Nature & Wildlife
2015 October
Pg 10 - The Sunshine Express
Fishing Access Projects Funded
¡®Fishing is fun¡¯ grants improve
six Colorado angling sites
DENVER, September 22, 2015: Colorado Parks
and Wildlife awarded funds totalling more than
$200,000 this summer to six projects to im-
prove angling opportunities around Colorado.
Projects approved for funding will result in new
and expanded angler access to the Lake Fork of
the Gunnison, Colorado, and Arkansas Rivers,
improve in-stream habitat in Boulder Creek and
upgrade existing angling facilities in Holyoke
and Rio Blanco counties.
¡°Colorado has incredible fisheries, truly world-
class,¡± said Bob Broscheid, director of Colorado
Parks and Wildlife. ¡°The Fishing Is Fun Program
is a powerful tool to develop more opportuni-
ties for residents and visitors to access that
resource, and to leverage angler dollars while
doing so.¡±
For nearly three decades, ¡®Fishing Is Fun¡¯ has
provided matching grants for angling improve-
ment projects, by partnering with local govern-
ments, angling groups, water conservation dis-
tricts, land trusts and others. The six projects
include more than $400,000 in matching funds.
Among the projects funded this year is a new
boat ramp on the Colorado River at Rifle, Colo-
rado.
¡°The current boat ramp is not in good shape
and poses a significant safety risk to access.¡±
noted Levi Atwater, the District Wildlife Man-
ager for the Rifle area. ¡°The new boat ramp will
improve safety and make it easier for anglers to
fish a significantly underused stretch of river in
the state. Despite financial challenges, the City
of Rifle has worked very hard to pull all the
Montrose County & BLM Partner
for Trailhead Improvements
Montrose, CO: Significant improvements were
made last month to the Buzzard Gulch Trailhead
¡°A Cost Effective Solution¡±
pieces together to
make a new ramp pos-
sible.¡±
Jim Guthrie, the Fish-
ing Is Fun program
coordinator, says the
Headwaters Ranch
project on the Arkansas
River near Leadville is
an example of a lot of
benefit for a compara-
tively small investment.
¡°The Headwaters Ranch
has about three miles
of Arkansas River
frontage, but right now
most anglers cannot
get to it,¡± said Guthrie.
¡°The proposed parking
areas will address obvi-
ous safety issues with
parking on Highway 91,
and the trails will make
river access easier and
reduce environmental
impacts. The result will
be a tremendous brown
trout and brook trout
fishery, in a spectacular
setting, newly open to
the public.¡±
A 2013 study of out-
door recreation in Colo-
rado found that angling
in the state generated
approximately $1.9 bil-
lion in economic activ-
ity and supported more
than 16,400 jobs.
Funding for the Fishing
Is Fun Program comes
from Colorado anglers through the federal Sport
Fish Restoration Program. Fishing Is Fun has pro-
vided financial assistance to nearly 300 angling
improvement projects statewide since 1987.
Program details are available at: cpw.state.
co.us/aboutus/Pages/FishingIsFunProgram.aspx
Fishing Is Fun projects awarded a total of
$212,300 in 2015 funding include:
***Boulder Flycasters, In-stream habitat im-
provement on .8 mile of Boulder Creek, $45,480
***Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas, New
parking and access trail at Headwaters Ranch,
$20,180
***Holyoke Lions Club, Renovation of fishing ¡®is-
land¡¯ and habitat improvement to Holyoke Pond,
$13,460
***Rio Blanco Water Conservation District,
American with Disabilities Act fishing pier on Ken-
ney Reservoir, $70,000
***Lake Fork Valley Conservancy, Public access
easement on Lake Fork of the Gunnison in Lake
City, $33,000
***City of Rifle, New boat ramp on Colorado
River, $30,000
CPW is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on
license sales, state parks fees and registration
fees to support its operations, including: 42 state
parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering
approximately 900,000 acres, big-game manage-
ment, hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, camp-
ing, motorized and nonmotorized trails, boating
and outdoor education. CPW¡¯s work contributes
approximately $6 billion in total economic impact
annually throughout Colorado.
which is located off of Spring Canyon
Road in unincorporated Montrose County.
Increasing use of the popular trail system
had caused rutting and drainage issues
in the parking area adjoining the county
road.
Montrose County and BLM partnered to
respond to the deteriorating conditions.
The BLM funded gravel and materials nec-
essary for the project. Montrose County
provided the labor and equipment.
¡°It is great to see the County and BLM
work together to find a cost-effective solu-
tion to facilitate access to public lands,¡±
said Laurie Brandt of the Colorado Plateau
Mountain Bike Trail Association. ¡°Making
improvements to the Buzzard Gulch trail-
head will benefit locals and tourists who
want to experience this immensely popular
non-motorized trail system.¡±
Improvements at the trailhead included
grading and graveling the parking area
in order to assure proper drainage. Re-
moval of the low spots adjoining the road
smoothed the transition for vehicles enter-
ing and exiting the parking area. Parking
stops were also installed to better define
the spaces.
Montrose County Commissioner David
White added, ¡°This was a small project
with a big return. The work protects the
road and makes for a safer and more con-
venient experience for the public.¡±