“Agriburbia” sprouts on Colorado’s Front Range

Denver Post – by Jason Blevins

Today, Milliken’s 618-acre Platte River Village is ready for construction, with 944 planned homes surrounded by 108 acres of backyard farms and 152 acres of drip- irrigated community farms. The plan is for the farms to feed local residents and supply restaurants while paying for community upkeep. And Redmond, a 47-year-old planner-farmer, has 13 other Front Range projects mulling his “agriburbia” concept. Read more

Quillen: The politics of storage

Denver Post Opinion

Granted, it’s early to be paying much heed to next year’s gubernatorial campaign, but there are already candidates out stumping. Among them is Josh Penry, a Republican state senator from Grand Junction.

Last summer, he told the Colorado Water Congress that our “water inheritance is running out,” and we need to “embark on a new round” of building reservoirs.

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Water-demanding farms looked at as resources vanish

From the Arizona Republic – by Shaun McKinnon

In Arizona, the crops yield about 1 percent of the state’s annual economic output, yet the fields soak up 70 percent of the water supply. That outsize allotment has painted a target on the farms as urban water managers search for the next bucket of water to meet future demands.

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CWCB: Montrose County instream flow water rights public meeting

From: Coyote Gulch

The following stream segments in Montrose County are being considered for instream flow protection at this time: North Fork Tabeguache Creek, Red Canyon Creek, San Miguel River, and Tabeguache Creek.

Additional streams that are being considered for appropriation in 2010 in Water Division 4 include: Alpine Gulch, Big Dominguez Creek, Blue Creek (Increase), Cebolla Creek, Cochetopa Creek, East Beaver Creek, Little Dominguez Creek, Spring Creek, and Willow Creek.

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Plan to Drill on Colorado Plateau Meets Resistance

By SEAN PATRICK FARRELL

New York Times

RIFLE, Colo. — Standing in a canyon in hilly terrain, Ken Neubecker cast his fly into a cold stream. Minutes later he had a bite. Thrashing at the end of his line was a speckled green fish, a scarce Colorado cutthroat trout.

Mr. Neubecker was fishing on the Roan Plateau, a high stretch of terrain beloved by hunters, anglers and hikers for its clear streams, herds of deer and elk, and rugged beauty.

“There just aren’t many places like this in the West,” Mr. Neubecker said. “It’s a real gem.”

But as the number of truly wild places in the United States dwindles, people like Mr. Neubecker, who is president of the Colorado chapter of a conservation group called Trout Unlimited, are arguing that the nation ought to recalibrate its view of what is worth saving.

This desire to preserve more land is running up against a powerful economic incentive to develop new supplies of oil and gas. In particular, the nation is undergoing a boom in natural gas drilling. New production techniques have expanded the country’s potential reserves of gas by 40 percent in the last few years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/business/energy-environment/30roan.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

Animas River one of our ‘greatest resources’

by Dale Rodebaugh
Herald Staff Writer

The quality of a community’s waterways reflects its dedication to the environment, says Buck Skillen, an inveterate fly-fisherman and board member of Trout Unlimited who keeps track of water quality for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

Of particular interest to Skillen is the stretch of the Animas River from its confluence with Lightner Creek near the Durango Dog Park to the Rivera Crossing Bridge behind Home Depot. Since 1997, the division has designated that reach of the Animas as a gold-medal trout fishery – its highest rating.

But silt entering the Animas at Lightner Creek causes turbidity, which can compromise the quality of the gold-medal waters.

“The silt affects the fishability of the reach and the overall river experience,” Skillen said. “Further, it reflects negatively on our community’s stewardship of the river.”

http://www.durangoherald.com/sections/News/Earth/2009/10/29/Animas_River_one_of_our_greatest_resources/

Celebrating 20 years of Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area development

Audrey Gilpin – [Salida] [Mountain} Mail Staff Writer

White thanked the Colorado Division of Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Parks, commercial outfitters and Trout Unlimited for their partnership and support through the years.Read more

Cutthroat Chapter of Trout Unlimited Conservation Auction

The Cutthroat Chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold its Annual Conservation Auction on Tuesday, November 17. The doors will open at 6:30 pm. Admission is free.

The event will help raise funds for the chapter’s conservation activities such as Cheeseman Canyon trail maintenance, help fund a graduate fellowship at Colorado State University Department of Fish Biology and Wildlife, and the chapter’s stream improvement activities.

More than 150 items will be available for bid through a silent auction and a traditional verbal auction. Items to auctioned include fishing trips, fishing equipment, professionally tied flies, art items, and much more.

The event will be held at Terrace Gardens, 13065 East Briarwood Avenue in Englewood (just south of Arapahoe Road, 2 miles east of I-25). Please contact Bill Richards at 303-909-1375 or go to www.cutthroatctu.org for more information or directions.

Study to determine origin of sediment in Lightner Creek

by Dale Rodebaugh – [Durango] Herald Staff Writer

Buck Skillen, a board member of Trout Unlimited and a water-quality monitor for River Watch, a Colorado Division of Wildlife program, has called attention to the inconsistent clarity of Lightner Creek for five years, Maloney said. This summer enough people were listening to form a task force, with Maloney assigned to coordinate efforts. Read more

Groups seek protection for streams

BY BOBBY MAGILL • BobbyMagill@coloraoan.com • October 29, 2009

Colorado Trout Unlimited and Clean Water Action say they fear pollution could threaten trout habitat and drinking water for cities along the Front Range because some of the region’s water supply originates in streams that may be unregulated because the streams can’t be navigated by boat and are dry some of the year.

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