Our Eagle Valley TU chapter works to provide clean water to trout everyday. WE EMBRACE Watershed and habitat focused efforts to ensure the continued longevity of the natural wild trout and waters of the EAGLE VALLEY.
Current EVTU Board Members: Nick Noesen - Chapter President, Elbert Bivins, Brian Bloess, Dan Chalfant, Jill Chalfant, Greg Ciluzzi, Greg Eynon, Rick Messmer, Brents Olmstead, Rob Veratti and Ted Vickerman.
All Proceeds from the Upper Colorado Fall Classic stay in Eagle County, benefit your rivers, and Eagle Valley Trout Unlimited, a 501c3 organization
2022 Initiatives, Contributions, Accomplishments:
Conservation projects: Tree planting willows with Town of Vail
Sediment study: Mill, Alkyd, Rube Creek $2500
*Colorado River Fund Project:
For fish passages (Elk Canyon Creek / Middle Creek) given dollars to build fish passages for spawning grounds and to enhance habitat). Did same practice on Canyon Creek ($3k for Canyon Creek, $5k for Elk and Middle Creek)
Scoping for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Grand Junction and Colorado River Valley Field Office’s Resource Management Plans. Trout Unlimited (TU) will specifically focus on comments to broaden the range of alternatives with respect to the lands that are allocated as open or closed for oil and gas leasing. TU supports Alternative E with additional lands closed to leasing in native trout watersheds.
Fish surveys with Colorado Parks and Wildlife - Spring 2022
Highway / River Cleanup - Spring 2022
Eagle River Watershed Festival Youth Casting Clinic Sept 23, 2022 (past years similar at Knapp Ranch with Vail Valley Foundation)
Signage along rivers - Eagle River and Gore Creek (red alert signs for spawning grounds)
Trout in the Classroom (fish in classroom, fish to be raised and ultimately released into the river by students)
*=Colorado River Fund Project - more specifics:
The primary objective is to conduct outreach to agricultural irrigation diverters to secure their support to modify or replace irrigation diversion structures that are fish barriers in the Elk, Canyon and Mitchell Creek drainages. Once their initial support is secured a conceptual construction plans and preliminary construction estimates will be completed for each diversion structure. Concept plans will then be vetted and approved by the owner of the structure. This process will be conducted during the summer, fall and early winter 2022.
By obtaining general support from irrigators and completing and approving initial conceptual designs and cost estimates, project partners will position themselves to make application to the Bureau of Reclamations WaterSmart Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CWMP) grant. This will be a planning grant enabling completion construction plans for projects that enhance their watershed. (CWMP) grant funds can be up to $200,000 and do not require a match. Securing this additional funding will enable project partners to access CWCB and federal infrastructure dollars that require shovel ready projects.
CTU-CRF funding will be combined with Colorado River District and EVTU funds to enable this initial process. This is a long-term project that will likely have a 3-5 year time span.
The primary goal of the project is to ultimately remove all barriers to diurnal and seasonal fish movement in Elk, Canyon and Mitchell Creeks.
For all the latest FOLLOW US
