Protecting a Critical Stretch of Tarryall Creek in South Park

update March 12, 2024:

Collard Ranch and 5 miles of pristine trout stream will become a state wildlife area for $8.25 million - reports the Colorado Sun.

Check out the full article.

Courtesy of Western Rivers Conservancy

South Platte River, Colorado

Just southwest of Denver, the headwaters of the South Platte River come together in the rolling grasslands of South Park, a broad basin surrounded by the high mountain peaks of the Front Range. The South Platte River is the biological and scenic centerpiece of South Park, which was designated a National Heritage Area in 2009 for its rich history and diverse natural landscapes. Here, Western Rivers Conservancy has launched an effort to preserve the 1,860-acre Collard Ranch, which includes five miles of Tarryall Creek, one of the South Platte River’s principal tributaries.

Collard Ranch is part of a major migration corridor for thousands of Rocky Mountain elk, which use the property as their primary route from the high peaks of the Rockies down to the grasslands below during their annual north-south migration into and across South Park. Mule deer and pronghorn frequently move through the basin as well.

Tarryall Creek flows off the 13,823-foot Mount Silverheels before meandering through Collard Ranch. Its banks are a mix of open grass and willow cover, providing excellent habitat for healthy, wild populations of brown and rainbow trout. Beaver ponds line the creek on the ranch, which is a rarity on Colorado’s valley floors. These wetlands attract a rich variety of bird life and are prime spawning habitat for fish.

The South Park basin is home to the world’s last remaining “extreme rich fens,” a type of wetland that has been damaged by human development almost everywhere else on Earth. These wetlands attract diverse bird life to the property, including the imperiled Lewis’s woodpecker and mountain plover.

Located just 60 miles from Denver, South Park is one of the primary recreation destinations for hikers, anglers and hunters from Colorado’s capital. Protection of Collard Ranch will add over five miles of fishing access along both banks of this outstanding trout stream while helping to establish more uniform recreation management along Tarryall Creek. This outcome would be a significant conservation accomplishment within an hour and a half drive from most of the population of Colorado.

WRC has signed an agreement to purchase the ranch. We will buy and hold the property while working to secure funding to protect it forever. Our hope is to convey the property to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which would manage it for the benefit of fish, wildlife and people forever.

Cold Water Delivered to the Wise and Big Hole Rivers

Courtesy of Western Rivers Conservancy

Eagle Rock Ranch, Wise River, Montana

In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, Western Rivers Conservancy has permanently conserved the 200-acre Eagle Rock Ranch and is employing a new approach to returning 11 cubic feet per second (CFS) of vitally important clean, cold water to the Wise River while protecting habitat for fish and wildlife.

The Wise is a major tributary to the Big Hole River, one of Montana’s most famous fly-fishing streams and one of the last remaining strongholds for fluvial Arctic grayling in the Lower 48. It is also a critical source of cold water for the Big Hole, supplying the primary life-giving ingredient that grayling and the river’s other fish need to survive.

WRC and the U.S. Forest Service have developed an innovative split-season approach that will deliver water for fish exactly when they need it while allowing water for agriculture when flows are strong. When the river is running high in early spring, the Forest Service will allocate water to the ranch’s meadow and its wild hay. The meadow will naturally store and filter the water through the spring and summer, allowing it to seep back into the stream colder and cleaner later in the season. In the hot summer months, when the river needs flows the most, the ranch’s water will remain in the stream to benefit the fish that depend on it. It’s a win-win-win for fish, wildlife and local livelihoods alike.

WRC purchased Eagle Rock Ranch, along with its all-important water rights, in summer 2021, then held the property while assembling the funding and partnerships needed to permanently protect it. In late July, WRC conveyed the property to the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, which will now manage the property in perpetuity for the benefit of the fish, wildlife and people of the Big Hole Valley and beyond.

Colorado Gives Day is Tuesday, December 5th

While we missed the deadline to join Colorado Gives 365 Platform this year (sorry!), we are encouraging our friends, members and supporters to donate on-line to CCTU at our web site.

Our highest priority, multi-year project is: Restoring the Gill Trail in Cheesman Canyon of the South Platte River.

Please consider giving to the Cutthroat Chapter of Trout Unlimited on Colorado Gives Day by visiting our Donation/Take Action page (https://cutthroatctu.org/take-action).

Remember, we are a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization dedicated to cold-water fisheries conservation so your contributions may be tax-deductible.

Cutthroat Chapter Leads The Way on Gill Trail Repairs

On the last day of July this year (2023), a violent storm in Cheesman Canyon destroyed the trail system and washed decomposed granite into the South Platte River changing the flows at some favorite fishing holes. (See earlier post on this event.)

The US Forest Service called on our chapter president in an effort to bring volunteers into the canyon to repair the Gill Trail. This work required trained technical leaders to ensure the work was done correctly. Fortunately, the Colorado Mountain Bike Association (COMBA) has full time, trained individuals that work with the USFS and CPW on trail work and they were available!

On September 20 and 21, 2023, 30 volunteers along with four members of the COMBA trail team met at the lower Gill Trail parking lot, hiked into the canyon and spent the day repairing the trail.

Each day started with a safety presentation and training on how trails are properly constructed so they are not destroyed by routine weather and use. After that, packs were donned, tools picked up and crew members hiked into the canyon. Once reaching the work site, volunteers spread out repairing sections of the trail. The days were warm and dry, perfect for getting work accomplished. By Thursday afternoon the trail was completely repaired from the parking lot to the USFS boundary with Denver Water! Work from there to the upper Gill Trail parking lot will be done by Denver Water and the Coalition for the Upper South Platte.

Thank You to everyone that added their name to the Cheesman Canyon volunteer list and especially to those who came out to support this effort. If you were not available to support these dates, more days will be announced in the future when other areas of the trail system will be repaired. We hope you can join us taking care of this special location we all love to fish!

Orphan Boy Mine Cleanup with Anglers All | Colorado Gives 365

Located high in the South Platte watershed near Alma, Orphan Boy is a once-successful legacy gold mine that has become a relic of its former self. The mine site now leaches heavy metals into the downstream waters of Mosquito Creek, a tributary to the Middle Fork South Platte, damaging valuable water resources, wetlands and trout habitat.

Trout Unlimited plans to control this contamination by reclaiming the site through containment of flowing mine waters, controlling seepage and erosion, and revegetating exposed mine wastes - all while preserving the historic legacy of the site. The end result will be improved water quality and stream health, protection of downstream communities, and preservation of historical structures at the mine site.

Anglers All has generously pledged $10,000 as a matching gift to help with reclamation of this mine site in their home watershed - so your contribution will be doubled, helping us fully tap their challenge grant!

Gil Trail Footbridge Repairs Completed

Thanks to the efforts of the USFS and funds provided by the Cutthroat Chapter, the bridge spanning Wigwam Creek from the lower Gill Trail parking lot (sometimes known as the Cheesman Canyon Trailhead) has been repaired. The trailhead parking lot is now open and the bridge looks great!

ALERT: Gil Trail Footbridge to be Closed 10/17-10/21

In an email to CCTU leaders, Mikele Painter, District Biologist for the US Forest Service asked that we notify the CCTU members of upcoming footbridge repair at the lower Gil Trail for the week of October 17th (through October 21st). Email included below:

Hi Scott and John,

Please let your Trout Unlimited members know that the Gill Trail Footbridge repair work will take place next week (10/17 – 10/21) and the bridge will be closed. The construction company will also be staging in the parking lot, so public parking will be severely impacted for that week. We suggest that visitors avoid the Lower Cheesman Canyon Trailhead entirely for that week.

Thanks for helping us spread the word and let me know if you have any questions.

Cheers,

Mikele Painter
“Michael” she/her

District Biologist

Forest Service

Pike National Forest

South Platte Ranger District

CCTU 2022 Green River Chapter Fishing Trip Review

Rich Hus led the CCTU group on their Green River fishing trip April 8 – 12. 13 CCTU members joined Rich on the trip, with several being new to the trip and fairly new to the chapter…which is fantastic. The weather had its moments and the last day was somewhat of a blowout from wind and snow. However, it was an excellent trip overall, with many fish brought to net and many chapter member friendships renewed or begun anew. All are looking forward to doing it again in 2023. If you are interested in the Green River trip next year, contact Rich at r_hus@hotmail.com. Watch a short video of the trip from Rich, with pictures from the group, below.

ALMA RIVERWALK PROJECT UPDATE

On July 23, 2021, three CCTU board members paid a visit to the Alma area.  We were there to confer with representatives from National TU and USFS about a CCTU volunteer project that will be coming up very soon.  Spoiler alert, mark Saturday, August 14, on your calendars to come help us near Alma on an abandoned mine reclamation effort (see separate Mineral Park Project event).  Since we were in the neighborhood we stopped by to admire recent progress on the Alma River Walk.  CCTU has contributed funding and volunteer time to this wonderful effort by the Town of Alma.  Their goal is to conserve and protect a stretch ecologically important wetlands of the Middle Fork of the South Platte River that runs through the center of town.  The River Walk will eventually include ADA accessible trails, educational opportunities, and fishing access, while shielding this sensitive headwater environment from development and abuse.  Jara Johnson of the Alma Foundation gave us a tour of recent work done by the youth of the Southwest Conservation Corps.  The young people are working on a trail spur leading to the interior of the River Walk property.  The first part of the spur is roughed in and will be soon be finished in cinder fines.  The second part of the spur will be a boardwalk that extends into the wetlands ending in a fishing/observation platform overlooking a beaver pond.  This part of the spur has already been cleared of willows, the lumber has been obtained, and a contractor has been hired to start work soon.  This entire spur with trail and boardwalk will be finished this summer.  A new rock garden is coming along well, with native plants like currant and sedge providing both beauty and and educational opportunity.  By fall we will should see the first couple of many interpretive signs and kiosks that will welcome and inform visitors.  When you come up to volunteer with us on August 14, please take time afterwards and check out the River Walk!

GILL TRAIL BRIDGE SIGNAGE AND PROJECT COMPLETION

CCTU board member Peter King led the culminating portion of the chapter’s Gill Trail Bridge project. On Thursday 10/17, the full signage was erected by CCTU members and Forest Service employees, marking the end of an excellent project that will have solid long-term impact on the area. The Gill Trail is the primary byway for fly fishers seeking to fish the legendary Cheesman Canyon. Access to the trail involves crossing Wigwam Creek, and the bridge was in serious need of repair. In June 2019, volunteers from CCTU joined forces with US Forest Service employees to take down the old bridge and rebuild it. The Chapter also donated the lumber for the reconstruction and designed and paid for the commemorative sign. This was a great collaborative effort that was very much appreciated by the Forest Service.