TU calls on Army Corps to include protections for Fraser River

Trout Unlimited and its grassroots members today called on the Army Corps of Engineers to include a river protection package recently approved by stakeholders in the final federal permit for Denver Water’s Moffat project. For more than a decade, Trout Unlimited has closely monitored the water diversion project, concerned about potential impacts on Colorado River headwater streams and their valuable wild trout fisheries. In March, TU, Denver Water and Grand County announced agreement on the Mitigation and Enhancement Coordination Plan (MECP) for Moffat. All sides hailed the stakeholder agreement as a breakthrough that balances municipal needs and environmental health.

At the time, TU emphasized that the effectiveness of this agreement depends on its formal incorporation into the final permit—a point reiterated by TU and its grassroots member during the recent public comment period for the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Moffat, which ended Monday, June 9.

“We believe that implementation of the MECP, as a whole, provides the best opportunity to prevent impacts and improve conditions in the areas most impacted by the Moffat Project,” wrote Mely Whiting, counsel for TU, in TU’s comment letter to the Corps.

The multiparty agreement offers several protections that TU says need to be included with this project. The key features include:

• Water is made available to address elevated stream temperatures on the Fraser and Ranch Creek;
• Denver uses its operating flexibility to provide flushing flows to cleanse streams;
• Ongoing monitoring of stream health, and adaptive management using water and financial resources provided by Denver Water – and leveraged by other partners;
• Commitment to this monitoring and management program—called “Learning by Doing”—through the project’s federal permit.

The centerpiece of the agreement is the Learning by Doing program, overseen by a management team that includes Denver Water, Grand County, Trout Unlimited, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Colorado River District and the Middle Park Water Conservancy District. Upon the project permit being issued, the management team will implement an extensive monitoring program to assess stream health based on specific parameters including stream temperature, aquatic life and riparian vegetation health. Water, financial and other resources committed by Denver Water through project mitigation, the Colorado River Cooperative Agreement and other agreements will be deployed to prevent declines and improve conditions where needed.

In recent weeks, hundreds of TU members have written to the Army Corps, calling on the agency to formally include the MECP agreement in the permit requirements.

“Though I now live in Georgia, I have spent much of my life in Colorado trout streams, and I can attest first hand that further damage to the Fraser will destroy a national treasure,” said Richard Tatem.

“This agreement, the Mitigation and Enhancement Coordination Plan, will protect a river which has been allowed to deteriorate for the past decade,” wrote Jim Belknap, a TU member and Colorado native who grew up in the Fraser Valley. “I have witnessed water temperatures reach dangerous levels while fishing the river the past few years; I have also seen more dead fish in the river—most likely due to the stress of being caught and released in too warm of water. This is a tragic misuse of Colorado's resources, and is resulting in the loss of one of the most beautiful river systems in Colorado. Please help restore the Fraser River to a healthy, thriving river-the type of attribute of Colorado's natural beauty, which has always been one of the state's greatest attractions and economic strengths.”

“I have fished the Fraser River for 20 years and the new Moffat Tunnel would be disastrous unless you make the Mitigation and Enhancement Coordination Plan (MECP) part of the federal permit,” wrote Tom Ciaglo of Louisville, CO.

Several other conservation groups—including Western Resource Advocates, American Rivers, the Sierra Club, and Conservation Colorado—have joined TU in calling for inclusion of the MECP in the final record of decision for the Moffat permit.

Shane Cross, Western Energy Counsel, Sportsmen's Conservation Project

Howdy folks. I am Western Energy Counsel for Trout Unlimited. I work on energy issues, and primarily I work with oil and gas companies and policy makers to promote and support oil and gas development that protects the places we love to hunt and fish. When I tell people I am a lawyer, they often think that my job is to litigate or try cases. While that used to be true, here at TU I think that if I’m litigating I’m not doing my job very well. We believe that fish and wildlife and oil and gas development can all thrive together in the West. And it’s my job to help figure out how we can achieve high value in all three areas while working cooperatively.

We work with oil and gas companies in three primary ways. First, we communicate and collaborate on the front end of planning and policy. For example, when I’m going to submit comments on a Resource Management Plan, I’ll call up the operators I know in the area and identify my concerns before I submit the comments. More often than not, the operators can relate to our concerns and offer suggestions of how we can strengthen our comments while not putting unreasonable prohibitions on industry. This helps to build trust with industry and to identify ways we can work together. For instance, we recently co-signed a letter with the Colorado Oil and Gas Association asking the COGCC to prioritize inspections of wells near riparian areas.

Second, we partner with energy companies on restoration and reconnection projects.  Oil and gas companies often want to contribute to wildlife projects in the area they are operating or are required to undertake mitigation as part of a development. We can identify and provide opportunities for companies to contribute to these projects. In Routt and Moffatt County, Shell Oil recently contributed to and volunteered on two of Brian Hodge’s restoration projects, and we are evaluating a third project with XTO Energy.

Third, we seek to collaborate with oil and gas companies to recommend BMPs and areas to project during development projects. For example, in Lake Canyon, Utah, we worked with Berry Petroleum to identify and evaluate road access routes and BMPs for a development near a CRCT brood fishery. Berry was responsive to our concerns, implemented a closed loop drilling system, and communicated with us throughout the construction process. We are currently seeking similar partnerships in the Thompson Divide, Northwest Colorado, and Eastern Utah.

Energy companies also support our educational programs. Suncor contributes to Garrett’s Trout in the Classroom projects in Colorado, and ConocoPhillips has funded Conservation and Culture programs in New Mexico. Fish and wildlife and energy production are both vital to the West.

As a lifelong rancher, I understand that both energy development and fish and wildlife are vital to our way of life in the West. I am fortunate to work for an organization that recognizes the importance of collaboration, and am looking forward to working with you to continue to identify opportunities to partner with industry to protect our hunting and fishing.

--- Shane Cross, Western Energy Counsel, Sportsmen's Conservation Project scross@tu.org, 307.359.3080

Why Colorado's headwaters matter

There is a bedrock natural law that anglers and most people understand as common sense-all waters are connected. If we trash or pollute a creek upstream, it could affect downstream conditions as well. That's why the newly proposed rule from the Environmental Protection Agency and Corps of Engineers to restore the coverage of the Clean Water Act is so important to Colorado's quality of life...

Colorado is a headwaters state and we understand that these headwater creeks, while small, are vital to the health of our watersheds, wildlife, and water supply. Their health shapes the condition of everything else downstream. They serve as the lifeblood of Colorado's recreation economy.

In Colorado alone, about 75 percent of rivers and streams-some 76,000 miles of waterways-are seasonal or ephemeral in nature and thus could fall outside the net of CWA protection, putting them at the mercy of filling and dredging operations, oil spills, toxic industrial waste and unregulated development...

Our waters, large and small, are interconnected-and to pretend otherwise is to invite disaster. When we allow polluters to dump toxins or trash upstream waters, we can expect pollution and devastation downstream, in our most prized rivers and streams.

Let's support the Clean Water Act's commonsense protection of our most precious heritage-our home waters.

To read the rest of David Nickum's Guest Commentary, please visit The Denver Post.

Help Save the Fraser - Take Action Today!

The Fraser River is a tributary to the Colorado River and an outstanding wild trout river in its own right.  It is also a stream that has been impacted by years of diversions, with Denver Water taking about 60 percent of its natural flows to supply water to the Front Range. They’ve proposed to take another 15 percent of the river through an expansion of their Moffat Tunnel diversion. For the last 8 years, Trout Unlimited has been working hard to make sure that approval of Denver’s Moffat expansion project only happens if the Fraser River and its tributaries are protected and their degraded condition improved. Recently, TU, Grand County and Denver Water agreed on a long-term package of protections for the Fraser basin. Under the plan, Denver would provide funds and water to help address impacts based on an ongoing monitoring and adaptive management program called "Learning by Doing".

This agreement offers the promise of a healthy Fraser River far into the future. Now we need the Army Corps to lock in these protections by including them as requirements in their federal permit for the Moffat Project.  You can help by clicking here and submitting comments through our online action alert.  It is quick and easy - and your voice will make a difference!

Patagonia presents DamNation at the Mayan Theater

Please join us on May 14th for the Denver premiere of DamNation at The Mayan Theater.  Produced by 2014 Colorado TU River Steward Award winners, Felt Soul Media, this powerful film odyssey across America explores the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. Q&A with the filmmakers following the film.

Check DamNationFilm.com for more information.

Purchase tickets: The Mayan Box Office.

The Mayan 110 Broadway Denver, CO 80203 303-744-6799

Hermosa Creek legislation - moving forward, slowly

Sportsmen and women from the Southwest corner of Colorado continue to be hopeful the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act will soon receive markups in the subcommittees of Congress.  In the meantime, Trout Unlimited and our sportsmen partners are doing our part to see this magnificent land protected, forever. In March, the ‘Sportsmen for Hermosa’ worked the campaign and were rewarded.  The bill’s Senate sponsor, Senator Bennet, came through Durango and requested a private meeting with the local supporters to discuss the progress.  Hunters and anglers, representing the coalition, spent about a half hour chatting with the Senator about the value of protected public lands, Hermosa’s economic input and habitat.  Attending were TU, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Duranglers, American Rivers, Conservation Colorado, Waterfall Ranch Outfitters, Gardenswartz and Rep. Tipton’s local staffer.  The Hermosa bill is a priority for the Senator and we’re grateful.

One of this campaign’s most important partners, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, hosted their national Rendezvous in Denver.  Hermosa was a major topic of discussion all weekend.  Rep. Tipton attended a small, private breakfast and spoke candidly about Hermosa and his efforts to see it enacted.  Several ‘Sportsmen for Hermosa’ partner organizations were represented, including TU, BHA, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Bull Moose Sportsmen and Nat’l Wildlife Federation.  The coalition thanked the Congressman for his work and leadership on Hermosa.  Additionally, Senator Udall was the keynote speaker Saturday night and mentioned Hermosa numerous times.  Several new sportsmen supporters joined the coalition, including some notables such as Dvorak Expeditions, Anglers Covey, Dragonfly Anglers, CO Wildlife Federation and Rep Your Water.  We’re grateful for their voice.

It’s an arduous journey for a bill, as School House Rock taught us, but when sportsmen and women stand unified for a special place, good things happen for trout and public lands.  You can follow the progress and lend your support on Facebook at ‘Sportsmen for Hermosa.'

--- Ty Churchwell, Sportsmen's Conservation Project, tchurchwell@tu.org

CTU Hiring River Cleanup Intern

Colorado Trout Unlimited is hiring an intern to help with our River Cleanups across Colorado. Most of our 24 chapters host at least one cleanup a year and we are hiring an intern to help make a bigger impact with river cleanups in local communities. This intern will also help to bring a strong conservation message to the cleanups and help to strengthen cleanup partnerships. This is a non paid position, however we will work with your college to arrange credit for the internship. Click here to view the position description. To apply for this internship please email your cover letter and resume to Stephanie Scott at sscott@tu.org

EPA, Corps propose new rule to protect water quality

The Environmental Protection Agency and US Army Corps of Engineers today announced a new proposed rule that would help ensure protection for many Colorado streams whose status - as protected or not protected under the Clean Water Act - has been in doubt since two troubling Supreme Court decisions upset long-standing definitions for what constituted "Waters of the United States".  As many as 76,000 miles of stream in Colorado - 75% of our total, including most headwater areas - were facing an uncertain future. We are in the process of reviewing the guidance, but it appears that most of these will be protected under the proposed rule.  Below is the notice we received from EPA's regional office describing the proposal:

Dear Region 8 Clean Water Stakeholder:

I am sending this message on behalf of Regional Administrator Shaun McGrath.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) today jointly released a proposed rule to clarify protection under the Clean Water Act for streams and wetlands that form the foundation of the nation’s water resources. The Clean Water Act is the nation’s foremost water quality and wetland protection law.  The clarifications in the proposed rule will benefit industry, business, and government by increasing clarity and efficiency in determining coverage of the Clean Water Act.

Determining Clean Water Act jurisdiction over streams and wetlands became confusing and complex following Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006. For nearly a decade, members of Congress, state and local officials, industry, agriculture, environmental groups, and the public asked for a rulemaking to provide clarity.  

The proposed rule does not protect any new types of waters that have not historically been covered under the Clean Water Act and is consistent with the Supreme Court’s more narrow reading of Clean Water Act jurisdiction.

The proposed rule preserves the Clean Water Act exemptions and exclusions for agriculture. Additionally, EPA and the Army Corps have coordinated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop an interpretive rule to ensure that 53 specific agricultural conservation practices that protect or improve water quality will not be subject to Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting requirements. The agencies will work together to implement these new exemptions and periodically review and update USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation practice standards and activities that would qualify under the exemption.

The health of rivers, lakes, bays, and coastal waters depends on the streams and wetlands where they begin. Streams and wetlands provide many benefits to communities – they trap floodwaters, recharge groundwater supplies, remove pollution, and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. They are also economic drivers because of their role in fishing, hunting, agriculture, recreation, energy, and manufacturing.

About 60 percent of stream miles in the U.S (significantly higher in some Region 8 states) flow only seasonally or after rain, but have a major impact on the downstream waters. Approximately 117 million people – one in three Americans – get drinking water from public systems that rely in part on these streams. These are important waterways for which EPA and the Army Corps are clarifying protection.

The agencies are launching a robust outreach effort, holding discussions around the country and gathering input needed to shape a final rule. The proposed rule will be open for public comment for 90 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.  We look forward hearing your views on this proposal.  Please find information about providing comment at: www.epa.gov/uswaters.

With respect to Region 8, the clarifications provided by this rule will lead to better protection of waters that are critical to the welfare of the people in our states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

• The proposed rule will provide direction on the application of the definition of “waters of the U.S.” to streams and adjacent wetlands in the upper reaches of watersheds where small tributaries may have only seasonal flow. When wetlands and headwater streams are filled or damaged, the risk of flooding increases, and drinking water supplies, wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities can be significantly impacted.
• The vast majority of the population in Region 8 is dependent on public drinking water systems that rely on high quality streams that do not flow year round. (Montana 67% of the population; 96% in Utah; 98% in Colorado and Wyoming; 100% in North and South Dakota).
• In Region 8, 77% of streams do not flow year round and wetlands make up only 2-3% of the land area, yet these streams and wetlands provide important habitat for wildlife and waterfowl, and harbor many plant species that could not survive in the surrounding terrestrial landscapes. For example, Colorado streams and wetlands provide habitat and benefits to an estimated 75% of the state’s wildlife and waterfowl.
• Flood events have recently led to significant economic losses, especially in Colorado and parts of the Northern Great Plains states. Wetlands act as sponges that filter and store water, alleviating the frequency and intensity of floods.

For more information visit www.epa.gov/uswaters.

Sportsmen Pleased with Decision to put Clean Water Act into Action in Bristol Bay

Provisions within the Act Could Halt Pebble Mine in the Heart of Wild Alaska Trout Unlimited today congratulated the Environmental Protection Agency for putting the Clean Water Act into action and potentially halting the infamous Pebble Mine in the headwaters of Alaska’s storied Bristol Bay watershed.

“It is difficult to overstate the significance of this announcement. If the EPA follows the science and follows through on this, it will rank as one of the most significant conservation achievements of the past 50 years,” said Trout Unlimited president and CEO, Chris Wood. “This is one of the few places left on earth where nature works as it should, and it’s a breadbasket for the world, supplying literally hundreds of thousands of people with wild salmon.”

By putting into action Section 404 (c) of the Clean Water Act, the EPA is starting a process that will determine if large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay watershed of southwest Alaska, specifically the Pebble deposit, can co-exist with the area’s renewable natural resources, most importantly the waters that provide the spawning and rearing habitat for the world’s largest sockeye salmon, as well as trophy rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, Arctic grayling and four other Pacific salmon species.

An EPA watershed report produced last year makes it clear that mining in this area would damage vital salmon habitat and, in the event of spills or accidents, put that habitat in imminent danger in perpetuity. By putting the process outlined in the Clean Water Act into play, the EPA is setting a very high—but reasonable and appropriate—bar for Pebble Mine to get over and prove there won’t be impacts to water quality and the region’s irreplaceable fishery.

“This is a very proactive and thoughtful decision on the part of the EPA, and we at Trout Unlimited join with the millions of sportsmen and women across America in congratulating Administrator McCarthy for taking this important step,” said Steve Moyer, vice president for government affairs. “This issue has been our top conservation issue for nearly a decade, and our volunteers from all over the country have worked very hard to get to this point. We’re very pleased that the EPA has heard our voices, and we are grateful that it is translating the desires of millions of anglers into action.”

Bristol Bay’s salmon provide upwards of 14,000 jobs in Alaska and the Northwest every single year, and about half of the world’s annual sockeye salmon harvest comes from this region. Additionally, this area of Alaska is known for its unparalleled sportfishing—it’s probably the best place in North America to catch rainbow trout that will stretch a tape to 30 inches or more.

“This is the best place in the world to fish for salmon and trout, period,” said Tim Bristol, director of TU’s Alaska Program. “Sportsmen and women from Alaska and all over the United States have led the charge against Pebble Mine and for the protection of Bristol Bay’s salmon and trout for a long time. To see the process put in place that could protect thousands of long-term jobs in the commercial fishing industry and the opportunity for coming generations to fish for salmon and trout in Alaska is very gratifying. While we won’t know the outcome of this process for some time, it’s clear the EPA is listening to anglers, hunters and the people of Bristol Bay. I hope sportsmen and women all over America will join me in applauding the EPA for taking this bold step.”

---Chris Hunt, National Director of Communications, chunt@tu.org

Bipartisan support moves Hermosa legislation forward

A very important bill for native cutthroat trout, The Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act, continues to move forward in Congress.  In late November of last year, the Hermosa Creek legislation received a hearing in the Senate subcommittee of Energy and Natural Resources.  The bill’s Senate sponsor, Senator Bennet, gave impassioned and enthusiastic testimony.  In speaking to the overwhelming local support and lack of any opposition, Senator Bennet said, “You may have some controversial bills before you today, Mr. Chairman, but this is not one of them.”  Senator Bennet even gave a plug to Trout Unlimited’s leading efforts while highlighting native trout and big game habitat. The Hermosa Creek legislation is unique in many ways.  It is the first bill to protect an entire watershed as an intact, whole unit.  The bill is one of only a few, ever, where native trout are one of the major values being protected.  The Hermosa Creek bill has the support of the CO Snowmobile Association and CO Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition – a rare endorsement for a bill containing a wilderness component.  But, what was of significant interest at the Senate hearing was the presence, and testimony, of the bill’s House sponsor, Representative Tipton.  Rarely does a House member testify in the Senate.  Misters Tipton and Bennet sat side-by-side in a show of bipartisan support, unified by a magical place and the values of Southwest Colorado.

In a time of hyper-partisanship in Congress, bitter fighting and impermeable party walls, it is refreshing to see a special place in Colorado bring Congressional members together, even if for just a moment.  With the continued support of Trout Unlimited’s members, staff and resources, we hope to see Hermosa Creek remain just the way it is for the next generation of sportsmen and women.

See the proposal at www.hermosacreek.org and follow us on Facebook at ‘Sportsmen for Hermosa’.

---Ty Churchwell, Sportsmen's Conservation Project, tchurchwell@tu.org