We are kicking off a monthly series focusing on our work in the Upper Rio Grande basin. This post educates readers to the work that has been done, work that will be done and introduces us to partners and staff who are dedicated to making this initiative successful across TU’s Protect, Reconnect, Restore and Sustain
Restoration work on the Upper Rio Grande that starts in southwest Colorado and flows on into New Mexico and beyond has been a focus of TU’s for multiple years.
TU’s Winter Flow Program was established on the Conejos River in 2014, and since has grown to include five reservoirs and a diversity of water partners.
by Mark Konishi Growing up in the San Luis Valley, I would hear rumors of cutthroat trout with vivid colors caught in secret waters. Cutthroat trout with orange slab-sides as brilliant as any goldfish. Many of these stories often came from my classmate Jim, relayed down through his extended family. It was difficult to pinpoint
The Upper Rio Grande Initiative aspires to leverage our ongoing and future efforts towards basin scale resilience. This vision not only entails the protection and enhancement of the Rio’s natural ecosystems, but its profoundly adaptive human resources as well. The Initiative acknowledges the interconnectedness of the basin’s ecosystems, its economy and culture. Thus, the ecological outcomes we achieve will not be at the expense of the cultural and economic resilience of our partner communities, but exactly because of it. Protect Protecting functioning streams and habitat–as in our efforts to secure Outstanding Natural Resource designations for several New Mexico streams–will be a top priority. Protecting the Pecos River basin from
From its headwaters in the high peaks of Colorado through the northernmost rift valley of New Mexico, a region known as Rio Arriba, the Upper Rio Grande is a fabulous fishing stream. For 200 miles, the river is filled with trout, pike, smallmouth bass, and carp. Major tributary streams like the Conejos, Chama, Red, Jemez and Pecos are superb fisheries themselves, along with hundreds of additional feeders, many
Trout Unlimited applauds legislation modernizing public lands oil and gas leasing March 4, 2021 Contact: Corey Fisher, Trout Unlimited, 406-546-2979, corey.fisher@tu.org (March 4, 2021) WASHINGTON D.C. – Trout Unlimited supports legislation introduced today by Senator Cortez Masto (D-NV) that would improve the federal oil and gas leasing program on public lands. The End Speculative Oil and
Grant helps TU and Questa restore Red River, revitalize outdoors economy (Questa, NM)Trout Unlimited announced today that it has received an $80,000 grant from the LOR Foundation for its Upper Rio Grande Community Initiative, a program focused on revitalizing Questa and other rural New Mexican communities by restoring the land and water upon which they
In 2011, when I was still president of New Mexico’s Santa Fe (Truchas) Chapter, I was approached by Nick Streit, president of the Taos (Enchanted Circle) Chapter and owner of the Taos Fly Shop, about restoring a section of the Red River in Questa. The Red had been a workhorse for several decades, impacted by
In the Rio San Antonio, TU is working to restore a vital and vulnerable watershed.
The year 2020 has been a year of wrecked plans
Thirty years ago nobody even knew what Questa was. Not today. You’ll see people from all over when you’re out elk hunting. George and Lori, Outfitters and business owners in Questa “It’s more of a spiritual accomplishment for me to go down to the Rio Grande and find a Rio Grande cutthroat. To know that
New drilling policies are a win for fish and wildlife. Now a key federal agency needs to modernize its oil and gas leasing rules.
Located in Northern New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the Upper Rio Grande River Basin, Valle Vidal lies within the Carson National Forest. Meandering its way through Valle Vidal, Comanche Creek is one of the last refuges for Rio Grande cutthroat trout in the state of New Mexico. TU’s extensive Commanche Creek project addresses
Find purpose through fly fishing
The drought and hot temperatures have us all hiking a little longer and a little higher to get to the fishing. If you’re one of those people who gets the hangries (I’ll just go ahead and raise my hand here), then finding a good energy bar for your backpack or fishing pack is a must.
By Garrett Hanks Wolf Creek pass in the San Juan mountains of Colorado serves as the tipping point between the westward San Juan basin, home to the recently rediscovered San Juan cutthroat trout, and the Rio Grande cutthroat’s namesake river to the east. Unlike trout, bear, mule deer and other wildlife are unhindered by the ridgeline; their tracks freely cross the divide. Look north and you’ll notice the burn scar from the West Fork fire of 2013. Setting off south along the Continental Divide Trail, you quickly
According to the Outdoor Industry Association, 28 percent more Americans went camping in 2020 than during the previous year, and 8.1 million more of us went on a hike. Fishing numbers soared too
When teaching guide clients how to read a stream, I stressed three basic conditions that dictate where a trout will hold: access to food, access to safety and access to shelter from energy-sapping currents. A healthy and stable abundance of any or all of these conditions affords trout the option of staying put, perhaps enabling
