A Look Back at 2011

It has been an eventful year for Colorado Trout Unlimited and our 23 chapters. We’ve seen a growth in capacity thanks to new full-time volunteers and additional National TU staff, conducted on-the-ground projects to improve habitat and restore native trout, extended our advocacy on behalf of rivers, and created new partnerships to strengthen our ability to conserve, protect and restore Colorado’s rivers and watersheds. All of these efforts were made possible through the involvement and support of our members, donors, and partners – and we deeply appreciate each and every one of you. Looking back at the past year, here are a few of the highlights from 2011:

• Yampa Valley Fly Fishers – long time leaders in conservation projects in the Steamboat Springs area – become the 23^rd active chapter of Trout Unlimited in Colorado.
• Colorado TU and the Colorado Water Project expand efforts to educate and engage the public in protecting the Colorado headwaters, launching a new Defend the Colorado website featuring the “Faces of the Fraser” – local residents from an Olympic skier to a logger who share their connections with the river.
• Colorado TU brings on two new OSM/VISTAs – full time volunteers funded with support from the Office of Surface Mining and Americorps – to strengthen our efforts with youth education and RiverWatch water quality monitoring programs.
• Denver Water and west slope interests announce an agreement to provide additional water and funds to benefit the Colorado River headwaters.  The agreement does not address the impacts of proposed new projects, but is a good start in collaboration to benefit the Colorado, Fraser, and Williams Fork.
• Upslope Brewing Company unveils its new craft lager with a “1% For Rivers” program where a portion of all sales of the new beer benefit Colorado TU.
• Our new ColoradoTU.org website launches with an enhanced design, pages on TU activities in basins across the state, and an improved set of tools for visitors to engage with TU in river conservation.
• Grand Valley Anglers and Colorado TU volunteers plant more than 200 willows along Trapper Creek on the Roan Plateau, helping improve riparian habitat for a key native Colorado River cutthroat trout stream.  Grand Valley Anglers also assists federal agencies with reconstruction of a reservoir atop Battlement Mesa as a refuge habitat for native cutthroat trout.
• TU and a coalition of agency and private sector partners – with volunteer support from the Collegiate Peaks Anglers chapter – complete award-winning mine restoration work along Kerber Creek in the historic Bonanza mining district.
• After years of advocacy and volunteer monitoring, TU and the Evergreen Chapter successfully get Bear Creek listed as an “impaired water” for temperature under the Clean Water Act – triggering a state regulatory process to identify the sources of the problem and develop projects to address them..
• The West Denver Chapter completes work on the Canyon Reach project, improving fish habitat and angling accessibility on Clear Creek.
• Colorado TU holds its first “Golf Classic,” engaging more than 120 participating golfers and raising funds for conservation and education.
• Denver TU provides seed money to launch development of a master plan for river restoration in the south Denver metro area; the plan wins unanimous approval from the South Suburban Parks & Recreation District and City of Littleton opening the door to a new “golden age” for the South Platte.

This is a long list, but still far from complete. And with your help, we will work to make 2012 an even better year for Colorado’s rivers and watersheds. Thank you – and happy new year to you all!

Creating Stream Explorers

By Fred Rasmussen and Karen Dils, Collegiate Peaks Anglers TU Chapter Inspiring the next generation to experience the natural world is part of Trout Unlimited’s (TU) mission and the mission of the Collegiate Peaks Anglers chapter of TU. Since 1986, TU has taught hundreds of youth about the aquatic environment and fly casting and provided scholarships for students interested in studying conservation.

A new opportunity to more fully engage young people emerged when budget cuts forced Salida Public Schools to a 4-day school week. Using TU's Stream Explorers materials and lessons prepared by volunteers, our chapter provided a series of special conservation workshops during three-hour blocks every Friday for five weeks. The emphasis was on hands-on learning and scientific data collection.

During the first 2 weeks youngsters investigated the behavior of aquatic life including insects, shrimp and fish. They explored what life forms lived in their river, where they lived, their sizes, shapes and how and where they moved. Students did experiments exposing organisms, including fish, to hot and cold, light and dark and changes in gravity. Using their recorded data, they were asked to hypothesize on the effects of seasonal changes in temperature and light on the behavior of fish in their river. Then students tied flies that imitated the insects in the river.

During week 3 students reviewed their bug lessons and traveled to the river to learn how to “read” the water. Volunteers provided basic instruction on fly rods, gear, casting, basic knots, spin casting, and safety, including hook removal and catch-and-release techniques. Students practiced fly and spin casting. Youngsters took home activity sheets to identify organisms that live near the river and were charged with researching a fishing related website they found helpful on the internet.

Week 4 brought a snowstorm and a cold front. However, the students showed up in 25 degree clear weather. Utilizing the services of the Chaffee County Shuttle, we drove to Mt. Ouray Ponds. Students fished with fly and spinning rods in the lake and river. There were a few bites and 2 fish caught, but students mostly enjoyed the gorgeous day and being outside.

In week 5 students studied fish biology which included a lesson on the similarities between humans and fish. They visited the Fish Hatchery where they learned about fish rearing and observed fish scales and fry under microscopes. At the end of the day, our chapter invited parents to see their students “graduate” and provided pizza. All participants received Stream Explorer certificates, an Embrace a Stream Hat, t-shirt, and a folder with all kinds of good information to take home. Of 11 students who started, 6 earned Stream Explorer membership with Trout Unlimited by attending 80% of the sessions.

Our chapter reached its goal: teaching young people about the aquatic world. Due to the success of this program, the Collegiate Peaks Anglers TU Chapter plans to provide additional programs for youth – possibly including a series of winter fly tying sessions since many students were quite excited about their brief exposure to this art.

Why We Love What We Do

A few weeks ago, The Greenbacks group of Colorado Trout Unlimited put on the Colorado Premier of Connect. During intermission, a lot of raffle items from out great sponsors were given away. One happened to be a rod/reel combo from Redington. The Greenbacks recently received this email from the winner, Andrew Medina:

"My name is Andrew and I’m the 14 year old who won the rod, reel, hat, and vest at the connect premier. I just wanted to thank you for putting on the whole event, I really had fun at it. I have been fishing the rod a lot on the south platte in Denver and used the reel on the Arkansas. I have caught around 20 fish on the south platte in 2 trips. I have already put the rod to good use! thanks again."

This is exactly why we love what we do, and we're so happy this landed in the hands of a young man that is putting the gear to work.

Cheers Andrew - keep it up!

Thanks again to Redington for helping with the event - it means all the world to us, and apparently Andrew, too.

Colorado TU welcomes new staff: David Thompson and Jake Lemon

Colorado Trout Unlimited would like to welcome the two newest members of the Trout Unlimited Family. Jacob Lemon and David Thompson have joined the staff as AmeriCorps Vista Volunteers focused working with local chapters and communities across Colorado to strengthen our youth conservation education and RiverWatch water quality monitoring programs. David Thompson joins the TU team as the River Watch Field Coordinator. “I’m so excited to have this opportunity. Not only do I get to work in the water quality field but I get to do it while working for Trout Unlimited,” says David.

David comes to TU from Thurmond, West Virginia where he served as a Vista Volunteer for the New River Gorge National River as a water quality specialist. He worked on many projects in the area including the State of the New River Report and participated in the Park’s Long Term Monitoring Program for the New River and its’ tributaries. Before starting his service in West Virginia, David earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Portland in Portland, Oregon. He is a native of Billings, Montana.

As Youth Conservation Education Coordinator Jake will be working to develop and strengthen the Youth Conservation Education Program. Hailing from Indiana, he recently graduated from Indiana University at Indianapolis with a degree in Environmental Science. During his undergraduate years, he was involved in water quality research and outreach through his internship with a non-profit research center.  Jake has been fishing with a spinning rod all his life and is very excited to get a fly rod in his hands.  In his free time he enjoys hiking, kayaking, and traveling. He is a foodie of sorts and loves trying new restaurants and dishes. As a newcomer to Colorado he is excited to explore and take advantage of the outdoor recreation activities it provides!

AmeriCorps VISTA is a national program coordinated in Colorado by the Western Hardrock Watershed Team that matches highly enthusiastic and skilled volunteers with local and national non-profits in hopes of creating long term impacts on the communities they serve.

Based out of our Denver office, both David and Jake will be reaching out to Colorado TU chapter leaders in the coming months. They can be reached by emailing david.thompson@coloradotu.org and jake.lemon@coloradotu.org, respectively.

Thompson Valley students spawn successful Trout in the Classroom program

By Carl McCutchen • Loveland Connection Wednesday was a new day, a day to let go as the first year of the Trout in the Classroom program at Thompson Valley concluded.

Hewson and Carlson stood by Hunter as he prepared the fish for the move, as did wildlife biologist Dan Stubbs.

Even Sharon Lance, president of the Trout Unlimited Cutthroat Chapter, who sponsored the Trout in the Classroom project with the Division of Wildlife, was on hand to see the fish move on.

Lance said that because of the program’s success, Hewson and his students showed this year, she plans on launching five more Trout in the Classroom projects in the fall.

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20100514/LOVELAND01/100513016

Sustaining hunting and fishing tradition

By Lisa Huynh Daily Press Writer

MONTROSE — Part of making a living in Mel Jensen's youth meant going out and shooting meat in the fall to have for the winter. The memory he recalled most children wouldn't recognize today.

Jensen's a great-grandfather now, a retiree and hunting education instructor. He learned to hunt at 13 and learned to fish at an even younger age.

"The kids growing up they have different forms of entertainment, they watch television," said Jensen, a Montrose Rod and Gun Club member. "Now they didn't have television when I was a kid. Maybe I got to see a movie Saturday afternoon if I had a nickel to do it."

Jensen and other lifelong sportsmen remember childhoods spent out in nature, learning out of necessity and accessibility to read the land and its animals. Many lived near wild spaces and grew up learning from family how to pursue, capture and shoot prey.

Increasing urbanization and fewer traditional family structures are some factors possibly contributing to a decline in the number children introduced to hunting and fishing.

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report released in 2007 found nationwide about 10 percent fewer 6 to 19 year-olds living at home had ever fished in 2005 compared to those who had ever fished in 1990. The percent of 13- to 19-year olds who had ever hunted fell from 16 percent in 1990 to 11 percent in 2005. Declines appeared to be both in fewer participants and fewer staying engaged throughout their lifetimes.

What is viewed as promising news, however, is the rise of participation in other wildlife activities. Thirty-eight percent of Americans either hunt, fish or observe wildlife.

"It seems that people are still getting outside and recreating and enjoying the outdoors, they're just doing it with different activities," said Barb Perkins, USFWS spokesperson. "It's just maybe a sign of our times that things are changing a little bit."

A tradition

The amount of dedication hunters and anglers devote to their sports is in many respects the ultimate in wildlife interaction. Beside the fact that these two types of activities sustain the state's conservation efforts through the sale of hunting and fishing licenses (see "The Hunter-Angler Dollar"), these sportsmen spend much of their time outside observing animal behavior.

Come hunting season, families like the Vergaminis set up camp well before the start of the season. They wake before the sun, spend all day on foot and return to camp at sundown. Sometimes excitement impedes sleep. The family's interest is just as much about intrigue as it is about gain — behavioral insight is key in catching game.

"If you're out there, you see how (the animals) live, you see their lifestyle, you see the moms and the babies and how they react," said lifelong hunter Christine Gibson, whose parents met while hunting. "You see (the animals') circle of life. It's really amazing that that goes on and you don't ever know about it and you don't see it."

The decline in youth introductions to hunting and fishing surprises few; Gibson's father Dave Vergamini, a hunter safety educator and Montrose Rod and Gun Club member, said the drop in youth participation is part of the norm. Still, his family is sad knowing fewer kids are getting outdoors.

"If you don't get to the outdoors, you just don't appreciate it,"said Kathy Vergamini. "Everyone's 'going green' but it seems to be a fad. If you don't live it, you don't really understand what all goes along with it."

Beyond the tangible or measurable values of hunting and fishing is something perhaps words can't express. The activities often bond generations of families like the Vergaminis.

"I don't think we chose (the lifestyle). It's just always been there and we've just always done it," said Kathy. "I grew up that way. I got lucky enough to marry someone that enjoys it and passed it onto to our kids."

When asked the value of activities to him, Dave Vergamini said simply, "I don't know, you just have to be out there to experience it." While Dave recognizes the differences between today's and yesterday's youth, he suspects it's not so much the number of participants that has changed but the society around the culture. Montrose used to be filled with banners reading, "Welcome Hunters." Not so much anymore.

Said Dave, "It used to be the big talk of the town, 'are you going hunting?, when are you going?'"

Exceptions to the decline

Many local sportsmen believe Colorado, with its relative abundance of public lands and rural communities, is not experiencing the decline in participation happening in other states. More than one-third of Colorado's land area is owned by the public and is available for public use, according to the Bureau of Land Management. The USFWS survey showed hunting retention rate in urban areas declined between 1995 to 2005, from 43 to 35 percent, in comparison to a decline in rural areas from 59 to 53 percent.

Data on hunting and fishing license sales in Colorado suggest participation isn't what it used to be, but also shows fluctuations from year to year with no sharp changes. In 1985, the DOW reported 1,031,061 individual hunting and fishing license buyers; that number decreased to 961,043 by 2006. Part of the reason the number of license buyers is sustained is the sale of over-the-counter bull elk tags, which is a huge draw because hunters know they can come to Colorado and hunt elk, said Division of Wildlife Public Information Specialist for the Southwest Region Joe Lewandowski.

Participants in local fly fishing and casting clinics have also increased significantly in the last two years, said Gunnison Gorge Anglers President Marshall Pendergrass. However — as the USFWS national survey also found — most participants are middle-aged and retired, he said. Based on the survey, at least a third of both first time anglers and hunters were over 20 years old.

"People are busy and they're finding it's an easy way to get away and spend some time," said Pendergrass. "It's not as expensive as skiing and things like that. (Fishing) is not limited to just a certain time of year and most people enjoy the mountains; they enjoy the rivers, hiking and wildlife."

In an effort to foster more youth participation in hunting and fishing, federal, state and local non-profit groups are reaching kids through programs such as DOW's Youth Hunt, GGA's flyfishing clinics and workshops and Trout Unlimited's Trout in the Classroom.

Contact Lisa Huynh via email at lisah@montrosepress.com

A little help please for Headwaters TU!

Colorado Headwaters TU is looking for a few volunteers for a couple of fun and worthwhile causes…. (1). Teach fishing to East Grand Middle School students and (2). Support BLM public land day.We need volunteers to help teach fishing to the East Grand Middle School as part of our Headwaters Outreach Initiative. Volunteers will teach the students about fish and insects, their habitat, where to find them and how to catch them. (Info on what to say is provided if you are not comfortable with the topics).We need volunteers for Monday the 17th and Wednesday the 19th at the Fraser ponds from 8:30 till 3:00. Thursday the 27th in Rocky Mountain National Park not sure on time yet.

BLM Public Lands Day Saturday Sept 29th. Trail building from the Strawberry Road into the Fraser River Canyon. This project will enhance current trail and parking areas, add an information kiosk and revegetate certain areas. Volunteers can meet at the trail head on the Strawberry road at 8:30am or at Snow Mountain Ranch at 7:30 with transportation provided. A Party will be held for volunteers back at Snow Mountain Ranch that afternoon with free food and beer.

Interested volunteers can call Scott for more info W 726-5652 or H 887-1657. Please considering helping with these important projects.

Kids clinic serves up the catch of the day

“Last Wednesday, while rousing music spilled out of the Evergreen Music Festival’s big top, restless schools of young patriots cast their eyes toward Evergreen Lake’s sparkling waters, where, thanks to Evergreen Trout Unlimited, fishing rods, wily prey and summer adventure awaited.”

http://www.canyoncourier.com/story_display.php?sid=5856

By Stephen Knapp 07/11/2007

Spending the better part of a glorious Fourth of July lounging around in the sun listening to music may be big fun for grown-ups, but the average kid prefers entertainments of the applied variety.

Last Wednesday, while rousing music spilled out of the Evergreen Music Festival’s big top, restless schools of young patriots cast their eyes toward Evergreen Lake’s sparkling waters, where, thanks to Evergreen Trout Unlimited, fishing rods, wily prey and summer adventure awaited.

"This is the 13th year we’ve done our Fourth of July fishing clinic," said floppy hatted Trout Unlimited stalwart John Ellis, his multi-pocketed fishing duds heavily accoutered with tools specific to his avocation. "We won a youth education award for this program, and the kids just love it. We always tie it to the music festival because, as long as they’re here for the music, they may as well do some fishing."

That’s pretty much the way Evergreen resident Tanya Rodgers sees it, and the fishing clinic is now a big part of her clan’s Independence Day observances.

"It’s something they really enjoy, and it’s a great activity that the whole family can do together," explained Tanya, as her kids — Sophia, 6, Moriah, 8, Addi, 11, and 12-year-old Nick — sat patiently waiting for the 10 a.m. start. "And it’s free, which is nice, because it’s getting hard to find an outdoor family activity that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg."

Last Wednesday, as on most summer mornings, an unbroken fence of fishing poles surrounded the lake, most wielded by practiced anglers with well-stocked coolers and a deep understanding of the secretive ways of fish. What chance could youthful amateurs have of snaring a prize among such company? With a little rigging by Trout Unlimited and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, a pretty darned good one. Earlier in the week, DOW had netted off the small bay just south of the Lake House and decanted some 1,500 smallish rainbow trout into the biggish fishbowl thus created. The stocking operation went smoothly, which hasn’t always been the case.

"One year they stocked it before they put up the net, and all the fish swam out," Ellis said. "Then they put up a net, but restocked it on the wrong side of the net. They wound up stocking it three times."

At 10 o’clock sharp, the first group of 20 kids mustered for a brief tutorial on subjects like fishing pole mechanics, proper casting techniques, fish identification, fishing etiquette, and the ethics of fishing. The Trout Unlimited volunteers also recommended catch-and-release tactics, and not just because they’d rashly volunteered to clean any trophies the children opted to keep.

"It’s mostly rainbows, but I’m sure I saw a tiger muskie in there," grinned Ellis, pointing to a dangerous-looking torpedo on a full-color fish chart. "You’ve got to be careful if you catch a tiger muskie. They’ve got really sharp teeth."

Like her brothers, 6-year-old Isaac and 4-year-old Ian, 8-year-old Isabella Mohr listened politely, but was plainly eager to begin the hunt. Though new to the sport, her powers of exaggeration were already formidable.

"I caught a rainbow last year, about 2 feet long," said Isabella, patriotically decked out in a glittery shirt reading "America Rocks" and a pretty red-white-and-blue hair ribbon. "We ate it. It was really good."

"This teaches them respect for wildlife," said the trio’s dad, Rich. "And it gets them outside, away from the TV. They have fun, but they have to use their minds."

At 10:15, the children were marched down to the Warming Hut access road, issued fishing poles and set loose. What followed was a very entertaining 45 minutes of combat fishing that would discourage any Columbia River salmon-run veteran. About two dozen Trout Unlimited volunteers ran up and down the 150-foot line of waving fiberglass baiting hooks, unsnarling lines and trying to keep their excited charges from snaring themselves or each other.

Though technically unsophisticated, Isabella fished with zest. After each cast, she’d peer down her line into the gloomy depths with terrible concentration, almost willing the fish to bite. Isaac’s style was more energetic: cast-and-reel, shock-and-awe. For his part, young Ian took an almost Zen-like approach to the sport, seemingly content to watch his bright red float bob gently on the surface.

An enthusiastic fisherman with a reliable 10-yard cast, Nick Rodgers brought every weapon in his small arsenal to bear.

"I started with worms, but I switched to Power-Bait," Nick explained. "It doesn’t smell very nice, but the fish like it. And you have to be patient. A lot of these kids just throw it out and pull it in. You have to give the fish a chance to smell it."

For no obvious reason, the teeming rainbows appeared impervious to every style and subterfuge. Volley after volley of mouth-watering worms and pungent "fish eggs" sailed into the water, only to be reeled in a few minutes later, utterly unmolested.

"I think they’re all on the other side, over there," said Isabella, waving vaguely off toward the Lake House.

"They might be scared of all the noise," offered Nick, "or they might not be used to the bait."

At last, after some 15 minutes of furious effort, Isaac’s vigorous approach paid off with the day’s first catch — a handsome 10-inch trout. "I threw the hook where the fish was," explained Isaac, generously sharing the secret of his success.

A long moment later, 7-year-old Nino Delany hauled in a nicely speckled rainbow, which he gladly surrendered back to the lake. "I don’t really like fish," Nino admitted. "I just like fishing because it’s relaxing."

In fact, that foot-long trout must’ve looked kind of puny to Nino, considering the scaly monster he described catching last year on Upper Bear Creek. "It was a ‘river pig,’ " he said, in dead earnest. "I think it was about 6 feet long."

The hourglass had nearly run out on the 10 o’clock anglers when 8-year-old Jamie Schultz, dropping her line hard up against the net barrier, snared a surprisingly contentious 7-inch rainbow. The waist-length string of blue beads around her neck swinging and rattling wildly, Jamie managed to reel it in while simultaneously jumping up and down and screaming with excitement. Then she watched in complete satisfaction as a Trout Unlimited volunteer netted the annoyed creature, removed the hook and sent it back to the depths.

"I think it was my technique," Jamie explained later, with all the animation that an 8-year-old girl can summon, which is a lot. "I picked a big worm, (I let my mom put it on the hook) because I thought, ‘Something will bite on that, for sure.’ Then I saw the fish sitting there and I thought, ‘Why is it just sitting there?’ Then I thought, ‘Oh, it’s on my line!’ "

And then it was 11 o’clock and time for the next round of hopefuls. If only a handful of the 10 o’clock kids caught fish, there was nothing to prevent them from signing on for another session. By day’s end, maybe 200 kids had checked into Evergreen Trout Unlimited’s Fourth of July fishing clinic, dozens had landed rainbows, and all went home feeling much better for the experience. Ellis’s threatened tiger muskie must have been attending a holiday barbecue in another lake, somewhere.

To be a good fisherman — or at least a happy one — requires a certain philosophical turn of mind. Although Nick’s best efforts and subtlest stratagems failed to net a trout, he took it on the chin and remained unbowed.

"I didn’t get so much as a mosquito bite today," said Nick, bravely. "Some days you catch ’em; some days you don’t. But I’ll be back. They’ve gotta eat sometime."

CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT: GRAND VALLEY ANGLERS

Youth a Focus of GVA & Western Colorado Fly Fishing Expo

 Through the efforts of an enthusiastic team of GVA members which is headed by Jon Gartz, over the past three years our youth program has seen a 700 percent increase in participants.  Activities include fly tying and casting classes in this areas’ District 51, parochial, and private schools and encompasses lower, middle and high school students.  We are now receiving requests to also teach these classes to troubled area youth in their after school tutorial programs.

Youth are also a focus of the Western Colorado Fly Fishing Exposition, held at the Doubletree Hotel in Grand Junction on the last Friday and Saturday of March.  The Expo typically features fifty of the Western States top fly tyers. In addition, we have fly tying, guide presentations, and outdoor equipment manufacturer casting theaters in full swing all day.  Over the past three years, we have added many new Expo events that include all day youth participation.  We have found that multiple activities during the day keep the kids excited and engaged from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.  As every parent knows first hand, that is a rare occurrence!

In 2005, we had 30 kids participate in the Expo; this number has grown to over 200 youth participating this year.  We now give free t-shirts to all participating kids and it was quite a sight this year to see 200 sapphire blue, fish fronted t-shirts racing around the hotel grounds!  A feature youth activity at the Expo are a series of fly tying tables that are set up and staffed just for kids.  In the past two years, in addition to adult instructors, an enthusiastic group of youth tiers have become the lead tying instructors at these tables.  As the day progresses, it is great fun to see newly “expert” kids showing their parents, grandparents, and friends how to tie some very innovative patterns!  The success of these tables would never be possible without the tremendous donations of materials, vices and time by area wide residents and businesses.

Outdoors, equipment manufacturers and fishing guides from a four state region provide youth casting instruction using their newest equipment.  It’s often hard for an adult to get their hands on a rod with all the kids who are casting at one time!  The casting instruction culminates with a youth casting competition divided into multiple age groups.  Because of the generosity of many donors, we are able to award prizes such as complete fly rod sets, fly tying vices, fishing vests and boxes of flies to all the participants. This year we had an eleven year-old boy with his fly rod in hand, come up to me to proudly show the fly rod he won at last year’s Expo.  It turns out that the rod is never far from his dad’s car as they now fish together all the time!

Jon has dubbed our youth program “Kids Teaching Kids,” for which he and his team was awarded CTU’s “Exemplary Youth Education Award for 2007.”  Thanks to CTU for this honor and we look forward to sharing ideas regarding youth education with other CTU Chapters.

Help Needed for Third Way School Fishing Day at Sawhill Ponds - May 15, 2007

Larry Quilling will be assisting Kristin Weinberger, Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks, in conducting a 2 hour fishing program at Sawhill Ponds for 6 to 10 students (ages 15 to 18) from Third Way School in Denver. In Larry's own words, "Third Way School is an alternative high school where many of the students live at the school due to many difficult social service circumstances. These kids deserve a couple of hours of joy."Larry needs 3 to 4 chapter volunteers who would like to help the kids fish and some fly donations to catch bluegills and crappie. If you want to get involved & I hope you will, please contact Larry ASAP.

Larry V. Quilling 720-684-3277 Larry.Quilling@seagate.com or the5quills@comcast.net