NEWS
Pebble Mine Dead in the Water!
In a year of tough headlines, finally an excellent piece of pre-Thanksgiving news! The Pebble Mine has been struck dead in the water by the Army Corps of Engineers!
ACTION ALERT - COMMENT ON OIL & GAS SITE PERMIT RULES CHANGES
Colorado Trout Unlimited is asking all members to comment on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s (COGCC) current draft rule making. In October 2020 they will amend rules for permitting oil and gas sites in Colorado. Our voices are needed to ensure that wildlife protections are prioritized in these amendments. In August CTU sent an Action Alert email asking members to provide comments to the COGCC. If you have not yet done so, please do so before 5PM on September 18, 2020.
Members can comment in one of two ways:
(1) Find the email you were sent on or about 14 August, click the bottom where it says Take Action!. A new web page will open with your information and the canned message defining CTU’s position on the existing draft rules and recommendations to improved protections for wildlife and wildlife habitat, including cold-water fisheries, streams and overall riparian zones. At the bottom of the webpage find and click the button that says Submit Your Comment.
(2) If you do not have an email from CTU, use the link below to CTU’s blog site that will open the comment page. Once there, your personal information may have been populated by your computer. If it is blank, please fill out your name, address and email. The canned CTU message will be in the message section. Click the Submit Your Comment button on the bottom of the page and you are finished.
HEADWATERS CHAPTER FRASER RIVER CLEAN-UP -SATURDAY SEPT 12
The Headwaters Chapter in Grand County is having another morning of river clean-up on the Fraser on Saturday September 12th. River clean-up is essential, especially with this year’s usage of our waterways, to the health and safety of all rivers. People of all ages can participate in this socially distanced outdoors activity and they are always looking for new faces to get involved with the health of our rivers. If you are looking for a Covid safe outdoor activity, this might be for you. Meet at the Lions Ponds in Fraser at 9:00 am on September 12th. Masks will be worn by all participants during orientation. After that, we will break up into small groups and practice social distancing while improving our environment. Those who own waders will work in the river while those in hiking boots will clean up the willows on either side of the river. We will gather again at noon at the pavilion to deposit the treasures that we found and receive a free lunch as well as Save the Fraser River bumper stickers.
If you are interested in participating, you can sign up by going to our website and leaving your information on our volunteer sheet. The Headwaters Chapter web address is www.coheadwaters.org.
Ask Trump To Fully Deny the Pebble Mine Permit
The Pebble Mine team has 90 days to rework their proposal for the Army Corps of Engineers. Now is the time to ask President Trump to fully deny Pebble’s permit by adding your name to the TU letter at the attached link. Takes two clicks.
http://www.savebristolbay.org/tellpresidenttrump
Army Corps of Engineers Denies Pebble Mine Permit with Current Plan
On Monday, the Army Corps of Engineers delivered a major blow to the proposed Pebble Mine by finding that the project fails to meet Clean Water Act standards and that it will not issue a permit for the current mine plan. While this is great news and a major hurdle for the project, the project is not dead, and TU needs to stay vigilant as the company retools its plans.
Check out the full TU press release at…
http://www.savebristolbay.org/in-the-news/2020/8/24/pebble-mine-sent-back-to-drawing-board-sporting-community-applauds-finding?fbclid=IwAR3rJw5ak4-nIxdmGpJUYnU9da0vPd75mF-NAYS6z_G8f9Ex1EOnaXugL5I
CCTU Annual Picnic and Raffle Prize Winners Recap
Great turnout for the Picnic and Raffle Party, all things considered. About 35-40 folks showed up and had a great time. Thanks again to Jonathan Walter for doing his casting demo and working with folks individually. Philly On The Go Cheesesteak’s food truck as a big hit…great work by John Cristantiello. The Raffle Drawing went from 6:15 to 7pm, and was deftly managed online via Zoom by George Franklin. Meg Renton and The Gibbens were the big winners of the evening. Check the final list below for the winners of each Raffle Item. Didn’t get as many pictures as normal but a good time was had by all. #troutunlimited #coloradotroutunlimited #coloradoconservation #coloradoflyfishing #flyfishingcolorado
FLY FISHING RMNP PRESENTATION NOW UP ON CCTU YOUTUBE SITE
Dick Shinton gave an excellent presentation on July 21 on Fly Fishing Rocky Mountain National Park. Dick is the shop manager and a longtime guide for the Laughing Grizzly Fly Shop in Longmont. He has guided and fished the waters of RMNP for many years and gave some great tips and techniques in addition to some specific locations, mainly on the eastern side of the park. Thanks to George Franklin's efforts on Zoom, we now have Dick’s presentation up on the CCTU Youtube site. Per Dick, you still need a reservation to enter the park, but once you are in, you are good for the rest of the day. It appears that you don’t need reservations before 6am and after 5pm as well. Get up and enjoy RMNP. The park’s waters are now at prime summer flows and fishing very well, especially on dries and terrestrials.
Check out the presentation at the following link…
CCTU GILL TRAIL SIGNAGE – TO HELP PREVENT OVERUSE AND ABUSE
With the Colorado Governor’s Stay at Home orders, modified to Safer at Home, more and more people feeling cabin fever are venturing to the outdoors. This became very apparent along the South Platte River on the Gill Trail in Cheesman Canyon. Even on weekdays, the parking lot was full (and overflowing) by the early morning hours. CCTU received a call for help from the Blue Quill Anglers co-owner/head guide Pat Dorsey. He and his other guides would spend their early morning hours picking up trash and animal waste around the parking lot and along the trail and would carry it back out for disposal. They noticed overuse and abuse of the Gill Trail, people hiking the trail with their dogs without leashes, others leaving the river with rainbow trout on stringers and overnight campsites with obvious campfire rings. In June, a CCTU special committee convened to develop solutions to help educate the new influx of visitors on the regulations of the Canyon. The first step is new signage for the upper and lower trailheads. On July 2, signs were installed by Peter King, Scott Tampa, and Grant Compton (Eagle Scout candidate working with CCTU on his service project).
Over the years, CCTU has developed a special relationship with Cheesman Canyon. From the Gill Trail development and continuous trail refurbishing efforts, to the new signage…work that can make us all proud. Hopefully visitors will read and adhere to the posted regulations to keep it a special place for all to enjoy.
IN MEMORIAM - BILL STONE
IN MEMORIAM - BILL STONE
We are sad to report that long-time Cutthroat Chapter member Bill Stone has passed. Bill was a husband, father, grandfather, navy veteran, and friend. He was an avid hunter and angler. He participated in the Chapter trips to the Green and San Juan Rivers for many years. He will be dearly missed by all in the chapter and the community. Rest In Peace B1.
We have included a link to the CCTU YouTube page for a video by George Franklin of Bill landing a nice fish at Little Hole on the Green River. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO1z28Pg09DweF6RJ5jmzWg
The funeral service will be held Friday 7/17 at the Queen Of Peace Catholic Church, 13120 E Kentucky Ave., Aurora CO 80012 at 10 am. Seating due to the Covid 19 limitations in the church is 200 people. Grave site service will be held at 12 pm, at the Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 12801 West 44th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County, CO, 80033. The cemetery is limiting those in the group paying their respects to 50 people.
A reception will be held at the family home in Aurora around 2 pm. Renate and the daughters are welcoming all who wish to stop by and see the family. They have no limits on friends coming over. 1485 S Wheeling Circle, Aurora, CO, 80012.
Cole Brittain CSU Scholarship Receipient Online Presentation
ONLINE PRESENTATION BY COLE BRITTAIN CSU STEVE BAILEY SCHOLARSHIP RECEIPIENT
Cole Brittain is the 2019/20 recipient of the CCTU Steve Bailey Memorial Scholarship at CSU. He is a Master’s candidate in the Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology graduate program at CSU with a focus on research in fish passage. He was supposed to present at our cancelled April meeting, and was nice enough to add audio to his presentation so we could load it onto the CCTU YouTube site. His presentation is on the effects of Substrates on Rock Ramp Fish Passage Structures. Fish passage structures, such as rock ramp style fishways, can be used to circumvent dams and other structures that prevent upstream movement of fish. His project tests the passage probabilities of three native small-bodied fish species that differ in swimming performance (Arkansas Darter, Flathead Chub, Stonecat) to develop criteria crucial for passage success in rock ramp fishways.
View the presentation at the CCTU YouTube site https://studio.youtube.com/video/GA1NitM9OPM/edit