A smile appears on Ellie Miller’s face when the Northwest Colorado project manager for Trout Unlimited is asked if she knows whether efforts to restore cutthroat trout to Lost Dog Creek north of Clark, through construction of two fish barriers, have succeeded.

“We have implemented both of the structures, and all of our partners — Billy Atkinson with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Rick Henderson with the U.S. Forest Service — were very happy with how they turned out,” Miller said. “In my mind, success is 10 years down the line when I am watching a little kid fly-fish out there — that would be my success story.”

Miller managed the project intended to protect and preserve 7.3 miles of native Colorado River cutthroat habitat through construction of two fish barriers to limit undesirable non-native, invasive brook trout.

“About 20 years ago there was a wildfire up there, which completely wiped out the Colorado River cutthroat population in that area,” Miller said. “Now brook trout have moved upstream from the Elk River.”

Construction of the fish barriers was funded by federal infrastructure dollars and is intended to create an effective impediment to upstream fish movement during all stages of streamflow and stop the future invasion of non-native brook trout moving upstream, restoring Colorado River cutthroat habitat. The project also addresses safety and structural concerns on Forest Service Road 433. Miller said that work will also make the area more accessible.

“We implemented this project for three reasons,” Miller said. “One is to address structural and safety concern for public access. Two, the area is climate resilient because there was a wildfire 20 years ago and it will be able to withstand a fire moving forward. And third, during times outside of runoff the stream is primarily groundwater-fed, meaning that the creek will have continuous cold temperatures and flow moving forward even during years of low snowpack.”

She said Colorado Parks and Wildlife will work to introduce genetically pure Colorado River cutthroat to that stretch of river moving forward.

The project began in July and was finished in August with Hayden-based 3 Ridges Over Excavation Inc., owned by Aleah Hockin, completing the work with two operators and two laborers.

Trout Unlimited’s goal is to restore the habitat to what it was, and to reach the objective of implementing climate-resilient projects.

“People talk about climate change and what Colorado might look like in a few decades. We are getting a taste of it now with increased wildfires, and things like that,” said Nick Gann, Trout Unlimited Southwest Region communications director. “Our goal is to make sure that the essence of Colorado is reflected in our projects. With the Colorado River cutthroat, there is an effort to just kind of keep the population stable while increasing habitat.

“The federal infrastructure money has been an accelerator for a lot of the projects that we’ve been doing, and it’s the same for the greenback cutthroat, which is also native, and then down in the Rio Grande region where there’s restoration efforts where we are working with public and private landowners in San Luis Valley.”

He said as the temperature increases, which he is seeing in New Mexico and Arizona, pockets of cold water become warmer, reducing suitability of the trout habitat.

“So these projects, like Lost Dog Creek, increase streamflow, create more access and make people more aware that what’s at stake are these resiliency pools, and these habitat zones, that are necessary for the greater food chain to thrive under increasing threat,” Gann said.

Trout Unlimited has 22 Colorado chapters, including the Yampa Valley Fly Fishers, and 11,000-plus members statewide. The organization recently restructured in the Rocky Mountain West based on both membership growth and its growing number of projects.

In November 2022, the U.S. Forest Service announced that up to $40 million would be provided to Trout Unlimited as part of a five-year agreement to improve watersheds on national forests and grasslands — home to many of America’s most important trout and salmon species. Projects include clean-up of abandoned mines and removing barriers to improve fish passage, as well as stream habitat improvements funded through President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law.

“Because we have a track record of doing these types of projects across the country, we have what’s referred to internally as a keystone agreement with the Forest Service,” Gann said. “Our goal is to work in conjunction with these other agencies, and work with the private landowners and surrounding areas in the communities to identify projects that would be beneficial.”

The Lost Dog Creek project is one of several taking place in Northwest Colorado, with two others planned for next summer. The Middle Fork Little Snake Aquatic Organism Passage project will replace an undersized culvert with a bridge, and will also partner with the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council to plant trees. There is also the Circle Creek project in California Park, which will remove a barrier to restore a downstream channel.

“What we really do is work to restore native fish populations,” Gann said. “We engage community, and at times, serve as a bridge between the local community and the federal agencies … it’s kind of our role at times to be the glue of conservation for different organizations.”