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Trout Unlimited (Five Rivers Chapter)

A logo with text "Trout Unlimited 5 Rivers Chapter" and a stylized fish silhouette inside the number "5".

PO Box 3441
Durango, CO 81301

Contact: Buck Skillen
Email: bskillen759@gmail.com

Website

About

Five Rivers Trout Unlimited (5RTU), based in Durango, CO, is the local grassroots chapter of Trout Unlimited (TU) and an active partner with our State Council, Colorado Trout Unlimited.

5RTU works to protect, conserve and restore SW Colorado’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.  As the grassroots arm of our parent organization, Trout Unlimited, we use cooperation, collaboration, advocacy and education to promote conservation.  Through sound science, we inform our priorities with critical data on the health of these fisheries.  Further, we believe that conservation should be a true partnership between landowners, agencies, municipalities and all stakeholders.

Members of 5RTU serve on the steering committees of the Water Information Program and the Animas Watershed Partnership, perform monthly water sampling for River Watch at 15 sites on the Animas River and tributaries, as well as being actively involved in the Animas River Stakeholders Group and leading the Citizen’s Superfund Workgroup.

Over the past 15 years the major focus of 5RTU has been on working with the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife to restore the native Colorado River Cutthroat Trout to Hermosa Creek and its upper watersheds.  By 2020 this 23+ miles of contiguous cutthroat-only water will extend from the headwaters down to just below the confluence of Hermosa Creek and the East Fork.   Once this reintroduction is accomplished, 5RTU – in collaboration with the US Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife – will attend to much needed bank stabilization and habitat improvement in the East Fork of Hermosa Creek.

Overall Goals:

  • Be an active, engaged and non-partisan voice for the conservation, protection and restoration of coldwater fisheries.
  • Work with Trout Unlimited employees and other government agencies to support the enactment of laws, rules, and policies that responsibly maintain high water quality.
  • Protect habitat by cleaning up streams, restoring degraded habitat and advocating for intelligent watershed management.
  • Call for the protection, identification and special management of quality waters, including actions intended to recognize and maintain the genetic integrity of unique trout species.
  • Support and conduct educational and informational outreach activities for its members and the general public to enhance their understanding and enjoyment of fly fishing, conservation and the overall mission of Trout Unlimited.