DRAKE — It was a message delivered by the wind — or, perhaps, in spite of it.
The blow howling down Big Thompson Canyon was a Colorado late-March classic, lifting gravel from the roadside and turning the best-aimed casts into boomerangs.
Yet nothing so trivial as a little discomfort dissuaded a small army of eager anglers who parked two and three deep at every public pullout, each doing his best to stay out of another’s way.
With one of the state’s few self-sustaining rainbow trout populations, the Big T stands as one of the state’s best success stories, a favorite recreational escape for the rapidly expanding population along the northern Front Range.
All of which begs this question: Why in its wildest imagining would Larimer County want to sell off key parcels that provide public access to the stream?
It’s a puzzle that has troubled Walt Graul during months of wrangling with the county’s Department of Natural Resources and County Commissioners.
At issue are some 150 parcels that accrued to the county in the wake of the 1976 Big Thompson flood. The land was acquired with federal Land and Water Conservation Funds. The agreement states that the county agrees to operate and maintain acquired lands in perpetuity for public outdoor recreation.
Now, following a series of maneuvers a cynic might consider devious, the county proposes to sell key parts of this property to private landowners. In truth, a number of parcels in this narrow, twisting canyon are difficult to reach, having little or no public value.
But the “for sale” list also includes certain tracts with real recreation value, places used regularly by the public.
“We need more good stream-fishing access, not less. Coldwater stream fishing represents the greatest possible value,” said Graul, a Berthoud resident who retired in 2003 as assistant director of the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
What most nettles Graul is that the county in 2004 transferred the federal requirements, to River Bluffs open space property along the lower Poudre River near Windsor, an area with no fishing values. The veteran wildlife manager views this as a bold-faced maneuver clearing the way for sale of Big T properties to bolster a cash-strapped parks and recreation department. Some already have been sold to private interests.
In truth, certain of the remaining 137 county-owned properties not actively managed have limited value, public or private. Others, sandwiched among private holdings, are best suited for sale.
On March 15, the Parks Advisory Board designated seven larger plots as public use areas with fishing access. But it’s a seeming lack of resolve to retain those many lesser places where anglers park along the highway that raises concern.
These Big T issues have caught the attention of the Colorado Wildlife Federation, which has made public access a hot-button issue at a time when the state’s outdoor resources have come under an increasing squeeze.
“Access is at a premium and fishing access even more so,” declared John Smeltzer, CWF board chairman and another retired DOW administrator.
Smeltzer said CWF will move into an expanded role as a watchdog in statewide access issues; the Big T may serve as a litmus of how effective that effort can be.
The angling parade pushing up U.S. 34 toward the river can anticipate a fine spring bite for trout hungry after surviving a long winter in a cold canyon. Fort Collins-based St. Peter Fly Shop recommends an attack strategy that combines tiny, black midge nymphs early and late with baetis nymphs toward midday.
On Saturday, anglers targeting pocket water amid a very low flow discovered that eager trout, mostly rainbows, would go for slightly larger nymphs with a bit of flash. These fish seldom are large; a 14-incher is considered a prize. But they are wild, wonderful in their way, and the public deserves the best possible shot at reaching them.
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
