River Rising: the Denver South Platte

Ronnie Crawford first discovered the urban fishery of the South Platte by accident around 15 years ago. He was taking a couple of kids fishing with bait on the river near his house off Evans. Much to his surprise, they started catching trout. That was the simple beginning of a long-term love for fishing the “Denver South Platte,” and for introducing others to all it has to offer. For more than a decade, the Denver Trout Unlimited chapter (DTU), of which Ronnie is a board member, has been working to improve the health of the Denver South Platte – the section of the river starting below Chatfield Reservoir and then flowing through the southern suburbs and downtown Denver. Eleven years ago, the chapter held its first “Carp Slam” fishing tournament, to build awareness of the Denver South Platte and its fishery potential, and to raise funds for river restoration efforts. This year's Carp Slam takes place September 23, with Denver's most awesome after-party taking place atop the DaVita building in LoDo on Saturday evening (purchase your tickets here).

As the name suggests, the Carp Slam’s fishing focus is carp—but the goal is to improve habitat in the South Platte for a variety of fish.  And many anglers in the Carp Slam routinely catch impressive trout, suggesting the potential for a much more robust urban trout fishery.

Restoration work started with the South Suburban Parks and Recreation District in 2012, working to enhance the reach of the South Platte by Carson Nature Center to better support native fish, recreational fishing, and riparian habitat.  DTU contributed to the District’s effort with $10,000 raised through the Carp Slam and another $80,000 leveraged through a Colorado Parks and Wildlife Fishing is Fun grant.

The restoration effort and partnerships have grown exponentially since then.  DTU has worked with the City and County of Denver and the Greenway Foundation on a South Platte Restoration plan that lays out a restoration vision for the river and corridor all along the Denver South Platte. Millions of dollars are flowing toward efforts to improve several miles of river and to create economic benefits from a healthy South Platte as a new recreational centerpiece of the Denver metro area.

While appreciating the broader efforts to improve the entire greenway corridor, DTU has helped keep a strong focus on the river habitat itself. “We’re the ones focused on what’s happening below the waterline,” explains DTU member John Davenport.

Part of focusing below the waterline has been to pay attention to water quality, including stream temperature. To better document water temperatures and understand the river's fishery potential, DTU purchased and placed in-stream loggers starting in February 2016, collecting hourly water temperature data at six sites along the Denver South Platte.  Results to date, Davenport says, look very similar to those for the Arkansas River in Pueblo – a river supporting a popular trout fishery.

While finding a future for trout fishing in downtown Denver is definitely part of DTU’s vision, a healthy river and fishery is the key goal – not just trout.  “I call this a potluck stream,” explained Crawford. “You never know what you’re going to get.  I’ve hooked carp, brown trout, rainbow trout, smallmouth – all on the same fly and some on the same day.”

For Crawford and DTU, it is all about making the most of a resource that has been hiding in plain sight.  “It’s right under everybody’s nose, but they don’t think about it,” he said.  “They don’t know the grand array of fish that can be caught here.”

Eight rivers. Two days. One Rodeo.

By David Nickum. In the final weekend of July, I teamed up with Dustin McCory against 29 other teams, all focused on a simple - but surprisingly difficult - challenge: each team member had to catch a fish from out of eight different rivers over two days. Of the 30 teams competing, only 12 completed that challenge. Dustin and I were among the majority that came up short, but we had a great time experiencing some of the best rivers Colorado has to offer.

The "8 River Rodeo" was started by Joe Wilson 10 years ago. Its origins came from Joe's experiences fishing with his buddies - one of whom could never seem to drive past a promising-looking section of water without asking them to stop and fish. After several such stops, another friend told him that "fishing with you is like fishing in a rodeo!"  And the idea of the 8 River Rodeo was born. Joe offered to organize the event, but only if it was done as a charity fundraiser. Over the years, proceeds from the Rodeo have gone to support Colorado Trout Unlimited and Project Healing Waters.

Now organized by Clint Crookshanks, the Rodeo is held over the final weekend of July. Participants gather on Thursday night in Glenwood Springs to meet up and get their measuring troughs (to document the size of each of the up to 16 fish scored). On Friday, the teams spread out - fishing on public water only - to tackle the first four rivers: the Fryingpan, Roaring Fork, Crystal, and Colorado. On Saturday, action moves to the Gunnison basin with teams fishing the East, Gunnison, and Taylor Rivers as well as Spring Creek. If an angler misses one of the Friday rivers, they can make it up with the Slate as a fifth Saturday river.

I fished in my first Rodeo last year and - beginner's luck - actually completed all eight rivers (albeit by using the Slate on Saturday to make up for missing out on the Fryingpan on Friday). I came in with Dustin this year with a gameplan - which actually matters given the combination of fishing and windshield time (driving between rivers) that you need to manage. We were going to tackle the Fryingpan first thing - head to the "toilet bowl" at dawn - and then work our way down to the Roaring Fork, then the Colorado, and finish on the Crystal as we headed toward Kebler Pass in the evening to be ready for the Gunnison basin on Saturday.

We stayed in Basalt and made it to the dam before sunrise. Only to find a line of folks already in place waiting to cast into the pool immediately below the dam. We went a bit downstream, crossed to the opposite side, and fished the far bank. Dustin landed his fish first - not a trophy, but a nice 15" brown trout. We relocated below the bridge where I landed a 12"er and was thus able to record my first Rodeo trout on the Fryingpan.  One river down - and not even 9 am.  We were flying high!

But flyfishing has a way of humbling you, and that was the story of the rest of our Friday. We dropped onto the Roaring Fork just below Basalt. Before too long, I landed an 8" brown trout - I kept fishing in the hopes of picking up something larger, while Dustin continued pursuing his first Roaring Fork fish. To no avail. We headed down to the confluence with the Colorado, where I could cast onto the Colorado while Dustin continued to hit the Roaring Fork - but close enough where we could both get to the other with the measuring trough if we landed something. We struck out there. Crossing the bridge and dropping to the opposite bank, Dustin caught our best fish of the weekend - an 18" whitefish. I continued to get nothing.

We moved downriver to West Glenwood where I proceeded to hook and then lose two fish before I could get them to net. Taking a deep breath I patiently tied on another two nymph rig, said a small prayer to the river gods, and tossed my flies into the stream to drift downcurrent and give me tension for making my first cast. WHAM! A 12" rainbow hits the bottom fly before I even have a chance to make that first roll cast. Sometimes luck serves better than skill!

With the Colorado behind us, we zipped back up to Carbondale to return to the Roaring Fork - by this time rain was setting in and it was close to 6 pm. We needed to refuel the car, so I offered to grab sandwiches and gas while Dustin kept fishing. Luck was with us as he caught a small but score-able brown trout. We headed up the Crystal towards Redstone, hoping to catch our final fish before darkness fell. But between already high water, further exacerbated by the rain, and rapidly dimming light conditions we gave up on the Crystal and started the drive across Kebler Pass in the darkness, the main excitement coming from avoiding a boulder that had fallen on the road from the rain-softened slopes.

Saturday started with high hopes to get fish from five rivers and still complete our rodeo. But the luck that had been with me on the Colorado left me on the Gunnison. Fishing below the town of Gunnison in the morning, I hooked - and lost - a series of three fish. Dustin was also having no luck, so we decided a change of scenery was in order. We headed up to the Taylor River where we found a beautiful pool - complete with a break in the riverside trees to allow for a clear backcast - and both hooked into rising browns to score our Taylor River fish. Four rivers down - four to go.

Sadly for me, that was as far as I got - four rivers completed. We went on to Spring Creek, where we fished the first meadow with dry flies. The fish seemed to be taunting us, rising near our flies but never hitting even as we kept trying new patterns and sizes in the hopes of getting the right bug in the right place at the right time. It was not to be, and as afternoon was already rolling along - and rain resuming - we concluded that we wouldn't be completing 8 rivers but we might as well at least FISH them all.  So we headed over to the Roaring Judy Hatchery to fish the public reach of the East River there. Fishing around a tree with branches hanging over the river by where the hatchery springs flow out into the East, Dustin landed another brown trout. We swapped rigs, figuring that his set up would give me the best chance to land one as well. Of course, Dustin proceeded to hook another fish on my rod and fly ... another lesson in humility for me.

We finished the evening fishing the Gunnison at its source - the confluence of the East and Taylor Rivers - as a light rain continued to fall. While we hadn't succeeded - indeed, hadn't even come particularly close - it had been a great experience to fish together at so many different, beautiful spots in such a short time. We called it a day and headed over to the Almont Resort for dinner.

We found out that while we had struggled, the other Colorado TU team - Heather Sees and Niki Cousins from The Greenbacks - had completed all eight rivers (both using the Slate to replace the Crystal, which they like us had missed on Friday). Those well-earned smiles on their faces come with one year's worth of bragging rights - at least until the 2018 Rodeo. Overall, 12 of the 30 teams completed all 8 rivers. For the 10th anniversary year, there was also the option to complete 10 rivers (adding Brush Creek and Cement Creek on Friday and Saturday respectively). Three teams actually completed all 10 rivers - including the overall winners, the Triple Haulin' Nymphers (Dan Lundahl and Earl Hecker), who scored 257.3 inches on the 8 rivers (that's an average fish length of 16 inches!) plus another 51.8 inches on the two bonus rivers.

As the evening wound down, Joe Wilson asked if he and his teammate - another Joe - could join us at our cabin if we still had an extra room; they had been camping and with the rain continuing were looking for a warm bed and hot shower. Only when they arrived did I realize that the "other Joe" was none other than author and big-fish guru Joe Butler. We got to enjoy an evening with some great fishing tales from Joe's adventures pursuing big trout in the Great Lakes region - as well as some of his run-ins with the old dry fly purists who did not approve of his use of nymph rigs in such hallowed waters as Montana's Madison River. He also talked about his newest book - "Dangers in the Outdoors" - written after he read about a young couple from the east killed in an above treeline lightning strike in Colorado, and realized that many people could benefit from a little more knowledge about how to enjoy the great outdoors safely. He noted that disease-spreading mosquitoes are the #1 threat and recommended a simple alternative to DEET-laced bug sprays: Bounce dryer sheets. Tucked into your pockets, he said, they work as a great mosquito repellent.

The Rodeo wrapped up Sunday morning with all the teams gathering to swap stories, collect awards and raffle prizes, and enjoy a barbeque at the Three Rivers Resort smokehouse. Between registrations for the event and raffle proceeds, Crookshanks expects the 2017 participants to have generated about $4000 to support Project Healing Waters and Colorado Trout Unlimited. What a great weekend, and one we won't soon forget.

Want to try your hand at the 2018 Rodeo? You can email Clint Crookshanks at shanks@8riverrodeo.com to be added to his mailing list - registration opens in January.

Trucha Grande: Rare Trout, Rare Beer

Our partners with the Rocky Mountain Flyathlon and Running Rivers have unveiled the first beer in their Rare Fish / Rare Beer Project - Trucha Grande - and it is now available in stores in Denver. The program features limited-run craft beers celebrating unique native trout species. They rolled out the new beer in collaboration with Three Barrel Brewing Co., Laws Whiskey House, and the Colorado Malting Company. Trucha Grande is a super rare beer that celebrates the incredible Rio Grande cutthroat trout.

Past Middle Creek flyathletes will be familiar with one of the base beers in this strong ale, the ever popular coconut-y Thurday Special. Three Barrel Brewing Co. blended it with something dark and mysterious, and then locked it away in Laws Whiskey House barrels for a good while. The result is a super smooth, sneaky boozy beer that raises awareness about and a little money for the Rio Grande cutthroat trout. Proceeds from this beer will run through Running Rivers to fund an on-the-ground project improving the world for the rare Trucha Grande.

Want to know where to find it? Trucha Grande will be offered at Biggie Liquors in Conifer, Total Beverage Westminster, Little's Fine Wines Beer & Spirits in Denver, Super Liquor Mart in Littleton, Tipsy's Liquor World in Littleton, Bottles and Bitters at Sloan's Lake in Edgewater, Applejack Wine & Spirits in Wheat Ridge, Bubbles Liquor World in Castle Rock, Peak Beverage in White Ridge, Light Rail Wine and Ale in Golden, and Mile High Wine Cellars in Arvada.

WARNING: Supplies are extremely limited, so get after it! Drink a rare beer to support a rare fish!

Congrats to our Spring Raffle Winner

Congrats to the 2017 Statewide Raffle Winner, Doug Nielsen. Doug is the winner of a two-day, one-night float trip through the Gold Medal waters of the Gunnison Gorge for two with Black Canyon Anglers. The trip also includes one night’s lodging and dinner for two at Gunnison River Farms the night prior to the launch.

The Gunnison Gorge is home to some of the state’s Gold Medal Waters and is a world-class fishery for large rainbow and brown trout. And is one of the best fishing trips in the lower 48 states.

Black Canyon Anglers have been guiding on the Gunny for over a decade and have knowledge about the fishing, geology, and wildlife in the area. Along with the excellent fishing, there is beautiful scenery and the occasional encounters with big horn sheep, mule deer, river otters, and eagles.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the raffle, helping Colorado TU raise over $7,000 that will go towards on-the-ground projects to help protect and restore Colorado’s fisheries and watersheds.

2017 River Stewardship Gala

Visit the 2017 River Stewardship Gala page for more information including tickets, sponsorship, auction items and more!

The CTU River Stewardship Gala is a celebration of Colorado’s rivers and world-class fishing opportunities. The Gala is the largest conservation and fishing-oriented auction in Colorado with over 350 guests in attendance in 2016 that helped raise over $60,000 for conservation efforts throughout the state. Funds from the River Stewardship Gala go towards CTU’s work in youth education, protecting statewide instream flows and temperature, reintroducing and protecting native trout, and preserving and restoring the state’s fisheries and their watersheds.

CTU will present its 2017 River Stewardship Award to the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) in recognition of their leadership in promoting river and watershed health statewide. In the past year, the CWCB spearheaded development and initial implementation of the Colorado Water Plan, including a strong emphasis on healthy rivers, collaborative multi-purpose projects that include environmental benefits, and funding for Stream Management Plans. In addition, for more than 40 years, the CWCB has grown its instream flow program to expand streamflow protection in basins across the state. Collectively these actions are providing the state leadership to build an enhanced Colorado culture of river and watershed stewardship.

We also want to thank Denver Water for being this year's River Champion title sponsor at the event!

Prizes will be available ranging from fishing trips, fishing gear, nights out on the town, art, and much more! There will even be great trips around the state and even a trip to fish in Argentina!

Click here for more information about the Gala including a few of the featured prizes!

Year End Giving to CTU

In order to continue to protect Colorado's rivers and water quality, engage the next generation of conservationists and anglers, and to improve fishing throughout the state, we rely on funds raised by our members and supporters. As we approach the end of the year, a time when most look at their organizational giving, Colorado TU offers different ways to fund our projects and missions. CTU uses collaboration and volunteers to leverage every dollar received and turns it into $10. And donations to Colorado TU are fully tax deductible!

Colorado TU welcomes donations of any amount!  To join Century Club, our largest group of loyal donors, donate $10 or more per month.  Join our flagship donor program, the River Stewardship Council, for $100 per month. These donations help improve our work throughout Colorado.

In 2015 Colorado Gives Day raised more than $28 million in funds and supported  over 1,800 non-profits. In 2010, Community First Foundation created Colorado Gives Day as an annual statewide movement to celebrate and increase philanthropy in Colorado through online giving.

If you want to get in on the excitement of Gives Day and support healthy rivers and fisheries, check out ColoradoGives.org/ColoradoTU to schedule your donation or head to the site on December 6th to help out!

On November 29th, #GivingTuesday takes Social Media by storm. Last year over $116 million was raised for charities in 70 different countries all through online donations, powered through Social Media. On Colorado TU's Facebook page there is a "donate button" that allows followers to donate to our mission through the excitement of #GivingTuesday!

While shopping on Amazon this holiday season, be sure to use, Amazon Smile to help fund our work of making fishing in Colorado better for everyone and protecting our rivers. A portion of your sale will be donated back to Colorado TU from Amazon.

Give to CTU by giving a license plate. Through ProtectOurRivers.net a $25 donation to CTU will provide you with the certificate you need to obtain your Protect Our Rivers license plate or give the license plate to someone else as a gift this holiday season!

Thank you from all of us at Colorado TU for doing your part to protect and restore Colorado’s rivers and fisheries!

Congrats to our Fall Raffle Winner: Will St. Germain

Will St. Germain is the proud winner of our Colorado TU Statewide Fall Raffle! Will won a two-day guided fishing trip (valid through 5/1/17) on the San Juan River quality waters for two anglers with Duranglers, offering first-class guide service on the San Juan and a range of southwest Colorado rivers.  Trip is winner's choice of float or walk/wade angling (or one day of each). In addition this package includes two night's lodging (double occupancy) at the Rochester Hotel in Durango (valid through 5/1/17). The historic Rochester Hotel offers comfortable accommodations and a gourmet breakfast each morning featuring a hot entree, homemade fresh-baked goods, fresh cut fruit, homemade granola, yogurt, and more!

Total value of the package is $1,239.

A big thank you goes to everyone who participated in the raffle! Thank you also goes to Duranglers and Rochester Hotel for their generous support of our event!

Even with all the great fly fishing diversity in the Durango area, the San Juan River below Navajo Dam is Durangler's specialty.  The San Juan is a very unique fishery and tends to frustrate many fishermen with it’s very small flies and unusual fish behavior.  The guide staff is very experienced with many years of guiding the San Juan River in New Mexico.  A wade or float trip on the San Juan with one of Durangler's guides is always an educational experience whether it’s your first or fiftieth trip to the San Juan.

Duranglers Fly Shop and Supplies had its humble beginning in 1983 when John Flick and Tom Knopick opened the San Juan region’s first and only full service fly shop and guide service. Tom and John had met nine years earlier as freshman in college and quickly began dreaming of making fly fishing their life. The dream became a reality December 10th, 1983 when Duranglers opened its doors in downtown Durango. Duranglers has come a long way from when Tom and John tied every fly they sold and built every rod. After 15 great years in the basement of the Newman building, Duranglers main shop relocated to a brand new location! Visit Duranglers big, bright Durango location at 923 Main Avenue.  In 2016, Duranglers received CTU's "Exemplary Guide & Outfitter" award in recognition of their contributions to coldwater conservation.

Fly Fishing Rendezvous

The Fly Fishing Rendezvous - A Rocky Mountain Proud Fly Fishing Show on a Mission

Fly Fishing Rendezvous

Where: Jefferson County Fairgrounds - Golden, CO

When: November 5th - 6th; 8:30am - 5:00pm

Cost: $8 in Advance, $10 at the door

Website: www.flyfishingrendezvous.com

If you want to start thinking like a fish and fishing like a pro, the Fly Fishing Rendezvous happening November 5th - 6th at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Golden Colorado is a must visit event!  There will be more than 30 hours of classes and clinics from the region's best instructors, authors and fly tyers, including Pat Dorsey, Robert Younghanz, Duane Redford, and Rick Tackahashi.

You can check out the full vendor and class line-up and purchase your tickets online at: www.flyfishingrendezvous.com.

The Fly Fishing Rendezvous has partnered with Colorado Trout Unlimited and Project Healing Waters to highlight and support the vital work they are doing in conservation and support of our country's veterans.  In addition to raffles and silent auctions held at the event that support both of these groups, 10% of the admission fees go to support Colorado Trout Unlimited, and we encourage every angler to join TU and Project Healing Waters on mission in the conservation of our waters and support of the troops. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.

As much as any of us would love to have a stretch of river all to ourselves, an isolated fishing hole where big trout eagerly rise to our dry flies, and the lack of cell phone reception gives us a few hours respite from the demands of life, fly fishing at its core is a social sport.   For most of us, it was under the guiding hand of a parent, grandfather, or friend that we tied on our first fly, struggled through the basics of casting, and eventually netted our first trout.  There is a unique joy in sharing the water with family and friends, seeing the passion for fly fishing awaken in a new angler, and the excitement of working out a difficult drift with your fishing buddies until one of you finally catch that elusive trophy brown that has evaded you the past several hours.

Born from a passion to make the sport of fly fishing accessible to all, and to equip Rocky Mountain anglers with the knowledge and gear needed to experience greater success on the water, the Fly Fishing Rendezvous has become the fastest growing and most eagerly anticipated fly fishing show in the Rockies.  Featuring only the region's best fly fishing companies, fly tyers, authors, and guides, the Fly Fishing Rendezvous focuses exclusively on local waters and local companies, and equips anglers with local knowledge for success on our waters.  With its emphasis on educating anglers, the Fly Fishing Rendezvous has broken the mold of other fly fishing shows by giving participants access to more than 30 hours of classes with fly fishing's best recognized authors, fly tyers, casting instructors, and fly fishing geeks.  The topics of these classes are as diverse as the waters of our region: How to Fish Colorado's Technical Tailwaters, How to Match the Hatch and Hack Hatch Charts, How to Sight Fish Trophy Trout on the Taylor River, as well as fly tying demonstrations with the industry’s best tyers.  In addition to accessing an impressive line-up of classes, participants of the rendezvous will have the ability to interact with and buy gear or trips from more than 30 Rocky Mountain fly fishing companies.   Whether it’s a new fly reel from Ross, waders from Simms, $10 dozens on flies from Ascent Fly Fishing, or a guided trip on private water, there will be something for every fly fisher at this show!

Bear Creek Porter for Greenbacks

Story telling has long been accompanied by beer, just as flyfishing has long been accompanied by storytelling. What would a fishing story told around the campfire be without beer? The fish would be smaller, the fights shorter, and the flies more nymph like. Naturally the story book relationship between beer and flyfishng is used to make money, think Busch Light’s cutthroat cans, but some brewers use it to raise awareness. Think Pikes Peak Brewing Company’s Bear Creek Porter. Bear Creek Porter is brewed with water taken directly from Bear Creek, home of the greenback cutthroat trout. A porter by request, the dark, coco, fan favorite is served seasonally to create conversation about greenbacks through beer. This is a cooperative mission spearheaded by Cheyenne Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited and Pikes Peak Brewing Company.

Greenback cutthroat trout need every bit of help they can get. The current state of affairs is hopeful but management agencies like Colorado Parks and Wildlife, need Colorado Trout Unlimited (CTU) to make partnerships they cannot. By engaging locals in the places they frequent, CTU chapters throughout the state can grab the attention of their constituents through a universal talking piece.

The Bear Creek Porter is a conversation starter. Imagine this. A local, regular walks into Pike Peak Brewing Company, notices Bear Creek Porter is the seasonal beer, orders it and enjoys it. They ask the bartender about the beer and come to find that the Bear Creek the water for the brew comes from, is the same Bear Creek they take their children hiking most weekends. The patron then tells their family and friends about the beer and the trout.

This ripple effect is the start of a grass roots movement. To protect and restore greenbacks it will take a public who understands that engaging in conversation is the most important thing we can do to spread ideas. What better way to start a conversation than with a beer.

Victory for Native Trout

The Western Native Trout Initiative (WNTI) has granted Colorado Trout Unlimited and the Cheyanne Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited $6000. Two $3,000 grants will be used to help bring public awareness to native trout and help further greenback genetic studies at Mt. Shavano Fish Hatchery. Western Native Trout Initiative is an organization dedicated to protecting native trout. They offer many different grant opportunities that provide conservation organizations with a means to realize their native trout projects.

Colorado Trout Unlimited (CTU), The Greenbacks and Trout Unlimited Chapters throughout the state have been propagating the good news story of greenback cutthroat trout. Throughout past months and years chapters across the state have thrown their time and energy into false greenbacks. No more. Chapter and state level advocates at CTU are working with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), Western Native Trout Initiative, and Cities to ensure greenbacks forever have a home on the Front Range.

Part of the state level involvement will be to create new signage to replace old signage marked with the wrong greenbacks. Signs will be erected at sights of greenback reintroduction to educate unknowing recreationists about the greenback. CPW is helping design and install signs. CTU and The Greenbacks will also be buying more 50 gallon tanks to be installed at the Mt. Shavano Fish Hatchery. Tanks will serve as brooding pens for the newly hatched greenback fry from Zimmerman Lake. Fry with like genetic crosses (WildXWild, WildXHatchery, HatcheryXHatchery) will be assigned to the same tank for research purposes.

At the chapter level the Cheyenne Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited (CMCTU) will be installing an exhibit: “Trout on Tejon”. The exhibit will feature sculpted greenbacks complete with educational plaque and possibly QRC code, strategically placed throughout Colorado Springs. Patrons of the Springs will soon never be far from the greenbacks. Look for instalments in the coming year.

Funding for these projects is coming from a freshly awarded WINTI Grant (Western Native Trout Initiative). The Greenbacks and CTU, along with CMCTU both received 3,000 dollars to complete their projects. These three organizations and many others across the state collaborating to bring greenbacks to the forefront of public attention is beginning to be recognized as a ground breaking effort.