Troutapalooza is the fundraising and promotional engine for Gunnison Gorge Anglers, an award winning Trout Unlimited chapter dedicated to river conservation in Southwest Colorado.
In the last decade, Troutapalooza has provided the seed money for landmark restoration projects on the Gunnison, Uncompahgre and San Miguel rivers, including the reclamation of the river channel on Telluride's Valley Floor.
Conservation Projects:
July 2023: PHASE II - VF IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
Take a tour of the completed ($5.6 million) Floor Improvement Project - Phase 2: Tailings Enclosure, River Channel Relocation and Riparian Improvements. The tour guide will be Lance MacDonald, Telluride's project director on all VF improvement projects. Meet at the parking area on the west side of the Conoco station, 100 Society Dr, at 4:00pm. Enjoy the tour, then head to High Pie at 6:00pm for cold beer and food at TROUTAPALOOZA (tickets are $50)!
May 2023: UPDATES ON KEY ACTIVITIES
Telluride Valley Floor Revegetation and Habitat Enhancement
The EPA has completed the tailings removal project in August 2022 - an estimated 60,000 cubic yards of fluvial tailings from Forest Service land in the Valley Floor. Due to higher costs incurred during the removal phase, the revegetation measures were not implemented. Trout Unlimited has proposed a post-reclamation revegetation project to reduce impacts of this reach on the San Miguel River. Targeted revegetation and in-stream habitat will benefit the area by reducing erosion and sedimentation while providing long-term sustainability and natural succession of riparian vegetation. Additionally, vegetative success at the Site will reduce the risk of non-native plant invasion. TU staff are leading this project and soliciting state/national funding to begin this project in fall of 2023 and spring of 2024. Volunteer physical manhours will be needed for the planting activities - seed money funding is coming from GGA and Town of Telluride.
CPW Billy Creek WMA Stream Improvement Project
The first stretch of public access to the Uncompahgre River below PACO is at Billy Creek WMA along Hwy 550. GGA has partnered with CPW to fund the design work for stream and fish habitat improvements for that section of the river. This and the in-field survey work will be completed this year to determine what type and location of stream improvements could be added to improve fisheries habitat. Funds raised at last year's Troutapalooza event were used to sponsor this project.
May 2021: Mayfly/Uncompahgre Project
River and riparian area restoration work was completed in March on approximately 2/3 mile of the Uncompahgre River north of Main Street in Montrose on the Colorado Outdoors/Mayfly properties. An official dedication/ribbon-cutting was held on Earth Day April 22nd , to commemorate this first phase of this project by the City of Montrose, Mayfly and GGA Trout Unlimited. (See photo below of dignitaries including Joel Evans in the middle – he is GGA’s coordinator for all of the Unc. River Projects).
Unique features of this project include 4 flow bypass fishery channels that will hold trout and lower velocity flows during the high flow irrigation months of April – September (see attached photo) . The main channel will carry higher flows for rafting and kayaking (see photo below) . This stretch of water is also designated as Catch and Release only in attempts to develop and maintain a larger wild brown trout population in this stretch of the river. The remainder of the river corridor downstream will be improved in future phases of project development.
2020: Restoring the Uncompahgre
Story and photos by Joel Evans, GGA
Over the last several years, Gunnison Gorge Anglers has backed Mayfly Outdoors and Colorado Parks & Wildlife in restoring the Uncompahgre River through downtown Montrose for improved fishing and public access on a river with longtime potential but historically limited fishing opportunity. Despite deprecated habitat and wildly fluctuating river flows, significant populations of wild rainbow and brown trout subsist on the river's abundant aquatic life. Trout in the 16"-18" class exist in surprising numbers, evidencing the clear potential for an impressive fishery. Money and manpower have matched a common will to create a public resource that will fundamentally change the north end of Montrose by offering quality river access for many forms of recreation and leisure, chief among them fly fishing.
Uncompahgre Project Facts:
· The Montrose Urban Renewal Authority was formed in collaboration with the City of Montrose and Colorado Outdoors, LLC. The MURA boundary encompasses approximately 170 acres in northwestern Montrose and includes the Uncompahgre River.
· Utility construction and construction of roadways were completed in December of 2018.
· Construction of Mayfly Outdoors headquarters building was completed in the spring of 2019 and is used to manufacture Ross and Abel fly fishing reels.
· Construction of a public recreation trail paralleling the Uncompahgre River was completed in 2019 with funding assistance from Great Outdoors Colorado and the Montrose Recreation District.
· MURA has also been working on the design of habitat improvement and river stabilization. This project extends from West Main Street to the northern end of the MURA boundary. Initial design efforts were completed by Ecological Resource Consultants in consultation with a local volunteer river design committee.
· The Uncompahgre River currently consists of both channelized, relatively stable reaches and meandering, dynamic reaches. Existing fish habitat is marginal throughout most of the project.
· Stream improvement goals are to improve fish habitat, stabilize river banks where necessary to prevent lateral retreat, maintain a natural, user friendly and inviting feel for the river system, functionality during both high and low flows, and allow boaters to pass through the project while not encouraging whitewater surfing,
Partners include the City of Montrose, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Outdoors, Friends of the River Uncompahgre, Montrose Urban Renewal Authority, Telluride Angler, and Trout Unlimited Gunnison Gorge Anglers.
Uncompahgre River corridor, north Montrose
CPW protects the rehabilitated Uncompahgre
Trout survey in rehabilitation zone
Good for trout, good for anglers
2014-Present: San Miguel Valley Floor
Over the last 6 years, Gunnison Gorge Anglers has generated the original seed money at its Troutapalooza fundraiser for the rehabilitation of the river channel on Telluride’s sacred Valley Floor. Named “Best Trout Unlimited Conservation Project” for all of Colorado, our seed money has garnered additional grants totaling millions of dollars to execute this landmark project. Much of the work has been completed, restoring a vibrant, healthy riparian zone and improving recreational opportunities including fly fishing and paddle boarding.
The Telluride Town Council had approved and received funding to complete the next phase (Phase 2) of the VF Restoration work involving Society Turn Mine Tailings and the San Miguel River restoration at the west end of the Valley Floor. The total project cost of $3.3 million includes $1.4 million for the River Restoration and $1.93 million for the Tailings Remediation. The other project partners include Valley Floor Conservation Partners, Trout Unlimited, Idarado Mining Company, Colorado Water Conservation Board and the State of Colorado. Other local non-profits were involved in obtaining the funds from the CWCB.
Highlights of the Phase 2 Project include:
- Habitat and channel restoration of over 1.5 miles of the river
- Moving the river channel away from the 23 acre tailings pile
- Utilizing existing berm material in the vicinity to isolate the tailings material from river and wetlands; this avoids hauling large amounts of material on paved roads
- Preserve the spruce stands in that area
Completion of this phase in 2020 resolved the long-standing tailings pile issue. Combined with the Phase 1 work completed in 2016, these efforts will result in almost 3 miles of completed river restoration work on the Valley Floor.
There will be some additional mine tailings work this summer at a different location on the Valley Floor - see the Mine Tailings project report below.
Before
After
Abandoned Mines/Tailings Restoration
2009-2013: Gunnison River Diversion Dam Reconstruction
Between 2009 and 2013, Gunnison Gorge Anglers collaborated with stakeholders to redesign the diversion structure located 4 miles below the North Fork confluence with the main branch of the Gunnison River. The existing structure was operated by the Relief Ditch Irrigation Company in service of a senior water right, a benefit of which is keeping minimum flows in the Gunnison. The diversion, however, created challenges for fish and fishermen alike. The structure featured many vertically placed railroad ties that were a significant hazard to boaters. It created a significant drop in the river, impassable to fish and an additional hazard to boaters. Heavy equipment frequently entered the river to restore the diversion after high water washouts.
A lengthy collaboration involving critical diplomacy between river users and agricultural interests resulted in the redesign and reconstruction of the diversion, completed in spring 2013.
Since completion of the project, the Relief Ditch Irrigation Company has not had to put any heavy equipment into the Gunnison River and has received their full share of water. Fish are freely moving through the diversion since the velocity and drop of the water flow has been significantly reduced. No concrete grouting of the rocks placed in the river was required, which provides resting sites and easy passage for fish. Floaters are no longer having their boats flipped or impaled while negotiating the diversion.
This project represents a major collaborative effort involving multiple participants and went a long way toward building a level of trust between water users in the lower Gunnison basin and Trout Unlimited. Hopefully it will be a springboard to more projects in the future. It would not have been successful without the involvement of local chapter members on the ground, Colorado Trout Unlimited staff, and national Trout Unlimited.
Before
After
