When former Grand Valley Anglers president Mac Cunningham returned from this year’s Colorado TU Rendezvous at Redstone, he passed along this note to his fellow GVA members. It’s worth a few minutes of your time.

Folks,

The annual Colorado Trout Unlimited Rendezvous (annual meeting) was again welcomed to Redstone, CO on April 20, 21, and 22.

Highlights included lively presentations by National, State and Local TU chapters on timely subjects such as; The Flaming Gorge Pipeline, Chapter Website Development, Conservation on Private Land, Hydropower, Western Native Trout, the Upper Colorado River Campaign, Renewable and Traditional Energy, Youth Education, Marketing of TU and “One TU”, Restoration Projects, Watershed Health, and Running Fishing Tournaments, as well as legislative updates and the appointment of the new CTU Board of Directors (energetic and committed).

Attendance was fantastic and we were blessed with summer like weather in mid April (the fishing on the Crystal was just as great for those that snuck out of the meetings). Sinjin Eberle and his fine crew of officers have agreed to stay on for another year in their current positions. The Board is well represented on the Western Slope with members including Ken Neubecker (Carbondale and this year’s Silver Trout inductee), Tom Jones (Durango and NLC state representative), Marshall Pendergrass (Montrose and CTU Conservation Committee chair) and yours truly from Grand Junction. There were approximately 20 National Trout Unlimited staff and consultants (including our own Chris Hermann) who attended and spoke at Rendezvous which must have been a record in that department! The much hyped “One TU” seems to have finally gotten traction and I believe that we are blessed in Colorado with having such a large contingent of dedicated National and State staffers in our environs.

The challenges that we are all facing with “livable water”, particularly in the Colorado River where we presently have LESS than 20% of average water content, brought home to everyone the need to effectively communicate our message to all water users in the State and Region. The great work done by all within TU and our partners in conservation has been emphasized by Mother Nature in delivering a frightening 2012 confirmation that we all have a stake in the future of our State and Regional water use.

So enjoy the Spring, forget runoff this year and get your feet wet in our incredible creeks and rivers surrounding the Grand Valley (pray for rain). Oh, and yes, as of last night the rainbows, cutbows and browns in West Creek were doing fine. Hope you helped make the 2012 West Creek clean up a success.

Tight Lines,

Mac Cunningham

CTU Board Member and Former GVA president

The LAFF workshop is sponsored by Purgatoire River Anglers and will be held Saturday, July 21, 2010, from  8am – 4pm at Monument Lake Resort in Weston CO. (Monument Lake is about an hour west of Trinidad CO). Download a workshop flyer.

In addition to Purgatoire River Anglers volunteers, Paula will be assisted by Ken Neubecker, immediate past president of Colorado TU and Executive Director of the Western Rivers Institute, who will provide instruction in entomology.

Workshop Agenda
8:00 – 9:00 Registration, continental breakfast and introductions
9:00 – 12:00 Basic fly fishing, knot tying, entomology, wading safety
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 to 4:00 Fly casting instruction

The registration deadline is June 15th, but class size is limited so register soon!

To register, contact:
Joanie Muzzulin ( jmuzzulin@gmail.com)
719-846-7307

Fly fishing equipment will be provided, but please bring:

• A Colorado fishing license (required)
• Your own fly rod if you have one “ready to go”
• Polarized sunglasses
• Insect repellent & sunscreen
• Hat
• Bandana
• Layered clothing for varying temperatures

(Make check payable to: Purgatoire River Anglers)

To arrange for a carpool from Trinidad, leaving at 7 a.m,, contact Sara Ferguson at 719-859-0814.

Trout Unlimited is a sportsmen’s conservation organization dedicated to the protection
and restoration of North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. TU seeks a
Colorado River organizer to build support among sportsmen, businesses, agricultural
interests, and others for policies that benefit the Colorado River.

The primary responsibilities of the Colorado River organizer will be to:

1. develop relationships with the sportsmen and agricultural communities and other important interest groups;
2. create awareness of the threats facing the Colorado River, including large-scale water withdrawals for municipal growth and energy production;
3. achieve community buy-in – especially in rural areas – for long-term healthy river concepts and policies;
4. mobilize allies to take action in support of the Colorado River; and (5) help to influence decision-makers to enact policies that benefit the Colorado River.

The Ideal candidate will have:

1. background working with sportsmen, agricultural communities, and other interest groups;
2. ability to build strategic alliances with diverse stakeholders;
3. knowledge of the Colorado River and western water policy;
4. strong interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills;
5. experience with political and/or issues campaigns;
6. familiarity with social media tools; and
7. a strong work ethic and a proven track record of accomplishing goals.

The Colorado River organizer will be located in western Colorado and will focus primarily on Colorado River issues within the State of Colorado. This is a two-year position with possibility for extension.

Salary: DOE. Excellent benefits.
Position open until filled. To apply, send letter of interest, writing sample and resume to:

Drew Peternell, Director
Trout Unlimited’s Colorado Water Project
1536 Wynkoop Street, Suite 100
Denver, Colorado 80202

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Thanks to you and Dvorak Expeditions, this year’s Colorado TU raffle was a smashing success. We raised an incredible $7,000, all of which will support our efforts to keep water in streams, support on-the-ground habitat projects, and help young people develop an appreciation for the aquatic life.

Even though you didn’t win this time, Dvorak Expeditions can help you plan a kayak, rafting or flyfishing expedition on a host of rivers in several western states.Click here to go to their website.

If you live in Denver, Boulder and many other cities on the front range, at least some of your water comes from the upper Colorado River Basin on the other side of the Continental Divide. As you’ll recall from 6th grade or thereabouts, that water is supposed to flow to the Pacific Ocean.

But the front range has been pulling water out of the upper Colorado for decades – and now water providers are planning to take even more. The question is – how much can you take before the river starts to die?

Tapped Out: The Upper Colorado on the Brink is a short documentary designed to make people think about the effect our water use in cities has on rivers and economies many miles distant.

Watch: Tapped Out

Sucked Dry: Will State Leaders Help Defend the Embattled Colorado River?

By Drew Peternell, Trout Unlimited

If you’ve driven down the hill on I-70 recently, perhaps after an escape to one of Colorado’s West Slope playgrounds, you might have seen a billboard near Golden that warns, “Don’t Suck the Upper Colorado River Dry.”

It’s a blunt wake-up call to state leaders, water utilities, Front Range residents, and all Coloradans who care about the future of our state’s namesake river.

The Colorado River, from its headwaters in Rocky Mountain National Park down through Granby, Kremmling, Glenwood Springs and beyond, has long been a favorite destination for Front Range residents. Generations of Coloradans have fished, hunted, hiked, camped and floated along the waters of the Colorado.

But most Front Range residents don’t realize that much of the water they use at home comes directly from the streams and rivers of the upper Colorado River basin. A spider-web network of dams and pumps and pipelines delivers water from the Colorado and other West Slope rivers to showerheads and sprinklers in Denver and surrounding areas.

Already Front Range utilities take about 60 percent of the water that originates in the upper Colorado River basin, draining Grand County to the point that many of its once pristine streams now run dry.

The Fraser River, a Colorado tributary where President Eisenhower spent summers fishing, is among the hardest hit.

The low stream flows take a devastating toll on river health. Studies show dramatic declines in the size and health of trout, and entire classes of aquatic insects have disappeared from the river. Because of low stream flows and high water temperatures, the Colorado and several tributaries are choked with silt and algae.

More Proposed Diversions

And now, Front Range water providers are planning to drain the Colorado and Fraser rivers some more.

Two proposed water-diversion projects — Denver Water’s Moffat Collection System Project and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District’s Windy Gap Firming Project — threaten to push the Colorado and Fraser rivers and their tributaries past the tipping point. Combined, the projects could leave as little as 25 percent of native upper Colorado River water on the West Slope.

A river with one quarter of its natural flow. If present trends continue, the mighty Colorado River could someday be called Colorado Creek — or the Colorado Trickle.

How much water does a river need to stay alive?  At what point does the upper Colorado cease to be a functioning river? We may be dangerously close to finding out.

The CPW Study

A 2011 report by the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife (CPW) underscores the poor ecological health of the upper Colorado River. Led by respected veteran CPW biologist Barry Nehring, the study documents a river in sharp decline, suffering from multiple maladies caused largely by water diversions to the Front Range (see sidebar).

The CPW study acknowledges that these problems are likely to worsen with additional water withdrawals. It outlines several measures needed to maintain the health of the Colorado River under the lower flow conditions that would result from the projects Denver Water and the Northern Water District are proposing.

The three key measures are: (1) preservation of higher spring flushing flows to help remove sediment that smothers fish and insect habitat; (2) stream reconfiguration to narrow the channel, so that the remaining water flows are deeper, cooler, and faster; and (3) construction of a bypass around Windy Gap Reservoir — a source of silt, algae, thermal pollution, and the lethal rainbow trout whirling disease.

Current project plans do not include the protections the CPW report identified as necessary to maintain the health of the upper Colorado River under the increased diversions.

Insufficient Protections for the River

In a formal letter issued in February, the EPA listed a host of concerns about the river impacts of the Moffat and Windy Gap project proposals. Citing the CPW study at length, the EPA called for stronger protections than in the fish and wildlife mitigation plans the Colorado Wildlife Commission approved for the projects last summer.

But Governor Hickenlooper and other state officials responsible for protecting Colorado’s natural resources recently have distanced themselves from the CPW report, asserting that the present mitigation packages are sufficient to preserve the river — notwithstanding the conclusions of state wildlife biologists and the EPA to the contrary.

There is no doubt that the Colorado Wildlife Commission and its staff reviewed the fish and wildlife mitigation plans carefully and secured as much protection for the Colorado and Fraser Rivers they thought they could. But state law — as interpreted by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office — limited the Wildlife Commission’s authority to demand broader protections. During the hearings, several wildlife commissioners publicly lamented that they could not do more.

Time for a Way Forward

Hickenlooper is rightfully proud of the so-called “Cooperative Agreement” he helped broker last year between Denver Water and a number of West Slope stakeholders. The agreement places some restrictions on future Denver Water projects that impact the Colorado River, and it requires Denver to increase its conservation efforts.

But let there be no confusion. The agreement does not address the Moffat and Windy Gap project proposals, and it does not fully resolve the problems facing the Colorado River.

Governor Hickenlooper has a golden opportunity to follow-up on his good work on the cooperative agreement. He should bring interested parties to the table to craft a final mitigation plan that fully addresses the impacts of the current water withdrawal proposals.

If state officials are unwilling or unable to join the effort to protect these important resources, they need to step aside and let the federal agencies do their job as they review the projects.

Much to Lose

No one would claim that finding a solution will be easy — these are tough, complex challenges. But, with cooperation and leadership from the state, the project proponents and other interested parties, it should be possible to craft a way forward that supplies additional water to the Front Range while keeping the Colorado River healthy.

The West Slope rivers that we tap to deliver water to the Front Range are priceless. They are vital to the health of mountain communities, Colorado’s $10 billion-a-year outdoor recreation economy, and the high quality of life Coloradans enjoy.

Given all we stand to lose, now is the time to find a solution that preserves the Colorado River as the state treasure that it is.

For more information and to add your voice to those calling for protection of the Colorado River, go to www.defendthecolorado.org.

A River on the Brink

A 2011 study by the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife found that water diversions to the Front Range have caused severe ecological damage to the upper Colorado River. The impacts to the river below Windy Gap Reservoir include:

• A 38 percent decline in aquatic insect life;
• A complete elimination of native sculpin fish — a key indicator of stream health;
• An almost total loss of the population of giant stoneflies — once the dominant aquatic food source on the river;
• An “armoring” of the river bottom from sediment and silt, destroying spawning habitat for trout and smothering aquatic insect populations.

The study concludes that additional water withdrawals from the proposed Moffat Collection System and Windy Gap Firming projects will make these problems worse.

Drew Peternell is director of the Colorado Water Project for Trout Unlimited, whose mission is to conserve, protect and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.

Read this opinion piece by Drew Peternell, director of TU’s Colorado Water Project at DenverPost.com.

And go to www.defendthecolorado.org to learn more and join the effort.

Jake Lemon is Colorado TU’s Youth Education Coordinator and a lucky guy. He’s engaged to Kate Prestine, a woman of obvious talent who has put together a really nice video on Colorado TU’s youth initiatives. It’s called Creating Tomorrow’s Conservationists. Nice job, Kate!
Check it out on vimeo.

The award was presented at the 2012 Colorado TU Auction & Gala on Friday evening, March 16. Save the Colorado is a collation of businesses and foundations, spearheaded by the New Belgium Brewing Company with supporting sponsors that include Teva, Patagonia, the Clean Water Fund, National Geographic, Clif Bar, the Environment Foundation, Environment Now and the Kenney Brothers Foundation.

New Belgium CEO Kim Jordan (2nd from left) accepted the award from Colorado TU President Sinjin Eberle (at left). The award is a large scale photograph of blue sky and canyon walls reflecting off the Colorado River by photographer Peter McBride, co-author with Jonathan Waterman of the book, The Colorado River: Flowing through Conflict.

The companies and foundations that created Save the Colorado initially committed nearly $500,000 in funding. “We’re very pleased to honor Save the Colorado and proud of our association with them, said Colorado TU president Sinjin Eberle. “Save the Colorado is a wonderful example of businesses working with non-profit organizations to protect a vital American resource.”

Save the Colorado has been a catalyst for efforts to create broad public awareness of the threats facing the Colorado as well as a financial resource for groups working on-the-ground to protect and restore the river, which runds more than 1,400 miles from its source in the Rocky Mountains to the Sea of Cortez.

More than 30 million people in seven states rely on the Colorado River system for their drinking water. Many more count on the river as a source of water for agriculture, hydro-electric power, recreation and industry. But the Colorado is an overburdened resource, and its waters and wildlife are threatened by an increasing number of dams and diversions, mineral extraction, population growth, invasive species  and the potential impacts of climate change.

Nearly 300 people attended the 2012 Colorado TU Gala and Auction. An outstanding slate of items donated by our loyal and generous supporters were responsible for making it a very successful event. Each year, proceeds from the Gala play a substantial role in funding Colorado TU’s efforts toward river conservation, youth education and on-the-ground restoration projects.

Thank you to all who attended, to all who donated to our auction and to Save the Colorado!