By: Ameen Hosain Engaging the next generation of anglers and conservationists is a top priority for Colorado TU’s mission and purpose. CTU does this by using the sport of fly fishing to show the importance of conserving and sustaining natural and healthy rivers.
For the past 10 years, Colorado Trout Unlimited has been the proud host of the River Conservation and Fly fishing youth camp, a five day wilderness camp targeting promising youth, who have interest in the sport of fly fishing, as well as interest in the conservation goals and values of Trout Unlimited.
At the Youth Camp, participants are presented with the opportunity to learn from many experts in the various fields of conservation and fly fishing. This information will one day allow and inspire these kids to become the next generation of fishermen and stewards who care for the environment that anglers and other recreationists get to experience every day.
With a heavy importance placed upon the conservation and protection of Colorado’s great waters and wildlife areas, the students will learn the basics of conservation from various, well recognized, and respected organizations. Partners like, the US Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Natural Resource Conservation Service, all help teach various lessons. Classes and seminars with these organizations often include intensive, hands-on learning in fields such as stream ecology, entomology, and hydrology. Campers then get to put what they have learned into action, participating in a real-world conservation project. In previous years, this project has involved stream restoration on a stretch of the Purgatoire River running through Trinidad, Colorado.
Though conservation is the overall theme of the camp, Trout Unlimited is an organization that revolves around the sport of fly fishing, and thus the camp also includes numerous opportunities for campers to both learn and participate in every aspect of the sport from fly tying to fish handling. Campers of all skill levels are invited to create a friendly and fun learning environment where many fish are caught on rivers, small streams and stillwaters Students are given a plethora of fishing opportunities and are offered fly tying materials, as well as instructions on tying, casting, and all that fly fishing entails from the highly experienced volunteer staff consisting of fly fishing guides and enthusiasts.
The staff at TU and the volunteers involved with the Youth Camp all do their best to find a location that all campers will feel comfortable in and that campers will enjoy to the fullest. For the past three years, and for the upcoming 2016 camp, this location is the Bar N I ranch, located just south of Weston Colorado.
Embedded in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, this ranch offers campers a beautiful location to learn and fish in. With ponds stocked with healthy trout scattered across the property, it is the perfect place for beginners of the sport to catch their first or hundredth fish. The ranch also offers numerous high mountain lakes that campers are invited to utilize, as well as a healthy high mountain stream that holds populations of wild fish. The welcoming staff and volunteers combined with this beautiful location create a memorable experience for all involved, and offer campers the opportunity of a lifetime.
For over a decade, the camp has helped create a body of youthful and environmentally minded individuals capable of carrying the views and objectives of Trout Unlimited far into the future. Camp alumni have gone on to work in the outdoor industry as guides, environmentalists and educators that utilize the lessons they learned from the CTU River Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp.
that would weaken the temperature standards that are supposed to protect trout streams throughout the state. The proposed changes brought forth by the Water Quality Control Division (WQCD) would put many trout fisheries at risk including during spawning periods.
Trout Unlimited is working to ensure that the temperatures of Colorado's streams remain at a healthy level for trout to survive. CTU has put together an 
"It means a lot to me to be nominated as one top ambassadors in the Nation," said Muench. "I've easily put in a similar amount of time into the club as I have my final year of Engineering, I care a lot about the fly fishing club and it's amazing to realize that you're one of the best in the nation. No matter how much work I put in, I keep finding myself wondering if we could have done it better and what we've done wrong. It's just something else to have someone else say you're one of the best in the Country."
The success of the club doesn't stop there. David is hoping that the new president, Ryan Watson, will take the club even further and continue to expand, as well as have an improved focus on conservation.
Being in the fraternity of a select few Costa Ambassadors, the role doesn't stop after graduation. Muench plans to continue to stay involved with TU and make a difference for Colorado's rivers and trout.
“Just as our landscapes make Colorado a special place, the bipartisan bill creating an annual Public Lands Day demonstrates positive leadership at a time when politics is often too full of division,” said Suzanne O’Neill, Colorado Wildlife Federation executive director. “Public lands, from the mountains to the sagebrush steppe and rolling plains, support our fish and wildlife, hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, and other outdoor recreation that generates more than $34 billion in economic activity each year.”
Thompson Divide is a wildlife haven for big game habitat and is home to designated “outstanding waters” that contain healthy populations of native cutthroat trout. While some of the acreage being proposed for new leases is in areas with relatively low fish and wildlife values compared to the Thompson Divide, other acreage contains important big game hunting habitat and cutthroat trout streams. The draft bill does not address potential protections for this habitat.
"Two worlds collide, rival nations, it's a primitive clash, venting years of frustrations. Bravely we hope, against all hope. There is so much at stake, seems our freedom's up against the ropes. Does the crowd understand? Is it East versus West? Or man against man? Can any nation stand alone?"
