Thompson Divide protections preserved in settlement

The BLM announced some good news for Colorado’s native cutthroat trout and big game populations on June 22 after reaching a settlement in the lawsuit filed by oil and gas company SG Interests over the cancellation of 18 leases to drill in the Thompson Divide area of the White River National Forest near Carbondale, Colorado. The leases covered more than 21,000 acres (about 33 square miles) featuring prime big game habitat and native cutthroat trout streams in watersheds providing source water to the Crystal and Roaring Fork Rivers, as well as local communities.

Thompson Creek in the Thompson Divide.  Photo: Josh Duplechian

Leases to drill in the Thompson Divide were improperly issued by BLM in 2003. A coalition of county and local governments, ranchers, local businesses, sportsmen and citizen groups – including Trout Unlimited – mobilized and worked for years to protect the Thompson Divide. BLM ultimately recognized that the leases had been issued in violation of the law and cancelled them in 2016. 

In early 2017, SG Interests filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to challenge BLM’s decision. Under the settlement, SG agrees to dismiss its case in exchange for a payment of $1.5 million from the federal government. The settlement compensates SG for investments made toward developing the leases but leaves the 2016 lease cancellations in effect.

“SG’s leases were issued in violation of the law, and these lands never should have been leased in the first place,” said Michael Freeman, a staff attorney at Earthjustice representing Wilderness Workshop and Colorado Trout Unlimited.  “BLM properly cancelled the leases in 2016. We’re glad to see that SG is dropping its challenge to those cancellations.”

The Thompson Divide area stretches across Pitkin, Garfield and Gunnison Counties and encompasses no fewer than nine National Forest roadless areas. The area includes habitat for deer, elk and a variety of sensitive wildlife species, including cold water streams vital to native cutthroat trout. Because it supports recreation, ranching and other local industries, the Thompson Divide produces an estimated 300 jobs and pumps more than $30 million into the local economy.

“From its prime big game habitat to unique native cutthroat trout fisheries, the Thompson Divide is a Colorado treasure for hunters and anglers,” said David Nickum, executive director of Colorado Trout Unlimited. “For years, sportsmen and women have fought to protect these lands — so we’re pleased that BLM and SG have reached an agreement that will keep them intact.”

While the settlement is an important step toward protecting the region, it does not end the threat posed by oil and gas development. Sen. Michael Bennet introduced legislation last year (S.481 - Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Act of 2017) to permanently protect the Thompson Divide. With the specter of SG's 2003 leases and lawsuit no longer hanging over the area, Colorado TU hopes that his bill can gain momentum so that this treasured landscape can receive the lasting protection it deserves.

VIDEO: Reintroduction of Native Greenback Trout in Estes Park, CO

Join Alpine Anglers Trout Unlimited Chapter as they head out to the Big Thompson for a day of fishing. Learn about the important work going on in the area in regards to habitat restoration to help with the reintroduction of native Greenback Cutthroat Trout. Check out the great video below and learn more about what the chapter is doing here.

Learn about fishing the Big Thompson and other waters surrounding Estes Park, Colorado, along with the reintroduction of the Greenback Cutthroat Trout.

Stream Monitoring: What's New?

A note from National TU Staffer, Kurt Fesenmyer: 

"One great way to take the pulse of your local river is by monitoring stream temperatures. Inexpensive data loggers offer the opportunity to record water temperatures every hour for several years, providing easy access to important information on seasonal patterns, short-term trends, and the impacts of restoration projects or other activities in a watershed.

TU’s Science Team has spent the past few months test driving a new data logger for monitoring stream temperatures. We’re happy to report that the new loggers work very well and should make monitoring your local stream even easier. The new loggers — the Onset TidbiT MX series — are the latest iteration of the reliable Tidbit product line. We are recommending the Tidbit MX2203, which cost just over $100 each.

The new model includes several features that will prove very useful for long-term stream temperature monitoring—they have a four-year battery life under normal conditions and a replaceable battery; they can be launched and their data downloaded using a Bluetooth connection and the free Onset HOBOmobile app; and they have a ‘water detect’ feature that can be used for monitoring stream drying and patterns of intermittency. For more information about the loggers, including basic instructions on calibrating, setting up, and launching loggers, as well as details on how to receive a discount Onset is kindly offering TU volunteers, check out the newly updated Version 3 of TU’s Stream Temperature Monitoring handbook.

The handbook contains some basic guidance on "Why," "Where," and "When" to monitor and is a great starting place for chapters thinking about stream temperature monitoring. Additional resources are available on TU’s stream temperature monitoring resources webpage."

If you are interesting in citizen science opportunities in Colorado. Contact Grassroots Coordinator Dan Omasta, DOmasta@tu.org 

60 trout released by Lyons Elementary students

Fifth grade students from Lyons Elementary School released around 60 fry back into the wild in collaboration with the St. Vrain Anglers TU Chapter, Colorado Trout Unlimited, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The release was part of their ongoing  Trout in the Classroom (TIC) Program where students are engaged in trout biology and environmental sciences. Students raised trout from egg to fry - monitoring their growth, tank environment, and life cycle. Along with raising adorable trout, students gain an appreciation for water resources, conservation ethics, and become involved in their local watershed!

Save Bristol Bay!

  Pebble Limited Partnerships recently applied for one of the major permits they’ll need to mine in Bristol Bay. Filing that application is huge news because it brings their catastrophic proposal one step closer to becoming a reality. Now, we have the first chance for you to weigh in on this process.

Pebble Limited Partnerships wants to develop an open-pit mine in southwest Alaska, approximately 17 miles west/northwest of the villages of Iliamna, Newhalen, and Nondalton. They also are proposing a 188-mile natural gas pipeline from the Kenai Peninsula across the Cook Inlet to the mine site as their proposed energy source. These developments would dramatically affect Bristol Bay’s fisheries which are critical to Alaska's economy and culture.  Speak up and let The Army Corps of Engineers know that we should protect Bristol Bay, and the businesses and communities these waters support.

Add your name and comment below to tell the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reject Pebble's proposal as incomplete. Feel free to edit the suggested content. Click the button to take action!

Hitchhikers NOT welcome

We have been dealing with invasive species since humans starting transporting goods across land and sea. Many species that we think of as natives might just be an original hitchhiker from a long time ago. Sometimes these things happen by accident when something snags a ride with an unsuspecting host or species are brought in on purpose. Why are invasives such a problem? Well, when a species is introduced to a new area, it usually has all the advantages in the world. They are likely to not have any predators and that provides them the opportunity to eat, populate quickly, and encroach on other's habitats. By the time all the original habitants catch up on who the new species is, the new guys have already established themselves and have depleted much of the area's resources.

In Colorado, we have been lucky to not be plagued with the aquatic invasives that the Great Lakes area has seen, but with increased tourism and boating the state is becoming more worried about an unstoppable outbreak of the invasive species. Testing is done regularly on Colorado's bodies of water and there have been positive results for mussels. New legislation has been making its way through the State Senate and House entitled the Mussel Free Colorado Act HB18-1008, with hopes to combat the fast-spreading is invasive mussels.

[1] Zebra and quagga mussels pose a great ecological and financial threat to the state.  The invasion of these mussels can affect every Coloradoan and visitors in some way and the impacts could be devastating. Potential impacts include:

• Prolific reproduction
• Clog water infrastructure
• Ecological impacts
• Recreational impacts
• Economic impacts
• Social impacts
• Difficult or impossible to eradicate
• Quick spread to new waters

[2] Both adult zebra mussels and the larval form, known as veligers, can be transported into other bodies of water. Adult zebra mussels can attach to boats or other equipment and be transported to new waters.

Adult zebra mussels are able to close their shell and may survive out of water for several days.

Veligers (larval zebra mussels) are able to hitchhike in water held in the bilge, live wells, motors, or bait buckets, or they may cling to plant fragments, boats or trailers, or other equipment or recreational items that came into contact with water.

You can’t always see zebra mussels because the larvae are invisible to the naked eye. They can survive for days in water trapped in a boat. The only way to be sure you’re not carrying zebra mussels to another body of water is to always Clean -  Drain - Dry your boat, trailer, and gear. To minimize the potential spread of zebra mussels, follow these simple steps:

• CLEAN: your boat, trailer and gear by removing all plants, animals and foreign objects.
• DRAIN: all water from the boat, including the motor, bilge, live wells and bait buckets, before leaving the lake.
• DRY: boat, trailer and gear at least 5 days before entering another water body. If unable to let it dry for at least 5 days, rinse equipment and watercraft (with high pressure, hot water when possible) and wipe with a towel before reuse.
• DISPOSE of unwanted live bait and worms in the trash.
• NEVER introduce fish, plants, crayfish, snails or clams from one body of water to another.

Keep yourself updated about potential invasives threats in Colorado:

• [1] Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Invasives Zebra and Quagga
• [2] Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers
• Colorado Boat Inspections
• State Aquatic Nuisance Species Program 
• 2018 Aquatic Nuisance Species Bill 

Rainbow trout resistant to Whirling Disease headed for Arkansas River

Check out Trout Unlimited volunteers working through the cold to help CPW aquatic biologists with their year-old rainbow trout that will be released into the Arkansas River. The fish are resistant to "whirling disease [which] is thought to be a major factor in the declines of wild rainbow trout populations in certain Colorado waters. It's suspected that the outbreak of the disease may be linked to other environmental factors that aren't yet apparent. The parasite has been confirmed in 13 of Colorado's 15 major river drainages, including the Colorado, South Platte, Gunnison, Arkansas and Rio Grande rivers, as well as in a number of state hatcheries." CPW Fact Sheet on Whirling Disease Video via Denver Post.

Support Colorado's Great Outdoors

We are almost there! The reauthorization of the Colorado Lottery has passed with bi-partisan support through the Senate and now it's up to the Colorado House of Representatives to approve the bill and send it to the Governor for signature. We urge the House to "Keep it Colorado" and pass SB 66, reauthorizing the Colorado Lottery. The proceeds are invested back into parks, wildlife and open space through Great Outdoors Colorado, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and funding to local governments statewide. The lottery has been a huge source of financial support for public lands and recreation - without depending on tax dollars. By investing in our great outdoors, the lottery helps drive our state's multi-billion outdoor recreation economy - benefiting not only our quality of life, but also supporting jobs and economic development statewide.

Click the button below!

TU in Colorado is hiring!

Colorado Field Coordinator

ABOUT TROUT UNLIMITED

Trout Unlimited is a national organization with 300,000 members and supporters organized into over 400 chapters and councils nationwide. These dedicated grassroots volunteers are matched by a respected staff of organizers, lawyers, policy experts, and scientists, who work out of more than 45 offices across the country. Our mission is to conserve, protect, and restore North America's cold-water fisheries and their watersheds.

POSITION SUMMARY

Some of the best hunting and fishing in the West today is found on public land where intact habitat provides all the necessities for healthy populations of wild and native fish as well as trophy herds of elk, deer and other big-game animals. Trout Unlimited's Sportsmen's Conservation Project is looking for a field coordinator to work in Colorado.

We are seeking a staff member to design and implement campaigns that engage hunters and anglers in public land decision-making processes on high-quality fish and wildlife habitat. Denver location preferred, Colorado Front Range communities acceptable.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Grassroots organizing with local and state hunters/anglers, organizations, local businesses and community leaders.
• Working with local elected officials, legislative officials, and state and federal land management agencies.
• Leading a team-oriented, collaborative effort to maintain and protect the great fish and wildlife values in the area.
• Assist in fundraising.
• Non-supervisory position.
• Will be responsible for helping develop and implement campaigns within allocated budgets.

This is not an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor Degree preferred, will consider experience in lieu of education.
• Knowledge of public land issues and agency planning processes a plus.
• Experience in developing and leading advocacy-oriented campaigns preferred.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and be a self-starter.
• Positive attitude with energy and willingness to do what it takes to get the job done.
• Flexibility, adaptability.
• Proficient in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Very strong inter-personal skills.
• Avid angler/hunter a plus.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Fundraising experience preferred.

HOW TO APPLY

Please send a letter of interest and resume to Katie Becker, kbecker@tu.org. No phone calls, please. Open until filled.

Please fill out this voluntary form and submit it as an attachment to this email address.

TU is an Equal Employment Opportunity & Affirmative Action Employer pursuant to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act & Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistant Act.

TU hires staff without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or disability.

Yelling at storm clouds

A few days ago, I found myself standing in my yard yelling “Yeah, c’mon!?” while shaking my fist at a rather feeble-looking storm cloud. Now, I normally reserve this type of a pointless weekend lunacy for Broncos games and the like, but considering the dire state of the snowpack in the Colorado River Basin, including my home watershed of the Uncompahgre basin—the reaction seemed appropriate. Beyond the obvious lack of snow in my front yard, I'm seeing a seemingly endless chain of news stories highlighting lack of snow, record low river flows and, perhaps worst of all, dire projections that long-term weather trends won’t provide respite—all serving to fuel my anxiety about the summer to come.

Droughts of years past have taken a serious toll on important fisheries and inflicted economic pain and hardship on water users of all stripes who depend on diverting water for their livelihoods and quality of life. These periods of shortage have also taught us valuable lessons about reacting to and preparing for drought in the West.

One of those lessons is about the importance of working together on our water challenges.

Throughout the basin, Trout Unlimited and water users are partnering on innovative strategies to address water supply shortfalls while protecting rivers and streams. For instance, TU is helping irrigation districts and the water users they serve in the Gunnison Basin improve irrigation infrastructure on and off the farm to reduce system losses, thereby improving stream flows on important tributaries like the Cimarron River.

TU has also been at the forefront of water planning efforts in Colorado that identify needs of both the environment and water users and establish watershed-specific approaches to reducing the impacts of drought.

In another innovative approach, TU is working closely with agricultural producers in the Upper Colorado River Basin through a pilot project that reimburses water users who voluntarily reduce consumptive water use through fallowing, partial fallowing or switching from high to low water-use crops. The program, known as the System Conservation Pilot Program, or SCPP, aims to improve flows on Upper Basin tributaries in a manner that not only helps reduce supply gaps at Lake Powell but also improves important fisheries.

With all the water uncertainty, there’s one thing we can be certain of—this drought period won’t be the last. In fact, scientists say it’s likely that the Colorado River Basin will be facing a drier and more variable climate—all the more reason why scaling up collaborative conservation and efficiency efforts now, regardless of the snowpack levels, is critical to preparing for future drought and protecting our valuable watersheds and all that they support.

Working together, we are finding solutions that can help buffer the impacts of drought years and keep our rivers and fisheries healthy.

And that’s surely more effective than yelling at clouds.

By Cary Denison

Cary Denison is TU’s project coordinator in the Gunnison Basin.

Blog Post via Trout Unlimited.