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Fishing is Fun grants awarded to eight Colorado angling projects, including Minturn

The CPW Fishing app includes educational features such as up-to-date regulations, identification guides and news alerts. Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently awarded $400,000 to eight projects through its Fishing is Fun initiative.
Special to the Daily

DENVER — Colorado Parks and Wildlife has awarded $400,000 to eight Fishing is Fun projects, all geared to improve angling opportunities in the state of Colorado. The approved projects, including one in Minturn, include improved angler access, habitat improvement, new piers and new ponds.

“Colorado has world-class fisheries and angling opportunities, and maintaining and increasing access to those resources is so important,” said Bob Broscheid, director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “Fishing Is Fun is a powerful program to improve angling access for residents and visitors alike, leveraging angler dollars to assist in providing additional opportunities.”

Meeker Signage Project



Jim Guthrie, the Fishing is Fun Program coordinator, cited the Meeker signage project as a good example of the impact grants can have.

“This project is on a 40-mile stretch of the White River where there is a variety of public land ownership,” Guthrie said. “Some is county-owned, some is Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, some belongs to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. But people don’t realize all the opportunities to fish here. Where are they? How many spots are there? How far upstream can I go before I’m on somebody’s private property? New signs and education kiosks will spotlight this access that the public already owns. It’s a low-cost way to advertise to anglers and visitors that there are some great public access fishing spots nearby.”

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Circle Park Pond Project

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is partnering with the Eastern Rio Blanco Recreation and Park District, the town of Meeker and the White River Electric Association to construct a recreational trout-fishing pond at Circle Park in Meeker.

According to area wildlife manager Bill de Vergie, the development of this fishing pond has been discussed for many years, but due to the complex nature of a project with multiple entities involved, it had not been accomplished. Now, with all the parties at the table, the project should be accomplished before the end of the year.

“There’s good fishing there along a limited section of the White River,” de Vergie said, “but there’s steep banks and fast-flowing water. So, it’s not ideal for kids. By creating this pond, we’ll have a place where kids can ride their bikes to and families can have fun together. There will be a walking trail around it and signs about the kinds of wildlife you might see nearby.”

Supporting more than 300 angling projects

A 2013 economic study found that angling contributes more than $1.9 billion annually to the Colorado economy through direct and secondary expenditures, and supports over 16,000 jobs statewide.

Since 1987, the Fishing is Fun program has supported more than 300 angling improvement projects of various sizes across the state, from the Eastern Plains and the Western Slope to the major metropolitan areas along the Front Range. Fishing is Fun funding comes from the Federal Sport Fish Restoration Program. Matching funds are required, and the eight projects approved in 2018 included more than $488,000 in local support.

Additional Fishing is Fun program details and requirements can be found at http://www.cpw.state.co.us.

Fishing is Fun projects awarded:

Town of Elizabeth: Evans Pond Aerators, $2,700

City of Loveland: Willow Bend fishing pier and access trail, $30,000

Meeker Chamber of Commerce: Signage, kiosks and maps for White River public access, $32,700

Town of Berthoud: Roberts Lake fishing pier, habitat improvement, $18,750

Town of Akron: New fishing pond, Akron Pond, $69,000

Town of Minturn: ADA and angler access to Eagle River, $30,000

East Rio Blanco Parks and Recreation, Meeker: New fishing pond, Circle Park Pond, $100,000

Moffat County, Craig: Access trails, boat ramp, pond improvement, Loudy-Simpson Park, $116,850


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