OPINION

Soapbox: Step up and volunteer to restore our rivers

Lee Evans

Most of this newspaper's readers will have driven up the Poudre or Big Thompson River canyons and seen men and women standing hip deep in the river, swinging a fishing rod to form their line into an elegant loop that shoots a small imitation fly out onto the water in search of a Colorado trout. They are there for hours, adorned in floppy hats, wearing a vest carrying an assortment of small tools, addicted to their sport. But for many of the 900 of them who are members of the Rocky Mountain Flycasters chapter of Trout Unlimited, what you see is the tip of the iceberg. The bulk of RMF's activities are devoted to conservation of the watersheds that quench the thirst of our community.

In May, when Dick Jefferies finished his term as president of RMF, he reminded the chapter of their 5,000 hours volunteered toward protection, reconnection and restoration of our streams and rivers. The need for volunteer activity increased dramatically when the fires in 2012 and the floods in 2013 struck the region. Dozens of parks, wetland areas, and culverts were destroyed. In 2014 Dick asked the chapter to make a commitment to a new restoration effort. He said, "Unlike the easy answer to the question, "Can we?," I cannot give you an easy answer to the question "Will we?" The answer to "Will we" comes from each member asking, "Will I?" Members answered "I will," and the chapter participated in the formation of two nonprofit organizations, the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed, and the Big Thompson River Restoration Coalition. To date, these organizations have secured grants totaling $600,000 to be spent on the two river basins.

In April 2015, the Poudre River coalition put the first "boots on the ground," to work preparing soil, planting willows and spreading seed where Stove Prairie Road joins Highway 14. Another 5,000 hours of work remains to be done.

Restorations to wetlands and riverbanks call for volunteers from all sections of the community. The work varies from data recording, to manning a field kitchen, seed collection, ground preparation, mulching, and planting trees and shrubs. Almost everyone has the capability to help in one or other of these tasks. It is a fulfilling activity for a family group. Now the question for Northern Colorado is, "Can we get it done?"

Without prompt community effort we could forget how beautiful the lost facilities were and how much we enjoyed them. You only have to look at the ditch section of the Big Thompson to know what I mean. You know that "Can we?" comes down to "Will You?" Please say "Yes" and join those floppy hatted characters down at the river, but bring a shovel instead of a rod. Participation in a restoration team is highly satisfying, and you will see the fruits of your labor in renewed recreation and sustained water quality for years to come. You can see details of the projects on the RMF Home page at www.rockymtnflycasters.org.

Lee Evans is past president of the Rocky Mountain Flycasters Chapter of Trout Unlimited in Fort Collins.