Clean Water Act worth bolstering, says Summit County Commissioner

Summit County Commissioner Karn Stiegelmeier penned an op-ed piece that ran in the Denver Post on August 4th, supporting the proposed new "Waters of the United States" rulemaking by the EPA as an important step in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of Clean Water Act permitting processes.  The piece is well worth the read, and you can find it online by clicking here. The EPA rulemaking is a key step in ensuring that headwater and feeder streams, which may not flow year-round, are still afforded protection under the Clean Water Act. Commissioner Stiegelmeier sums up the bottom line for Summit County and Colorado as a whole: "Healthy waterways benefit the whole state by protecting and enhancing recreational opportunities. For those of us living and working in Summit County, protecting our waters means protecting our clean water and our tourism economy. The proposed rule is a thoughtfully crafted, urgently needed clarification to protect Colorado's waterways."

The EPA is taking public comment on the Waters of the United States through October.  You can add your voice in support of protecting headwater streams by visiting our action alert and submitting your comments to the EPA, and sharing them with your Senators and US Representative.

Rio Grande Cutthroat: A Colorado Treasure

In 1951, Francisco de Coronado and his expedition went west looking for cities of gold. They never found the fabled cities, but they did find another treasure: the Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout. The Rio Grand cutthroat (RGCT) is a subspecies from the Colorado River cutthroat around 70,000 years ago. Both species of fish share a common ancestor, the Rainbow trout. Around 2 million years ago, the Colorado River cutthroat branched off from the rainbow.

Rio Grande cutthroats only occupy 10-12 percent of its historic range. Due to these low populations, the species is a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Different factors have contributed to the decrease in population of RGCT over the previous years; the biggest factors being environmental changes, mining development and the introduction of non-native trout species.

Rainbow trout as well as brown and brook trout were all released into the same areas as the Rio Grand cutthroat. In return, this led to more competition for habitat and prey amongst the species. These other species of trout also have the ability to hybridize with the RGCT and make vulnerable the genetic make up for the population.

The RGCT generally lives to between five and eight years old and are between 10”-15” in length. In some lakes, they can reach over 20”.  The fish present red and orange on their underbelly, transferring into a yellow along the sides, with a green coloration on the back.

Although these fish are decreasing in population, with help from Colorado TU and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, there are over 80 recreational populations throughout the Rio Grande basin in Colorado. CPW helps maintain these populations through stocking.

To help improve the entire population of RGCT, Colorado TU and CPW and working together to help restore habitat, improve streamflow as well as other projects to help improve the Rio Grande cutthroat species.

Colorado TU also appreciates any angler feedback about this wonderful species, therefore we ask you to take a few minutes for a brief survey about the RGCT.

For more information on how to help protect this beautiful species of trout, contact Kevin Terry at Kterry@tu.org or check out the Colorado Parks and Wildlife conservation strategy.

Colorado TU Recognizes Colorado River Day

The Colorado River is recognized by American Rivers as one of as one of the most endangered rivers in the country. Restoration efforts, including those by Colorado TU and other non-profit agencies have been in full force to help protect the Colorado. On July 25, 2014, the same day Congress renamed the river from the Grand to the Colorado back in 1921 the states of Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona are celebrating Colorado River Day.

Colorado River Day is when urban and rural organizations and progressives and conservative groups come together to celebrate the river and unite in support of maintaining the sustainability of the Colorado River.

The Colorado begins in Colorado at the Continental Divide and runs west through seven different states. The river supplies roughly 36 million Americans with clean drinking water, supports roughly 15% of the nation’s agriculture and provides recreation that accounts for about $26 billion annually into the economy.

The high demand on the river is depleting the resources and usually the river completely dries up before it can reach the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean. The depletion of water has lead to the endangerment of many fish species living in the river system including the Colorado pikeminnow, razorback sucker, humpback chub and bonytail.

Colorado TU is the leading voice in Colorado dedicated to the conservation efforts of the Colorado River. Colorado TU is working on many different projects dedicated to protecting the waters of the mighty Colorado including the Moffat Expansion Project, Blue River restoration, Windy Gap Firming Project and the Fraser River project.

Currently chapters west of the Divide are working on projects that will help restore the Colorado River and its tributaries. The Ferdinand and Hayden Chapter is helping put on a river clean up where volunteers will help pick up trash along the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers in Glenwood Springs and Glenwood Canyon.

For more information or to help volunteer for this event and help save the Colorado River, click here.

With assist from Trout Unlimited members, and other conservation organizations, Colorado TU can help restore the Colorado River back into the life force it once was and hopefully one day, the waters of the Colorado will reach the Sea of Cortez year after year.

Boulder Creek TU River Cleanup

We'll meet at 9:00 a.m. October 11th for registration and clean-up beat assignments.

The cleanup will get underway at Boulder Flycasters Memorial Park approximately 2.5 miles up Boulder Canyon. The park is about 150 yards past the tunnel on your left.

Bring gloves and waders if you'd like to pull out trash from in the stream. An old rake can do wonders to help with in-stream work.

Each volunteer will be responsible for about 1/2 mile of stream and we'll have teams of two so bring a buddy or another family member to help us!We'll have plenty of trash bags and safety vests provided by the county and they'll pick up all trash we gather later on during the week.

Trout Unlimited and the U.S. Forest Service teaming up to restore our rivers!!

The U.S. Forest service along with residents, local governments, other agencies and many others have a long road ahead of them to restore what was damaged during the 2013 floods. To begin this process the U.S. Forest Service need to assess the damage of the rivers in order to develop a prescription for restoration across the entire watershed. They have turned to Trout Unlimited because we have an expansive network of dedicated volunteers that care about the watershed and want to make a difference. The Forest Service is hosting a training exclusively for Trout Unlimited members to learn how to assess the damage in the watershed based on the scientific protocol that they have developed. The surveys will take place in Northern Colorado along the Big Thompson, St. Vrain and Boulder Creek areas.

The training session will be on Tuesday evening, July 29, from 6:00 PM until 8:30 PM. It will take place at the Forest Service office building, 2150 Centre Ave. Bldg. E in Fort Collins.

We already have a large number of people signed up for this training but still have some space available for additional volunteers. If you attend this training you will be able to sign up for certain stretches of river to assess on your own time with a partner. If you CAN attend this training and are interested in being trained by the Forest Service to assess rivers then please let Stephanie Scott  know ASAP!!

The remaining spaces are first come first serve, so if you want to attend this training I will fill the remaining spots in order of response.

To RSVP or for additional questions please contact Stephanie Scott sscott@tu.org or 720-354-2647

Bear Creek Cleanup in Evergreen

9am - Noon. Participants meet in the parking lot across from the Little Bear in downtown Evergreen and should bring waders and gloves. Children are welcome, but each child under 12 should be accompanied by an adult. For more information, prospective volunteers should contact me at ronbelak@msn.com.

West Denver Trout Unlimited Annual Stream Cleanup

September 27, 2014 @ 9am Congregate at the Mt. Tool and Feed Store (Mountain Gateway Mercantile) parking lot.  Take exit 243 from I-70 (Central City Gateway Highway).  The West Denver  TU chuck wagon will be there.

Things to bring:

-- waders for crossing the stream or retrieve trash among rocks in the stream

bottom or stream bank .

-- gloves for your safety.

-- pinchers/grabbers to reach unreachable areas.

-- folding chair if you have one and would like to sit for lunch.

-- hat/cap – sunscreen

-- radios or cell phones for communication  – there NOW is cell phone service.

-- water bottles – can be filled at the feed store.

Schedule:

*** juice & coffee & energy snacks at 9:00 – 10:00

*** sign waivers

*** pick up orange safety vests and orange trash bags

*** divide into groups/teams to work both sides of Clear Creek only if access is safe!!

10:00 - Teams will be driven to sites/pull-outs then picked up at the next pull out, either up or down stream.  We will be working up stream from Mayhem Gulch toward the Feed Store parking lot.

CDOT is planning to have “Shoulder Work Ahead” signs along the area we will be “de-trashing” – hopefully the signs will cause the traffic to drive slower and help them become more alert.

Back to the chuck wagon as teams finish, to brag about the best find.

Lunch – 11:30 ish (provided).   There is a fund raiser cook-out planned for the Feed Store customers so the grill will be ready any time you choose to eat.

Call Jackie for questions/concerns or to be added to the volunteer list.

Cell:  303-503-9356

Home:  303-278-2282 (leave a message if no answer)

e-mail:  jorgedwards@aol.com

Sportsmen applaud Senate hearing on Browns Canyon (Press Release)

July 22, 2014 Media Contact: Kyle Perkins, Trout Unlimited, kperkins@tu.org, 303.579.6498

(Denver, CO)--On Wednesday, July 23, the Senate National Parks Subcommittee will hear a variety of bills – including S. 1794, which designates Browns Canyon in Chaffee County as a National Monument. Sportsmen and women, rafters and local communities and businesses have worked for over 20 years to have this area’s hunting, fishing and recreational values protected—and they urged quick passage of the legislation.

“Now is the time to get this done,” said Kyle Perkins, Browns Canyon coordinator for Trout Unlimited. “We have overwhelming local support for protecting Browns Canyon—we just need Congress to get it across the finish line.”

David Leinweber of Angler’s Covey fly shop in Colorado Springs said Front Range anglers are pleased to see this hearing, and eager to see this designation accomplished: “Browns Canyon is a favorite fishing spot for many of my customers and clients. Virtually all of us want to see Browns Canyon—a stretch of the Arkansas River’s Gold Medal trout water—receive National Monument protection.”

Sen. Mark Udall introduced his bill, which will protect 22,000 acres of rugged backcountry as well as a popular rafting canyon, in December 2013 after a lengthy process of public input and listening sessions. The area is highly valued by sportsmen who hunt and fish the area, and just want to keep it the way it is now. Browns Canyon is important to outdoor recreation businesses, a mainstay of the local and state economy.

Sportsmen praised Sen. Udall’s effort to protect one of Colorado’s most treasured landscapes. Supporters of the National Monument status include Colorado Trout Unlimited, National Wildlife Federation, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Fishpond, Ross Reels, Scott Fly Rod Co., Umpqua Feather Merchants, and Bull Moose Sportsmen Alliance. For more information, see the Sportsmen for Browns Canyon website at www.sportsmenforbrowns.com.

The groups urged hunters and anglers to contact their local senator to support S. 1794 – Sen. Mark Udall (Chairman), Sen. Ron Wyden (D, OR), Sen. Rob Portman (R, OH), Sen. John Barrasso (R, WY), Sen. Mike Lee (R, UT), Sen. Bernard Sanders (I) (D, VT), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D, MI), Sen. Brian Schatz (D, HI), Sen. Mike Lee (R, UT), Sen. Martin Heinrich (D, NM), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R, TN), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D, WI), and Sen. John Hoeven (R, ND).

Trout Unlimited is the nation’s largest coldwater conservation organization, with 150,000 members dedicated to conserving, protecting, and restoring North America’s trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds. Colorado Trout Unlimited has 11,000 grassroots members across the state. Follow TU on Facebook and Twitter, and visit us online at tu.org 

FRIENDS OF THE DILLON RANGER DISTRICT WATERSHED RESTORATION DAY

Volunteers are needed to help rehabilitate the watershed with natural vegetation. Projects will include burying logs for erosion control, collecting and planting willow shoots, transplanting native trees and grasses, as well as some spreading of native seed and hay to encourage regrowth. Please register online at FDRD.org

*This project is a partnership with the Blue River Watershed Group, Trout Unlimited, Summit County Open Space and Trails, and the USDA Forest Service.

SCHEDULE: September 13, 2014 9am: Meet in parking lot - Introduction and overview of the day

12pm: Lunch

1pm: Arrive back at trailhead - wrap up discussion.

ITEMS TO BRING OR WEAR: Our summer mountain weather can range from sunny and warm to cold and wet. Be prepared.

• Work or hiking boots--no sandals or minimalist shoes
• Long pants, long sleeved shirt, other layers
• Rain gear, hat, sunglasses
• Sunscreen, insect repellant, allergy medications
• Day pack Lunch Snacks for munching on the trail Drinking water (AT LEAST 2 liters per person per day)
• Leather or heavy-duty work gloves (optional)

AGE REQUIREMENTS:

• Ages 6-15 must be accompanied by an adult.
• Ages 16-18 must have parental consent via FDRD waiver to attend.

REMINDERS

• Pets are not permitted
• Drink plenty of fluids before and during the project
• Smoking on the project site is not permitted
• Carpooling is highly encouraged

Moffat Agreement: What's In It for the River?

Earlier this year, after a long-standing dispute over Denver Water’s proposed Moffat Collection System Project (Moffat Project), Trout Unlimited, Grand County and Denver Water have reached an agreement on how to protect the Fraser River and its tributaries from the project’s impacts. Denver already diverts water - including an estimated 60 percent of the native flows of the Fraser - from the Fraser and Williams Fork basins through an extensive network of tunnels and pipes that funnel water to the Moffat Tunnel for delivery and use in the Front Range.  Denver's proposed project would expand storage at Gross Reservoir and enable them to divert additional water from this network during comparatively wetter periods (generally spring and early summer, in wet and average years).  The loss of these higher flow periods and the sediment flushing they provide, and the potential for summer diversions to exacerbate existing high stream temperatures, raise significant concern for TU and others concerned with the health of the Fraser basin.  Above all, TU has been concerned that existing habitat models cannot properly predict impacts in a stream system that is already so depleted, and so we have consistently called for a monitoring and adaptive management program capable of detecting and addressing unanticipated impacts.

The agreement among Denver Water, Grand County, and TU responds to these concerns through an extensive package of enhancement and mitigation, guided by an ongoing monitoring and adaptive management effort called "Learning by Doing." Whether mitigation or enhancement, Denver Water commits to implement this package and that commitment would be included in the 404 permit for the project.

Learning by Doing (LBD) will be implemented by a committee that includes Grand County, Trout Unlimited, Denver Water, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.  The LBD Committee would implement an extensive monitoring program to assess stream health based on specific parameters including stream temperature, aquatic life, and riparian vegetation health.  Water and financial resources committed by Denver Water (listed below) would be deployed to prevent declines and improve conditions where needed.  Denver Water also commits to use flexibility in how it can operate its extensive water diversions system to help reduce impacts and where possible provide benefits to the streams.  LBD would also be the vehicle through which mitigation measures imposed by the Corps would be implemented.The core concept is to dedicate substantial resources for mitigation and river enhancement, and then let future monitoring data help guide how to best apply those resources - so that river conservation efforts will be based on actual conditions, not on uncertain model results.  And the program offers a path forward to not only address impacts from the proposed Moffat Project, but also to improve existing stream conditions.

So what are the resources Denver will provide to help the Fraser and Upper Colorado river basin? Here's a brief summary:

Mitigation Measures include: (1) Measures to address stream temperature issues:

• Monitor stream temperatures and bypass up to 250 AF of water annually if stream temperatures reach or exceed state standards
• Bypass sufficient additional flows to reach defined minimum flows if stream temperature problem persists after the 250 AF have been bypassed
• If temperature problems persist, contribute $1 million to LBD for additional projects to help reduce temperatures (such as riparian re-vegetation and channel improvements)

(2) Measures to address sediment/flyshing flow issues:

• Using flexibility in Denver's system operations, work to provide flushing flows as recommended under Grand County’s Stream Management Plan
• Operate and maintain sediment pond that catches highway traction sand
• If sediment problems persist, contribute $1 million to LBD for additional projects to help reduce sedimentation (such as channel improvements to facilitate sediment flushing)

(3) $750,000 for fish habitat restoration projects

(4) $72,500 for fish barrier and restoration of cutthroat habitat, plus any additional measures required by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in its Biological Opinion

Enhancement Measures include:

(1)  Through LBD, implement an extensive monitoring program including stream temperature, sediment transport, benthic macroinvertebrates, and riparian areas and wetlands

(2)  1000 AF of water each year released from Denver Water’s Fraser collection system for the benefit of Fraser basin streams (guided by LBD and presumably during key low-flow periods)

(3) 1000AF of water each year released from Williams Fork reservoir (including up to 2,500AF of storage) for the benefit of the Colorado River below its confluence with Williams Fork

(4)  Use Denver Water’s system operation flexibility (ie, retiming/reoperating their diversions) to address identified problems while maintaining water yield

(5) $3.75 million for aquatic habitat improvement projects ($1.25 million available before the Gross enlargement is built)

(6)  $1 million to pump water at Windy Gap to Granby for release for the benefit of the Colorado River below Granby and below Windy Gap Reservoir

(7) $2 million for stream improvement projects in the Colorado River

(8) $1 million for the Colorado River Wild and Scenic Stakeholder effort in the Colorado River

(9) $2 million for water quality projects (available before the project is built)

(10) Provide in-kind contributions of people, equipment and material to benefit LBD

These are significant resources to benefit river and watershed health, especially as they will be applied based on a data-driven monitoring and adaptive management program in which multiple stakeholders, including TU, have a full voice. If for any reason LBD were to cease functioning, Denver Water commits to continuing to implement these measures through an alternative process that would be approved by the Army Corps of Engineers.  To guarantee the enforceability of these commitments, Denver Water has asked that they be included as a term and condition of its Clean Water Act 404 permit for the Moffat Project.  Inclusion of this “fail-safe” permit condition is critical to the agreement.  Without it, Trout Unlimited cannot support either the agreement or the Moffat Project.

Trout Unlimited has fought long and hard to protect the Fraser River basin streams.  The new agreement not only provides the tools needed to protect and even improve stream conditions, but it also puts Trout Unlimited in a position to influence their future.  With that opportunity, we recognize an ongoing responsibility as well.  Reaching this agreement (and next, ensuring its inclusion in the Moffat Project's permits) is a major milestone, but only the beginning for the real work ahead of saving the Fraser.