Charlie Meyers - Denver Post Using monies derived from the Habitat Stamp Program and Great Outdoors Colorado, the Colorado Division of Wildlife has obtained access to 4,800 acres of terrain in Saguache County. Coupled with a previously acquired easement, this new purchase provides public access to some 7,100 acres, including 8 miles of coldwater fishing along Cochetopa Creek.
Colorado's water future: a cup half-full
By Richard Stacy There are going to be major changes along the Front Range by 2030.
According to the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, the state's population is expected to increase by about 2.8 million to a little over 7 million people. Most of the increase, about 2.4 million, will live along the Front Range. The population increase will have huge impacts in too many ways to count — but one of the biggest challenges will be with respect to our water supply.
The increased population translates into a total increased annual demand of about 630,000 acre-feet, 450,000 of which will be needed for the Front Range. To put that in perspective, Dillon Reservoir holds only 254,036 acre-feet. We need to find a lot of extra water somewhere.
A fine trout stream
Big Thompson’s catch-and-release water “right near the top” of its potential, DOW says
Things are quiet on the Big Thompson these days, or at least as quiet as the winter weather can make one of the most popular trout streams on the Front Range. With U.S. 34 snaking along just yards away and lots of public access, from Estes Park to Loveland, the Big T is about as accessible as a trout stream can get. Rarely is the river completely empty of anglers. Flows out of Olympus Dam keep at least a little water open year round, and if it's humanly possible to fish, there will be a truck in the parking lot of Wapiti Park, and at least one angler will be working the water that glides behind the go-cart tracks, batting cages and miniature golf courses that crowd along the north bank. It's as heavily fished as a trout stream can get. Names get attached to stretches of trout streams. Downstream, there is Cottonwood, Caddis Flats, Sleepy Hollow. The water right below the dam is a run of river some call The Petting Zoo.
http://www.eptrail.com/news/2008/dec/26/fine-trout-stream/
Thanks To Coyote Gulch for the link.
Paul Hollrah: Going, going, gone?
Summit Daily News - Letter to the Editor
In Western Slope communities, people understand that the Colorado River is one of our state’s most valuable assets. What many residents might not know is that the Colorado is facing water losses that threaten both the health of the river and the strength of our local economies.At present, a number of trans-basin water diversions are taking more than half of the Upper Colorado’s water and sending it to the Front Range. Now the Windy Gap Firming Project would send even more water over the Continental Divide. Between this and other upcoming projects, the river could lose some 70 percent of its flow, risking devastation to Western Slope fisheries and recreation- and tourism-based businesses.
We can protect this resource — but only if citizens speak up. The deadline for public comments on Windy Gap’s environmental impact is Dec. 29. If you care about the Colorado River, please fax or e-mail comments to Will Tully, Bureau of Reclamation. Fax: 970-663-3212; e-mail:
wtully@gp.usbr.gov, and Chandler Peter, U.S, Army Corps of Engineers, chandler.j.peter@usace.army.mil.
Colorado Springs answers critics of pipeline project
By CHRIS WOODKATHE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
The rebuttal was submitted to Pueblo County Tuesday, and will be the center of discussion with commissioners and staff when the county’s public hearing on SDS continues at 6 p.m. Monday at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center.
The rebuttal shows a willingness by Colorado Springs to put its commitments into writing in order to secure a Pueblo County permit for the project. At the same time, it rejects the idea promoted by District Attorney Bill Thiebaut and the Sierra Club that Pueblo County would have any authority to enforce conditions imposed by Reclamation, the Army Corps of Engineers or any state agency.
http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2008/12/25/news/local/doc49532fcad0cd7427661547.txt
More Colorado River water on tap for county
Windy Gap project draws fire from environmentalists
“Our major concern is that they haven’t looked at the cumulative effects,” said David Nickum, executive director of Colorado Trout Unlimited in Boulder. “(The project) could make every year look like a dry year.”
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/dec/26/more-colorado-river-water-tap-county/
Colorado Water Law for Non-lawyers
GSLL 1040 - Colorado Water Law for Non-lawyers
Noncredit / Spring 2009 - Online via RamCT
Tuition: $489
Registration ends Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009
Speak up on Windy Gap
Aspen Daily News Letter to the Editor by Ruthie Brown
Please take a moment to submit a citizen’s comment, asking the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure that the needs of the Colorado River are balanced with the needs for Front Range water supplies. The deadline for public comment is Dec. 29.
'Green' Jobs Compete for Stimulus Aid
Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, December 24, 2008; Page A01
Senior aides in the new administration and the congressional leadership privately predict that they will be able to please both camps but suggest that there have been delays in identifying enough of the environmentally friendly projects to reach a dollar level that will truly jump-start the economy. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/23/AR2008122303023.html
Sportsmen applaud Ritter’s roadless rule action
Aspen Daily News Online / by David Petersen / Saturday, December 20, 2008 David Petersen of durango is field director for Trout Unlimited's Public Lands Initiative.
Thank you, Gov. Ritter, for striking a deal with the feds that assures any forthcoming Colorado roadless rule will not be a rush-job....
