Odell taps new beer to help reintroduce Colorado's state fish back to the Poudre

Kevin Duggan | The Coloradoan

Show Caption Hide Caption Watch greenback cutthroat trout swim in creek Genetically pure greenback cutthroat trout were recently reintroduced to Sand Creek at Red Mountain Open Space north of Fort Collins. Watch the fish swim prior to being stocked in this video shared by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

What do fish and beer have in common? They both benefit greatly from good water.

With that in mind, proponents of a long-sought effort to reintroduce the greenback cutthroat trout to the headwaters of the Poudre River and the drainage above Long Draw Reservoir are teaming up with Odell Brewing Co. to promote the cause.

The greenback cutthroat trout is the state fish and a threatened species. The plan calls for removing non-native fish from the streams in wilderness areas, including part of Rocky Mountain National Park, and restoring the greenback.

Trout Unlimited, in association with its local chapter, Rocky Mountain Flycasters, will be the featured nonprofit at Odell’s taproom for the third quarter of the year. The groups are intimately involved with a plan for the largest greenback reintroduction in state history.

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And, of course, Odell is making a beer to commemorate the event. Cold Water 1 will be available in the taproom beginning July 1. Information about the reintroduction project and the organizations involved with it will also be available in the taproom.

Cold Water 1 will be a pilsner with hints of sage and wild currant, said Dick Jefferies, vice president of Colorado Trout Unlimited.

It will be light, refreshing and “perfect for fishing,” said Karla Baise, community outreach coordinator with Odell.

The name comes from the classification system used by state regulatory agencies to measure water quality, Jefferies said. Cold Water 1, or CW1, is the most pristine water one can find. It’s found in high-mountain streams fed by snowmelt.

The greenback restoration project came out of an agreement reached last year to settle a legal dispute about the expansion of Long Draw Reservoir dating to 1994 involving Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Forest Service and Water Supply and Storage Co.

It’s a long, complicated story, but the bottom line is Water Supply and Storage put $1.25 million into a trust to fund the restoration project in exchange for a 30-year easement agreement to keep managing the reservoir, which is about 35 miles northwest of Fort Collins.

Agreements among multiple state and federal agencies working on the project have been reached, and studies of fish movement in the restoration area have begun, said Matt Fairchild, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Forest Service.

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Fairchild is managing the restoration project. Design work on fish barriers is expected to be done next year.

Eventually, five barriers will be built to block non-native fish from working their way into high-altitude streams and lakes as well as the Grand Ditch, which carries West Slope water across Rocky Mountain National Park.

The project will affect 37 miles of habitat. It is expected to take about 15 years to complete. Volunteers from Trout Unlimited and other groups will help carry construction material into the wilderness for the project and do stream restoration work.

Even with the trust, which is overseen by Colorado Trout Unlimited, the project is about $500,000 short of what it needs, Fairchild said. The difference is expected to be made up through fundraising and additional federal appropriations.

Odell’s role in the project is raising community awareness and supplying volunteers for work projects, Baise said.

The brewery will direct a $10,000 grant to Trout Unlimited and the restoration project. The company is committed to giving back to the community, Baise said.

And this cause has a natural connection, she said.

“We understand that if it’s good for fish, it’s good for beer.”

Kevin Duggan is a Coloradoan columnist. Follow him on Twitter, @coloradoan_dugg, and on Facebook at Coloradoan Kevin Duggan.