Fraser Flats Habitat Project

Grand County residents have been at the forefront of water issues in the West. They were the water supplier of the first major trans-mountain diversion project in Colorado and since then have been supplying water to Front Range municipalities. These diversions have also led Grand County residents and Trout Unlimited to be at the forefront of a new initiative- Learning by Doing. Learning By Doing (LBD) is a collaborative group of water stakeholders — including water utilities, nonprofit organizations and county agencies — that meet regularly to monitor river health and undertake projects that safeguard Grand County’s home waters.

LBD has already solved some issues including sending additional flows in Ranch Creek, Vasquez Creek and the Fraser River to benefit aquatic life. Full operation of LBD is expected to start in 2018 when approximately $2 million and 1,000 acre-feet of water will be dedicated to the cooperative effort after final permits are obtained.

Although full operation hasn't begun, the pilot program of LBD was launched this fall as the Fraser Flats Habitat Project. The project plans to improve a degraded 0.9-mile reach of the Fraser River just south of County Road 83. The project builds on restoration of the river upstream on the North 40 and in the Town of Fraser. Fraser Flats will extend improvements to fish habitat on the river.

Fraser Flats combines adjoining public and private sections to maximize efficiencies in costs and to set the stage for future public-private partnerships that benefit river health. County Road 83 will also open for public access and fishing when the project is completed.

The total cost for the project is $200,000 and is funded by a combination of funds committed by LBD cooperative efforts from Grand County, LBD partner contributions, a private landowner, and a Fishing Is Fun grant from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Design and permitting is currently underway and revegetation of the reach will begin in the Spring of 2017. In fall 2017, construction in the river will take place. That work will concentrate flows into a narrower channel and provide a series of riffles and pools to enhance fish habitat.

If you're interested in helping volunteer to plant willows, you can sign up here.

CTU Fall Board and Leadership Meeting

Registration is now open for Colorado Trout Unlimited's Fall Board and Leadership Meeting. This meeting is a great opportunity for you to network with other TU leaders in the state and learn about what projects are currently happening. There will also be a tour of Hermosa Creek where participants will get a first hand look into a collaborative conservation project. This meeting will be held in Durango, CO the weekend of October 22-23.

Click on the registration link to find the agenda and learn more about the details of the weekend.

https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/7023/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=84398

Animas and Hermosa show good signs for Trout

Two recent Durango Herald Articles talk about the improvements of the Animas and the future of Hermosa Creek. Trout Unlimited has been on the forefront on both of these positive subjects. The Animas River has shown signs of improvement as the fish population is providing "encouraging" signs. As the Animas continues to face adversity and hardship from acid mine drainage, low water flows, urban runoff, and higher temperature, Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists have seen encouraging signs.

Over the last decade population studies on the Animas have shown a decline. Although this year there wasn't a turn around, CPW Biologist Jim White told the Durango Herald, "It's been a really nice fish year. It’s definitely been more abundant than years past.”

The study showed more young brown trout were able to survive over winter. Rainbow trout also had plentiful numbers meaning the survival rate was rising. The amount of quality trout- 14 inches or higher- doubled from last year's study.

“There is promising news about the current condition of the fishery, even in this first summer after the ‘spill,” said Ty Churchwell, Trout Unlimited Backcountry Coordinator. “With that said, none of this should diminish the fact that we have a major problem in the top of the watershed with draining mines and poor water quality. The Animas gorge below Silverton remains a ‘dead’ stretch of river, and we have lots of work to do to make this watershed healthy as a whole.”

While the Animas is improving, the future of Cutthroat Trout in Hermosa Creek also have a bright future as stream improvements have been made to prepare for Colorado River Cutthroat reintroduction.

Vegetation was planted and spawning areas were made along the stream to sustain a healthy future Cutthroat population.

At the October Board Meeting, participants will be able to take a tour of Hermosa Creek. The tour will focus on sites with the native trout project and visit some habitat improvements, tour participants will walk away with a better understanding of what it takes to work together and pull off a truly comprehensive conservation program.

Forward Rising Fly Fishing Camp

Written by: Heather Sees, president of the GreenbacksPhotos by: Emma Brown

Colorado TU, with help from The Greenbacks of Trout Unlimited, strive to educate, connect with, and influence the next generation to become conservation stewards and active participants in the fly fishing community. We recently had the opportunity to partner with a new camp, Forward Rising to accomplish just this.

Forward Rising Inc, the creator of Forward Rising camp, is a new organization that focuses on engaging inner city girls through conservation, fishing, and the great outdoors. The organization hopes to use these activities to offer the girls outlets to the challenges they face.

The weekend kicked off when the Girls, Inc. of Metro Denver van arrived at Lynwood Park in Bailey, CO with six young ladies who were eager, yet a bit hesitant, for the jam packed weekend! As the young ladies got off the van there was a bit of a buzz about what the weekend had in store for them. We kicked off the weekend Friday evening by having a team building exercise where the girls worked together to set up their tents and sleeping bags. After “home” was established the girls were introduced to the amazing team of volunteers and we all participated in ice-breaker games to get to know each other a bit better.

Saturday morning started out pretty chilly so everyone was moving a bit slower, but you could sense the excitement in the air! We kicked off our day with a session on wilderness survival from Mary Margaret Sweeney, PhD – Director at Way of the Wild. Mary spoke about the basics of wilderness survival, emergency shelter construction (with participation and help from the girls) and instruction on how to build a one minute fire. Overall, the young ladies walked away with knowledge on what to do in an emergency if they find themselves in that situation. Following the wilderness survival presentation, we had the pleasure of having Luke Caudillo, UFC fighter, speak to the group about overcoming challenges and following your dreams.

After a short lunch break we kicked off the rest of the afternoon focused on entomology, fly tying and fly fishing. The girls suited up in waders and boots and headed to North Fork of the South Platte River to search for bugs. After turning over rocks and doing the “San Juan shuffle” in front of the bug seines we came away with a few bugs that would later be identified as mayflies, small craw-fish and a couple worms.  After a lesson in entomology and discussions around the importance of healthy rivers we tied up some San Juan worms in hopes of tricking the fish!

The time had come – rods were rigged up, safety and catch and release practices were discussed and each young lady was paired up with a volunteer to try their hand at fly fishing.  Shortly after we hit the pond there were screams of excitement – missed fish!  After switching up bugs we heard the words that any angler wants to hear “FISH ON!”  For the next couple hours we saw several fish to the net – some girls got it on their own, some with a little help, but the end result was the same.  After a few hours of catching fish we had a quick dinner and ended the night with a campfire, s’mores, stargazing, a quick visit from Fraser the Fish and reflection on the past couple days!

Sunday morning came faster than we expected and the weekend was coming to an end.  The weekend contained many firsts – 1^st time being in the river, 1^st time putting up a tent and sleeping outside, 1^st time catching a fish, 1^st time making s’mores, 1^st time seeing the stars and for some, 1^st time being out of Denver.  As we cleaned up camp and packed up the van there was still a lot of excitement about the weekend!

The 1^st annual Forward Rising camp was a huge success, a GREAT time was had by all and we had the opportunity to share our passion and knowledge with the next generation!

A special thanks goes to the sponsors of the camp: Bass Pro Shops, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, SaraBella Fishing, Urban Anglers, Pig Farm Ink. The camp couldn't have been done without their generous support and donations to CTU, The Greenbacks, Forward Rising, and Girls Inc of Metro Denver.

Fly Fishing Field Trip

On September 15, Colorado TU joined Mountain Range High School of the Adams 12 School District for a fishing event on Hunters Glenn Lake in Thornton. About 30 students of all grades came to fish- some for the first time. The event is the capstone field trip to their Fly Fishing unit during a Physical Education course. Led by teacher, John Marquez, the students learned how to cast, select flies, handle fish, and how to be stewards of our natural resources. The program is part of the National Fishing in Schools Program (NFSP) that "educates students about fish, insects, aquatic environment, resource stewardship and conservation using fishing, and learning the skill of casting, as the instructional tool."

Trout Unlimited and Colorado Parks and Wildlife helped teach the kids about conversation efforts in the state and how students and anglers can be more involved. "Trout Unlimited has been a very valuable partner to us because it puts our students in touch a with an organization that is responsible for preserving our cold water fisheries.  TU helps us paint a larger picture to our students in our fly fishing unit that includes conservation as well as the skills necessary to enjoy our natural resources," said Marquez. "We could not do our day on the water without our partnership with Trout Unlimited."

At the event, about half the students caught a fish and when asked how many students would go fishing again, all said that they would like to continue fishing in the future.

CTU and MRHS, with help from the NSFP, students are being introduced into conservation and fly fishing at an early age. These students are the future of fishing and the next generation of environmental stewards.

Behind the Fin: George Franklin

• Name: George Franklin
• Conservation Director for Cutthroat Chapter
• TU Member for 5 years
• Retired high school teacher
• “My buddy is busy with family now, and both my father and the dog have passed on.  When the Hayman Fire roared through the area it broke my heart.  Now the river is recovering with the help of our efforts, those of CUSP, and others.  I am honoring the memories of those times I have spent on that river when I do my share to preserve its health and beauty."

How long have you been a TU member?

Five years, but I have been fly fishing for 47 years.

Why did you become a member and what chapter are you involved with?

I became a member to find some fishing partners and to improve my fishing skills.  I stay a member to help give back in some small way.  I am currently on the board of the Cutthroat Chapter, but I like to hang out with the Cherry Creek Angler folks as well.

What made you want to become involved with TU?

I had heard about the good work that TU does, and I knew we had local chapters, so it seemed a logical choice.

What is your favorite activity or project that you have done with TU? Our chapter's ongoing conservation work on the South Platte River near Deckers strikes a chord with me.  One of my earliest memories of being outdoors with my Dad is when he would take me there with his buddy and I would play in the shallows at the edge of the river.  Later my good fishing buddy/college roommate and I spent many a pleasant weekend camping there and fishing those waters.  Later on I had a great dog, a lab mix, and he would love to go along.  We would do our best to keep him out of the water to avoid scaring fish, but he always managed to come home soaked, muddy, and contented.  My buddy is busy with family now, and both my father and the dog have passed on.  When the Hayman Fire roared through the area it broke my heart.  Now the river is recovering with the help of our efforts, those of CUSP, and others.  I am honoring the memories of those times I have spent on that river when I do my share to preserve its health and beauty.

I know you won’t tell me your top spot, so what is your second favorite fishing spot or favorite fishing story?

I once caught a fish on six flies.  On winter day I was fishing the tailwaters of Pueblo Reservoir on the Arkansas River with a three fly rig.  Pink San Juan worm, Soft Hackle, and midge.  The indicator twitched, I set, and the fight was on.  The fish never rose and never jumped, so I figured it was a brown.  When it got closer it flashed golden, but an odd sort of gold.  So then I wasn't sure it was a brown.  When it got really close I saw scales the size of quarters.  It was a carp.  When I finally got the in the net after a fine fight I reached down to remove the fly and saw he was hooked on the midge, but not the midge I had tied on.  With my forceps I removed the midge and lifted the rig up.  There was the second fly, but it wasn't my Soft Hackle.  I lifted further up and there was a tan San Juan worm, not the color worm that I had tied on.  It was a whole separate three fly rig.  Latched onto the tan worm was my midge, followed by my Soft Hackle, my SJ worm, and my leader.  Apparently this carp had been hooked on someone else's three fly rig and had broken that rig off at the leader, only to be trailing the rig around until my rig snagged that rig.  It took six flies for me to catch that carp!  I'm sure he was relieved not to be towing that old rig any more as I released him and he swam away.

What does being a part of TU mean to you?

It means learning more about a sport I love, meeting new people with similar passion, and giving back to that sport and to our environment.

What else do you do in your spare time or for work?

I am a retired high school science teacher and I tutor science for Aurora Community College students.  I am also a gear head.  I am restoring a 1956 Chevy and I substitute teach in the Auto Collision Program at Emily Griffith Technical College.  I am also a cyclist, and I love to ride my Trek around town as well as in our beautiful Colorado mountains.

In South Park with Sen. Bennet

By Randy Scholfield South Park is something special. This vast open landscape in western Colorado once was prized hunting lands for the Ute Indians. Today, the area remains a favorite outdoors playground for Colorado hunters, anglers and recreationists as well as a critical source of water for the Denver metro area.

Trout Unlimited and partners are working to keep it that way.

TU, the National Wildlife Federation and Park County officials met last week with Sen. Michael Bennet, who was in South Park to learn more about the BLM’s Master Leasing Plan for the area—part of the agency’s new Planning 2.0 approach, which emphasizes gathering input from local stakeholders early on to avoid, as much as possible, oil and gas leasing controversies.

Over lunch in Fairplay, Bennet heard from the group how much South Park means to its residents, and to the Front Range.

County Commissioner Mark Dowaliby, who like many residents visited the area years ago and never left, noted that Park County is 60 percent public lands. And while the county is staunchly conservative, he said, residents feel strongly about conservation and protecting the area’s natural resources.

The Master Leasing Plan provides an opportunity for locals to give the BLM feedback on what kind of management and protections they’d like to see. In simple terms, an MLP is a zoning plan to help ensure that we conserve our outdoor heritage, protect water supplies, and see that oil and gas development takes place responsibly and in the right places. That includes deciding where drilling shouldn’t occur.

“South Park is a tremendous migratory area,” said Bill Dvorak, a local rafting outfitter, TU member and National Wildlife Federation organizer. The area is home to large herds of deer, elk, pronghorn and moose. “That’s why NWF got involved. We identified this area as a place that needed different rules” for oil and gas leasing.

“This is the backyard of the Front Range,” TU’s Tyler Baskfield told Sen. Bennet. “We have 54 miles of Gold Medal waters, including the Dream Stream and Spinney Mountain Reservoir—and it’s within an hour and a half of anywhere on the Front Range.” The area, he pointed out, is a “huge driver for hunting and fishing in the state.”

  Meeting in South Park: Bill Dvorak, Sen. Michael Bennet, TU's Tyler Baskfield

Indeed, South Park generates some $17 million a year in wildlife-related revenue, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Moreover, Denver, Aurora and other Front Range communities depend on South Park reservoirs for more than one-third of their drinking water. That’s why Denver Water and other providers have supported the MLP process.

Sportsmen’s groups like TU and NWF aren’t opposed to responsible energy development. That said, they want drilling done right and carefully sited, because some natural areas are simply too valuable to develop.

South Park has proven underground oil and gas reserves, but the fields are fragmented and disjointed, making extraction more difficult. Still, the reserves are there, and they could be targeted in the future—all the more reason to put in place “smart from the start” rules that clarify what areas can be developed and how.

After the meeting, Sen. Bennet accepted the group’s invitation to do a little fishing on the Elevenmile stretch of the South Platte. While the fishing wasn’t on fire that afternoon, Sen. Bennet managed to land the one fish brought to net by the group—a nice brown trout. The senator called the Elevenmile canyon stretch “spectacular.”

Sen. Bennet fishing in Elevenmile Canyon stretch of South Platte: 'Spectacular' place

Asked what he is hearing from constituents while travelling the state, Sen. Bennet didn’t skip a beat, saying that Coloradans are tired of Washington, D.C.’s dysfunction: “They want us to work together to get something done.”

Maybe D.C. could learn something about the spirit of cooperation here in South Park. While it’s still getting started, the MLP already has prompted diverse local stakeholders, from ranchers to conservationists, to work together on key ideas for protecting public lands, including setbacks from Gold Medal streams and protection of critical game migration corridors, proving that collaboration is the key to solving public land management challenges.

Agency officials are expected to deliver the draft MLP for South Park this fall, which will then be open to further public input. We hope the BLM will stay on track to ensure this important process moves forward in a timely manner.

Thanks to Sen. Bennet for spending time in South Park and for championing the MLP’s collaborative, “smart from the start” approach. He clearly understands the value of South Park and the importance of balancing energy development with protection of our best wild places.

Randy Scholfield is TU’s director of communications for the Southwest region.

We Are Public Lands

A note from Chris Wood, CEO of Trout Unlimited:

This is not a dispassionate report.

The threat of losing our public lands looms large. That threat grows, passing like wildfire through halls of Congress and state capitols, spreading its invasive rhetoric in our communities. People with soft hands and expensive suits tell us

“It’s just transfer. It’s not like we’re selling them.”

It’s not just transfer. And it is a big deal.

The truth is that the distance between the effort to “transfer” public lands and to sell them is very short. Many of the states that would manage these lands have already sold significant portions of their formerly public state land to the highest seller. And we, as a country, have nothing to gain by such actions.

We have nothing to gain. And everything to lose.

Public lands are for anglers, hunters, hikers, campers, backpackers, energy producers, mountain climbers, berry pickers, ranchers, horse packers, birders, timber operators, miners, snowmobilers, ATVer’s, mountain bikers.

Nature’s enthusiasts. Advocates of open space and the guardians of our right to use it.

We are public lands. Public lands are our birthright as American citizens. And we will not give them up.

Statistics make the point. More than 70 percent of hunters use public lands in the West. Nearly 70 percent of native trout strongholds are on public lands. A growing majority of hunters and anglers oppose the sale of public lands.

Public lands create strongholds of important fish and wildlife habitat. Public lands provide important sources of clean water for tens of millions of people. Public lands are some of the last pristine places in the country.

Sure, these things are important.

But the bottom line is these are our lands. Yours. Mine. Ours. And a greedy few are trying to steal them from us.

Public lands are part of what define us as Americans. They are what remain of the great westward migration of the nation. They are the crucible upon which the character of the nation was formed. Our forebears left these lands to us, not so we could sell them to the highest bidder. They left them to us as an heirloom to pass on intact to the next generation. These lands are our birthright. They are a beacon of blinding and unwavering light on what it means to be free.

Whether you call it sale, transfer, or divestiture, allowing public lands to fall from public ownership would represent the triumph of cynicism over democracy. We — you and me, all of us who own these lands by virtue of our citizenship — can make sure that never happens.

We are public lands. And we will not step aside.

Sign the Petition to keep our public lands in the public hands!

World Fly Fishing Championship In Vail

Last year we saw the World Youth Fly Fishing Championships come to Colorado. This year, the adults came to compete on the waters in Colorado's Eagle Valley. Team USA finished in third place, earning a bronze medal after catching 289 fish. While France (302 fish) and Spain (293 fish) won Gold and Silver, respectively. Throughout the event, 3,802 total fish were caught and safely released.

USA team member, Lance Egan placed with the individual bronze medal with 60 fish caught.

The teams fished on sections of the Blue River, Eagle River, and Colorado River. As well as one "loch" sector at Sylvan Lake state park. "Loch means lake and signifies still water fishing.  Anglers fish in pairs on drift boats," according to the FIPS website. "The term “loch-style” is used to describe a method of still water fishing where the flies are cast, presented, and retrieved ahead of the drift of a boat, as it’s blown across the surface of a lake."

Teams were allowed practice sessions in the three days prior to the event starting to get  a feel for the water, fish, and tactics to use while on the water.

The event also featured a conservation symposium, hosted by Colorado Trout Unlimited and sponsored by Eagle Valley TU. The symposium featured a screening of Patagonia's Dam Nation Film. Following the film was a speakers panel, including representatives from CTU and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, that talked about different conservation issues going on in Colorado and throughout the United States.

Colorado Trout Unlimited is a proud sponsor of Team USA Fly Fishing and is proud of the team's accomplishments and achievements during the Fly Fishing Championships in Vail.

Colorado: Outfitted for Public Lands