CTU Offers the Experience of a Lifetime for High Schoolers

Know a kid age 14-18 with an interest in fly fishing and cold-water conservation? Colorado Trout Unlimited gives high school youth the experience of a lifetime at 2014 River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp! Greetings TU Members,

Registration is now open for the 2014 CTU River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp, June 8-13 at the Bar N I Ranch near Weston, Colorado.  The camp is open to all Colorado youth ages 14-18. The camp is designed to educate students on the importance of coldwater conservation and provide hands-on fly fishing instruction. Approximately 20 students are selected each year, based on their qualifications and a written essay on why they would like to attend the camp.

Camp classes include: principles of ecology, hydro-geology, aquatic vertebrate and invertebrate sampling, hydrology, trout behavior, the biology of pollution, acid deposition, and politics of conservation and human effects on the Rocky Mountains. In addition, the camp will include hands-on classes such as fly tying, fly casting, streamside ethics, angling literature, streamside botany, wader safety and survival, and the evolution of an angler. Students will also participate in a watershed project to repair habitat in a nearby stream. The River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp includes faculty from various environmental fields and state agencies such as the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Department of Environmental Protection and National Forest Service.

Megan Branine, a camp alumni, said of her experience, “The past five days have been the greatest experiences of my life. In this week, I have developed a love for a sport I aim to continue. All components of this camp—the  science, the fishing and the social aspects—have all benefited me greatly.  They have given me a passion to protect our rivers and wild lands as well as great memories to take with me.”

The cost to attend the 6 day camp is $450, but financial aid is often available via local chapter sponsorship.

For more information and to download the application, please visit http://www.coloradotu.org/river-conservation-and-fly-fishing-youth-camp/.

Colorado TU Seeks Youth Coordinator

Do you want to help make a difference in the lives of Colorado youth?  Colorado Trout Unlimited is currently seeking candidates for our Youth Coordinator position.  Engaging the next generation of anglers and conservationists is vital, and our youth initiatives like Stream Explorers and Outdoor Mentors have grown by leaps and bounds over the past 3 years.  We are seeking an energetic self-starter who can carry those efforts forward to continued growth and success in the years to come.  Click here for a more detailed position announcement and details on how to apply.  Applicants are being accepted through February 7.

Granby students win "Water Is Life" Mural and Art Challenge

Renowned muralist and conservationist Wyland announced today that Katrina Larson's art students at East Grand Middle School were named the grand prize winners of the National "Water Is Life" Classroom mural contest for grades 5-8. The  contest, inspired by the growing demands on U.S. water resources, took place Oct. 21-Nov. 21, and drew more than 9,000 students across 45 states. Participating students painted 50 square-foot murals depicting the range of habitats and uses for water throughout the United States. "America's water resources are among our greatest treasures," said Wyland, the artist whose pioneering marine life murals are seen by more than 1 billion people around the world every year. "Our coastal waters, rivers, and lakes support millions of people. But like anything they need our attention and art helps put that into focus."

As part of the national "Water Is Life" competition, the Wyland Foundation and its partners provided 300 schools with paint supplies, educational materials, and 50 square foot canvas murals to look at the economic, cultural and aesthetic value of American waters. Additional schools that participated created artworks on other surfaces - from sidewalks to school buildings. The contest encouraged students to study local and national water issues and work collaboratively. Winning classes receive $250 for art supplies, a signed Wyland artwork, and a chance for a live online painting lesson with Wyland

Twelve students at East Grand Middle Schools, ranging in grades from 6th-7th, worked on the mural entitled, "Save the Fraser River." Program organizers hope the process of interpreting water-based habitats through art will lead students to a greater understanding of their role as future caretakers of the resource.  An individual art contest for grades K-12 was also held concurrently. Details at wylandfoundation.org/artchallenge.

The National "Water Is Life" Classroom mural contest was presented in partnership with Fredrix Artist Canvas, Arts & Activities Magazine, National Van Lines, the US Forest Service, the Georgia Aquarium and Marco Fine Arts.

Check out the beautiful "Save the Fraser River" mural.

Colorado Outdoor Mentors program kicks off

Last weekend marked the official kick off of the Colorado Outdoor Mentors Program.  On Saturday September 28, several organizations came together for an outdoor skills festival at Barr Lake State Park. With the help of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Pheasants Forever, Environmental Learning for Kids, the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, the Wildlife Experience, the American Canoe Association, and CTU over 200 people had the chance to try their hand at a wealth of outdoor activities and learn about native wildlife. Spearheaded by CTU, this Colorado Outdoor Mentors Initiative seeks to assemble a cohesive coalition of conservation organizations, state agencies, youth development organizations, and other key outdoor recreation stakeholders in Colorado to focus efforts on providing outdoor education to non-traditional audiences. By partnering with youth mentoring organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and Denver Kids Inc., we can give more children the chance to learn how to fish, hunt, shoot, camp, and experience Colorado’s great outdoors.

Continuing participation for children who are exposed to outdoor opportunities often depends upon having a trusted adult who can share in those activities.  By partnering with mentoring organizations, the Outdoor Mentors program will help jointly expose youth and their adult mentors to hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation – planting the seeds for mentors and youth alike to continue to experience the outdoors together.  By encouraging mentors to share their enjoyment of the outdoors with a child on a regular basis we can make a significant impact on that child’s perception of the outdoors. Also, it is our experience that many youth who participate in outdoor education programs represent a self-selected population from families who already hunt, fish, and engage in outdoor activities. By partnering with youth development organizations we can reach a population that have never caught a fish, shot a bow, or been in a canoe.

This program follows a successful model set forth by Pass it On Outdoor Mentors in Kansas. Pass it On Outdoor Mentors began as a program of Kansas Big Brother Big Sisters in 2002 and focused on recruiting members to spend time outdoors with a child. In 2006, the program spun off into a separate 501(c)3 with the goal of providing support to other youth mentoring organizations throughout the country. Today 20% of community-based matches for Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters participate in Outdoor Mentors programming.  In  2011, the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Directors unanimously endorsed the Pass it On Outdoor Mentors model as one that “would greatly expand the ability of state fish and wildlife agencies to engage in  more and new recruitment and retention activities by leveraging capacities of multiple stakeholder groups.”  A recent study by Responsive Management of 37 hunter and angler recruitment and retention programs highlighted one of the great accomplishments of Pass it On Outdoor Mentors. The study showed that 43% of participants in their programs come from families that do not hunt, shoot, or fish – they are reaching the kids who need to be reached.   With the second highest rate being 20%, no other program in the study came close to these results.  It is our goal to replicate the successes of this program in Colorado.

If you are interested in getting involved with this initiative, or better yet, mentoring a youth in the outdoors, please contact Jake Lemon, CTU Youth Education Coordinator, at jake.lemon@coloradotu.org or 720-354-2646.

Outdoor Mentors at Barr Lake State Park

Join Colorado TU, CPW, and others for the inaugural Outdoor Mentors event at Barr Lake State Park! Try your hand at fly fishing, archery, bait-fishing, birding, canoeing, laser gun range, geocaching and more! The event is free and open to any youth 18 and under with their families. Only a $7.00 daily park pass per vehicle or annual pass required. For more information, contact Jake Lemon at jake.lemon@coloradotu.org.

Colorado TU Gets Families Outdoors

The first annual Family Fly Fishing Camp was held in early August in beautiful Gilpin County, Colorado. At this camp several families had the chance to spend a weekend camping and learning about the beauty and fun of fly fishing! With the help of TU volunteers, participants were introduced to fly casting, aquatic macroinvertebrates, fly tying, and fly fishing. The program was open to youth age 9-13 and a responsible adult mentor (parent, grandparent, etc). There were some great memories made as several kids caught there first fish on a fly rod! Continuing participation for children who are exposed to outdoor opportunities often depends upon having a trusted adult who can share in those activities. By engaging entire families, we are planting the seeds for them to continue to experience the outdoors together. By encouraging families to share their enjoyment of the outdoors on a regular basis we can make a significant impact on their perception of our natural resources.

If you are interested in learning more about the family fly fishing camp model and how to bring it to your community, please contact Jake Lemon at jake.lemon@coloradotu.org or 720-354-2646.

Touring Kerber Creek

“I didn’t know that Trout Unlimited did that!” This was the phrase I heard mentioned by a couple of students and professors during a tour I conducted of the Kerber Creek Restoration Project on June 4, 2013. The tour focused on various stream restoration projects and techniques that have been on-going in the watershed since 2008. Several students from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS) and Colorado College (CC) visited Kerber Creek outside of Villa Grove, Colorado as part of their course curriculum, and were accompanied by a professor from each school. I was contacted earlier in the year by one of the professors to conduct a watershed tour of Kerber Creek so I developed a plan that would give the students a good overview of the legacy mining issues that created the problems existing today throughout the watershed. Back to the initial phrase. You would be surprised how many people think TU is “just a fishing club.” However, TU’s national staff is composed of 183 passionate individuals that strive to conserve, protect, and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds, most of whom also love fishing. My program specifically targets Colorado watersheds affected by legacy hard-rock mining, like Kerber Creek, Lake Fork of the Arkansas, and Clear Creek.

I started the tour at the Cocomongo Mill/Mine in the upper watershed, which provided a good representation of where and how historic mining operations took place, and the mine wastes/tailings commonly left behind. I explained the mining and milling processes and provided background information about the Bonanza Mining District. The setting included a large mill structure surrounded by piles of multicolored mine wastes within the Kerber Creek corridor. The students were captivated by the site and eager to learn more about the restoration techniques used to improve these conditions.

The next stop was near the confluence of Brewery Creek and Kerber Creek where 32 in-stream rock structures and 2.14 acres of mine waste reclamation had taken place the year prior. This site showcased what is possible when local stakeholders work together with government agencies and non-profit organizations. The students enjoyed seeing the finished structures and had countless excellent questions regarding rock structure type and purpose, soil amendment quantities and mixes, and grazing management techniques.

On the way down through the watershed we stopped at several sites, such as the repository that was completed in 1999, as well as past and future locations that exemplify the work accomplished through the Bonanza Stakeholder Group partnership, which is a collaboration of 16 federal, state, and local agencies, non-profit groups, and more than 20 local landowners. The final stop was at one of the largest private landowners in the lower watershed where work is taking place this fall. This site provided examples of existing mine waste deposits that were distributed throughout the floodplains during high flow events when tailing dams were breached in the 1900’s. The toxic mine waste deposits contain little to no vegetation and cannot sustain the high flows associated with spring runoff and summer storm periods.  This leads to unstable banks that erode, widening the stream, and eventually disconnecting the floodplain from the stream.

Conditions present at this site provided the students with a “before and after” glimpse of stream restoration. The entire site was walked from the degraded section, downstream to a recently restored segment that included in-stream rock structures and willow transplants.  I was impressed by the quality of questions and general interest of the students. I could tell that they were genuinely interested in the project and excited to be in the field observing actual conditions. The tour concluded with a question and answer portion that included questions about the history of the watershed, background information, and restoration procedures. Each correct answer yielded praise from fellow students and the grand prize of a………TU t-shirt!

The tour consisted of a unique group of students in that a majority of them were pursuing different forms of environmentally based degrees. In my opinion, this proved for a well-rounded tour and a broader range of questions asked by the students. It was great to see that they really appreciated the tour and the opportunity to see actual stream restoration. TU would like to thank both programs of CC and UCCS for the opportunity to help educate and inform the students about the importance of preserving our local ecosystems and watersheds. If the group that attended this tour is any indication of the quality of future ecologists, engineers, biologists, and scientists then I feel inclined to say that successful efforts to conserve, protect, and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds should continue for years to come.

- Jason Willis, Mine Restoration Field Coordinator Colorado Abandoned Mines Project, Trout Unlimited

New Fundraising Partnership

The Colorado Council and TU National have joined forces in a new partnership to strengthen individual donor fundraising efforts to support TU’s work in Colorado.  With over two dozen staff on-the-ground in Colorado, the need for coordination between all levels of the organization is vital.  The new partnership is staffed by Chris Herrman, Colorado Director, Coldwater Conservation Fund (CCF). You can now direct individual contributions of $1000 or more for Colorado programs and projects, both Council and National, through the Coldwater Conservation Fund.  CCF members enjoy benefits including exclusive trips and special gear. Donors of $1,200 or more directed to the Council through CCF, will also enjoy the benefits of our River Stewardship Council.

You can still support the Council or National directly through the web pages or the various mail-based campaigns. Regardless of how you give, thank you for your support!

To learn more about how you can support the work of TU in Colorado, visit the Coldwater Conservation Fund online.

Contact Chris Herrman, Colorado Director, CCF, via email here.

Youth Camp to Yellowstone

Our chapter, St Vrain Anglers, became interested in the project to research the movements of invasive lake trout in Yellowstone Lake as a prelude to determining ways to suppress their numbers or eliminate them, and we wanted to support that program financially. A member donated a Winston Tom Morgan Favorite rod with a Ross Evolution reel to be used as a raffle prize for donations. As we were organizing the raffle, another of our members, Mike Turner, died from complications of Parkinson's disease. We decided to make the donation in his name as a memorial to this much-loved man. Our initial efforts started off with a bang: we sold about half of our 100 tickets quite quickly. Sales dragged, however, through the winter, and we became concerned about selling all 100. About 35 tickets remained unsold as of our May meeting. An angel then swooped in and bought the remaining tickets, so we met our goal of donating $2000 to the Yellowstone project. This angel and I assigned the tickets to outstanding students we know- kids from our own chapter's Kids Learn to Fly Fish Program as well as many campers from past CTU Youth River Conservation and Fly Fishing camps.

We held the drawing in late May. The winner was Ben Ward, a member of the 2011 CTU camp. Ben was invited back to the 2012 and 2013 camps as a youth counselor, assisting the adult counselors with camp activities. Ben was chosen as a youth counselor because of his leadership as a camp participant, and because of his extensive involvement with his local TU chapter in Trinidad, CO. You might say that Ben was the perfect person to win the raffle.

As a CTU camp counselor, I had the pleasure of presenting the rod and reel to Ben the first evening of this year's camp, held at High Lonesome Ranch near DeBeque, CO. To say Ben was surprised would be an understatement. The look on his face was priceless. So, Ben, congratulations- here's to many years of enjoyment with your new rod and reel.

---Dick Shinton

Garrett Hanks, Colorado TU Youth Education Coordinator

I work to achieve the goals of Colorado Trout Unlimited through the engagement of Colorado’s youth. Raised on the Front Range, I was fortunate to be taken into the outdoors frequently growing up. I had family and friends who taught me not only the beauty of these places but also their value. These experiences shaped who I am and what I have chosen to do with my education and career. I am excited to give back some of those experiences to the next generation of conservation stewards. It is through them that the hard work we do now will have the greatest impact. My job takes me state wide in support of our Chapter’s efforts to engage their local youth. Outreach in schools is one way we provide youth education. The Trout in the Classroom program has been a proven success and is expanding every year to provide aquariums with trout to be raised by students then released into the wild. New initiatives like the Stream Explorers have been extremely successful in engaging students in hands on conservation and fishing, while hopefully providing a continued experience year after year.

The Outdoor Mentors is a program designed to provide youth a chance to get outdoors that would not otherwise have family or friends capable of taking them. Colorado Trout Unlimited partners with local and national organizations and other outdoor focused groups to give as many kids as possible a quality an outdoor experience. Opportunities also exist for families to learn to fish together, no matter the previous skill level, in our family fishing camp.

Each year Colorado Trout Unlimited puts on a week long fly fishing youth camp. Campers from ages 14 to 18 engage in conservation and science based classes in between time on the water. The camp hopes to provide a direct connection to a possible future in natural resources. Many of the campers go on to be successful in their continued education, and we hope as the next generation of leaders in coldwater conservation.

The first annual CTU Intercollegiate Fly Fishing Tournament was held this year in Steamboat Springs, CO. In an attempt to bring together new and old Five Rivers Chapters, six teams from four different colleges across the state participated. The tournament scoring was structured such that the team had to complete different challenges to earn points, rather than simply the most and the biggest fish taking home the trophy. The true message of the tournament however, was conservation and camaraderie for the individuals who will soon be the ones making the decisions on how our river’s resources are stewarded.

For more information on Youth Education programs in your area, or to get involved, contact Garrett Hanks at 720-354-2646 or ghanks@tu.org.