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Conservation News

Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Designation

(Ed. Contacts below.)

I attended, as a private citizen, Senator Salazar’s meeting in Loveland this morning. He was accompanied by Rep. Mark Udall. There were about 120 people in attendance. Included were elected representatives: three Larimer County Commissioners, the Mayor of Estes Park, a Grand County Commissioner, a Boulder County commissioner, Colorado State Delegate Angie Paccione, and in the absence of the Mayor of Grand Lake, that city was represented by the City Manager. There were also staff reps from offices of Senator Allard and Rep. Musgrave. Also, Ron Baker, Supt. of RMNP, and reps from many conservation organizations plus a large number of private citizens.

The meeting lasted about an hour and a quarter, so everyone who wanted to speak got their chance. Salazar began by introducing the various governmental reps and then described the key provisions of the Salazar/Udall bills, emphasizing all the provisions they have included in recognition of the concerns of the surrounding communities and the various activist groups, including his mention of Colorado Trout Unlimited.

Everyone who spoke was in favor of the twin bills introduced by Salazar and Udall which place the Wilderness designation under the terms of the Wilderness Act of 1964. No one spoke in favor of the alternative bills introduced by Allard and Musgrave which would put the designation outside the protection of the Wilderness Act of 1964 and permits mining, dam construction, and associated road construction within the realm of happening. Some who spoke were outright hostile to the alternative bill, but Salazar was adept in asking for Allard and Musgrave to add their support for the Salazar/Udall bill.

Both Salazar and Udall are hopeful they can get both houses of Congress to pass their bills during the remaining few weeks of the 109th Congress. Salazar described success in that regard as hopefully being, “a Christmas present for Colorado.” Udall hopes to twin the passage of their RMNP bill with another one he has introduced to make Brown’s Canyon on the Arkansas River a designated Wilderness Area.

One of the speakers was a farmer from Windsor who is a shareholder in Water Supply & Storage Co. He gave an eloquent description of his need for irrigation water from the Grand Ditch. Salazar had earlier mentioned that one of the provisions of the Salazar/Udall bills includes a grandfathered exemption from the 1964 Wilderness Act for the Grand Ditch.

The farmer (I think his name was Fred Walker) described some of the “dynamic” hazards the operation of Grand Ditch encounters from “acts of God.” As an example he cited a landslide from a slope above the Ditch filling the ditch and causing it to overflow onto terrain below the Ditch. (Sounded like the scenario for which WSSC is being sued for damages to the Park.) Salazar, not sure that such “acts of God” are adequately covered in his grandfathered exemption, arranged to meet with the man, and his lawyers if he desired, after this meeting to find legislative language that would satisfy his concern about “acts of God.”

When asked what the public can do to help achieve the passage of the Salazar/Udall bills, Salazar said that

  1. they need support from the entire Colorado Congressional delegation and
  2. getting your friends in other states to acquaint their Senators and Representatives with the desirability of the Salazar/Udall bills would also be helpful.

So, guys, our action items are in the preceding paragraph.

Dave Piske

Congressional Contacts for Colorado

Senate

Representatives

Colorado Trout Unlimited supports passage of S.1510/H.R.3193 sponsored by Senator Ken Salazar and Representative Mark Udall. The CO TU page provides some background information and encourages you to contact your representatives. Additional links to local offices, addresses and telephone numbers can be found at Contacting the Congress.

Rock Snot

“Rock Snot” (Didymosphenia geminata) or Didymo is speading across the country and has shown up at about 40 sites, including the Middle St. Vrain Creek, Boulder Creek, the east fork of the Eagle River, and Bowen Gulch in Rocky Mountain National Park. Believed to be native to the northern Hemisphere, its appearance in New Zealand has prompted some rather drastic proposals and included closing ten major rivers.

Rock Snot

Didymo covering a New Zealand rock from NZ Dept. of Conservation

In an article by Kim McGuire originating in Denver for the AP, McGuire says “Didymo has been found smothering the bottoms of streams in the Western states, including Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Montana and Nevada.” While it looks as though someone has dumped raw sewage into the water, it is not toxic, it merely chokes out aquatic life by displacing insects’ access to feeding and breeding areas.

We, as conservationistic fishers, can help avoid the spread of this in-stream killer by either avoiding areas where it is observed or practicing decontamination procedures similar to that for mud snail investations.

“We think every angler out there should be paying attention to this one,” said Kajsa Stromberg, conservation coordinator for the Federation of Fly Fishers.

References:

Public lands provision defeated!

Provisions in the House Budget Reconciliation Bill could have lead to the biggest corporate land grab in American history. The specific provisions were withdrawn from the Senate version of the bill.

For more detailed information, visit Trout Unlimited and read their news release.

See how Colorado legislators responded

Voted for the mining of public lands

Opposed the public lands "give away"

Read more of the story on the TU site.

New Zealand Mud Snail

Many of you will be going fishing on the South Platte system soon and you need to know this info.

It is important.

The New Zealand Mud Snail has been found in the South Platte in 11-Mile Canyon below the dam. This is very bad news, according to the DOW and other organizations. I have more info, but will share it in more detail as I become aquainted with it.

At this time, please beware of your waders, nets and boots - anything that is in the water and might attract a wayward mud snail. If the critters attach, they will stay alive for several days or longer even though they are not in the water. Next time you wade or net a fish, they’ll let go and we’ll have them in Spinney, Spinney Mnt. Reservoir, Boulder Creek, Clear Creek, the Arkansas, the Big Thompson, the Poudre, the...

You get the idea.

It only takes one mud snail to build an extended family.

Please: when you are done fishing, be certain to completely clean and dry your waders, boots, nets and anything else that hits the water. Mud snails are very small, and they present a significant problem for our fisheries.

Dale Darling, St. Vrain Angler

Ed. A quick search turned up many references. Among them Rocky Mountain News May 3, 05, Digis' UPI story Apr 29 05, extended forum discussion at OutdoorsBest, and searching Colorado DOW's site turned up these articles.

Volunteers Needed for Rocky Mountain National Park

Lily Lake Greenback Patrol

This job helps the Park Law Enforcement Ranger inform the Public of the “Catch and Release” and barbless hook regulations at Lily Lake and help enforce the spawning area closure during spawning season. Volunteers wear the National Park Volunteer uniform and work on a chosen day of the week, either morning, afternoon or evening patrol from May through August.

You set your schedule and there is flexibility if you need to skip a week.

Contact Austin Condon at AWCFlash@AOL.com if you are interested in helping at Lily Lake.

Park Fishery Biologist Assistance

This job is helping the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Biologist with his greenback cutthroat trout research. There are varieties of jobs and you can pick the one that suits your time and stamina, as some of the work requires long hikes into remote areas of the Park.

Contact Austin Condon at AWCFlash@AOL.com, if you are interested in helping the Fish Biologist.

Both of these jobs, helping with the fisheries, at Rocky Mountain National Park are interesting and rewarding. If you have any questions about either program please call John Barber at 970-586-5244.

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