This article - the fifth in a series - discusses the loss of productive agricultural land as water rights are sold for municipal use. http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1198742399/3
Moving mountains: Valley users watching Colorado River issue
By CHRIS WOODKA
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1198652773/2 This is a very good series that focuses on the Arkansas River
Oil Shale Effects Profound
Study: Oil shale's effects profoundNearly 2 million acres in 3 states could be leased
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Commercial oil shale development in western Colorado is expected to supplant all current uses of the land in areas slated for oil shale leasing, urbanize small towns, dramatically affect regional air and water quality, stamp out agriculture, cause a decline in some property values and drive away thousands of recreation-related jobs while creating thousands more oil shale-related jobs.
That’s the federal government’s conclusion in a draft environmental study released Thursday of the Bureau of Land Management’s fledgling commercial oil shale leasing program. Called the Oil Shale and Tar Sands Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, the report is available online at http://ostseis.anl.gov.
The BLM has no specific date for when commercial leasing will begin, but BLM spokeswoman Heather Feeney said it will be at least 10 years before construction can begin on any future leases.
Of three possible oil shale development scenarios outlined in the statement, the BLM’s preferred scenario calls for 1.99 million acres of federal land and mineral estate to be available eventually for commercial oil shale leasing in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. More than 359,000 acres would be available for leasing in Colorado, all of which would be in the Piceance Basin southwest of Meeker and due north of Parachute.
If leasing goes forward, oil shale development would preclude all other uses of the federal land where extraction would occur, including ATV use, agriculture and all other oil and gas development, the statement says.
Oil shale development, the statement says, would create a plethora of new jobs but would decimate the region’s recreation industry. The government projects up to 2,830 recreation-related jobs will be lost in the region because of oil shale.
“The number of new residents from outside the producing regions and the pace of population growth associated with commercial development of oil shale resources, including large-scale production facilities and ancillary power plants, coal mines and housing developments, would likely lead to substantial demographic and social change in small rural communities,” the statement says.
Construction of a single in situ oil shale processing site, similar to that now being studied by Royal Dutch Shell, would create up to 2,900 jobs, producing up to 950 jobs during peak operations, the statement says. Construction of power plants for the in situ oil shale sites would produce up to 3,100 jobs, with up to 330 remaining during plant operations. Coal mines needed to power the shale production process would create up to 1,300 jobs.
Housing construction for oil shale workers in the three states would create up to 620 jobs, while such construction for power plant workers would create up to 820 jobs. Coal-mine worker housing construction would account for up to 320 jobs, the statement says.
Increases in traffic and access to remote areas would continue the landscape changes already occurring with natural gas development, the statement says, adding that “the value of private ranches and residences in the vicinity of oil shale developments ... may be reduced because of perceived noise, traffic, human health or aesthetic concerns.”
The government doesn’t know how much surface and ground water any method of oil shale extraction would consume, but where the industry acquires water rights, oil shale development “may result in a complete loss of agricultural uses in some areas.”
The amount of water oil shale would consume isn’t known, the government says, because there’s not enough information about the kind of technology that could be used to extract oil shale. But the government expects surface water quality in the region to degrade, natural runoff patterns to be altered, hydrocarbons to contaminate surface and ground water in some areas and a possible reduction or complete loss of water flow into some domestic wells.
The government also projects a dramatic loss in wildlife habitat where oil shale is developed, and habitat for 14 threatened and endangered species could be destroyed.
“What you’re describing to me sounds like a natural catastrophe on the scale of a meteor impact,” Western Colorado Congress President Bill Grant said. “You’re sacrificing a large chunk of western Colorado to oil shale. Is there no alternative to this total destruction to western Colorado?”
Mesa County Commissioner Craig Meis, a member of the Department of Energy’s Strategic Unconventional Fuels Task Force, said he is not surprised about the impact oil shale development would have on the Western Slope.
“If oil shale happens, it certainly displaces the development of natural gas,” he said. “The oil shale is going to have to pick up where natural gas is going to have to decline.”
He said the “time, price and inconvenience” of oil shale development will tell whether the benefits of oil shale are worth its side effects.
“We’re at the point of asking the question, ‘Where are we going to get this energy resource from?’ ” Meis said. “If not from this, then from what other resource? ... I can’t say it’s worth it. That’s a decision we’re going to have to make as a country, how we’re going to do with or without energy in the future. It’s a tough question.”
The release of the environmental impact statement kicks off a 90-day public comment period on the document. Paper copies will be available at the Grand Junction BLM field office, 2815 H Road today.
Let them drill, Ritter says
Roan Plateau proposal includes expanded wildlife protection areas
Article Last Updated: 12/21/2007 06:13:51 AM MST
Gov. Bill Ritter said Thursday that he won't fight a federal plan to drill for gas atop the Roan Plateau but is seeking staggered leasing and an expansion of wildlife protection zones by about 70 percent, to 36,000 acres.
April 2002 — The Bush administration prepares a new management plan for 198 square miles on the Roan Plateau, turning public- lands agencies away from the Clinton administration's preservation orientation.
The governor — calling it a "uniquely Colorado solution" — tried to strike a balance between environmentalists opposed to federal plans for drilling on the Roan and industry officials who see expanded drilling as a boon to the western Colorado economy.
The balancing act drew some praise from environmental groups, energy companies and politicians in both parties.
"This is a Colorado treasure like few others," said Steve Smith, regional director for the Wilderness Society.
The governor's stance "sends a strong signal that Colorado wants this protected," Smith said.
State Sen. Josh Penry, a Grand Junction Republican who fought attempts to block drilling on the Roan, said Ritter "came to the right conclusion in the face of some heavy political pressure from people in his own party and the environmental community."
Ritter's comments followed a 120-day review he had requested after the federal Bureau of Land Management announced plans in June for limited drilling on public lands on top of the 9,000-foot plateau.
While the agency has no obligation to incorporate Ritter's recommendations, the governor said he is in "productive discussions" with the U.S. Department of the Interior and believes federal officials will take his recommendations.
The governor called for expanding four wildlife-protection zones by 15,000 acres, to 36,000 acres.
That is same size requested by the state Division of Wildlife in 2005, but it was cut in the federal proposal.
Staggered leasing possible Ritter and Harris Sherman, director of the state Department of Natural Resources, said they will push for phased-in leasing, letting energy companies bid on land ready for development within 10 or 15 years instead of 30 or 40 years.
The incremental leasing would sustain long-term economic benefits for local economies near Rifle, plus allow for advancements in drilling technology, Ritter said.
Environmentalists called Ritter's comments a "positive first step" in protecting the Roan, an ecological gem that is home to the state's largest elk and mule-deer herds, golden and bald eagles, and the rare genetically pure cutthroat trout.
Steve Craig, president of the Colorado council of Trout Unlimited, commended the governor for trying to find middle ground but argued that any drilling is likely to damage streams and animal habitat, and leave near-permanent scars on the land.
"A lot of times when those places are gone, they're gone forever," Craig said.
Oil-and-gas industry officials said the governor's comments serve as vindication, showing it's possible to drill in environmentally sensitive ways.
"We've said it before and prove on a daily basis that energy development and protection of the environment can and do co-exist," Meg Collins, president of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association, said in a statement.
The rock plateau — visible from Interstate 70 — already has 157 miles of roads and 31 wells drilled on private lands. Energy companies have cut two new roads to the plateau top on private lands.
Energy claims staked early In 2002, when the BLM first proposed opening the plateau to drilling, 30 percent of the Roan's 127,000 acres already were owned by energy companies, and 15 percent of public and private lands already had been leased for oil and gas.
Among those awaiting the governor's decision was EnCana Oil & Gas, a Canadian company developing 45,000 acres on the west end of the plateau.
The company is drilling up to 28 wells from a single pad and collecting gas condensates and water more efficiently, reducing the number of trucks to carry it out, said company spokesman Doug Hock.
U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., who is trying to stall drilling on the Roan for a year, said he hoped Ritter's comments would help build "constructive dialogue" with the BLM.
Salazar helped secure the 120-day review for Ritter.
Steven Hall, a BLM spokesman,said the agency can work with the state to stagger drilling and take into account environmental concerns such as wildlife seasons and runoff.
"The goal for everyone is to find a way to recover a tremendous natural-gas resource in an environmentally sensitive manner," he said.
Hall said, however, the agency also is charged under federal law with opening the lands for energy exploration "as soon as practicable."
"It was not set aside as a national park," Hall said. "It has not been designated as a wilderness area. It was designated for multiple use under the BLM's mandate."
The BLM's 52,000-acre development plan was hammered out with the state's Natural Resources Department after years of negotiations.
It limits drilling operations to no more than 1 percent of the plateau's surface land at any given time and requires that area to be restored before new drilling can begin.
Some state lawmakers, led by Penry, want to create a permanent trust fund from Roan drilling revenues that would fund higher education and communities affected by the oil-and-gas industry.
Staff writers Steve Lipsher and Aldo Svaldi contributed to this report. Jennifer Brown: 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com
April 2002 — The Bush administration prepares a new management plan for 198 square miles on the Roan Plateau, turning public- lands agencies away from the Clinton administration's preservation orientation.
April 2003 — Interior Secretary Gale Norton initiates a new policy that prohibits the BLM from considering wilderness protection in future energy planning efforts. Norton's new policy also strips temporary protection granted to areas, including the Roan Plateau.
December 2003 — The Colorado Division of Wildlife's suggestions that four areas on the Roan Plateau be protected from development are omitted from the state's final report to the BLM.
November 2004 — The BLM submits a draft environmental impact report on gas drilling on the Roan Plateau, which gives five alternatives and says it could be 16 years before the first wells are drilled. The state says the report downplays the economic benefits of hunting and recreation on the plateau.
June 2006 — Federal land managers choose to open the top of the Roan Plateau to oil and gas drilling without waiting until resources at the bottom of the plateau are tapped, despite requests to keep the top off-limits. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., asks that the new leasing plan be opened to public comment.
February 2007 —Conservationists, wildlife advocates and local officials ask for congressional action to stop or curb the planned drilling on the Roan Plateau.
June 2007 — The BLM decides to allow immediate drilling on nearly 70 percent of the Roan Plateau. U.S. Reps. Mark Udall and John Salazar attempt to put a one-year hold on the plan. Gov. Bill Ritter criticizes the BLM for not giving state officials time to review the plan.
July 2007 — Sen. Salazar presses the BLM to provide a 120-day extension for the state to review the resource management plan for the Roan Plateau.
August 2007 — Reps. Salazar and Udall insert language into a bill to prevent all drilling on the plateau, except when it takes place on private land or at the base of the mountain.
August 2007 — Ritter is given 120 days to review federal plans for development on the Roan Plateau.
Dec. 20, 2007 — Ritter proposes phased drilling and a 70 percent larger area for wildlife protection — 36,000 acres, or slightly more than a quarter of the plateau.
Ritter gives tepid nod to Roan drilling
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/12/20/122107_1a_Ritter_Roan.html
Thursday, December 20, 2007 Natural gas drilling atop the Roan Plateau should continue, Gov. Bill Ritter acknowledged Thursday, so long as the federal government protects the plateau’s environmentally sensitive assets. “I think we can strike a balance that’s going to benefit Colorado’s environment, economy, communities involved … and certainly the energy industry,” Ritter said. In a letter sent to Sally Wisely, state director for the Bureau of Land Management, Ritter said he hopes the agency will work to ensure watersheds, wildlife habitat and other aspects of critical environmental importance are protected as development moves ahead. Ritter requested the BLM protect several places atop the plateau that the agency has not flagged as areas of critical concern. He also requested incremental leasing of the federal lands. Phased leasing could garner Colorado higher leasing revenue, let Colorado better utilize new drilling technologies and enable communities surrounding the Roan to accommodate development, state Department of Natural Resources Director Harris Sherman said. The governor’s letter and comments came at the end of a 120-day review period, which the Interior Department granted the state in early August. The question of whether and how to develop the Roan Plateau north of Interstate 70 between Parachute and Rifle ignited a political firestorm this year after the BLM decided in late June to open the more than 50,000 acres atop the plateau to leasing. Development advocate Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, praised the governor’s decision in a statement, calling it “a shot across the bow of those who have tried to make energy production a wedge campaign issue in Colorado.” “When you strip away all the politics and all the partisan grandstanding that’s been going on in Washington, the governor finally came around to making the right call on the Roan and he deserves credit for it,” Penry said. In response to Ritter’s letter, Wisely said she looks forward to working with Colorado to responsibly develop the Roan. “I believe we can recover the area’s natural gas resources in an environmentally sensitive manner so as to meet the nation’s energy needs and generate revenue for the people of Colorado,” Wisely said. Conservationists, however, said they were disappointed with the governor’s decision not to fight development atop the Roan. Steve Craig, the president of the Colorado Council of Trout Unlimited, said the governor’s position did not go far enough in advocating against drilling atop the plateau. “While we applaud the governor’s recommendation to expand the so-called ‘areas of critical environmental concern,’ ” Craig said, “we also see a missed opportunity to fully protect the fish and wildlife habitat on the Roan Plateau.” Elise Jones, executive director of the Colorado Environmental Coalition, said she hopes Colorado’s congressional delegation will continue to fight to halt leasing activities atop the plateau. Ritter’s opinion places him at odds with Democratic Colorado lawmakers Rep. John Salazar, Rep. Mark Udall and Sen. Ken Salazar, who have tried to halt Roan development at every turn.
Ritter asks to expand protected areas on Roan Plateau
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20071220/NEWS/289003089
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 20, 2007
DENVER - Gov. Bill Ritter said Thursday he asked federal land managers to expand areas of the Roan Plateau that would be off-limits to natural gas drilling, calling the western Colorado landmark "a very special place."
Ritter said he and his staff also continue to negotiate with the Bureau of Land Management on how the rest of the federal land on the plateau is developed.
The Roan Plateau has become a battle ground in the push for more domestic energy production because it's both rich in natural gas - several trillion cubic feet in deposits - and rich in wildlife and ecological diversity.
"I'm confident that we're making progress on what I believe is a uniquely Colorado solution," Ritter said during a news briefing in his office.
The BLM issued a final management plan in June that covered about 70 percent of the 73,602 acres of federal land on the plateau. A final decision is pending on areas deemed environmentally sensitive - about 30 percent of the federal land - because the areas weren't adequately described in the plan.
The proposal for the Roan Plateau had been in the works for seven years but Ritter sought, and received, more time to study it because he had just taken office in January.
In comments sent Thursday to the BLM, Ritter recommended expanding the environmentally critical areas to be protected from the 21,034 acres in the agency's plan to 36,184 acres. The Colorado Division of Wildlife previously endorsed the larger acreage.
The Ritter administration is also suggesting changes to the plan for the rest of the federal land even though the BLM gave final approval to that part of the proposal. He said talks with BLM and Interior Department officials have been productive.
"I think we're making progress on a plan that is better than the current one," Ritter said.
BLM spokesman David Boyd said the agency will have to review the state's suggestions to determine if they can mesh with the plan. "We want to keep working with them," he said.
Ritter and Harris Sherman, executive director of the state Department of Natural Resources, said the earliest the BLM would issue any gas leases for the area would likely be late next summer. They said that should give them time to continue talking to federal officials.
State officials have suggested phasing in leases on top of the plateau rather than leasing the land all at once. Sherman said he believes that would increase what companies are willing to pay because the current plan calls for the development to occur in stages. He said companies are unlikely to pay a lot of money for leases they can't develop for a while.
The state and federal governments split the revenue from federal leases offered in auctions.
Sherman said another advantage of pacing the leases over several years is that as technology improves, the impacts of drilling will be reduced.
The BLM's plan projects 193 well pads and 1,570 wells over 20 years, including 13 pads and 210 wells on top. The BLM says the proposal would preserve 51 percent of land on top of and below the plateau while allowing recovery of more than 90 percent of the natural gas.
On top, the BLM calls for oil and gas drilling to be done in stages and clusters to limit disturbance to 1 percent of the federal land at any time. Development would be focused on slopes with less than a 20 percent angle.
Environmentalists, hunting and angling groups and some area residents oppose plans to drill on top of the plateau. The Roan Plateau, about 180 miles west of Denver, looms over the Colorado River and alternates between open flat spots, deep canyons and rugged peaks as high as 9,000 feet.
The plateau is home to the state's largest deer and elk herds, mountain lions, peregrine falcons, bears, rare plants and genetically pure native cutthroat trout dating to the last ice age. Local elected officials have said the Roan Plateau, which draws hunters and anglers from across the country, contributes millions of dollars to the area economy.
The area also sits atop the region's largest oil shale reserves and enough natural gas, according to industry estimates, to heat every home in Colorado for a quarter century.
Some industry groups and elected officials have criticized efforts to block drilling on the plateau, saying the country needs to reduce its reliance on foreign fuel. They also said delays could cost the state billions of dollars from leases and mineral royalties.
Reps. Mark Udall and John Salazar and Sen. Ken Salazar, all Colorado Democrats, proposed unsuccessful bills to ban or postpone drilling on top of the Roan Plateau.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Association, a trade group, said it was pleased that Ritter recognizes the plateau's potential resources and that technology can be used to extract the gas in an environmentally sensitive way.
Ritter's recommendations for the plateau drew mixed reactions from conservation groups.
"We are really pleased that the governor endorsed the original recommendations of the Division of the Wildlife" on environmentally sensitive areas, said Suzanne O'Neill, executive director of the Colorado Wildlife Federation, made up of hunters, anglers and wildlife advocates.
But some members of the Colorado chapter of Trout Unlimited expressed concern that drilling would be allowed on top of the plateau.
Roan a rare treasure
Denver Post guest commentary Sharon Lance
A Denver Post editorial earlier this month on the Bureau of Land Management's plan to lease and drill on the Roan Plateau missed the mark — perhaps most egregiously by claiming off-site development like that proposed by U.S. Reps. Mark Udall and John Salazar might actually be detrimental to the Roan's wildlife.
The editorial states that "horizontal drilling operations could actually increase the risk of harm to the wildlife that use the base of the plateau for their winter range." Folks, that ship has sailed. Much of the Roan's "winter range" is already being drilled and is a network of industrial-grade roads pocked by graded well pads and frequented daily by 18-wheeled trucks that transport materials and manpower to any number of rigs and working wells.
Further destroying deer and elk habitat is not what the Salazar-Udall provision is about. Public lands in the Roan Plateau Planning Area cover 67,000 acres, just 1.5 percent of the entire Piceance Basin. The only habitat left to protect on the Roan is that small percentage of undisturbed backcountry on top of the plateau and the remaining deer and elk winter range at the base that sportsmen have identified as priceless. No gradual development plans put forth by the BLM — even those that require reclamation — would spare this important island in a sea of oil and gas development from the drill bit.
The Salazar-Udall provision would have protected habitat, not sacrificed it. What is needed is a moratorium on further leasing until a plan is in place that allows for continued, responsible development on the half of the Roan that is leased or owned by industry, while keeping the other half as it is today for tomorrow's sportsmen.
Worries that Colorado's treasury won't get the most out of the Roan if industry can't access all of the plateau's buried gas are unfounded and quite honestly disingenuous. Much of the Roan's gas could be accessed using directional drilling from land outside the planning area and from those lands that have already been trashed. The Salazar-Udall provision would have allowed for this. The long- term harm to local economies by sacrificing the entire plateau to drilling will far outweigh the initial windfall Colorado would see in gas royalties.
Communities like Rifle, Parachute and Meeker understand the long-term economic benefit of keeping at least some of northwestern Colorado's fish and game habitat intact.
A 2006 study commissioned by the 2005 Energy Policy Act found that 90 percent of the public, BLM-managed land in the basin is already available for leasing. The notion that keeping drilling rigs, industrial-grade roads and razed well pads off of one tiny section of a huge natural gas field would hamstring the energy industry and the state's treasury is simply laughable, and The Post's editorial board should have checked its facts.
Drilling the top of the Roan would be an irrevocable mistake — one that would forever sacrifice trophy elk and deer habitat and hunting opportunity, and two genetically pure populations of rare Colorado River cutthroat trout that are of keen value to adventurous anglers.
What remains of the Roan is simply too valuable to sacrifice for short-term profit.
Sharon Lance (stlance@comcast.net) is past president of the Colorado Council of Trout Unlimited and member of the board of trustees.
Try fishing other side of Yucatán
http://origin.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_7755693 By Sam Bacon
Sam Bacon, a former Rio Grande guide, is a law student at the University of Colorado and an intern for the Trout Unlimited Colorado Water Project.
Special to The Denver Post
CAMPECHE, Mexico — The guides of Campeche were huddled on the pier in the predawn darkness, Pangas loaded with gas, drinks and lunches for a full day of scouting the west coast of the Yucatán Peninsula for baby tarpon.
After just 10 minutes at full throttle, head guide Neko Pastrana motioned with a flick of his hand to cut the motor. As the boat settled in the water, still dark beneath a purple sky, we jumped to our feet to see if we could discern what had caught his attention. The slick, black backs of a school of tarpon were visible a ways off, slicing through the dead-calm water.
My dad, Todd Bacon, grabbed an 8-weight and stripped out line onto the deck as quickly as he could. One long cast to check his distance and to recoil the line properly on the deck, and he was ready. Holding the fly in one hand and the rod in the other, he waited as Neko poled silently across 8-foot deep water to intercept the school.
"Cast!" came the command as we neared the school. The streamer landed short of the visible fish, but Neko exhorted, "Strip! Strip!"
Todd made quick, short strips until the line stopped abruptly, and he then sent a hard strip-strike the length of the line to set the hook. The stillness of that morning was broken by a 25-pound silver beauty arching its way 4 feet into the air and crashing back into the sea. Up again it came, and again and again, spending its energy going vertical into the Mexican dawn. After a 10-minute fight, the fish was released, and the morning was off to a heart-pounding start.
Regardless of how many tarpon one has boated, it is impossible to step up onto the casting platform in the early-morning light without an all-encompassing sense of nervous alertness. It's a rush that is totally addicting. My dad and I had made this trip last year, and we wanted to feel that rush again.
Far off the tourist track Campeche, on the Gulf of Mexico side of the Yucatán Peninsula, is a full day's journey from Denver, flying via Houston to Merida, then a two-hour drive. It is a bustling city of 400,000 people, with an old city center and a modern city built around it. In total contrast to Cancun on the opposite coast, Campeche is relatively untouched by "Yanqui" influence.In fact, this city is so far off the tourist track that hardly anyone speaks English. In place of the hotel strips of Cancun are the forts of San Miguel and San Jose, marking the town's 500-year-old origins as the coast's lone protection from pirates. Narrow streets are paved with cobbles borrowed from old city walls. Row houses and stores are painted in Mexican pastels of lime, yellow, azure, coral and peach. The Spanish colonial feel extends to the simple cafes and restaurants surrounding the center plaza and adjacent cathedral.
To fish for Campeche's baby tarpon, we came equipped with three rod: two 8-weights and one 10. These babies — 8 to 40 pounds — are no different from their bigger relatives in the Keys, either in terms of feeding behavior or initial fight. Their sleek, black silhouettes often are visible from afar, sometimes too visible, as they allowed us so much time to get ready that our anxious casts fell off the mark. But a missed cast does not necessarily signal the end. Schools where only a few fish are visibly breaching the surface for air, known as greyhounding, often hold 40 or more fish just below the surface. Much of the time is spent slowly poling along the edge of the mangrove coast, searching for cruising pods of tarpon and blind-casting into likely pockets.
Casting to create chaos I can think of no more exciting moment in fishing than seeing a wake break from the course of the school to chase a quickly stripped fly. A violent strip-strike and the aerials begin. Campeche's baby tarpon jump just like all tarpon, panicked and uncontrolled, yet majestic and explosive. Instead of mortgaging the next hour of the day hauling up a tired log of a fish from the bottom, however, the average fight is closer to 10 or 15 minutes.Shorter fights mean more time to experience what is perhaps the area's best attribute: the diversity of fishing opportunities that it offers. While tarpon are the only target species, the days consist of probing either the offshore flats that are 7 to 10 feet deep and up to a mile off the shore line, the mangrove edges that stretch for endless miles north of town or the "rios." The rios are brackish streams that drain the peninsula and hold powerful fish in some of the most surreal environments I've ever seen, in or out of fishing.
One afternoon, we grabbed mangrove branches to pull the boat through a gap in the vegetation. The passage opened onto a clearing no bigger than a boxing ring. A floor of golden sand betrayed four or five 'poons that were languidly patrolling the recess.
With no time to free up line and no room to backcast anyway, I resorted to my favorite high-country stream technique: the bow-and-arrow cast. With an 8-weight. For a 15-pound fish. The ensuing fight was pure chaos, but what a unique and bizarre opportunity, available only in Campeche.
COLORADO STATE PROFESSOR EMERITUS BOB BEHNKE ENDOWS FELLOWSHIP FOR COLD-WATER FISHERIES RESEARCH
FORT COLLINS - One of the world's foremost experts in cold-water fisheries, Colorado State University Professor Emeritus Robert Behnke, recently announced a gift to endow a fellowship for a CSU graduate student to study critical cold-water fisheries issues related to habitat, disease, native species and more. The Robert J. Behnke Rocky Mountain Flycasters Research Fellowship stemmed from an annual scholarship that was created by Trout Unlimited, a national fisheries conservation organization, in honor of Behnke's longtime Trout Unlimited chapter membership and his devotion to the study and appreciation of native trout and salmon.
"I was humbled and deeply touched by the fundraising of our local Trout Unlimited chapter in my honor," said Behnke. "I decided to make this initial effort into a permanent endowment with my contribution. The endowment is designed to further the legacy of the CSU fisheries program as a national leader in fisheries research and conservation."
The $128,000 endowed fellowship gift will provide an opportunity for a Colorado State graduate student to study fisheries issues such as restoration of native greenback cutthroat trout in Colorado, impact of sedimentation on trout from run-off following forest fires and lessening the impact of whirling disease on rainbow trout. Fishing is a primary recreational activity in Colorado and studying issues that address the quality of cold-water fisheries will continue to improve the state's fishing reputation and economy.
Behnke is widely recognized as the world's foremost expert on North American trout and salmon species. He is the author of several books, including "About Trout: The Best of Robert J. Behnke from Trout Magazine," and more than 100 scientific articles.
Forest snow to faucet flow
Denver Post guest commentary by Rick Cables Last week's announcement of a historic, seven-state water-sharing agreement brings to light a perception that water begins at the Colorado River, when actually it is the link between our forest's snow pack and the faucets through which that melted snow flows.
Mountain snows supply 75 percent of the inland West's water, almost half of it from the highest elevations. The health of forests is critical to the quality and quantity of water that flows from them.
Renewing national forests is critical to sustaining their function as the source of most water in the inland West. Forests are nature's sponge, storing and filtering vast amounts of water and slowly releasing it in summer when it is most needed. It all begins in winter with snowfall.
Winter snow will translate into water yields next spring. The mountain snowpack functions as a high-altitude reservoir that feeds headwater river basins. The streams in these basins ultimately flow to our water systems. When we turn on our faucets, we tap into our forests — so our water supply depends on the health of our forests and their streams.
Securing reliable flows of clean water was a prime purpose of the first national forests. In a sense, history is repeating itself today as we in the Forest Service return to our roots by giving priority to water as the greatest value of national forests.
The stakes are now higher than ever with projections of a warming climate, less snowpack, earlier snowmelt, and more severe droughts and wildfires that will strain our water supply and threaten our water source. We need to plan for such a future.
The evidence today is sobering: Spring snowpack has already dropped sharply in the past 20 years, and snowmelt runoff now starts an average of 10 days earlier. Large forest fires are four times more frequent and burn six times more acres. In spite of all this, national forests will remain the water towers of the West, feeding the Colorado River and other river basins.
Water is a finite resource, with infinite potential demand. We may squeeze a bit more from the earth and sky, but there is only so much water there. The real answer lies in working together to save our source and reduce our demand. The water stresses of this century will prove to be a defining conservation issue of our time.
Advocacy for water issues and forests requires public collaboration. One model is the Pike National Forest, where a 2-mile stretch of the South Platte River between Elevenmile Dam and Cheesman Reservoir is the site of an ambitious watershed restoration project. The state of Colorado, Park County, Trout Unlimited, Coalition for the Upper South Platte, and South Platte Enhancement Board will work with us in 2008 on the Happy Meadows project. Drainage control on roads and pullouts and revegetation of burned areas and heavily grazed upstream pastures will reduce sediment loads into the river and improve aquatic habitats and clean water supplies.
The work of rural communities, grassroots groups, businesses and individual volunteers is critical to improving our forest watersheds, to helping heal wounds on the land so streams run clean, and to making forests more resilient to wildfires so the sponge keeps working. And we are grateful.
I applaud the visionary cooperation shown by the seven Colorado basin states, and hope it helps pave the way for more joint water solutions. Our future depends on it.
Rick Cables is the Rocky Mountain Regional Forester.
