Alpine Triangle

Protection plan an intriguing proposal Durango Herald

Ty Churchwell, who is leading the effort for Trout Unlimited, put it this way: “We want to form a coalition that includes counties and municipalities, watershed groups, sportsmen, private landowners, recreational-vehicle groups and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. They all have an interest in preserving our heritage and our economic viability."

It is an ambitious goal and a worthy one. But by taking an inclusive approach, both with the supporters he wants to attract and by not neglecting any current users' interest in the land, it may well be achievable.

For good reason, some things are banned in some places. True wilderness, for example, is incompatible with motorized traffic. But preserving the Alpine Triangle does not mean locking it away or curtailing its use by the public. Preservation in this context means just what its supporters say: Keep it like it is.

It is a goal that deserves support.

http://durangoherald.com/sections/Opinion/2010/03/05/Alpine_Triangle/

Plotting the Alpine Triangle

Trout Unlimited looks for support in protecting 126,000 acres in San Juans

by Dale Rodebaugh Herald Staff Writer

A national river-conservation group is drumming up broad support for congressional protection of 126,000 acres in the San Juan Mountains where, a spokesman says, spectacular scenery, remnants of a rough-and-tumble past and recreational opportunities make the area a virtual paradise on Earth.

“The area is one of Colorado's most unique off-road and backcountry resources," said Ty Churchwell with the Five Rivers chapter of Trout Unlimited in Durango, who is heading the preservation campaign. “Our motto is 'Keep It Like It Is.'"

The target area - anchored by the towns of Silverton, Ouray and Lake City - is called the Alpine Triangle, although the shape more resembles a polliwog, with a long tail heading northeast down the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. This high-country terrain, Churchwell said, attracts 300,000 visitors annually who hunt and fish, admire towering peaks and wildflowers, explore 195 miles of four-wheel-drive roads, camp and backpack and visit old ghost towns and abandoned mines. The number of visitors doesn't include those who arrive in Silverton by train, he said.

“We want to form a coalition that includes counties and municipalities, watershed groups, sportsmen, private landowners, recreational-vehicle groups and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad," Churchwell said. “They all have an interest in conserving our heritage and our economic viability."

http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/Earth/2010/03/04/Plotting_the_Alpine_Triangle/

National Conservation Areas: A primer

by Dale RodebaughHerald Staff Writer

National Conservation Areas, designed to protect cultural, historical and recreational assets, range in size from 19 acres to 799,000 acres. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's 10-year-old National Landscape Conservation System, which includes the conservation areas as well as national monuments, wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers, protects 27 million acres at almost 900 sites.

The National Conservation Area label that Trout Unlimited wants for 126,000 acres near Silverton called the Alpine Triangle would be the fourth such area in Colorado overseen by the BLM.

http://durangoherald.com/sections/News/Earth/2010/03/04/National_Conservation_Areas_A_primer/

Surmounting the snow pile

Durango Telegraph by Missy Votel

As the giant mound at the city of Durango’s snow-storage site at Cundiff Park begins to melt, it also gives rise to worries over water quality. The 17-acre snow storage site just south of town, which the city has been using for the last eight years, sits adjacent to the Animas River. And come springtime, Mount Durango, as some locals have taken to calling it, creates a steady stream of murky brown run-off that concerns residents and river advocacy groups alike.

“I applaud the City’s snow removal team and recognize they do a great job during large snow events. However, there are certainly water-quality issues related to the current snow storage location(s),” said Ty Churchwell, former president of the Five Rivers Chapter of Trout Unlimited and member of the Animas River Task Force.

http://www.durangotelegraph.com/telegraph.php?inc=/10-03-04/coverstory.htm

U. bioengineer unravels how caddisfly silk remains sticky when wet

Courtesy - Salt Lake Tribune A new University of Utah study has pinpointed why the silk spun by caddis fly larvae remains sticky underwater, raising the possibility that one of nature's most remarkable adhesives could someday be replicated for surgical use. Western fly fishermen, who look for caddis fly hatches in their quest for hungry trout, call these round, silk-covered larvae "rock rollers."

The insects begin life in streams, using larval silk to build protective cocoons, and U. bioengineer Russell Stewart is exploring potential applications of this material and other natural adhesives in medical contexts.

"I picture it as sort of a wet Band-Aid, maybe used internally in surgery, like using a piece of tape to close an incision as opposed to sutures," said Stewart, an associate professor of bioengineering, in a news statement. "Gluing things together underwater is not easy. Have you ever tried to put a Band-Aid on in the shower? This insect has been doing this for 150 million to 200 million years."

Stewart's study, funded by the National Science Foundation, will be published this week in Biomacromolecules , a journal of the American Chemical Society.

"The caddis flies' successful penetration into diverse aquatic habitats is largely due to the inventive use by their larva of underwater silk to build elaborate structures for protection and food gathering," the study reports.

Stewart and his co-author, Ching Shuen Wang, began their study in trout streams, examining Brachycentrus echo , one of thousands of caddis fly species, which belong to an order related to butterflies and moths.

"There's just a fascinating diversity of these insects. Their adhesive is able to bond to a wide range of surfaces underwater: soft and hard, organic and inorganic," Stewart said. "If we could copy this adhesive, it would be useful on a wide range of tissue types."

The team gathered larvae from the Provo River and kept them alive in lab aquariums lined with glass beads instead of sand. The researchers harvested silk fibers from these beads for chemical analysis. They discovered the silk was made of large proteins known as fibroin with a heavy loads of phosphates, which are used in dentures and water-soluble latex paints to promote adhesion.

bmaffly@sltrib.com

Pitkin County looks to beef up oil and gas regulations

Janet UrquhartAspen correspondent [Glenwood Springs] Post Independent

Most notably, say county officials, the proposed new regulations would strengthen the water-quality standards and monitoring requirements that would be applied to oil and gas operations. The application process would also become more detailed and demanding. Read more

Parker reservoir ready for water

The Denver Post Parker Water & Sanitation District officials announced that construction of the Rueter-Hess Reservoir — which is 180 feet deep and spans 1,400 acres — has reached a stage where water can be received.

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14481144

Shell drops bid for Yampa River water

Denver Post - Mark Jaffe

Shell Exploration and Production Co. has dropped its bid for a 15 billion- gallon water right on the Yampa River, citing a slowdown in its oil-shale development program. Read more

Denver Angling Society Luncheon

Featured Speaker Kerry CaragharMarch 4th @ the Denver Athletic Club

Join fellow anglers and downtown Denver professionals for "Fishing Within an Hour of Denver." Kerry Caraghar, Fishing Manager at Orvis Cherry Creek, will share some of the best fly fishing day-trips within an hour of the Denver metro area.

$25 includes lunch and keynote presentation. Space is limited, but please forward this announcement to colleagues and friends! RSVP by clicking here or contact Erica Stock estock@tu.org (303) 440-2937.

Denver Angling Society Luncheons are hosted by Colorado Trout Unlimited and occur on the first Thursday of every month from 12-1pm at the Denver Athletic Club.  Visit www.cotrout.org for more information regarding future speakers and events.

And don't forget to also JOIN US NEXT MONTH on April 8th for "Great Colorado Hatches," a riveting presentation by Bill Dvorak of Dvorak Expeditions.  Bill will speak about two of Colorado's most legendary hatches: the Arkansas Caddis hatch and the Gunnison Salmonfly hatch.

Travelers Notebook: Time really flies at fishing camp

"Sweet", "incredible," "awesome," "the most fun I've ever had" all come to mind when I think of my time at the Colorado Trout Unlimited River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp. The TU camp has been held in summer annually at a private ranch near Basalt for several years. If every one who attends in coming years has as much fun as I did, it will be around for decades to come. The camp's main focus is to teach coming generations about the importance of conservation through many really fun activities, not the least of which is fly fishing.

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20100221/ENTERTAINMENT06/2210307