So far 23 sites have released 1000 rainbow trout into Colorado waters. We have 20 more release events to go! Below is a short video of the fun we are having!
Click here for more information about the Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program in Colorado and if you would like to help fund and support a TIC tank/program, please contact Natalie Flowers at natalie.flowers@tu.org
First, the good news: the Colorado General Assembly passed Colorado TU’s top priority bill for 2023, SB23-270, “Projects to Restore Natural Stream Systems”. The not-so-good news: the bill was significantly weakened from the version introduced before it was passed. The net result is a positive step forward, but one that doesn’t yet address some critical issues for river restoration projects and potential water rights administration.
Healthy rivers and watersheds provide broad-based benefits to all Coloradans – providing habitat for fish and wildlife; supporting our State’s robust recreation economy; improving wildfire resilience, drought mitigation, and flood safety; and promoting water quality for all those who rely on it from fish to farms to cities and towns statewide. But over the last 200 years, more than half of Colorado’s 105,000 stream miles and river corridors have been significantly degraded.
As introduced, SB23-270 would have clarified where stream restoration could occur without water right enforcement actions. Minor restoration projects such as bank stabilization, channel narrowing, or emergency post-fire recovery work would not face water rights administration, while larger projects to restore stream, floodplain, and watershed health – such as beaver dam analogs, fish barriers for native species recovery, and floodplain reconnection efforts – would have been given a rebuttable presumption of not causing injury to downstream water uses so long as they did not expand water surface area along a given river by more than a specified amount. The bill would have provided a solution to the lack of clarity and consistency across the state on how stream restoration may impact water rights and hence may or may not need administration. With the bipartisan infrastructure law offering significant federal funding in the coming years, it also would have positioned Colorado for a once-in-a-generation opportunity to support watershed and river health through those federal dollars.
Ultimately, legislators were uncomfortable advancing the complete package of SB23-270 and instead narrowed its scope substantially. The bill passed by the General Assembly and sent to Gov. Polis will address the minor stream restoration projects and those that have taken place or received their permits before August 1 of this summer. That is a positive and important step but leaves the question of how to enable future restoration projects in 2024 and beyond.
Colorado TU looks forward to working with legislators in the coming months to tackle that remaining need with legislation for 2024. Among the projects that we hope can be accommodated are “process-based” restoration efforts such as beaver dam analogs that help improve riparian health and sustain water tables and thus stream flows. We additionally would like to see fish barriers – used to isolate native fish restoration areas from downstream populations of non-native fish – and replanting of native willows and cottonwoods incorporated as restoration activities that presumably should not trigger water rights administration.
Aspen Journalism has an excellent story outlining the issues surrounding SB23-270, which you can read here.
A big thanks to the TU volunteers who reached out to their State Senators in support of this bill. We made one crucial first step with this bill as passed – and Colorado TU remains committed to fishing the job with further legislation in 2024.
After last year’s low flows and elevated stream temperatures – levels that led Colorado Parks and Wildlife to issue fishing closures on multiple western Colorado rivers – an improved 2022-23 snowpack is welcome news for water users and Colorado’s trout. As we enter runoff, the water forecast is very promising for western Colorado – especially southwestern Colorado in the Gunnison, Dolores, and San Juan drainages. The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s end-of-April reports on snowpack by basin show snow water equivalent well above the 30-year median for western slope basins from the Yampa through the San Juan. Eastern slope drainages are lagging by comparison – the North Platte and Rio Grande are still solidly above the median, the South Platte right around the median, and the Arkansas sitting at 84%. While most Colorado mountains enjoyed solid snow years, the central to southern Front Range mountains and the Sangre de Cristos had below average snowpack, pushing the snow-water equivalent numbers down in the South Platte and especially the Arkansas in comparison to the strong west-slope numbers. Central mountain west slope drainages also trailed other Colorado basin watersheds with strong snow years; the Blue and Eagle Rivers ended April at 83% and 88% of historical averages, respectively.
While the overall snowpack figures offer some optimism, April was dry statewide with all basins reporting below average precipitation for the month – from as low as 58% of median precipitation in the Rio Grande to a high of 83% in the Gunnison. Depending on how summer conditions develop, including the presence or absence of strong monsoons, we will wait and see whether the winter’s strong snowpack is the beginning of lasting relief from drought or only a brief respite.
You can read the full NRCS month-end report for April, including more detailed breakdowns by each basin, online at https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/support/states/CO/BORCO/borco523.pdf.
April & May Trout in the Classroom Release Events - throughout Colorado
Each release event is different and some need more volunteers than other. Please click the link to see the specific release event dates in your Chapter area and how you can help.
Volunteer Needed:
Help with release event, fish transportation, and logistics.
Help hosting interactive stations at release events.
April 21st - 22nd - Earth Day Celebration event at the Children’s Museum of Denver, Denver, CO
Volunteers Needed:
Macroinvertebrate Booth Help
April 22nd - STREAM Girls 2.0 event in Longmont, CO
Volunteers Needed:
Support Volunteer
Photographers
April 22nd - Willow cutting for Colorado River basin restoration near Hot Sulpher Springs, CO
April 22nd - Join Cutthroat Chapter and City of Lakewood Park to Plant Trees on Earth Day
April 22nd - Join Pikes Peak Chapter to Clean Up Eleven Mile Canyon.
May 2nd - TIC Release event at Waterton Canyon, Littleton, CO
Volunteers Needed:
Fly Casting
Photographers
June 3rd - STREAM Keepers event at Walking Mountain, Avon, CO
Volunteers Needed:
Macroinvertebrate Sampling
Fly Tying
Fly Casting
Photographer
July 8th - Troutfest Colorado - Volunteer signup coming soon. Write info@coloradotu.org for more information!
July 28th - STREAM Keepers event at Lincoln Hills Cares, Blackhawk, CO
August 1st - STREAM Keepers event at Confluence Park, Delta, CO
August 2nd - STREAM Keepers event at Delta Fairgrounds, Hotchkiss, CO
August 19th - STREAM Girls 1.0 event at Hubbard Cabin, Steamboat Springs, CO
Sept. 9th - STREAM Girls 1.0 event at Waterton Canyon, Littleton, CO
Sept. 10th - STREAM Girls 2.0 event at Lake Lehow, Littleton, CO
Sept. 16th - STREAM Girls 1.0 event at CSU Environmental Learning Center, Fort Collins, CO
“I know I volunteer because I love trout, trout habitat, and trout fishing. Of those three, I think it’s the habitat I love best, and not just because without it we can’t have the other two. It’s because I just love it, everything about it. I get a thrill every time I approach a trout stream.” -John Trammell
“With all that Trout Unlimited has done and is doing here in Colorado, it’s hard not to take an active role. Whether meeting an urgent need, preserving the livelihood of our precious waterways, or educating a new generation of students on how they can contribute, being a Trout Unlimited volunteer makes us feel good.” -David and Susan Person
“Yes, I am passionate about fishing and about saving our coldwater resources, but I am also passionate about the individuals I have met through my work with TU. On fishing trips, in chapter meetings, at youth camps – it doesn’t matter how I met these people. I see their passion and it inspires me to donate my time to TU.” “Yes, I am passionate about fishing and about saving our coldwater resources, but I am also passionate about the individuals I have met through my work with TU. On fishing trips, in chapter meetings, at youth camps – it doesn’t matter how I met these people. I see their passion and it inspires me to donate my time to TU.”- Sharon Lance
“There’s something special about a Colorado River. Crisp, clear water flowing from the majestic Rocky Mountains, sprouting aspen and willow trees from its banks, sustaining trout and deer, and quenching the thirst of literally millions of people along the way. I volunteer because I believe in protecting our rivers, Colorado’s most precious natural resource.” -Rick Matsumoto
Healthy, functioning river corridors for fish and people need your help now.
Healthy rivers and watersheds provide broad-based benefits to all Coloradans – providing habitat for fish and wildlife; supporting our State’s robust recreation economy; improving wildfire resilience, drought mitigation, and flood safety; and promoting water quality for all those who rely on it from fish to farms to cities and towns statewide. But over the last 200 years, more than half of Colorado’s 105,000 stream miles and river corridors have been significantly degraded. That's why TU has been involved in restoration projects - from recovering front range streams damaged in the 2013 floods, to improving low-flow habitats in critical rivers like the Fraser, to reconnecting waters for trout at road crossings that currently fragment their habitat.
Such projects are now facing an uncertain future due to questions and inconsistencies on if and when such efforts may require water rights. Fortunately, the Colorado legislature is currently considering SB23-270: Projects to Restore Natural Stream Systems, a bill that clarifies where stream restoration could occur without water right enforcement actions. With the bipartisan infrastructure law offering major federal funding in the coming years, the bill also positions Colorado for once-in-a-generation opportunity to support watershed and river health through those federal dollars.
Without continued stream restoration, Colorado’s trout and their habitat will face an uncertain future. You can help by asking your Senator to support passage of SB23-270, enabling stream restoration projects to continue in Colorado and provide broad benefits to our environment and communities.
NEW IN 2023, the GoPro Mountain Games are putting an emphasis and opening categories for the youth by creating “grom” divisions for ages 12-18 in almost every event to create a more fair, competitive field for the next generation of Mountain Gamers.
One of these divisions is the Orvis 2 Fly X-Stream Casting Competition. Groups of 4+ are eligible for a 20% discount. If you are interested in registering a group contact punruh@vvf.org.
Join Colorado Trout Unlimited along with partners and exhibitors to learn more about conservation, education, and fly fishing. Bring the entire family for a day at the ballpark to learn more about fly fishing, Colorado’s rivers, and have fun with interactive displays.
Coors Field will have full gameday concessions available along with stadium tours.
Features will include casting areas with instruction for all ages, fly tying professionals, presentations, a VIP area, and several youth activities.
After the event, CTU will present a showing of the International Fly Fishing Film Festival, which will be shown on the Coors Field jumbotron. This 8,400 square foot display with sound will be the largest IF4 showing in the world. Tickets for the film event are separate.
See you at the ballpark!
