Fighting for the Green River

A speculative water project could take 81 billion gallons a year out of the Green River and Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

Problem

The Green River below Flaming Gorge Reservoir offers some of the best fishing in the West. But despite the importance of the Green River to anglers and the local economy, a speculative water project proposed by developer Aaron Million could take 81 billion gallons a year out of the Green River and Flaming Gorge, and pump it 560 miles to the Front Range of Colorado.

Initial construction costs for this project will exceed $7 billion, with annual operating costs totaling over $123 million. Yet that’s not the worst part. The Million Pipeline is a potential economic and environmental boondoggle that could unleash a host of destructive impacts on local communities, fish and game habitats, and taxpayers in three states.   A pipeline project of this magnitude has the potential to:

• Ruin world class kokanee salmon and lake trout populations by increasing water temperatures and raising salinity levels.
• Destroy the Blue-ribbon fishery for trophy rainbow and brown trout in the Green River.
• Harm critical mule deer and pronghorn habitat and hunting opportunity.
• De-water wetlands in the basin and impede waterfowl hunting.
• Impact Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, Browns Park
• National Wildlife Refuge, Dinosaur National Monument, as well as Ouray National Wildlife Refuge.
• Lower water levels significantly, making it virtually impossible to access the reservoir for recreation.
• Further the spread of cheat grass, tamarisk and quagga mussels, which will harm hunting and fishing in the area.
• Force the government to spend millions of dollars in taxpayer money to reconstruct boat launches, campgrounds, marinas, fishing piers and other access points.
• Destroy a $118 million recreation-based economy the communities in the region depend on for their survival.
• Slow the recovery of endangered native fish like the razorback sucker, Colorado pikeminnow, and bonytail chub. Until these fish are recovered and removed from listing under the Endangered Species Act, the area’s recreation-based economy will continue to operate with restrictions required under federal law.

Make Your Voice Heard

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reviews federal permits for hydropower projects, and is taking comments on Million's application for a preliminary permit through December 16.  While this is only the first step of many that would be required for the proposed pipeline, it gives us the chance to stop Million's dangerous proposal now, before it can get started.  FERC needs to hear from you about the importance of the Green River and your concerns about the impacts of this project.

To submit your comments by the December 16th deadline, please follow these instructions:

1. Go to www.ferc.gov 2. Click on the 'Documents and Filings' menu tab on the homepage 3. Click on the eComments tab 4. Fill in the required information and you will receive an official form to file your comments 5. Include on the docket # P-14263 for the Flaming Gorge Pipeline project. 6. Submit your comment before the December 16th deadline

Note: If you have personal experiences on the Green, be sure to mention those in your comments.

Suggested Talking Points

In addition to the points listed above, it's important to stress the following in your comments:

• The Million project will be bad for the Green River and its world-class trout fishery and the regional tourism economy that fishery supports, as well as harming critical native fish habitat downstream where the Green is a centerpiece of endangered fish recovery.

• This project already failed to pass muster with another federal agency that reviewed it.  After scoping, the Army Corps of Engineers pulled the plug on the environmental analysis process that it had begun on this pipeline because Million didn't have the threshold information available to even allow them to analyze the project. Nothing has changed - and FERC shouldn't allow an applicant to "game" its system this way to create phony credibility with investors.

• Having struck out with the Corps, Million is now trying to sell this as a hydropower project - but it can't be justified based on its claimed hydropower benefits.  It would actually interfere with hydropower generation at Flaming Gorge by reducing the water available to go through the existing hydroelectric facilities. The project isn't good for fish or for hydropower.

Continue the Fight

To stay up to date on this issue and learn about more opportunities to get involved, please sign up to on our campaign website 'Sportsmen for the Green' and 'like' us on Facebook.

Questions? Contact Charlie Card, NE Utah Coordinator ccard@tu.org

Colorado TU fighting for clean water

Colorado TU, along with its conservation partners the Colorado Environmental Coalition, High Country Citizens Alliance, and San Juan Citizens Alliance, has filed its comments and recommendations for water quality standards to protect against excessive nutrient in Colorado waterways.  Through cooperation with one of Colorado's largest dischargers, the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, these conservation partners have supported a compromise strategy that will put standards in place while allowing facility upgrades to be phased in over the next ten years - helping keep costs to customers reasonable.  The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission will be taking final action on nutrient standards in March 2012.  Click here to read our press release. Many anglers notice that they can catch larger fish below treatment plants on some of Colorado's rivers and so may wonder why Colorado TU would be looking to restrict nutrients.  The "Old Professor" (retired biologist Dr John Nickum) explains the issue in his December 2011 column in High Country Angler. The simple answer is that while some added nutrients can help boost productivity, too much can also create unhealthy river conditions - including declines in key macroinvertebrate and fish species.  A little nutrient can help - but too much of a good thing is just that:  too much.

Colorado River: Windy Gap firming plan released

By Summit Voice “The Final Environmental Impact Statement continues to ignore existing problems that will be made much worse by the Windy Gap project,” said Sinjin Eberle, president of Colorado Trout Unlimited.

http://summitcountyvoice.com/2011/12/07/colorado-river-windy-gap-firming-plan-released/

Give online December 6th

When you give to Colorado Trout Unlimited online any time on December 6, the value of your donation will be increased by the FirstBank Incentive Fund as part of Colorado TU's participation in Colorado Gives Day 2011. Depending on the amount of donations we receive, we could earn significant extra funding just for participating - leveraging your investment and increasing our capacity to continue protecting the Colorado rivers you love!

From the mighty Arkansas to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado TU works to conserve, protect and restore your favorite rivers and streams for our children and grandchildren.

If you haven't done so already, please make your gift online December 6th at www.givingfirst.org/coloradotu

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.

The Colorado White River basin - Best Wild Places

From Field & Stream:The White River basin might be the West’s best deer and elk hunting destination, and the river itself is a trophy trout fishery home to massive rainbow and brown trout. High in Trapper’s Lake, native Colorado River cutthroat trout still swim. The area, though, is also highly coveted by the energy industry, and its use of water and land is of concern to the connectivity of the region from a fish and game standpoint. Trout Unlimited is working with local volunteers and the energy industry to prove that oil and gas extraction can be done in a way that protects the long-term viability of our sporting resources.

Read More Here

Watch Colorado TU President's interview on Comcast Newsmakers

Check out this recent interview with Colorado TU President Sinjin Eberle on Comcast Newsmakers. In this segment, Sinjin talks about Colorado TU's work to keep our state's rivers healthy for fish, wildlife, and all Coloradans who love to hunt, fish, raft or kayak. Sinjin also underscores the importance of healthy rivers to sustaining these important recreation opportunities that serve as the backbone of Colorado's outdoor economy.

Sinjin Eberle Comcast Newsmakers Interview 2011 from Sinjin Eberle on Vimeo.

Chapter Spotlight: Canyon Reach project on Mayhem Gulch

By Glen Edwards, West Denver TU Chapter On Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, the West Denver chapter held a brief dedication ceremony at Mayhem Gulch for the recently completed WDTU Canyon Reach project on Clear Creek. This project concentrated on safe access for young families and marginally mobile adults, both relative to the busy highway, and relative to the stream. Three separate stretches received major winter habitat and feeding lane structures, as well as boulder clusters for easy fishing access, constructed by the contractor, Frontier Environmental Services. The lowest stretch is at Mayhem Gulch, located 9.5 miles up Clear Creek Canyon from the intersection of Highways 6 and 93 just west of Golden, or just below Mile Marker 262. The middle stretch is upstream at a large unpaved parking area just below MM 261, and the upper stretch is further upstream near the Canyon Park Open Space sign just below MM 260.5.

Contributions to the project from CDPW's "Fishing is Fun" program, the Jefferson County's Conservation Trust Fund, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Alfred Frei and Sons quarry, CTU's GoMo Grant, the Henderson Mine, the Trask Family Foundation, as well as several private donors and our own WDTU chapter, totaled approximately $300,000. Educational signage for the project is planned, but not yet installed.

Jefferson County Comission Chairperson Faye Griffin spoke briefly at the Oct. 28 Canyon Reach Project dedication ceremony, and the Director of the new Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, Rick Cables, was the keynote speaker. Cables impressed the audience with his down-to-earth enthusiasm for efforts like the Canyon Reach Project , and for his obvious support for conservation groups like Trout Unlimited.

Support the San Juan Wilderness

Durango, Colo. — Trout Unlimited announced today its strong support for S. 1635, the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act of 2011. The bill, authored by Sen. Mark Udall and co-sponsored by Sen. Michael Bennet, would conserve more than 60,000 acres of outstanding fish and wildlife habitat on public land in Southwest Colorado, and with it, countless opportunities for sportsmen and women to hunt, fish and provide sustainable economic benefits to the communities in the region. “This is a beautiful, high-altitude area that is heavily used by both local sportsmen and visitors to our area,” said Marshall Pendergrass, current president of TU’s Gunnison Gorge Anglers chapter and resident of Montrose. “It’s the key to the tourism economy of Telluride and Ouray.”

Local TU members worked with fellow residents and several conservation organizations to help craft the legislation, which has the support of a wide variety of stakeholders in the area.

“I’ve attended meetings on this proposal from the beginning, and this bill is not a surprise coming down on this area from federal officials. This bill was crafted from the grassroots,” said Ouray resident Tony Chelf, an active member of the Gunnison Gorge Anglers chapter. “It wasn’t easy, but now that the work is done, the bill ought to be passed quickly.”

Both Pendergrass and Chelf, joined by the 10,000 members of Colorado Trout Unlimited, called on Colorado Rep. Scott Tipton to support a twin measure in the House of Representatives to ensure the bill’s speedy passage through Congress.

“This isn’t a partisan measure,” Chelf said. “It’s not only what the majority of people in this area want to see, it’s a win-win for everyone.”

See also:

• Senators Udall and Bennet Introduce San Juan Wilderness Bill
• San Juan Mountains Wilderness - Protecting 33,000 acres has broad support

Watershed restoration efforts continue

The Mountain Mail by Joe Stone

Environmental restoration is complete in two-thirds of the Kerber Creek watershed, extending from north of Bonanza to San Luis Creek near Villa Grove in the northern San Luis Valley.

Aarón Mohammadi, Kerber Creek Restoration Project coordinator with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, said the project focused on private land lower reaches of the watershed.

Project success, he said, is the result of collaboration among 40 landowners and 16 entities – including federal, state and local, and nonprofit groups including Collegiate Peaks Chapter of Trout Unlimited and Southwest Conservation Corps.

Kerber Creek is a 19-mile-long waterway contaminated by decades of mining that began in 1880 when prospectors discovered gold and silver in Bonanza Mining District in the northern San Juan Mountains.

Within a few years, tainted runoff began to affect ranchers downstream in the San Luis Valley, and as mining activity increased, so did pollution – toxic metals and sulfuric acid, a by-product of the sulfide ore tailings.

Click to read more...