Had a great Zoom only CCTU May Chapter meeting with Phil Tereyla last night. Phil is a long-time Colorado guide, currently working at Angler’s Covey in Colorado Springs…and focusing on targeting big fish on the Dream Stream and other South Platte areas. His presentation focused on material from his new book “A Fly Fisher’s Guide to Colorado’s Easy Access Mountain Lakes. The book covers over 60 mountain lakes in Colorado that are under three miles to access, and hits all the areas of the state. He reviewed numerous key strategies and tactics by season for these lakes and hit on a few of his favorite lakes as well. Pick up the book at Angler’s Covey in Colorado Springs or you can order online from the store at https://anglers-covey.shoplightspeed.com/flyfishers-guide-to-colorados-easy-access-mtn-lake.html. Watch the presentation video at the CCTU YouTube site https://youtu.be/boSilDdxUwM
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.
CCTU BEAR CREEK EARTH DAY CONSERVATION PROJECT - PROJECT WRAP-UP
On Saturday, April 23, 17 CCTU members drove to Bear Creek Lake Park to continue our tradition of assisting the park with restoration efforts on Bear Creek near Stonehouse. The Chapter provided $2,000 to the city of Lakewood to purchase 10 narrow leaf cottonwood trees and 20 bushes. After a light breakfast and short safety discussion by a ranger, we headed off to Stonehouse. Once we arrived at the location, we met with park staff. They provided the plants and all the tools we needed. After breaking into groups and getting instruction from the staff, digging began in earnest! Each cottonwood was placed and then two smaller bushes planted nearby. The final step was setting steel posts and surrounding everything with wire to prevent our work from becoming lunch for beavers. If you have not seen the large beaver dam near the Stone house, it is worth the trip! Bring your 3wt and fish downstream from the dam for a while. Thanks again to Lee Blair and his team for making this happen.
DREAM STREAM WILLOW PLANTING PROJECT
PIKES PEAK CHAPTER TU DREAM STREAM WILLOW PLANTING PROJECT
MAY 7-8, MAY 13-15
CHARLIE MEYERS SWA
The Pikes Peak Chapter of Trout Unlimited has an upcoming event and are looking for volunteers from any chapters. They have a 5-day project on the Dream Stream in south park for planting willows to stabilize work done by CPW last year. They have planted many willows in the past on the Dream Stream to help prevent erosion, provide shade, block the wind and provide insect habitat. Last year CPW did some stream restoration on areas that were impacted by floods from large thunderstorms in the area. This year we will be treating those areas with willows to help stabilize this work. PPCTU will be providing lunch for these volunteer days. To sign up or get more information please send an email to don.logelin@ppctu.org . Please include the days you intend to participate and a contact phone number. This will give them a head count for lunch and be able to notify everyone if there are any changes with the event.
March Meeting Presentation - Pat Dorsey, "Colorado's Best Trout Streams"
What a fantastic turnout on Tuesday for Pat Dorsey. Pat presented a look at his favorite Colorado flies and best trout streams, breaking down Cheesman Canyon, the Gunnison, Taylor, the Dream Stream, Blue, and more. If you missed the meeting, or want to take some notes on some of those fantastic locations, the presentation is up on the CCTU YouTube site at https://youtu.be/7QzEkavrBJU. Book a trip or pick up some equipment at The Blue Quill Angler at www.bluequillangler.com or check out Pat’s stream report at https://www.patdorseyflyfishing.com/rivers/
CCTU BOARD OF DIRECTORS – FEB ELECTIONS
We elected/re-elected CCTU board members at the February 16th meeting. Congratulations to Scott Tampa for continuing his leadership as CCTU President, to the other officers re-elected for another one-year term, and to new BOD member Harlan Husmann. The board meets the first Tuesday of each month from 7-8pm. All BOD meetings continue to be held virtually, and the board welcomes any CCTU members who want to join a meeting for any reason. With pending BOD retirements at the end of 2022, we need to fill some key positions…including Communications Director, which includes managing this monthly newsletter. If you would like to find out more about the Communications role or about being part of the CCTU Board at any level, please contact Scott Tampa (scott.a.tampa@gmail.com) for more information.
CCTU Officers
President – Scott Tampa
Vice President – Brian Young
Secretary – Allen Adinoff
Treasurer – Aaron Gardner
Newly Elected or Re-elected BOD Members
Harlan Husmann
Ray Nagashima
Continuing BOD Members
John Egan
John Aaron
Barry Wiebe
Ron Taniwaki
Emeritus Board Members
Richard Pilatzke
Cam Chandler
Ken James
Sharon Lance
Matt Moskal
Mike Myers
Jim Rasmussen
Jim Klug
Peter King
George Franklin
Buzz Soard
TROUT UNLIMITED OBJECTS TO DOUGLAS COUNTY TRANS-BASIN WATER DIVERSION PROPOSAL
Many of you may be aware that the Douglas County Commissioners are considering different options for satisfying the county’s long-term water needs. One such plan is that from Renewable Water Resources, a plan to export up to 22,000 acre-feet of water per year from a series of groundwater wells in the northern part of the San Luis Valley. Water conservation districts, farming advocacy groups and environmental advocates from the valley have said the proposal would have a profound negative impact on the valley community, both physically and economically. Representatives from RWR have said the project wouldn’t cause any harm to the valley and have offered a $50 million community fund as part of their plan. Trout Unlimited, Colorado Trout Unlimited, and a number of state TU chapters (including CCTU) have expressed their disagreement with this trans-basin diversion.
We encourage you to find out more about this issue and get involved if you feel strongly. For more info on this proposal, check out the following on the Douglas County website
https://www.douglas.co.us/arpa/water-and-wastewater-investments/renewable-water-resources/
Contact the Douglas County Commissioners at https://www.douglas.co.us/government/commissioners/.
FEBRUARY MEETING PRESENTATION ON CCTU YOUTUBE CHANNEL
We had another excellent in-person meeting at the February chapter meeting, and the presentation is now up on the CCTU YouTube channel. Kirk Bien, owner and head guide of Kirk’s Fly Shop and Kirk’s Mountain Adventures presented a very detailed look at Rocky Mountain National Park, focusing on his favorite lakes across each of the park’s key watersheds. Excellent location info, and some key tips lakes not to miss…and barren lakes to avoid. Visit Kirk’s Fly Shop two locations in Estes Park and Grand Lake, and book a fishing trip or pack trip with his fantastic team. Book a trip, purchase gear, or get more info at https://www.kirksflyshop.com/ or https://www.kirksmountainadventures.com/. Access the presentation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUmAUEGSPtc&t=197s
NOTE – Technical difficulties led to less than optimal audio quality…our apologies.
CTU RIVER CONSERVATION & FLY FISHING YOUTH CAMP
CTU RIVER CONSERVATION & FLY FISHING YOUTH CAMP
JUNE 12-18, AEI BASE CAMP, TAYLOR PARK, CO
NOMINATE A CANDIDATE FOR A CCTU SCHOLARSHIP
This fantastic camp is designed to educate 14-18 year old students on the importance of cold-water conservation and to provide fly fishing instruction. It was originally established by Sharon Lance, former CCTU and CTU President. 20 students are selected each year, based on their qualifications and a written essay on why they would like to attend the camp. The camp will be at AEI Base Camp in Taylor Park, June 12-18, 2022. Camp curriculum provides a balance of hands-on learning in river conservation and aquatic ecology and building camper fly fishing and fly tying skill sets. The application deadline is April 10, 2022. To find out more info and to apply go to www.coloradotu.org/youthcamp. Application fees are $50 and camp tuition is $600. However, scholarships are available, with CCTU is providing at least two full scholarships. One has already been awarded to a young chapter member and we would love to award the second to a female camper…but are happy to provide it to any qualified 14-18 year old budding conservationist. Contact CCTU President Scott Tampa (scott.a.tampa@gmail.com) if you are interested in finding out more about the scholarships or if you want to recommend a student for a CCTU scholarship. Help TU, CTU and CCTU inspire the next generation of river stewards.
CTU BULL MOOSE COMMITTEE ALERT – THE UINTA BASIN RAILWAY
The CTU Bull Moose Committee (BM), CTU’s committee for legislative advocacy, briefed the CTU Board in January. One of the items BM is following is the Uinta Basin Railway, in NE Utah. All CCTU members need to know how this project will impact rail traffic in CO.
This proposed 88-mile railway connects Uinta Basin oil fields to the main rail line going west to east following the Colorado River, through the Moffat Tunnel and down to Denver before heading south to Gulf Coast refineries. The crude is too solid to move through a pipeline so the railway solution enables producers to quadruple oil extraction, potentially producing 350,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD). The project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) estimates up to 10 trains of the waxy crude will move through CO daily. Conservation concerns range from a significant climate change impact from ramped-up production to the increased potential for accidents and spills in sensitive watersheds. The added rail traffic on the Moffat line will increase pressure to re-open the Tennessee Pass Line (TPL) along the Arkansas River through Brown’s Canyon, essentially Dotsero to Pueblo. Today the only train using this rail is the Royal Gorge Route tourist rail running from Canon City to Parkdale. The rail between Parkdale and Dotsero is not active.
The Uinta Basin Railway EIS was approved by the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) in December. The connector rail has tremendous political support in Utah, including both Senators, the Governor, and multiple counties’ commissioners due to the economic value. The Utah TU council did not take a position on the proposal. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/ has been spearheading pushback on this project and have been quite harsh in written comments to the STB. CTU’s traditional hunting and angling conservation allies have not signed onto the CBD effort.
With federal approval in place, Bull Moose will focus on understanding the risks to Colorado waters, specifically the Colorado, Eagle and Arkansas River Valleys. Senator Bennet has already expressed concerns about using the TPL line for oil trains, new passenger rail however, is another matter: Bennet railway article . Protecting Brown’s canyon from any reopening of the TPL is a major concern of the Friends of Brown’s Canyon. See their comments here: https://brownscanyon.org/help-keep-oil-trains-out-of-colorado/