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SPEAKING OUT FOR TROUT: ADVOCACY FROM THE GRASSROOTS UP
Speaking Out for Trout
Advocacy from the Grassroots Up
by Colorado TU Staff
An important part of Trout Unlimited’s work to conserve, protect and restore coldwater fisheries and watersheds is advocacy with decision-makers at all different levels. Colorado TU’s Bull Moose Committee is made up of many of those grassroots advocates, accompanied by professional staffers, who are helping give voice to Colorado’s rivers and trout. Recent weeks have seen some important victories in advocacy.
The CORE of Colorado Conservation
On February 12th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting America’s Wilderness Act, a package of public lands bills that will protect nearly 3 million acres of public lands. One key piece of the bill for Colorado is the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act, sponsored by Rep. Joe Neguse (D-2nd CD). The CORE Act would safeguard some 400,000 acres of the wild and historic landscapes that define Colorado while supporting the state’s vital outdoor recreation economy by designating new wilderness, special management areas and national recreation areas. Among its provisions: protection for the outstanding wildlife and native fish habitat of the Thompson Divide in western Colorado; securing the Camp Hale area (once home to the 10th Mountain Division) as the first national historic landscape; and reaffirming federal commitments to secure additional fishing access to 12 miles of quality waters in the Gunnison basin. The package now moves on the Senate, where Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper have sponsored the Senate version of the CORE Act.
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Feds Put Brakes on Risky Railroad Proposal
The Tennessee Pass rail line has been dormant for 24 years. During its previous operations, it had a history of safety concerns including derailments. Recently, the Midland and Pacific Railway Company began an effort to seek fast-track approval to reopen the line through an exemption process with the Federal Surface Transportation Board (STB). The Collegiate Peaks, Eagle Valley, and Southern Colorado Greenbacks chapters joined with Colorado TU to raise concern that the proposed operations could put at risk fisheries in both the Eagle and Arkansas Rivers that have improved dramatically since the railway last operated – including more than 100 miles of Gold Medal water on the Arkansas. A derailment could release significant volumes of hazardous materials into the river, jeopardizing its high-quality fishery. Given the importance of river-based recreation to communities in both the Arkansas and Eagle valleys, it could also jeopardize local economies as well. Other conservation groups and the Chaffee County Board of County Commissioners also voiced concerns with the exemption proposal. Fortunately, the STB rejected the fast-track request which will allow for a more careful review before any reopening of the line could proceed.
Eagle County Rejects Gravel Mine on Upper Colorado
In January, Eagle County’s planning commission rejected a proposal to authorize a gravel mine along the Colorado River near Dotsero. A newly-formed mining company sought an exemption under the Dotsero Area Community Plan, which emphasized the natural and agricultural values of the area and did not contemplate large-scale industrial operations like the proposed gravel mine. The Eagle Valley Chapter joined other locals in voicing opposition to the proposal. Ben McCormick, a TU Bull Moose member and owner of Cutthroat Anglers fly shop, testified before the planning commission that “When you think about the pressure and the crowds and everything
that’s going on with the upper Colorado, it couldn’t be more important that we protect this section. It truly is sacred.” TU member and Confluence Casting guide service owner Jack Bombardier added, “Considering the outdoor recreation and agricultural value of this area, putting an industrial site at its gateway makes no sense.” Ultimately, the Eagle County Planning Commission agreed, voting 4-2 against awarding both a special use permit for the sand and gravel pit that would scar the hillside for decades to come and an exemption from the Dotsero Area Community Plan guiding land use in the area as part of the Eagle County Comprehensive Plan.
At the Colorado General Assembly, Colorado TU worked with Rep. Hugh McKean (R-Loveland) to add important aquatic protections to his legislation on pumped storage hydropower. Rep. McKean sought to have such hydroelectric power, which can help retime the availability of electricity by pumping water up during periods of low demand and excess grid supply and then releasing it to generate electricity during peak demand periods, added as “renewable energy” under Colorado’s renewable energy standards. Colorado TU brought potential aquatic habitat concerns to Rep. McKean – an avid angler himself – and he agreed to support amendments to add protections for fisheries to his bill, HB 21-1052, as it advances. Those protections include limiting such projects to off-channel locations, protecting state instream flow water rights and water quality standards, and screening intakes to prevent fish from being caught and killed in the hydropower turbines.
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As featured in TROUT MAGAZINE!
