Watershed: The Movie

Narrated by Robert Redford, this award winning film that explores "a new water ethic for the new west" is coming to Colorado. WATERSHED tells the story of the threats to the once-mighty Colorado River and offers solutions for the future of the American West.

Here are some local screenings:

Unfortunately, the September 27 Denver screening at the Denver Film Center is sold out, but you can try these:

October 18, 7:00pm at the Third Street Center in Carbondale. Contact the Roaring Fork Conservancy for availability.

October 16, 7:00pm at the Glenwood Springs Community Center. Contact the Roaring Fork Conservancy for availability.

Watch the trailer.

Buy a copy for your non-profit.

Abandoned Mines and Our Water

Colorado mining authorities have dug through a mountainside and reopened the dark granite shaft of an abandoned mine that turned deadly — trying to find options for dealing with one of the West's worst environmental problems.

The Pennsylvania Mine, perched above timberline, discharges an acidic orange stream moving 181 pounds per day of toxic metals into Peru Creek and the Snake River, which flow into Denver Water's Dillon Reservoir.

The poisoning of the watershed has gone on for more than 60 years.

Yet state officials say the risk of lawsuits prevents cleanup of this mine and thousands of other abandoned mines that have impaired 1,300 miles of Colorado streams and, according to federal estimates, the headwaters of 40 percent of Western rivers.

Today's digging reflects growing frustration. Colorado county governments recently resolved to lobby for congressional action as water quality and healthy mountain fisheries are increasingly important to the Western economy.

Read the rest of Bruce Finley's article in The Denver Post.

Dolores basin cutthroat streams win water quality protection

The Water Quality Control Commission has voted to adopt "Outstanding Water" designations - which apply water quality standards designed to preserve the high-quality condition of some of Colorado' best and most important waters - for three native cutthroat trout streams in the Dolores basin. The new designation will ensure that water quality is maintained without degradation for the native Colorado River cutthroat trout in the Little Taylor, Rio Lado, and Spring Creek drainages.  The Commission found that the waters supported high-quality water and had "exceptional recreational or ecological significance."  Thanks to the Commission's decision, these fisheries will continue to thrive in the high-quality water that has kept them healthy in the past.

This success story was made possible through the efforts of the Dolores River Anglers committee of the 5 Rivers Chapter, with help from TU's Backcountry Coordinator Matt Clark.  The Dolores River Anglers will soon be becoming a stand-alone chapter - TU's 24th in Colorado - and with this important victory for their local waters, they are already off to a great start.  Congratulations!

New Hope for Roan Cutthroats

The Roan Plateau near Rifle is one of Colorado’s gems – a scenic backcountry area supporting some of Colorado’s best big game habitat and providing a home for populations of native cutthroat trout that have a unique local adaptation – the ability to withstand warmer water temperatures than most other cutthroats.

The Roan’s outstanding fish and wildlife values led Field & Stream magazine to name it one of their “Best Wild Places.” The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission has designated several key streams on the Roan as “Outstanding Waters,” deserving of unique water quality standards. And the Colorado Natural Heritage Program at Colorado State University – a source of information on the state’s rarest and most threatened species and plant communities – has recognized the Roan as one of Colorado’s top four locations for biologic diversity. Of those four places, only the Roan does not benefit from the protective management of the National Park Service.

It’s clear that there is broad recognition that the Roan is a special place. But over the past decade it has become an island of quality habitat in the vast sea of energy development taking place throughout the Piecance basin.

In the final months of the Bush administration, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved a wide-ranging plan for oil and gas drilling atop the Roan Plateau that seemed indifferent to appropriate protections for fish and wildlife. And in short order, leases for energy development were auctioned off.

Remarkably, even BLM acknowledged dire impacts on fish and wildlife. Its own analysis projected that the agency’s drilling plan would result in a 33% decline in mule deer herds and could even eliminate rare native trout populations. And as troubling as these projections might have been, it’s likely the study grossly understated the real impacts. While BLM worked under the assumption that 300 wells would be drilled on the plateau, the Bill Barrett Company, which holds the leases atop the Roan, plans to drill 3,000 wells - more than ten times the BLM estimate.

Trout Unlimited is no “Johnny-come-lately” when it comes to protecting the important resource values of the Roan Plateau. The Grand Valley TU Chapter has been engaged in on-the-ground efforts to protect and restore habitat atop the Roan since the 1990s, constructing fence to keep cattle off of important stream reaches, installing in-stream habitat features, planting riparian vegetation, and monitoring water quality.

Trout Unlimited accepts the need for responsible development of natural gas resources. In fact, Colorado TU supported an alternative drilling plan for the Roan that would have allowed development of the vast majority of its natural gas without having to disturb key fish and wildlife habitats. Unfortunately, drilling on the scale approved by BLM threatens to wipe out native trout populations and habitat that TU volunteers and professional staff have worked for decades to preserve, and defies any interpretation of “responsible.”

And so, with the future of the Roan’s trout on the line, Colorado TU joined other conservation-minded groups to challenge BLM’s ill-conceived plan in federal court. TU and its partners were represented in that effort by an outstanding legal team from the environmental legal group, Earthjustice.

There has been some recent good news for the Roan campaign: First, the presiding federal district court judge ruled in favor of our challenge to the BLM plan, by directing the agency to revisit its environmental analysis and decision. The very same afternoon, TU was approved for a foundation grant of more than $100,000 to support restoration work atop the Roan Plateau – improving stream crossings, fencing riparian habitat, and restoring cutthroats into new waters. In less than 24 hours, we went from facing the prospect of losing the Roan’s native trout to the opportunity to protect and restore their habitat on a larger scale than ever before.

The legal ruling favored TU and its partners on three key issues. The first two related to the need for improved air quality and ozone analysis. The third, and perhaps most significant, was a finding that BLM erred when it neglected to consider alternatives such as those supported by Colorado TU, which would have allowed for gas development while preserving key habitats on the Roan.

The judge’s decision is an important victory for the Roan Plateau and those who care about its future. It gives the BLM a second chance to “get it right” for the Roan, by coming up with a plan that allows responsible development while protecting the unique and valuable habitats both atop the Roan and along its base. But it is only a chance – the ruling does not assure that BLM will adopt an improved plan, only that it properly consider alternatives and analyze impacts. It will be up to Coloradoans to weigh in with BLM to ensure that the agency does adopt a new and better plan for the Roan. Colorado TU and other sportsmen’s groups will be a key part of these efforts.

Doing right by the Roan is about more than just advocating for responsible development. TU is also working on-the-ground to help protect and improve habitat for native trout. This year, we are working to complete a fish barrier on the East Fork of Parachute Creek that will help protect cutthroat habitat from invasion by brook trout, which can displace the native populations. We are also completing habitat improvements on Trapper Creek, home to a unique population of cutthroats that have managed to adapt to the somewhat warmer water temperatures found on the plateau. These improvements will help create new pools - holding water - that provides a safe haven for the fish during times of low streamflows.

TU’s habitat restoration work is carried out through the generosity of many key funding partners, including Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. But oil and gas companies have also been important supporters of on-the-ground restoration through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s “Supplemental Environmental Project” (SEP). SEP allows companies facing fines for pollution violations to invest that money to improve habitat and environmental quality.

Besides engaging our established members in habitat protection and restoration in one of Colorado’s best wild places, the Roan also represents an opportunity for Colorado TU to connect with young people and help them develop their own “conservation ethic.” We have teamed up with the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps to deploy a youth conservation corps atop the Roan. One recent project involved planting cottonwood trees and willows along Trapper Creek to help improve riparian conditions in the watershed.

The efforts of the Youth Corps are supported The Greenbacks, a recently formed group of Denver area TUers in their 20s and 30s. In addition to fund raising efforts, the Greenbacks organized their own volunteer day to plant willows along another Roan cutthroat stream, Northwater Creek. And the Grand Valley Anglers chapter continues its decades-long commitment to the Roan by participating as funding partners and volunteers in virtually all the work taking place on the Roan’s native trout streams.

Of course, it can be argued that there are plenty of so-called special places, and that our need for jobs and new sources of energy require trade-offs. We can’t preserve everything. Sacrifices have to be made.

To be sure, there’s truth in that argument, especially in light of a growing population and struggling economy. But there is also a profound truth in the fable of the goose that laid the golden egg. Wouldn’t it be much more prudent to enjoy some economic benefit from the resources beneath the Roan without being so greedy as to kill it?

Over the past 50 years, TU has built a reputation for advocacy based on sound science and successful restoration projects build with the sweat equity of a hundred thousand volunteers. Protecting and restoring places is why we exist as an organization, even if it’s not always the perfect fit for the faint of heart. Sometimes, there’s no choice but to put up a fight. In the case of the Roan, more than ever, it is looking like a fight we can win.

Background on the Roan Plan

On June 8, 2007, the Bureau of Land Management issued its Record of Decision for the Roan Plateau management plan, giving approval to move forward with oil and gas development atop the Roan. CTU had numerous concerns with the plan - including the BLM's own conclusion that their proposal could result in elimination of rare native cutthroat trout populations atop the Roan. An overview of CTU's concerns with the BLM plan appears on a separate page on this site.

Windy Gap - Still Controversial

To say things are heating up around Windy Gap Reservoir isn't just a figure of speech. But the controversial pond pausing the flow of the upper Colorado River remains a hot topic as Grand County commissioners take up a 1041 permit application for the proposed Windy Gap Firming Project that would impact the upper reaches of the state's namesake river. Two days of public hearings opening comment on the proposal to expand the Northern Water Conservancy District's transmountain diversion built around the 445-acre-foot reservoir near Granby drew a crowd to Hot Sulphur Springs last week. As has become the norm in the lengthy process, much emphasis was placed on the negative environmental impacts Windy Gap Reservoir already has had on the upper Colorado River and potential ways to fix the problem.

Read more at The Denver Post online. 

Protecting CO Backcountry

Colorado’s backcountry fish and wildlife habitats will enjoy strong protections for the future thanks to a new federal rule that was shaped significantly by anglers and hunters.

The July 2012 release of the final US Forest Service plan for conservation and management of Colorado’s roadless areas was the culmination of a process that spanned the terms of three governors. From the beginning, TU was there, taking part in Governor Owens’ initial roadless task force, periodically meeting with Forest Services officials, and working to secure enhancements right through the final days before the rule was issued.

Why is “roadless” so important to TU? Because roadless areas support prime wildlife habitat that is critical to the survival and recovery of Colorado’s remaining populations of native cutthroat trout. The numbers tell the story about what roadless areas encompass:

• More than 75% of the remaining habitat for Greenback cutthroats
• Nearly 60% of the remaining habitat for Rio Grande cutthroats
• More than 70% of the remaining habitat for Colorado River cutthroats

Native trout and dirt roads are not good partners. Backcountry streams that support native trout are often narrow, not very deep and can experience very low seasonal flows. A single severe thunderstorm can flush so much sediment into a stream that spawning areas are smothered and fish suffocated.

Of course, TU wasn’t alone in its support of a beefed-up backcountry plan. Colorado hunters supported roadless protections because they harbor some of the state’s best big game habitat: More than 50% of elk summer concentration and production areas are in roadless areas, and the 15 most hunted Game Management Units in Colorado all have more than 66,000 acres of roadless lands.

Development of a state-specific Colorado Roadless Rule began during the Bush Administration as an alternative approach to the Clinton administration’s 2001 rule, at a time when the 2001 rule was the subject of multiple lawsuits. Even though the ensuing legal battles ultimately resulted in the affirmation of the Clinton-era rule, Colorado continued to develop its own plan, focusing on local interests and issues. TU participated throughout, always reiterating a simple standard: we would support a Colorado rule only if it was, on balance, as strong as or stronger than the 2001 rule in protecting Colorado’s backcountry.

It was a fruitful strategy. TU’s most notable success was to secure special protection for drainages supporting native cutthroat trout. And while the final rule allows for a range of activities within those drainages, it also requires the Forest Service to ensure that those activities would not result in any long-term declines in cutthroat trout habitat, or in the extent of streams and lakes occupied by the native cutthroat. These protections help ensure that roadless areas continue to serve as an essential and effective refuge for Colorado’s native trout heritage.

The final rule that emerged from the decade-long process contains additional, important protections:

• Establishing an “upper tier” category of roadless lands with protections stronger than those in the 2001 federal rule, including a requirement that oil and gas reserves be accessed through directional drilling, with drill sites sited outside the roadless boundaries. This upper tier includes more than 1.2 million acres of Colorado’s total of 4.2 million roadless acres.
• Closing a loophole in the federal rule that allowed for “linear construction zones” – temporary roads in all but name. Under the new rule, these “LCZs” are greatly restricted.
• Adjusting the federally designated “roadless areas” to reflect more accurate inventories, effectively extending roadless protection to more than 400,000 acres not included under the 2001 rule.

The final Colorado rule does contains some exemptions from the road-building and logging limitations of the 2001 rule, designed to accommodate specific community and economic interests. Most notably, the rule allows for temporary roads and logging to address wildfire risks by conducting fuel treatments in roadless areas adjacent to communities in the so-called “wildland-urban interface.” The Colorado rule also exempts certain areas within the boundaries of existing ski areas, as well as areas overlying some existing coal mining areas within the North Fork of the Gunnison watershed. Another exemption allowing for construction and maintenance of water conveyances with existing water rights was also included.

Colorado TU Executive Director, David Nickum, praised the new rule for its balance between strong protections for key habitats and flexibility when it comes to community protection and economic development. “We recognize the need to deal with issues like fuel reduction around communities,” said Nickum. “But the new rule pairs that flexibility with stronger protections for Colorado’s native trout heritage and its best backcountry lands. It strikes the right balance.”

Trout Unlimited was a central voice in pushing for some of the final changes that helped the Colorado rule meet our standard of being, on balance, as strong as the national rule.

Those changes included strengthened provisions for native trout protection, limitations on the location of water development facilities, and the concept of “upper tier” areas, which were modeled after a state-specific plan created by in Idaho.

There is no question that without the steady and effective involvement of sportsmen throughout the rulemaking process, we would not have achieved the success that we see in the final rule today.

“Colorado’s anglers and hunters understand the connection between healthy fish and game habitat and their ability to fish and hunt successfully on land that belongs to all Americans,” said Chris Wood, President and CEO of Trout Unlimited. “That’s why our volunteer members were engaged in the Colorado rule-making process. This rule, while not perfect, sets the bar pretty high and proves that sportsmen are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to protecting public lands and how they’re managed today, and in the future.”

For more on the importance of backcountry areas, visit Trout Unlimited's report on Colorado roadless areas, Where the Wildlands Are: Colorado

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.

It's Why We Still Like Ike

On July 14th, a stretch of the Fraser River was dedicated as the Eisenhower Reach.

Named after President Dwight D. (I like Ike!) Eisenhower, a frequent visitor to the area and fishermen of the Fraser River, this dedication helps to keep the history of the Fraser alive.

However, the river's future continues to be in jeopardy. Colorado TU's David Nickum summed it up this way - "I would rather see a healthy Fraser Creek than a dead Fraser River."

Read more about the Fraser and TU's ongoing involvement in the Sky High Daily News.

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