed. These four mines alone contribute some 800-1,000 gallons per minute. That’s about 1 million gallons of toxic water flowing every 3 days out of these tunnels—the equivalent of a Gold King spill.

The EPA, in creating the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund site, included 47 sites that together discharge about 5.4 million gallons a day into the Animas. That amounts to almost 2 Gold King spills every single day.

“The trout are the canary in the coal mine—they’re an indicator species,” says Churchwell. “We’re trying to bring back water quality in the Silverton area that will support a healthy ecosystem—that, in turn, will support a variety of uses, from recreation and agriculture to community water supply.”

Silverton is beginning to recognize the economic opportunity of a healthier river—cleaner water quality could lead to expanded opportunities for fly-fishing and tubing. And the Superfund remediation work itself could put many locals to work cleaning up mines.

Under the Superfund plan, the present temporary water treatment plant below the Gold King mine will eventually be replaced by a permanent water treatment plant that will tap the runoff of the four worst mines (all within a half-mile of each other) and pipe it to the treatment plant, where it will be brought up to standards and then discharged back into Cement Creek.

Good Samaritan legislation also remains a top priority for Trout Unlimited. Put simply, Good Sam creates a new discharge permit category that makes it easier for qualified Good Sam groups to help clean up abandoned mines. The permits allow for a lower standard for cleanups (30-50 percent, say, not 95 percent as under current Clean Water Act regulations) and there’s a sunset clause that doesn’t hold Good Sam groups responsible for cleanup costs in perpetuity– that’s been a financial dealbreaker for most groups.

The Bandora mine, which we reach on a rocky, bumpy four-wheel-drive road, is a great candidate for Good Sam, says Churchwell.  We park and huff up to an old wooden mine structure, with orange runoff leaching down the hillside into South Mineral Creek, which eventually flows into the Animas.

Pointing to a broad valley below us, Churchwell says it’s a good place for a “bioreactor”—basically, a created marsh area that will naturally filter and clean the water over the long-term.

Taken together, these cleanup approaches could eventually bring the upper Animas below Silverton to a level of water quality that will support a healthy trout fishery.  It probably won’t ever match the Gold Medal waters through Durango, but it could be a local source of pride and offer several miles of quality fishing.

Take another look at that trout picture. The Animas is worth fighting for—and TU is in it for the long haul.

Go to the We Are the Animas website to learn more about TU's efforts to clean up this great Western river.

Randy Scholfield is TU’s communications director for the Southwest region.