“People really understand the importance of conservation,” said Summit County native Becky Long, who works for Colorado Environmental Coalition, a statewide advocacy group. “Every drop of water you take out of a river is one you'll never see again. Water is one of our most precious resources, and it needs to be part of the road map as we're planning for the state's future growth.” Read more
By CHRIS WOODKATHE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
“Front Range communities should first consider simpler, less costly measures to meet our region's water needs, such as conservation, aquifer recharge and leasing. What's needed most is comprehensive regional water planning, not pie-in-the-sky schemes,” Drew Peternell of Trout Unlimited wrote in a published letter to The Chieftain.http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2010/01/29/news/local/doc4b62a2d7376ef917368797.txt
Field & Stream Trout Unlimited has named Chris Wood, currently TU's chief operating officer, to fill the chief executive officer's position held by Charles Gauvin since 1991. Wood will take over February 1.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/fishing/2010/01/trout-unlimited-names-new-ceo
That is the kind of support that has been snowballing for the watershed council. That is also why the river restoration project, which is divided into five reaches, has expanded since it began in the fall of 2008. Local, state and national entities including Edwards Metropolitan District, Eagle River Foundation, Eagle County, Colorado Department of Health and Environment, Trout Unlimited and others have contributed grant money to the efforts. http://www.eaglevalleyenterprise.com/article/20100127/NEWS/100129974/1054&ParentProfile=1001
Durango Herald What has been proposed is that 40 percent of the money collected on OHVs goes for law-enforcement activities focused on illegal off-highway vehicle use and enforcing designated routes on public lands. Another 30 percent would go to restore areas damaged by improper or off-trail use of off-highway vehicles. And the final 30 percent would go to maintenance of existing routes, signage, maps and educational outreach.
That seem like an equitable distribution. It is supported by Trout Unlimited, the San Juan Citizens Alliance, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, the Colorado Mountain Club, Colorado Wild, Great Old Broads for Wilderness about 30 other similarly interested groups.
http://durangoherald.com/sections/Opinion/Editorial/2010/01/27/OHV_fees/
By Sharon Sullivan[Grand Junction] Free Press Staff Writer
Despite two rivers flowing through town and a drinking water supply from Grand Mesa, projections from Colorado River Basin Roundtable studies predict significant gaps between water supply and demand by 2050. Read more
By Julie Sutorsummit daily news
BRECKENRIDGE — Air pollution, compromised river ecosystems, waning drinking water supplies, un-boatable rivers and dry marinas were among the chorus of concerns raised by public officials in regard to a Denver Water proposal to bring more West Slope water to Front Range cities. Read more
Scott CondonAspen correspondent Post Independent Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service requires water from Ruedi, among other sources, to try to improve habitat on the Colorado River for endangered fish species. The timing of the Fish & Wildlife Service's “call” for water last summer produced higher flows for a longer period than typical on the Fryingpan River. It affected fishing conditions, especially in August. Read more
Pace said Friday he plans to introduce a bill during the upcoming Legislative session that would require advanced mitigation of economic and ecological effects on originating communities when water is transferred. Read more
Pace said Friday he plans to introduce a bill during the upcoming Legislative session that would require advanced mitigation of economic and ecological effects on originating communities when water is transferred.
On the other side of the fight are the communities that would be the water's destination. And they've prevailed in the past.
Presently, a water judge can only consider senior water rights in determining whether to allow transfers. Pace said it's archaic that ecological damage is not a consideration in the process.
He pointed to Crowley County's meager average annual household income for a family of four - $18,000 - as an example of the aftermath of water transfers conducted without regard to economic or ecological impact on a region. Generally, he said, urban centers are sated at the expense of rural areas by benefiting from the transfers. Consequently, Pace's proposed legislation would require water divisions
seeking to receive transfers to reach economic and ecological mitigation
agreements with the originating communities before the transfers could be approved in Water Court.
If a mitigation agreement could not be reached, a judge would have to rule on one.
The existing law governing mitigation of water transfers - the Conservancy District Act - was adopted in 1937 and only requires mitigation when water transfers come from the Western Slope across the Continental Divide. Pace's bill would extend that mitigation requirement to all transfers between two water districts.
State Sen. Dan Gibbs, a Western Slope Democrat, is the bill's Senate sponsor. A similar bill was proposed in 2004, but it died in the House.
Pace expects opposition to the bill from water providers in populous parts of the state, such as Denver and Aurora. In the past, representatives of those water interests have argued that creation of mitigation requirements would duplicate the efforts of the Interbasin Water Committee, which oversees water transfers in the state.
Pace said he thinks both can exist to the benefit of the state as a whole.
“If this bill passes, it will be by a close margin,” Pace said. “I might have an even harder time passing it than they had when it was proposed in 2004. It will be a fight, but I'm ready for the fight.”
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From Denver Post Online By Charles Gauvin: President and CEO, Trout Unlimited
It’s with a deep sense of sadness that we at Trout Unlimited mourn the passing of Charlie Meyers, one of the most influential outdoor communicators of his time, and a tireless champion for fish and wildlife and their habitat.
Charlie will be sorely missed, largely because he was the conscience of the American sportsman – he spoke truth to power eloquently and unabashedly. We didn’t always see eye to eye on every issue, but we were able to communicate candidly and openly in a way I always appreciated. Charlie also represented an old school of outdoor journalists who understood that readers deserve more than knowing where the hatchery truck will stop next; that conservation is the cornerstone to enjoying fish and wildlife, now and in the future. Let’s hope the next generation of writers lives up to the standards Charlie and many of his peers have set.
One of Charlie’s last wishes was unexpected gift – he asked that donations in his name be given to Colorado Trout Unlimited. Even in death, Charlie Meyers still put conservation first.
Godspeed, Charlie, and many thanks for your countless contributions to the cause. The fight to protect wild rivers and wild fish will go on, but we’ve lost an important voice. We hope your words have instilled the needed courage in others who have a passion for the outdoors and the will to challenge those who might try to whittle away at our sporting heritage.
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