Fly fishing film tour in Ouray County to benefit Uncompahgre River

The Uncompahgre River north of Ouray.Photo byAlan Levine via Flickr

By Matt Whittaker / NewsBreak Denver

(Ridgway, Colo.) Ouray County will host an international fly fishing film tour next week, and the proceeds will benefit the Uncompahgre River.

This year’s Ouray County installment of the annual F3T Fly Fishing Film Tour — which features short films from around the world — is scheduled for Saturday, March 18, at the Ouray County 4H Event Center in Ridgway.

Local businesses RIGS Fly Shop & Guide Service and Telluride Angler along with the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership nonprofit are organizing the event, which will include food, drinks donated by Ouray Brewery and The Liquor Store, door prizes, raffles and silent auctions.

Advance tickets are $25 online until the doors open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets at the door cost $30.

All the proceeds will be donated to the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership for projects to improve river health and habitat within the Uncompahgre River Valley. 

The nonprofit collaborates with Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Forest Service and Colorado Parks & Wildlife to preserve and improve fish habitat, riparian areas and water quality.

“The generosity of the community and sponsors like RIGS has helped UWP build relationships with project partners and set aside funds for future projects,” said Tanya Ishikawa, the nonprofit’s executive director. “We are prioritizing watershed areas that need restoration and hope to announce project plans later in 2023.”

Named by the Ute people, the watershed’s early inhabitants, the Uncompahgre River is a roughly 75-mile-long tributary of the Gunnison River in southwestern Colorado that supports recreation and agriculture.