Clear Creek
Drive into the mountains from Denver and you will pass old wooden mine structures, piles of waste rock, and historic mining towns. Gold and silver put these hills on the map in the late 1880s and the mining heritage is strong here. Also on the drive, you will see Clear Creek, a raging mountain river that tumbles towards the Front Range.

While Clear Creek certainly looks “trouty,” it has been contaminated with heavy metals from the mines. Lead, arsenic, cadmium, and other metals are found around gold and silver veins. Still today, snowmelt and rainwater percolate through the waste rock piles, carrying these heavy metals into the creek

Also, the miles of tunnels that were constructed for the mines have negatively impacted the water table. The water that flows out of these tunnels is low in pH and high in heavy metals, totally unsuitable for aquatic life.

The extent of the contamination in Clear Creek earned the watershed a Superfund designation in 1983. Since then, the EPA and the state have worked to cap tailings piles, to minimize heavy metal leaching. The EPA also installed a water treatment plant at Idaho Springs which removes heavy metals from water draining out of the Argo Tunnel, formerly the biggest single source of contaminants in the watershed.

These efforts have already produced noticeable results and Clear Creek is rehabilitating. So much so, in fact, that wild brown trout are re-appearing downstream in Golden, a city on Denver’s western flank.

To further the restoration effort, the West Denver Chapter of TU is implementing a stream improvement project on Clear Creek. Glen Edwards, president of the chapter and an Emeritus Professor at Colorado School of Mines, met me at Lions Park in Golden to show me the project site.

When Glen was an undergrad at School of Mines in the ‘50s, Clear Creek was “just a ditch” running through town. Today, Clear Creek is a viable stream and the adjacent park was bustling with joggers, picnickers, and whitewater kayakers.

A few years ago, the city established a minimum flow for Clear Creek and constructed a kayak park in the stream. The minimum flow also provided a boost to the trout population, setting the stage for the current TU project.

West Denver TU worked with an environmental engineering firm to draw up a stream habitat improvement plan for Clear Creek. While the water volume and quality has improved, Clear Creek lacks the in-stream habitat to support many trout. The chapter has earned support, financial and otherwise, from the City of Golden, TU’s Embrace-a-Stream, Colorado Division of Wildlife, and Coors Brewing Company.

Starting in September, the contractor will install stream improvement features to create holding water and spawning gravel, as well as improve bank stability. Chapter members will donate their time and effort to re-plant riparian vegetation and put the finishing touches on the project. All told, over half a mile of stream will be restored this year and West Denver TU has big plans to expand the project in the future.

This great community effort promises to create a fine urban fishery. Kudos to the West Denver chapter for their hard work!

Snake River
On the other side of the Continental Divide, the Snake River (of no relation to the more famous Snake in ID and WY) carries snowmelt towards the Colorado River. Abandoned mines, including the Pennsylvania Mine located just upslope from Keystone Mountain Resort, have wreaked havoc on this stream.

Today, sixty years after the Pennsylvania Mine shut down, the polluted discharge still prevents trout from inhabiting the Snake above Keystone (although tourists still wet their lines here unknowingly). Conditions slightly improve downstream, but heavy metals and low pH repress aquatic life all the way to the river’s mouth at Dillon Reservoir.

Recognizing the importance of this stream as an aquatic ecosystem, a community resource, and a water supply, TU has named the Snake a “Home River” and aims to restore this watershed.

According to Elizabeth Russell, TU’s coordinator for the Snake River initiative, capping the old tailings piles around the Pennsylvania Mine would reduce the input of heavy metals. Also, a passive water treatment system at the outflow of the mine’s main tunnel would remove heavy metals and raise the pH, making a huge difference for the aquatic creatures downstream. Elizabeth told me the discharge from the Pennsylvania mine runs orange with heavy metals, a travesty given the gorgeous mountain surroundings.

The technology, the money, and the will to complete these restoration efforts are there, unfortunately, progress has been halted by shortcomings in our public policy.

As it currently stands, if a group (such as TU) engages in mitigation efforts, they risk accepting legal liability for the damaging effects of the mine discharge. This lack of “Good Samaritan” protection is an impediment to mine cleanup efforts from coast-to-coast. Over 40% of headwater streams in the West have been negatively impacted by mine discharge and remediation efforts on many of these streams have been stymied by the risk of liability.

To work around this issue, TU’s dedicated Clean Water Act experts have worked out agreements with the EPA that allow us to pursue mine cleanup without accepting liability for the damage caused by the mine discharge. Such an agreement was crucial to TU’s American Fork Initiative. Elizabeth hopes that a similar agreement will allow mitigation at the Pennsylvania Mine.

Of course, it takes years to work out these agreements with a federal bureaucracy. In the meantime, aquatic life in the Snake River will continue to suffer.

A High Mountain Lake
A lake is perched near the Continental Divide, high above the damaging effects of the Pennsylvania Mine. No, I’m not going to disclose its name, but I will tell you it is near Gray’s Peak, so all you need is a map and a strong set of lungs to find it yourself. The lake is located at about 12,000 feet and access requires a three or so mile hike, uphill of course.

I hiked there with a good friend from college, Devon Haire. Devon was born and raised in Summit County. While in school, we skied together and my technique greatly benefited from Devon’s expert advice. We also took the same EMT class and ski patrolled at Arapahoe Basin. I spent many nights on the Haire family couch, hospitality for which I will always be grateful.

I planned to take Devon fly fishing for years. After all the skiing advice he gave me, a casting lesson was the least I could do. Somehow, we never got out on the river during school, so we were determined to make it work while I was visiting the area.

We got an early start, expecting afternoon thunderstorms. Getting stuck in a t-storm above treeline is a scary experience that we have both survived in the past and have no interest in repeating. Our climb ended at the turquoise lake. Before we even strung a rod, the outing was worthwhile. High mountain lakes are often beautiful places and this one is no exception (please take a look at my photos).

The lake is home to some large cutthroat trout. I believe they are of the native Colorado River strain, but I can’t tell you for sure, because we didn’t catch any. I suspect that the cutthroat were more focused on spawning than feeding. The trout weren’t on redds, but they were in full spawning color and we watched their crimson and fuchsia forms as they chased each other around a shallow shelf.

While we didn’t get Devon any fish fighting experience, he picked up the basics of casting immediately. He also learned a lot about fly selection as we futilely tried every pattern in my box!

Blue River
Determined to get Devon into a trout, we headed down to the Blue River the next morning. As a kid, I’m sure Devon often wondered what all those Denverites and tourists wading behind the shopping mall were up to.

The Blue River below Dillon Reservoir is a tailwater fishery with a twist. Mysis shrimp, an introduced species, inhabit the depths of the reservoir. These small, wispy creatures are sometimes flushed out of the dam en masse, supporting some behemoth trout. The Blue, the Taylor, and the Fryingpan are the only three tailwaters in the country with mysis fed trout.

The best stretch of the Blue flows behind the shopping outlets in Silverthorne. Anglers should expect an audience of gawking shoppers, particularly if they are fortunate enough to hook a 5+ pound rainbow.

Devon quickly adjusted to fishing in flowing water and he soon landed a 12-13” rainbow. Success! We continued to catch trout throughout the day on san juan worms, micro pheasant tails, and mercury midges. While I doubt Devon will ever hang his skis for a fly rod, I hope he will continue to ply the local waters when the snow has been reduced to liquid form.

See the photos HERE