2012 Conservation Projects Listing

Just Released !  

Important Conservation, Preservation and Restoration Projects for 2012!

Please take a look at the following listing of Cutthroat Chapter Conservation Projects, mark your calendars and plan to participate in these important volunteer opportunities to restore and improve our local fisheries. The first five projects are in conjunction with CUSP (Coalition for the Upper South Platte) and the dates are firm. And the focus of these projects is Hayman Fire Rehabilitation on the main tributaries to the South Platte at Deckers. New for 2012 !  We have brand new  custom Cutthroat Chapter Trout Unlimited CONSERVATION VOLUNTEER T- Shirts to be awarded to project participants!  Come join us on any project and earn your CONSERVATION  shirt.  One shirt per person while supplies last!As usual, there will be time for FISHING as well after the work is done!•April 21 Trail Creek Restoration and Willow Planting with the Eagle Scouts. This project starts @ 9AM at the West Creek Fire Station. We plan to carpool from the RTD lot At University and Dad Clark Drive, just off 470 in Highlands Ranch . We will be leaving @ 7:30AM sharp so please plan to be there by 7:15AM.Work day is over at 3PM, Time to Fish!  For full details and please call Jim Klug @ 303-953-8046 to sign up.                                                

                                                             Trail Creek

•May 12      Trail Creek Restoration (Field and Stream: Hero for a Day Program)May 18(Friday) Alternate date for the Hero for a day Program•June 30        CUSP Restoration TBD•July 14         South Platte Clean Up @ Deckers (McFarland)•August 25    CUSP Restoration TBD•September  8  Clear Creek Clean Up @Idaho Springs (Carney)•October  (Date TBD) South Platte Park Restoration (Aaron)•River Watch (Honeyfield) Dates Announced Monthly•South Platte Temperature Monitoring (Rasmussen & Snoy) Dates Announced MonthlyFor additional information, please contact Jim Klug at 303-953-8046.

Defend the Upper Colorado River

Help Us Spread the Word: DON'T SUCK the Upper Colorado River Dry!Dear Sharon,With your help, our campaign to protect the Upper Colorado continues to build momentum.  After two successful rallies - one outside of the EPA Regional Headquarters and one on the steps of the State Capitol - we have now launched a billboard on eastbound Interstate 70 in Golden:Every day that this billboard runs, nearly 180,000 pairs of eyes will see it as they commute to work or return from ski trips in the mountains!  With your help, we can keep this message in front of Denver-area residents.  If 300 friends of the Upper Colorado each contribute $25, we can cover the costs of keeping this billboard up for an entire month - putting this message in front of literally millions of Front Range residents.  Click here to help us today with your tax-deductible donation.  With your donation, you'll also receive a "Don't Suck" bumper sticker - and with a donation of $100 or more, you'll receive a "Don't Suck" t-shirt.Why a billboard?  Because Coloradans need to know that our namesake river is fighting for its life.  Water diversion proposals - expansion of both the Windy Gap (Colorado River) and Moffat (Fraser River) projects - could reduce the Upper Colorado River’s flows to less than 20 percent of its historic levels. As currently proposed, the projects fail to include measures that will keep the Colorado and key tributaries like the Fraser cold, clean and healthy.  Without stronger protections, these once-mighty rivers face a long, continued decline and a potential ecological collapse.Our Defend the Colorado coalition’s recent January rally in front of EPA building was a rousing success, with more than 100 sign-carrying, chanting supporters calling on EPA to “be a hero” for the river.  A few weeks later, EPA issued a letter that fully vindicated and supported our position on the need for further river protections in the Windy Gap Firming Project.  It was an important victory, but final decisions are still pending on permits for Windy Gap and the Moffat - including what protections for rivers may be required.  Our job is not finished.Help us keep the pressure on our state and federal decision-makers to do the right thing for the Upper Colorado watershed.  Let's spread the word to our fellow Coloradans:  we need to save our rivers before it's too late.  Your donation toward the "Don't Suck" campaign will help us make a difference. Together, we can make sure that we don't suck the Upper Colorado River dry.Thanks for all you do!P.S. If you haven't yet, please take a moment and sign our online petition on the Defend the Colorado website.

Schedule of Events for 2012 - Updated!

Here’s a list of some of the events we have planned so far for 2012. Use this list to reserve spots in your calendar.  Any of the “Area TBD” items will most likely be one of the CUSP focus areas which are Trail Creek and Happy Meadows.Here are the dates and events we have so far:January 17^th – Meeting: Speaker Mark Lance on “The Many Landscapes of Trout”February 21^st – Meeting: Speaker Pat Dorsey on “Fly Fishing Colorado”March 20^th – Meeting: Fly Tying ClinicMarch 31^st – Education: Fishing on the Fly classApril 7^th – Education: Fishing on the Fly classApril 14^th – Education: Fishing on the Fly classApril 14^th - 18^th – Fishing Trip: Green RiverApril 17^th – Meeting: Speaker Steve Parrott on “Czech Nymphing”April 21^st – Education: Fishing on the Fly classApril 21^st – Conservation: Trail Creek RestorationApril 28^th – Education: Fishing on the Fly classMay 12^th – Conservation: Trail Creek with Field & Stream's Hero for a Day ProgramMay 15^th – Meeting: Tim Wade, Owner of North Fork Angler in Cody Wyoming, on "The Otherside of Yellowstone"June 19^th – Meeting: Robert Younghanz, "The Bug Guy", on Entomology for the FlyfisherJune 30^th – Conservation: Area TBDJuly 14^th – Conservation: Deckers Clean UpAugust 25^th – Conservation: Area TBDSeptember Date TBD – Conservation: Clear Creek Cleanup; Working with Idaho Springs to reserve the ParkCheck the website for details on any of these events as the date approaches.  Also, check the website for events that are, as-of-yet, unplanned.

1st Annual Conservation Awards Raffle

The Conservation Awards Raffle at this year’s Annual Auction was created as a way to say “Thank You” to the 76 volunteers who contributed 1100 hours working on 10 Cutthroat Chapter sponsored projects.  These projects focused on conservation and restoration efforts primarily in the Upper South Platte River Drainage.Some of this year’s accomplishments:

• We planted over 15,000 willows on Trail Creek and Horse Creek.
• We cleaned up over 8 miles of stream frontage on the South Platte near Deckers and another 12 miles along Clear Creek at Idaho Springs.
• And River Watch efforts monitored water quality while our temperature sensors gathered valuable data at 5 sites in the South Platte below Cheesman Reservoir.

Again, our chapter is very grateful to all who supported these efforts.  To show our appreciation, we had 6 great prizes to raffle.

• 1st place: Custom Built Fresh Water Sage Fly Rod, donated by Kent Higgins.  Won by Bill Wiebesiek who participated in 15 events!
• 2nd place: Lamson V2 Velocity Hard Alloy Fly Reel, 6-weight, donated by CCTU.  Won by Alan Whitehead who participated in 6 events!
• 3rd place: Fishpond Yellowstone wader bag, donated by CCTU. Won by Jerry Shin who participated in 3 events!
• 4th place: Rio Light WF5F Fly Line, donated by CCTU. Won by Kris Buros who participated in 6 events!
• 5th place: Box of Custom Flies tied by Richard Pilatzke. Won by Jim Rasmussen who participated in 20 events!
• 6th place: Box of Flies by various tiers donated by CCTU. Won by Duane Van deVenter who participated in 2 events!

Thanks again for supporting our Conservation Projects!Also, thanks to Kent, Richard and CCTU for donating the GREAT prizes!And last but not least, thanks to our Conservation Coordinators Jim Klug and Jim Rassmussen who, with a little help from their friends, organize and orchestrate each one of the conservation events.

Defend the Colorado

Have you guys seen the new facebook page for Defending the Colorado that Colorado TU put together. Why not head over and give it a "like" http://www.facebook.com/pages/Defend-the-Colorado/164537183632898You can also head over to their webpage and sign their online petition to defend the colorado. They had some really cool videos online the last time I was there. We need to come together to help protect this fragile resource.http://www.DefendtheColorado.org

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: River Watch on the South Platte River

River Watch sampling and testing for October will be on Sunday the 16th. These events generally occur during the week so this is a great opportunity to see what River Watch is all about.  Also unique to this month's River Watch is the macro invertebrate (bugs) collection.  The report produced as a result of this collection is a great insight into the major food sources available to the South Platte trout.  But why wait for the report? Volunteer and you can get a look at the bugs first hand. We will car-pool for those wanting to share a ride.  Meet at the Park N' Ride at University and E470 at about 8AM. For those wanting to fish later, you will want to provide your own transportation and meet behind the Deckers store at about 9:30AM. Our collection site is across from Lone Rock Camp Ground just upstream about 1/4 mile from the bridge on the dirt road. We will collect water samples for testing and seine for macro invertebrates (bugs) at 2 sites. The collection process will probably take about 3 hours. For those wishing to help with water testing, we will return to Parker. The bugs will be shipped to Ft Collins where a private lab counts and records the various kinds. For further information and to confirm your participation contact Bill at 303-771-1855 (blhoneyfield@comcast.net) ir Jim Rasmussen at 303-773-2772 (jiber2@msn.com).

Update:

Bill Honeyfield sent in some pictures of the day on the river.  Looks like they had a good turn out and a beautiful day to boot!    

Clear Creek Clean Up Collaboration Completed, Idaho Springs, CO

Trout Unlimited’s Cutthroat chapter and Cherry Creek Anglers chapter teamed up to organize the collaborative effort to remove trash from a 12 mile stretch of Clear Creek along Route 6 and Interstate 70 in the Idaho Springs area.  In addition to the Trout Unlimited chapter volunteers, Mile-Hi rafting supported the effort with nine volunteers and door prize items.  In addition, four seniors from Clear Creek High School pitched in to help.  In all, 39 volunteers worked hard all morning to collect and remove a record amount of trash and debris from the stream and its immediate surroundings. Support from the local merchants was again outstanding as they appreciate the effort to keep their local resource in good condition.  In addition to Mile-Hi Rafting, Starbucks provided coffee and door prizes, Beau Jo’s supplied Mountain Pies and door prizes and Clear Creek Outdoors gave a nice selection fly fishing door prizes.  Door prizes were also provided by Orvis, CO. Clear Creek County provided the big orange trash bags, safety vests and the all important trash pick-up! We also thank the City of Idaho Springs for the use of the Courtney-Ryley-Cooper Park facilities for our project headquarters.A special thank you goes out to Ray Carney, Cutthroat chapter, for his efforts in organizing and managing this important conservation activity. Thank you to all of our volunteers for making this effort a great success!

Gill Trail Conservation, Restoration Project Successfully Completed On August 20, 2011

Thank you to our nine hearty Cutthroat  Chapter volunteers who contributed a good day’s effort to help restore and protect  a ¼ mile section of the heavily used Gill Trail in Cheesman Canyon.  The work was performed in conjunction with the Coalition for the Upper South Platte (CUSP) at an elevation 7660 feet  in 90 degree temperatures.    The goal of the project, to close eroded social trails and encourage use of the main trail, was achieved.  Slash (cut timber, limbs and brush) were transported and strategically placed to route hikers and fishermen along the main trail.  The end result is to reduce further erosion and sedimentation which in turn benefits the fishery and wildlife habitat. Lunch (compliments of our chapter), refreshments and homemade brownies (provided by CUSP’s Lisa Patton) were wheel barrowed in and enjoyed in the shade of Ponderosa pines at rivers edge.  Afternoon fishing and catching were accomplished by some chapter members. We could not accomplish these important conservation and restoration projects without the support of our TU chapter volunteers. A big THANK YOU to the following participants!  Ray Carney              Jim Klug                  Jim Rasmussen       Ed DeAntoni                        Jim Mann                  Jerry Shin Bruce Foss              Greg Martin              Alex Speicher                             Each of our volunteers earned a raffle ticket making them eligible for our 2011 Cutthroat Chapter Conservation Volunteer Recognition Award Raffle to be held at our annual auction.  See our website, www.cutthroatctu.org for details!  Hope to see you at Clear Creek on September 24^th. for our annual Clean Up Project.

Female volunteer to solicit "non-fishing" items

We need an auction diva ! to ask for spa donations, jewelry, crafts, anything a woman would want to bid on. This might involve someone who is a patron of a clothing company or spa or jewelry store or cooking class ....etc. The possibilities are endless!

Volunteer Opportunity - Auction program

We need someone to put together the final verbal auction program. It will take approximately 5 hours the weekend of November 12th and 13th, 2011. Sharon will help the volunteer.Thanks for volunteering for this most important fundraising event !Please contact Sharon Lance at (303) 694-3409 or by email at stlance@comcast.net if you’re interested in any of these volunteer opportunities.