Legislation News
Local Conservation News -
Conservation News From National

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Links to Conservation Sites
Greenbacks
Colorado River Cutthroat - Endangered Specie?
Luca's Blog
STOP THE SPREAD of Invasive Species
    New Zealand Mud Snails
    Didymo
    Whirling Disease
    Zebra Mussel / Quagga Mussel
    Rudd
Conservation Articles in our Anglers' Edge - NEW!!

How do you like our website - do you have any suggests for making it better? What would you like to see? Please send me you comments - webguy

LEGISLATION NEWS

Roan Plateau Oil and Gas Develop Issue

Colorado Trout Unlimited (CTU) is gravely concerned about the BLM Plan's potential impacts on trout, including rare populations of genetically-pure Colorado River cutthroat trout. We are also troubled by the lack of opportunity for public review on the new plan, and by the document's bureaucratic doublespeak, which calls the whole plan's credibility into question. Read about the concerns of Colorado Trout Unlimited's concerns.

Congressmen Salazar and Udall both supported a 'Time Out' for Leasing Roan Plateau for more details visit http://www.saveroanplateau.org/

Upper Colorado River Plagued by Low Flows

Solutions Sought by CTU, Grand County & Colorado River Water Conservancy District

The Upper Colorado River Basin was plagued by low water flows this past fall which led to high temperatures in the river with fish congregating in pools from Granby down to Kremmling. If several ranchers who had senior water rights had decided to use them fully, stretches of the river would have been left bone dry. read article

Oppose the sell-off of Colorado public lands!

Last year, Congress - facing overwhelming opposition from the public including sportsmen and conservationists - rejected a Bush Administration proposal to sell off National Forest lands as a way of generating budget revenue. Like a bad penny, this ill-advised proposal keeps turning up, and is now in the Administration's proposed 2008 federal budget. Read More

Feb 28th- Roadless Area Message
Ted Williams has written a detailed message about his view of the Roadless Area issue. I think you will find it informative and interesting. Ted William's Message

Jan 17th - ROADLESS AREA REVIEW COULD AFFECT TROUT IN COLORADO
One of the great benefits of living in Colorado is having abundant wilderness available and Roadless areas within our public lands. These wild places provide so many benefits to the State, serving as a home to an abundant array of wildlife, clean water at the headwaters of our major rivers, and great scenery; one of the things that Colorado is famous for. But all of that may now be threatened as the current Bush Administration is offering States the opportunity to determine how these Roadless areas should be managed...Please read the rest of this article to see how this can affect trout in Colorado. The article includes information of how you can make you desires known to the Department of Wildlife. Most of the threatened Greenback Cutthroat trout habitat is in Roadless areas.

New Website: http://www.roadlessland.org/

Bark Beetles are attacking our forests and I believe it will have repercussions on our rivers. What those affects are unclear to me. But one of those I would imagine to be more severe flooding. I could see earlier run offs which may adversely affect trout breeding cycles. Have you seen the extent of dead trees along the Williams Fork above the reservoir? It is an epic forest fire waiting to happen.

Luca's Blog - TU Projects across the US

Luca traveled across the US the summer of 2006 talking to Local TU Chapters in numerous states about their TU issues and projects.
Here are some things he has written during his travels through out Colorado:
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Gunnison
Buena Vista
Love Towards Death
Our Clear Creek Project is discussed in the following Blog
Silver and Gold- Clear Creek & Snake River
Colorado River Trip
A Lesser known Tailwater
In Search of Greenbacks
Home of Luca's Blog

CTU's Current Conservation Issues

CTU Strategic Implementation Plan - Jan 2006, Probably, like myself, you do not know much about CTU's conservation plans. This report should help in highlighting them to all of us.
Check out the latest conservation issues on CTU's website. Such as: New threats to the Greenback Cutthroat and a Battle over Bear Creek Status as an impaired waterway and Roadless Area Protection
New Threats to Greenback Cutthroats in Rocky Mountain National Park

Trout Unlimited and Public Access Issues- Colorado Trout Unlimited's Executive Director, David Nickum, wrote an article for the High Country Angler which clearly explains the access issues. It is now posted on the CTU website. Read the Article

It has been decided that further review of the position TU should take with respect to private vs public access rights. TU's mission is the conservation of cold water fisheries but such activities can cause varied differences of opinion with respect to rights of access when raising funds for projects requiring large donations and/or the need to involve privately held tracks of land. Here are two PDF documents sent to the TU National Leadership Council for their review at the National meeting held in September 2007

Document 1
Document 2

Download zipped file with both documents

Colorado Water Conservation & Drought News:

The snow pack is NOT great this year of 2007 and it takes a number of good snow years to recover from a drought thus:
It is a Drought: DO SOMETHING
WaterSaver, the web site dedicated to helping you save water
CSU Centralized Source of Drought Related Info

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Water Usage in the United States

"Everyone knows that our population continues to grow. A census count in 1980 identified close to 227 million residents of the United States. Twenty years later, the Census Bureau tallied more than 281 million people here. But did you know that demand for water in the United States declined in 1985 and that it has remained fairly steady since then?" ..... Changes in technology, in our laws, and in our economy, along with increased awareness of the need for water conservation, have resulted in more efficient use of the water from the Nation's rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and aquifers."
quoted from nationalatlas.gov

Conservation News From The National TU Website

Trout Unlimited announces position on global warming

"Using its own studies and new data from the U.S. Forest Service, the Washington, D.C., based cold water fisheries lobbying group predicts climate change will cause the widespread loss of trout and salmon -- as much as 90 percent in Appalachia and other regions -- over the next 50 years unless the public and private sectors partner to protect habitat now." Read Press Release

Cold Water fish face uncertain future Read the Article

Report looks at the Impacts of Climate Change on Cold Water Fish - Press Release

Trout Unlimited and the Whirling Disease Foundation to Merge

"Trout Unlimited (TU) and the Whirling Disease Foundation (WDF) announced plans to formally merge the two organizations in an effort to combat the growing problem of aquatic nuisance species and their effect on the nation’s trout and salmon." Read Press Release

Click here to view the Featured Conservation Projects of Trout Unlimited.

Click here for links to National/Regional conservation projects. The following links may work to take you directly to some of the projects that affect Colorado.

Western Water Project
Roadless Area Protection
Bring Back the Natives

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Sale of Public lands to reduce the national dept.

We need your help to stop yet another fire sale of our nation's public fishing and hunting areas. The FY 2007 budget proposal for the United States Department of the Interior would allow for the sale of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and require that 70 percent of all income from land sales be used to reduce the federal deficit. Over a 10-year period, this proposal would require that more than $350 million of public land is sold with little regard for their wildlife, fish, and water values.

In a second proposal, the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service is proposing to sell off hundreds of thousands of acres of National Forest lands to raise $800 million to fund the Secure Rural Schools program as part of the Forest Service’s Fiscal Year 2007 budget proposal. The Secure Rural Schools legislation was passed six years ago by Congress to offset the loss of revenue in rural communities affected by a downturn in logging activity on National Forests. Click here to learn more.

Most sportsmen cannot afford to pay for private hunts or high rod fees for access to private waters. Public lands are the backyard of the little guy, and they provide crucial opportunities for hunting and fishing. More than 50 percent of all blue ribbon trout streams flow across national forests. And public lands provide more than 80% of crucial habitat for animals such as elk, and other big game. These landscapes shouldn’t be made available to the highest bidder simply because the government cannot balance its own checkbook. The federal government’s FY 2007 budget is $2.7 trillion. Just as children’s education shouldn’t be dependent on timber sales, sportsmen should not be forced to bear the cost of the government’s fiscal irresponsibility. Click here to read some recent press on this issue.

Find your State and US Senators/Representative + their contact information:
www.vote-smart.org
From that site, you can find out who your legislators are. You will need to enter your zip plus four to call up your district information; if you do not know that number, the website includes a link to the US Post Office website where you can look up your plus four using your address. Both features appear in the upper left hand portion of the vote-smart web page.

Another way to respond to the national "Take Action" items is to go to the national Trout Unlimited website; click the "Members" tab at the top; then click the "Take Action" submenu item (right below the menu tab bars); login (if you have not already established a log in you will need to create one which you can do from the Take Action page). This has the advantage that your Senators and Congress man representatives to send your response to are already available with a prewritten email message that you can modify as you desire and then send it off to them- click here to go to the Take Action page

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Links to Leading Conservation Sites

Audubon Society
Columbia and Snake River Campaigns of The Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition
High Country News, a biweekly about the West's Natural Resources and Public Lands
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
Nature Conservancy
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Wildlife Forever
Volunteer Outdoors - A website to volunteer for Colorado Outdoor wilderness & park projects -Several TU chapters get connected to volunteers for special projects through this website.

Open this PDF to read about a new threat to the Greenback Cutthroat and other Wildlife in Rocky Mountain National Park
The Incredible Journey of the Greenback Cutthroat Trout
US Fish and Wildlife Greenback information
Western Native Trout Campaign

May 2006, Genetically Pure Western Slope Cutthroat Trout discovered in Yellowstone National Park. Biologist to kill all fish in East Fork of Specimen Creek located in YNP's northwest corner. A lake at the headwaters of Specimen Creek will be stocked with the Western Slope Cutt, also.

May 2006 - 21 Montana lakes will be stocked with Western Slope Cutthroat trout.

Montana - Fish Barrier to be built to isolate Pure Bred Yellowstone Cutthroats the natural barrier was destroyed by fire and destroyed trees during floods in 2004

Colorado River Cutthroat - Should they be listed as an Endangered Species?

Click here to read the administrative finding on whether to list the Colorado River Cutthroat Trout as an endangered specie. This is a long article (27 pages), so it may take a while to download.

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STOP THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE SPECIES

General Prevention Procedures for Aquatic Invasive species
The geneneral procedures listed in the abovelink though being good to follow for providing a control method in generall they are inadequate to actually kill the minute invasive species Whirling Disease and New Zealand Mudsnails.

Read how outdoor recreationalist can help prevent the spread of this invasive species such as Whirling Disease, Didymo, and New Zealand Mudsnails.

Greater Yellowstone Area Invasive Species Program

Epa Area 8 Reparian and Aquatic habitat invasive species:

National Aquatic Nuisance Species Hotline - 877-786-7267

New Zealand Mudsnails - affecting trout streams across the west:

This pest is infesting 11 Western States now. In late 2004 a population of the snail was found in Boulder Creek, Boulder, Colorado. In April 2005 it was announced that 11 Mile Canyon on the South Platte has New Zealand Mudsnails in it. All of the other western states, except NM, have problems with this invasive species. Besides all the western states the Great Lakes area also has infestations. wading equipment cleaning

Photo reprinted with the permission of
the California School of Flyfishing

Didymo:

Didymo, also known as Rock Snot, (The algae didymosphenia germinate) is believed to be a native algae to Colorado but was a rare occurance in mountain lakes. In 1975 it was first noticed in the Frying Pan River. In the last 10 years, for reasons unknown, it has been expanding its range rapidly in Colorado and other places. It was discovered in the state of Arkansas in 2003, and it is creating more of a stir because it is spreading in the prime trout fishing area downstream of Beaver Lake Dam in Arkansas. Experts are uncertain how to stop the algae's spread. Didymo has now shown up in Tennesse and Virginia. Vermont and New Hampshire, West Virginia now

The single cell diatom, one of the most primitive forms of life, when dead floating down a stream or hanging from branches looks like wet whitish or dirty brown tissue paper. Growing in a river bottom it looks like a thick moss carpet covering rocks. It feels like stringy rough edged slime or wet wool. Didymo can expand into long continuous sheets reaching from bank to bank and extending for miles. The algae isn't known to harm trout directly but there is evidence it interrupts the life cycle of crustaceans which the fish feed on. Didymo also out competes other algea that the crustaceans primarily feeds on. Midges appear to survive. However studies have shown that fish eating the midges have their stomachs full of low nutrient rocksnot along with a few midges. In New Zealand the fish have declinded 75% in two years in some affected rivers. Though it may make the water look putrid the water is actually clean and fresh. Besides potential affecting fish populations it is known to clog water intakes. The largest algae blooms appear to happen in water depths of 6 ft or less with stable flows, open sunny streams below reservoirs and lakes.

How it is jumping from river to river is unknown but fisherman and other river enthusiast are believed to be the major culprit though. Recent test in New Zealand has shown that the algae can live 40 days out of the water. Fisherman need to help prevent the spread by cleaning their wading equipment after leaving a body of water and before entering another.

Colorado Rivers reported by the EPA as now having Didymo:

Cache La Poudre
Frying Pan
Arkansas River
Blue River
St. Vrain

Report any siting of Didymo to the EPA at 303-312-6212 or spaulding.sara@epa.gov

Didymo is indigenous to Colorado but it is an invasive species affecting New Zealand. New Zealand Biosecurity is taking dramatic steps to control invasive species entering their country. One of those steps is that you are required to sanitize your wading equipment at the airport upon entering the country.

The land of New Zealand closes 6 trout streams for the coming 2006 season for fear of Didymo Spread. Read about the News from Down Under.

Due to 90% Brown Trout loss South Dakota to do Nuetrient infusion testing
St. Vrain River blanketed with Didymo
Didymo can drastically affect Fish
Excellent explanation of Didymo
Distribution Map across the US
Fact sheet with Pictures
EPA page with pictures & info
Didymo on the Smith River in Virginia
DNA for Didymo isolated -2006 New Zealand.
High Country Angler article - Didymo
NZ BioSecurity Cleaning Methods

Back to Invasive Species

Whirling Disease:

Whirling disease has had enormous impacts on the rainbows in Colorado Rivers. Wild trout reproduction has been severely impacted by its presence. Most of the trout waters in lower Colorado elevations now have Whirling Disease in the system. The few populations of native trout such as the Colorado River Cutthroat, Rio Grand Cutthroats and Greenback cutthroats located in high Mountain Streams and lakes are at risk of being affected. Anglers visit our high mountain streams and lakes need to sanitize their wading equipment before hiking into the mountains.

Read more on our Whirling Disease Page.

Eurasian Water-Milfoil

The Eurasian water-milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) is a submerged, rooted perennial plant consisting of long underwater stems with finely-divided leaves floating near the surface. The species can occur in high abundance and replace native plant species. Rapid colonization can result not only in the disruption of native plant communities but also can change substrates, flow patterns, and invertebrate communities. Subsequent impacts to fish populations are poorly known. The species has been documented in all states except Montana, Wyoming, Alaska and Hawaii. Road checks in Minnesota found aquatic plants on 23% of all watercraft inspected. Read More - see pictures.

Hydrilla

An aggressive aquatic weed forming dense mats, hydrilla is considered the most problematic aquatic plant in the US. For more information

Zebra Mussels -

Jan 19, 2008 - "Recent sampling efforts between the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) and Colorado State Parks personnel detected the presence zebra mussels at Lake Pueblo State Park. Two adult mussels and one immature specimen were found on substrate sampling gear, and the larva (veliger) was found by performing plankton tows. Jan 2008" Read the press release.

The zebra mussel poses a huge threat to the west. An invasive freshwater bivalve native to Russia, this species was first discovered in the Great Lakes in the late 1980's and has since spread to more than 20 states. This nuisance species has already caused billions of dollars worth of economic damage within the Great Lakes region alone. Nationwide expenditures to control zebra mussels in water intake pipes, water filtration equipment, and electric generating plants are estimated at $3.1 billion over 10 years. Zebra mussels can clog pipes by forming colonies inside of the pipes. Then the water cannot flow through the pipes as easily.

The westward spread of the zebra mussel could have a devastating effect on our economy and ecosystems. The mussels have been spotted on trailered boats, from more eastern states, in numerous locations in western states (Including OUR FRONT RANGE) but the mussels have not spread west of the 100th meridian. It is important that when a boat is brought from some where further east than Colorado that the Live wells are flushed with bleach solution. The water cooling systems needs to be inspected and flushed with bleach. Nebraska South Dakota, Kansas and Okalhoma are the nearest places that they have been found; so far. All of which have large numbers of people migrating to Colorado or at least visiting.

Zebra mussels look like small clams with a D-shaped shell. Usually the shell is yellowish-brown with alternating dark and light stripes and is usually less than an inch long .Using sticky byssal threads they attach fast to any hard surface. Zebra mussel larvae ) are about the diameter of a human hair and are so small you can't see them without a microscope. The larvae floats in a water column for 1-5 weeks. As it grows it begins to sinks searching for a hard surface to attach to.

Left =Zebra Mussel , Right= Quaqqa Mussel

Video - Proper Cleaning and disinfecting of your boat.

Know locations with Zebra Mussel infestations:
http://100thmeridian.org/zm_locations.asp - a listing by state area.
National "dot" Map of infested areas
Dynamic "dot" Map

Websites of interest for Zebra Mussels:

USGS NAS website
Utah Division of Wildlife Article
Montana Program

Back to Invasive Species

Quagga Mussel

Until recently they were known to only inhabit the Great Lakes. The Quagga Mussel, an invasive species in the US, is native to the Caspian Sea. Appearance - is white to tan fan shaped molusk with dark narrow stripes. It has point edges at either side; see picture above that shows a Quagga and Zebra Mussel

Quagga mussels found in Lake Mead Quagga Mussels found in Lake Mead, Lake Havasu, and Lake Mohave Jan 6, 2007 Quagga mussels, a harmful invasive species that disrupts traditional aquatic ecosystems, was discovered living in Lake Mead along the Arizona-Nevada border on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2007. "Quagga mussels can be found at much lower depths than zebra mussels, which is not good news for the deep reservoirs often found in the West. These rapidly-spreading invaders can clog pipelines; damage machinery, boat engines; harm fishery resources and befoul bodies of water with waste. In time, they can permanently alter a lake’s ecosystem." - Arizona Game and Fish Later in the year imature Quagga Mussels were found in one of the Reservoirs supplying San Diego with water. All the reservoirs in the chain of Reservoirs to San Diego now disallow wading, float tubes and boats other than the rental boats at the marinas. They have also been identified in small bodies of water near Riverside and San Bernardino. Read more at Arizona Game and Fish Website

The Quagga Mussel (Dreissena bugensis) is bigger than the Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) but it was first found in the Great Lakes like the Zebra Mussel. It does not cling to substrates as tenatiously as the zebra mussel. Though expanding it's range in the US it quite a bit less than the Zebra Mussel. The thumb nail size Quagga Mussels can live in any type of water: clean, brackish, cold, warm, deep or shallow. Appearance is white to tan with a fan shaped shell that has dark narrow stripes. It has pointed edges at either side; see picture above. The mussel filters pollutants out of the water so that toxins end up building up in their bodies. Some fish such as yellow Perch find them very tasty so inturn the toxins build up in the perch. As with other invasives their presence then competes for food resources with native plants and animals. Like Zebra Mussels they can cling to any hard surface which can cause significant maintenance cost impacts at power plants, marinas and boats by clogging water piping systems. the will cling to hulls, tanks and sumps.

Quagga Mussel Fact Sheet

Rudd

Rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) is a member of the minnow family and is native to western Europe. Rudd tolerate a wide variety of conditions and have been found in a number of habitats from subalpine lakes to large rivers and small streams. They are reported to feed mostly on aquatic invertebrates but also can switch to plant foods. In at least certain habitats, Rudd can live up to 30 years. The species has been widely reported in Colorado but we do not know whether populations are established there or not. Commonly brought into the state in bait buckets. more info

Bait Import Restrictions -
Never thought about issues with bait before but after reading this I see where it can become a big problem - N.D. Bait transport restricts across state lines
I don't know what the restrictions are here in Colorado. But the recommendations from the protect your waters website says to not bring bait from other locations to a body of water, Do not release bait back into the water, dispose of it in on land.

Feb 28th -None Native weed eradication program in Carson and Sante Fe National Forest rejected

More information about invasive species:

Trout Unlimited - National website - Most UnWanted List
The "Stop Aquatic Hitchhiker!" campaign and web site were developed to keep the recreational user informed.
Listing of Clubs, Stores, Institutions, and organizations that are partners with "Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers"
Aquatic Resource Conservation for aquarium hobbyists, backyard pond owners, and water gardeners - habitatitude
Minnesota Sea Grant - Outreach
The Zebra Mussel Information System
USGS - Non indigenous Aquatic Species Resources
Virginia Sea Grant - Outreach

Back to Invasive Species