Summit High students release Rainbows into the Blue

More than 50 members of Christopher Lambrecht’s Stream Ecology class have moved on. No, they’re not graduating. In fact, they’re not even students — they’re rainbow trout.

The trout, which hatched from eggs donated to the classroom by the nonprofit organization Trout Unlimited, were released into the Blue River Friday.

“This is a big day for these guys,” Lambrecht said before the release. “It will be strange not to have the tank in here.”

The stream ecology students have been involved with the trout from the very beginning. The class, which requires an application and teacher permission to join, is popular among high school students. Lambrecht said the class is intended to be “a biology class from a fisherman’s perspective,” with the goal of educating the students on the biology and chemistry behind steam and river ecology, as well as its potential for recreational enjoyment. One of the aspects that make the class popular is its hands-on outdoor components. Students regularly visit the river across the street from the high school, gathering insects to study and taking other data-gathering measurements.

Read the rest of the article in the Summit Daily.

Governor Signs License Plate Bill

In the final step of a long journey, Governor Hickenlooper signed into law SB-224 on May 18, authorizing a "Protect Our Rivers" license plate.  CTU's Regional Vice President Ken Neubecker and Legislative Liaison Jen Boulton were both on hand at the bill signing in Avon as the Governor gave his final approval to the legislation. The plate, which should be available no later than January 2014, will allow Colorado motorists to show their support for our rivers while also contributing financially to river conservation and education.  Plates will be available with a $25 donation to Colorado Trout Unlimited, plus a $50 payment to the DMV for the plates themselves.

We extend a special thanks to the legislative sponsors of the license plate bill, whose leadership made this success possible: Senators Randy Baumgardner and Andy Kerr, and Representatives Millie Hamner and Jared Wright.

Sportsmen for Browns Canyon Meeting Tomorrow!!

Browns Canyon Public Meeting: We need your voice!!

Senator Mark Udall has unveiled his proposal to create Browns Canyon National Monument and Wilderness Area. Trout Unlimited along with the National Wildlife Federation, Colorado Wildlife Federation, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and the Bull Moose Sportsmen’s Alliance are proud to support his bill and we need your help. This proposal will create jobs, maintain existing uses, and most importantly protect this spectacular area for river recreationists, sportsmen, anglers and future generations.

Mark Udall, who chairs the U.S. Senate National Parks Subcommittee, unveiled draft legislation on March 28, 2013, to create the Browns Canyon National Monument, covering 22,000 acres between Salida and Buena Vista in Chaffee County.  The proposal includes 10,500 acres of new wilderness and seeks to protect the most popular rafting destination in the country.  The proposal is based on a year of public input that Udall and his staff have collected since the spring of 2012.

Senator Udall is hosting two public meetings to gather input on his proposal. The first meeting was in Nathrop, CO on April 13th, and we are proud to say that sportsmen made a huge impact on the discussions that took place. Senator Udall very much heard the support coming from the sportsman community in Nathrop; but we need more!! The second meeting is being held in your area and We need to bring a strong sportsmen's voice to this meeting also. Senator Udall's proposal will protect the outstanding brown trout fishery in Browns Canyon and maintain the integrity of the backcountry habitat that is critical wintering ground for the big game that we appreciate so much as sportsmen.

Meeting Details:

What:

Browns Canyon Public Meeting

When:

Saturday, May 18

9:30am - 11:30am

Where:

American Mountaineering Center

Foss Auditorium

710 10th St.

Golden, CO

For more details, contact Reed Dils (719) 395-8949, Bill Dvorak (719) 221-3212, or Garrett VeneKlasen (505) 670-2925

Thanks For Supporting CTU Youth Education

Wednesday, May 8th, Colorado TU held a fundraiser in partnership with Patxi’s Pizza to raise funds for our Youth Education efforts. Delicous pizza, great drinks, and a fun time was had, all while increasing CTU’s capacity to inspire the next generation of conservationists.

Thanks to everyone who came out!

License Plate Creates Sustainability

The work to get Senate Bill 13-224 passed is behind us now. Thanks primarily to Jen Boulton, Legislative Liaison, many of us are raising a glass in victory. The Protect Our Rivers license plate will be available for purchase January 1, 2014. As we celebrate, and we should, I'd like to remind us of the original reason we wanted to have the license plate.

• To create a viable brand for Colorado TU. Even prior to the passing of the bill, we created the Protect Our Rivers Corporate Sponsorship Program using the same logo that was developed for the license plate two years ago. This program formalizes how we partner with local businesses, modernizing the 1% For Rivers concept originated with Upslope Brewing Company as well as the Round Up for Rivers concept employed with Freestone Outfitters.
• To create an unrestricted revenue source that went directly to river protection. Though the money raised cannot be used for litigation or lobbying, it is otherwise available for river restoration and protection projects across the state. In analyzing the fiscal impact of the bill, the legislative council assumes that 1,000 plate sets will be sold in the first year and 100 sets in the following year. That would mean $25,000 to Colorado TU in year one, $2,500 in year two. Call me crazy, but I think we could easily double those numbers.

In this sense, the license plate is the first of what I intend to be many steps toward greater sustainability for rivers and our organization. It took a lot of upfront work to get it done, but the ongoing work is minimal and we will reap the value for years to come.

This is exactly the kind of sustainability that was the theme of Rendezvous 2013 and the backbone of my presidential platform. I look forward to sharing many more such examples over the next two years of my tenure!

- Rick Matsumoto, Colorado TU President

Thornton Students Explore Aquatic Ecosystems

In order to sustain our conservation efforts, it is essential that Colorado TU also inspire the next generation to experience the natural world.  Experiencing nature is the first step toward the development of a conservation ethic and becoming good stewards of our natural resources. This Tuesday, May 7, marked the culmination of an exciting new program that provides youth with the opportunity to have an intensive, yet introductory, experience that will hopefully catapult them towards a life of conservation and connection with the great outdoors. At the inaugural Achieve Academy Stream Explorers Program, all 7^th grade science students had the opportunity to interact with living aquatic organisms, learn about their behavior, tie some flies, and go fishing!  Nearly fifty students participated in the program. Achieve Academy, a part of the Mapleton School District, is located in Thornton a couple of miles from the South Platte River.

Stream Explorers is a Colorado TU curriculum that allows students to have hands-on, science-oriented, experiences with living aquatic organisms as well as develop basic fishing skills. Through this program, students develop a rudimentary understanding of the beauty, complexity, and dynamics of aquatic ecosystems and the fish they support. Through hands on learning and data collection students are guided in discovering something about aquatic ecosystems. The science activities are driven by student’s questions and allow them ownership of their own learning.

This program was implemented as a series where Colorado TU volunteers visited the school once a week over the course of four weeks. The first session, which was supposed to take place on the South Platte, was brought inside due to a winter storm. During this session, we brought the river to the classroom and students learned about aquatic macroinvertebrates, food webs, and life cycles through direct observation of bugs. During the second session, students performed experiments on how aquatic organisms react to various environmental factors including light, temperature, and gravity. The students analyzed the data collected during these experiments to make inferences on what these behaviors tell them about natural stream ecosystems in relation to seasonal and daily changes. The third session was a fly tying workshop where students learned the basic skills necessary to imitate natural aquatic organisms. During the fourth session the students traveled to a local park where they got the chance to sample and observe aquatic macroinvertebrates and go fishing.

Providing environmental education opportunities to students, particularly those in urban areas, is not only imperative in fostering a conservation ethic in today’s youth, but also has profound effects on school performance,and on emotional and physical health. In this way Colorado TU is not only contributing toward creating the next generation of conservationists, but also encouraging the development of the next generation of well adjusted, successful adults.

Thanks to all the volunteers who made this program possible.

To learn more about Stream Explorers, and other Colorado TU youth education programs, please contact Jake Lemon at jake.lemon@coloradotu.org or 720-354-2646.

Some Good News for Our "Most Endangered River"

In April, American Rivers issued its annual list of  Most Endangered Rivers.  And the Colorado River - from source to sea - was named the #1 most endangered river in America. The Colorado is facing enormous challenges, largely driven by the extensive demands of its water supply in the face of a limited resource - and one that may become even more limited as we experience shifts in climate.  Fortunately, there are also positive developments for the Colorado River.

In April, the Colorado water courts decreed a new instream flow right to the Colorado Water Conservation Board to help protect its environment from the Blue River near Kremmling down to its confluence with the Eagle River.  With flows ranging from 500 cfs to 900 cfs depending on the season, it is the largest instream flow water right in Colorado's history. You can read about it in the local (Sky Hi News) paper here.

While as a more "junior"  2011 water right, it will not guarantee flows in the river from diversions under prior existing "senior" water rights, the instream flow will help protect the outstanding environment that the Colorado sustains today from future water rights or changes.

The filing was the result of a collaborative effort among local governments, conservationists, water districts, and other stakeholders in developing protections for a reach of the Colorado that had been found eligible for possible federal Wild and Scenic designation.

“This is good news for a stretch of the river that is beloved by generations of anglers,” said Mely Whiting, counsel for Trout Unlimited. “It’s an example of what can be accomplished when working together.”

TU Spells "Relief" on the Gunnison

For over 100 years, the Relief Ditch diversion on the Gunnison River has been a headache for local landowners and irrigators and a major obstacle for boaters and fish. The diversion dam, which is used to divert water for farms east of Delta, was washed out almost every year with high spring runoff flows, and then reconstructed annually by the irrigation company using bulldozers in the river channel to push up cobble creating a temporary dam. The dam created several problems, including erosion of nearby river banks, an unnatural buildup of sediment downstream, and a migration barrier to fish. It also poses a safety hazard to boaters.

In November 2012, Trout Unlimited, the Relief Ditch Irrigation Company, BLM, and other stakeholders broke ground on a construction project to modernize the Relief Ditch diversion. The project will improve water delivery for irrigators while benefiting trout, Flannelmouth sucker, Bluehead sucker, and Roundtail chub as well as wildlife habitat in the BLM’s Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area.

“TU is identifying opportunities like this in Colorado to upgrade aging infrastructure in a way that benefits both ag producers and fish and wildlife,” said Cary Denison, project leader for TU. “We’re very excited about the opportunity to work with the irrigators to improve the diversion.”

Gunnison Gorge Anglers, the local Trout Unlimited chapter, has led the effort to replace the push-up dam with a permanent low head diversion structure and a grade control structure—improvements that will remove the fish barrier and hazard to boaters and expand habitat for several native fish. TU and partners have installed a new headgate that will reduce maintenance and expense for irrigators.  By measuring the diversion at the headgate, it will also allow irrigators to avoid drawing more water than they need from the river –helping to bolster flows.  TU has also restored the eroded riverbanks near the project with native plantings and erosion-resistant fill.

Chapter President Marshall Pendergrass explained, "This project started over three years ago from the ideas of one local TU chapter member and has become the model for working with many local, state and federal agencies to complete a major project that benefits so many water users. We are proud to be coordinating agents of this significant milestone for the Gunnison River cold water fisheries."

Final project construction was completed in March 2013 at a total cost of over $750,000.

“Many rivers and streams in the Colorado River Basin have become fragmented over the years, preventing fish movement and degrading habitat,” said Denison. “We’re working with local partners on win-win projects like this one that both open up river habitat and address infrastructure problems.”

“We’ve enjoyed working with Trout Unlimited on this project," said Mel Frazier of Relief Ditch Irrigation Company, "and look forward to the improvements to the system.”

CTU Partners with Patxi's Pizza in Cherry Hills for Youth Education Fundraiser

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 8. Colorado TU is partnering with Patxi's Pizza in Cherry Hills to raise money for Colorado TU Youth Programs! What: Come enjoy some tasty pizza pie, fine wine, and beer on May 8th at Patxi's Pizza. 10% of all sales for the entire day will benefit Colorado TU's efforts to engage the next generation of conservationists. This includes dine-in, carry-out, delivery, catering, and gift cards. Colorado TU staff will be on hand from 7pm-9pm if you would like to mingle and learn more about our programs.

Where: Patxi's Pizza Cherry Hills 3455 S University Blvd Englewood, CO 80113

Why: In order to sustain the efforts of our volunteers and supporters it is essential that we inspire a strong conservation ethic in the next generation of river stewards.  Colorado TU reaches kids through hands-on science and angling programs. Funds raised will be used to support youth programs in the Denver Metro Area.

Many thanks to Patxi's Pizza for supporting our work!!!

For more information, please contact Jake Lemon, Colorado TU Youth Education Coordinator, at jake.lemon@coloradotu.org.

CTU Awards Honor Conservation Leaders

At the annual CTU Awards Banquet, held as part of the Rendezvous in Redstone on April 20, awards were presented to recognize both chapters and individuals for their contributions to river conservation.  From river restoration projects, to volunteers for youth education, this year's award winners were an impressive bunch.  Awards presented were: Outstanding Volunteers.  CTU recognized three volunteer members for their outstanding contributions:

• Charlie Horn was recognized for his longstanding efforts in youth education, both spearheading West Denver TU's partnership with the Jefferson County Outdoor Lab Schools and assisting Colorado TU in bringing the "Stream Explorers" program to youth in the Denver metro area.
• Ralph Rhoades was honored for his broad volunteer commitment with the Cherry Creek Anglers - helping the chapter with everything from organizing youth education programs, to coordinating the annual fly tying clinic, to lining up compelling programs for chapter meetings.
• Brad Waltman was recognized for his leadership in establishing youth education initiatives with the new Dolores River Anglers chapter including partnerships with schools and scouting organizations - helping a new chapter to make a difference with the youth in its community.

Chapter Communications.  The Evergreen Chapter was recognized for its revitalized efforts to communicate with its members on a regular basis with a well-written and welll-researched newsletter and website, while the Grand Valley Anglers was honored for its outstanding newsletter the "Territorial Trout Tribune and Piscatorial Post."

Youth Education.  The Cheyenne Mountain Chapter was honored for a diverse program of educational efforts including partnerships with the Catamount Institute, the first-in-the-nation "Trout in the Community" project modeled after Trout in the Classroom, and involvement with the National Fishing in Schools Program.

Projects.  The Gunnison Gorge Anglers were recognized for their Relief Ditch project, partnering with local irrigators to replace a diversion structure so as to improve river habitat and flows while also reducing maintenance burdens for farmers.  The Purgatoire River Anglers were honored for their work in engaging the Trinidad community and conducting in-stream habitat improvements on the Purgatoire River through town.

Exemplary Chapter.  The Gunnison Gorge Anglers were selected as this year's exemplary chapter, in recognition of their outstanding work on the Relief Ditch project coupled with an outstanding chapter event - the Black Canyon Fly Fishing Expo; strong youth programs; and an effective chapter communications effort.

Exemplary Guide & Outfitter.  In recognition both of generous support to Colorado Trout Unlimited and its chapters through fundraising donations - along with tireless advocacy and education on issues from protecting Browns Canyon on the Arkansas to conserving wildlife and fish habitat in the face of oil and gas development, Bill Dvorak of Dvorak Expeditions was Colorado TU's Exemplary Guide & Outfitter of the year.

Trout Conservation Award.  Attorney Michael Freeman of EarthJustice was recognized for his representation of Colorado TU and other conservationists in our challenge to the BLM's Roan Plateau management plan - which lacked appropriate protections for the Roan's outstanding fish and wildlife values.  Freeman spearheaded what was a major legal victory for conservationists, and continues to lead efforts to reach a reasonable agreement with oil and gas interests that allows development in appropriate areas while protecting the most valuable habitats on the Roan.

Trout Communications Award.  Scott Willoughby of The Denver Post was honored for his writing on outdoor recreation and conservation issues - including extensive coverage of the challenges facing the Upper Colorado River and the importance of anglers and boaters engaging in its protection.

Distinguished Service Award.  For his longstanding efforts on behalf of trout conservation - from representing TU in National Forest processes for travel management on the west slope and for seeking compromise solutions on disputes over "bypass flows" at diversions on National Forests, to spearheading on-the-ground stream monitoring and native trout restoration projects, John Trammell of Grand Junction received the Distinguished Service Award.  Additionally, Mely Whiting was honored for her effective representation of Trout Unlimited on issues in the Colorado River headwaters - including work on Wild & Scenic River negotiations that resulted in an historic instream flow filing and successful negotiation of a strong river conservation package with the Windy Gap Firming Project.

Bruce Hoagland Award for Leadership in Conservation.  Longtime Colorado TU lobbyist and board member Jo Evans was honored for her lifetime contributions toward conservation.  Read more here.

Congratulations - and thank you! - to all of these award winners.