The spring issue of high country angler is here. Check out the featured articles in the new edition of High Country Angler e-zine! The Spring issue includes a double-dose of Landon Mayer on responsible fishing during the spawning season and visiting Wyoming's Powder River, an update on TU's efforts to secure Good Sam legislation to promote abandoned mine cleanups, fly selection tips from biologist Peter Stitcher, and more!
Dust in the Wind
One of the driest Aprils on record in the state of Colorado has left the southwest portion of the state with an alarmingly low snowpack. Dry, warm weather combined with many layers of dust, starting with the Presidents Day storm, are melting the snowpack very quickly. These dust layers arrive on west winds from the desert and are generally deposited at the beginning of a windy storm cycle.
Snowpacks melt from the top down - as the snow melts, the layers of dust concentrate at the top of the snowpack. White snow, absent of dust, reflects much of the suns energy in a process known as albedo. The albedo effect slows melting and preserves snowpack into the spring and summer. When darker dust particles are introduced into the snowpack they absorb solar radiation and melt the snow at a much higher rate, inducing an earlier, quicker runoff.
The greater Southwest basin currently has a snowpack with snow water equivalent (SWE) that is just 39% of the median-to-date. The San Miguel basin is doing a little bit better but still only has 69% of normal snowpack. The NRCS is forecasting streamflow at Placerville from May-July to be just 56% of median volume.
May 6, 2022 (Denver, CO) - PBS12 is excited to announce the broadcast premiere of Farm to Faucet, a documentary produced and directed by Christi Bode Skeie. The value of water holds many definitions throughout Colorado’s urban and rural communities; it is a chasm that reveals itself well beyond its physical availability. Growing towns and cities look to move this critical resource away from farms and ranches - a practice that is changing entire ecosystems. Farm to Faucet is an honest look at our society’s willingness to adapt in an ever-changing climate space, which will ultimately shape the future of the West. “I wanted to be able to offer some solutions. These ideas are coming from people who live and breathe these issues - whether they are a farmer or a water provider that is trying to figure out how to secure water supply for their town for the next 50 years.” Christi Bode Skeie is the Owner & Executive Producer of Moxiecran Media, a multimedia production company specializing in environmental education and documentary film. “We’re excited to premiere Farm to Faucet here in Colorado,” said Kristen Blessman, President & General Manager. “We’re all keenly aware of the water crisis in the West and we’re glad to play an impactful role in helping our community better understand the issue.” Funding for the film was provided by Colorado Office of Film, Television & Media, The Water Desk, Rio Grande Water Conservation District and First Southwest Community Fund, along with project support from the Salazar Rio Grande del Norte Center at Adams State University. Watch the televised premiere on PBS12.1 or via livestream (www.pbs12.org/livestream/). For those outside PBS12’s station broadcast coverage area, search by zip code at https://www.pbs12.org/connect/find-our-channels/. Additional broadcast and screening dates to be announced.
Interested in more simple ways to conserve and protect Colorado water? Check out the 22 Ways to Care for Colorado Water in 2022 and take the pledge to save 22 gallons of water or more! Water connects us all, upstream and downstream, past, present and future. It’s up to all of us to conserve and protect it. There are easy actions you can take to keep our water clean and save 22 gallons or more every day. That adds up to over 8,000 gallons of savings per year. If every Coloradan does their part, we can save close to 48 billion gallons.
Rattlesnakes have a lot of misconceptions or folklore surrounding them because they are often perceived as mysterious and are generally misunderstood. Colorado Parks and Wildlife species conservation coordinator Tina Jackson has spent the last 20 years learning about snakes, and she shared her knowledge of rattlesnakes in the latest Colorado Outdoors podcast, episode No. 28, released Wednesday. Click here to listen to the podcast episode on rattlesnake
Last year, the Babbitt Center and the Lincoln Institute’s Center for Geospatial Solutions released a peer-reviewed map of the Colorado River Basin that showcases the area’s geography and hydrography. Mountains to Sea: The History and Future of the Colorado River addresses inconsistencies found among other widely used maps of the region. Hard copies of the map are still available. Learn more.