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Committed to
Protecting, Connecting and Restoring Arizona's watersheds and fisheries.
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Fishing provides that connection with the whole living world. It gives you the opportunity of being totally immersed, turning back into yourself in a good way. A form of meditation, some form of communion with levels of yourself that are deeper than the ordinary self.
~Ted Hughes
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Message From The President |
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Welcome to the October 2020 newsletter. October typically means an increase in activities in Arizona; this year in spite the current pandemic is no exception. We have a Carp fishing outreach on Saturday, and AZTU has a couple of shoreline cleanups and fishing outings scheduled later this month and early November.
Again this month, your chapter was successful in securing funding for two key projects your chapter is leading for the Arizona Council of Trout Unlimited: funding for the 2021 joint BSA Grand Canyon Council – AZTU summer fish camp; and Embrace a Stream funds from Trout Unlimited for the R-C pond and Christopher Creek restoration and reintroduction of Gila trout.
AZTU received a $5000 grant from the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s (AZGFD) Local Sportsmen’s Fund for support of the 2021 joint-venture fish camp with BSA Grand Canyon Council. We will use these funds for such things as the camper handbooks, van rental and camper fishing gear supplies.
AZTU received a $2500 grant from Trout Unlimited’s Embrace a Stream fund for R-C Pond and Gila trout reintroduction to Christopher Creek. (See more about both of these awards latter in the newsletter).
Your chapter also received a $1520 donation from the Orvis Giveback Days. Thanks to all who donated during the Orvis Giveback days. Your generosity, and the Orvis Company philanthropy made this possible.
Tom Osterday shares some interesting developments in public policy, specifically in the area of managing Arizona’s water.
Susan Geer shares some thought-provoking ideas about how we as Trout Unlimited members can embrace more than streams, by being more inclusive in our meetings and outings.
AZTU has created a new Arizona Council Conservation Committee, and they are not sitting around. The ACCC, has two coastline clean-ups and fishing outings scheduled for late this month and early November, up on the Mogollon Rim. Check them out and sign up for these two-events.
Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation Fund, AZSFWC, the license plate fund has a great fundraiser for a brand-new 2020 Ford Raptor. AZTU Council as well and by extension the Zane Grey chapter has benefited from these funds. See the article below.
Coming this fall:
Your Zane Grey Chapter begins a series of occasional member appreciation, conservation, and pint nights through-out the valley. Our first event is postponed. It was scheduled for September 24 at the Bone Haus Brewing in Fountain Hills. We’ll reschedule this event later this month. More information to follow; look for your invitation.
Carp Fishing Clinic, Saturday, October 3, 2020 at Kiwanis Park. We’re hosting a beginning carp fishing clinic.
Tired of doing crossword puzzles and 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzles? Then consider volunteering for a position with your chapter board. We currently are looking for a recording secretary, a newsletter editor, a STREAM Keeper leader, and a board member at-large. If interested, contact any board member, or me.
Remember the easiest way to maintain social distancing is to go fishing.
Simply swing your 9ft 5wt in the direction of the person crowding you and you’ve exceeded the six-foot minimum distance.
Here are some of the articles in this month's Newsletter.
- Grants awarded to AZTU
- Orvis donates funds from Orvis Giveback Days to ZGTU
- Public Policy – BLM Director Pendley fired; Waters of AZ Update;
- Diversity and Inclusion – Embrace a STREAM Keeper!
- Women’s Activities To Check Out
- AZSFWC 2020 Ford Raptor Raffle
- Arizona Council Conservation Committee Outings 10/24, and 11/7
- Other Angling organizations
- ZGTU and affiliates calendar
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Follow ZGTU on Social Media
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We’ve gone virtual!!!!
Please join us for our October board tele-conference meeting:
Tonight! Thursday, October 1, 2020 7:00 - 8:45 PM
Meeting ID: 862 8257 4742
Password: ZGTU2020
Until then,
Tight Lines.
Alan Davis
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GRANTS AWARDED ARIZONA COUNCIL of TROUT UNLIMITED |
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Arizona Council Trout Unlimited (AZTU) received a $5000 grant from Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Local Sportsmen’s Fund. AZTU will use these funds for our joint BSA Grand Canyon Council – AZTU 2021 Fish Camp. The 2021 GCC-AZTU Fish Camp runs May 30 – June 19, 2021, and will feature three one-weeks sessions. R-C Scout Ranch will again host Fish Camp 2021.
We will use these funds for such things as the camper handbooks, van rental and camper fishing gear supplies.
We thank AZGFD for their generosity exhibited with this grant and look forward to a successful Fish Camp 2021.
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The Arizona Council of Trout Unlimited received a grant of $2,500 through the Trout Unlimited national Embrace A Stream grant program #embraceastream. Volunteers from the council and chapters will use the funds to restore portions of Christopher Creek in Gila County near the R-C Scout Ranch, about 20-miles east of Payson. The project includes improving cold-water stream flows by habitat enhancements and restoration of native Gila Trout. This grant will contribute to a $75,000+ project. The project includes:
- build rock and log barbs creating and improving Christopher Creek fish habitat;
- improve a leaking spring-box diversion allowing cold water flows back into Christopher Creek;
- increase public access to Christopher Creek;
- reestablishing a youth fishing pond by draining, dredging, removing cattails, adding spawning beds, and refilling the pond
- adding native roundtail chub and longfin dace to the pond; and,
- restoring the Christopher Creek fishery by adding native Gila Trout back into the creek.
This important recreational fishery will improve angler opportunities on Christopher Creek and restore youth fishing on the R-C Scout Ranch pond.
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Embrace A Stream is a matching grant program administered by Trout Unlimited #embraceastream that awards funds to local chapters and councils for coldwater fisheries conservation. Since its inception in 1975, the grant program has funded more than 1,100 individual projects for a total of $4.75 million in direct cash grants. Local chapters and councils contributed an additional $14 million in cash and in-kind services to EAS funded projects, for a total investment of more than $19 million. |
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Orvis Phoenix Donates $1520 to Zane Grey Chapter |
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A big thank you to all who participated in the Orvis Giveback Days. Your generosity was overwhelming, and as a result of the Orvis Giveback Days program, Zane Grey Chapter received a $1520 donation. Pictured above is Chapter president Alan Davis receiving a check this morning from Orvis fishing manager Jakob Smith.
"This is a very generous donation, said Davis, we'll use these funds for our youth, diversity, and conservation programs."
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Judge Removes William Pendley as Acting Director of BLM
Chief District Judge Brian Morris of the US District Court of Montana ruled that Pendley has served unlawfully for 424 days, in response to a lawsuit brought by Democratic Montana Governor Steve Bullock and the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. The judge gave both sides 10 days to file briefs about which of Pendley's orders must be vacated.
Pendley was appointed by Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt as acting director in July 2019. Morris wrote that, by law, the position of Bureau of Land Management director is required to be confirmed by the Senate. Pendley was nominated to be the permanent director of the agency in July but the Trump administration withdrew his nomination in September after a series of controversial statements -- including saying that climate change is not real and falsely saying that there was no credible evidence of a hole in the ozone layer. Interior Department spokesman Conner Swanson stated that the administration will appeal "immediately."
The AZTU-PPC has been writing to our US Senators advocating for his removal. He had publicly stated that he believes that all federal land should be sold.
Water Adjudication in AZ
During our meeting on September 8th, Sarah Porter, Director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at the Morrison Institute of ASU, delivered a very informative presentation on the history of water rights adjudication in AZ, why it is critically important to all Arizonans and what can be done to accelerate the process. The issue is essentially that, because the rights to water have not been decided in the courts, many new wells are being drilled near our rivers which are depleting the surface water. If you would like to learn more, please click here.
ADWR's Role in Managing AZ's Water and its Role in Water Adjudication in AZ
At our October meeting on Tuesday, October 13th t 7:00 PM, Vineetha Kartha from the Arizona Department of Water Resources will be giving an excellent presentation on AZ water resources, policies, laws, challenges, etc. Her colleague, Glen Buettner, who is responsible for water adjudication at ADWR will also be presenting.This will dovetail well with the presentation Sarah Porter gave during our September meeting.
If you are interested in participating, please contact Tom Osterday at [email protected]
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The AZTU PPC hosts a virtual meeting on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 until 8:00 PM. If you are interested, please contact Tom Osterday at [email protected]
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DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION —
Embrace A STREAM Keeper!
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Trout Unlimited has a flagship grassroots program called Embrace A Stream (EAS) that encourages cold water conservation efforts, (see article about AZTU's recent Embrace a Stream Grant nearby). TU asks its members to embrace the EAS cause. Similarly, another top priority for Trout Unlimited is for our membership to embrace diversity and inclusion. That priority can take on many different roles depending upon the person stepping up. As this column has mentioned regularly, diversity and inclusion for TU means that our membership and participation must be more representative of the overall population. TU wants to include more women, children, people of color, people with various socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds and, yes—to encourage Trump and Biden supporters engage each other with respect.
To further this DI goal, Zane Grey TU is sending a call out to our membership to rise up and champion our STREAM Keepers program. STREAM Keepers began as TU's STEM program for girls, but Zane Grey has expanded it to include all people of all walks of life. STREAM stands for Science, Technology, Recreation, Engineering, Art and Math. There is a complete STREAM Keepers session book that outlines ideas of what to do and how to engage people through outdoor hands-on activities including observing water, collecting flow data, looking at aquatic bugs, fly tying and fly casting all while recording thoughts and observations in a personal handbook. This is a program that can be as big as several sessions or as small as a couple of hours. You can champion it on your own or wrangle a few of your friends to help. Date, timeframe, duration and details are up to you!
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The unexpected results? When you step up and help others, you re-energize yourself and re-discover your own love of nature and why you believe in TU’s mission. Want to know more? Contact Susan Geer at [email protected].
No obligation, just answers to your questions!
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Women's Virtual Book Club:
Dying To Fly Fish - A Max Addams Mystery
by David Leitz
Next conversation: Thursday, November 19, 6 PM
Join us whether you've read the book or not!
Call In: 712-432-0220 (Access code: 4632017)
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Social media: Sara Westfall has started an Instagram page for Arizona Women of Trout Unlimited. Check it out: azwotu. If you're more traditional, try signing up for the private Facebook group: Arizona Women of Trout Unlimited.
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Arizona Council Conservation Committee |
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Join AZTU for a coastline cleanup and trout outing! |
The Arizona Council Conservation Committee's mission is to conserve, protect and restore Arizona's watersheds with special emphasis on cold-water fisheries. To accomplish their mission, they have begun a number of tasks:
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- Collect information on current conservation projects underway or planned by the various Arizona TU Chapters;
- Solicit suggestions from state and federal agencies such as Arizona Game and Fish Department and the United States Forest Service. We plan supporting those projects that best benefit the limited waters in Arizona that we all cherish; and,
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We’re planning a couple work projects this fall on the Mogollon Rim lakes of Woods Canyon, 10/24 and Willow Springs, 11/7; we hope you will attend. You can register here for Woods Canyon, and here for Willow Springs.
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The AZTU Conservation Committee's first projects are a clean-up and fishing trip to Woods Canyon Lake, October 24, and Willow Springs Lake, November 7. These two lakes get tremendous angler visits and pressure throughout the summer. Unfortunately, these visitors produce quite a bit of trash and often leave fishing line along the shore. Monofilament fishing line, in particular is hazardous to a variety of wildlife inhabiting the lake and the shoreline areas.
While a lake clean-up may seem a rather mundane conservation committee project; it is a great way for folks to meet, rather than by Zoom, and at the same time accomplish something good for the lakes and the environment.
Register for these events by following the links below:
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The Arizona Council of Trout Unlimited and Zane Grey chapters have been members of the Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation (AZSFWC) for many years and have been the recipient of many grants from their Conservation License Plate Fund.
The AZSFWC is conducting a raffle for a 2020 Ford Raptor vehicle. Raffle tickets are $20 each, or 6 for $100, with the drawing at the end of December 2020.
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Did you know? ...
Five Things Your Fishing License Does for Conservation While You Catch Fish
- Improve Fishing and Boating Access
- Enhance Water Quality
- Maintain Fish Habitat
- Teach and Recruit New Anglers
- Plan Long-Term Conservation
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Now that fall has arrived; there are many fishing opportunities; don't miss signing up for the Trout Challenges in Arizona and in the West.
Arizona's Trout Challenge was developed to encourage anglers to learn more about fishing opportunities in the state. AZGFD manages many waters statewide to provide anglers the opportunity to catch several different species of trout, including two found only in the Southwest - the Gila Trout and Apache Trout.
There are two ways for anglers to complete the Challenge: Catch four species of wild trout in Arizona and catch at least six of the eight total species in Arizona.
The Western Native Trout Challenge invites anglers to help celebrate our western legacy by catching native trout and char in each of the 12 participating western states, at their own pace. By attempting to catch 18 species throughout 12 states (at the master angler level) participants can enjoy the adventure of a lifetime!
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Looking for a Fishing Opportunity? |
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Below is a list of fishing organizations in Arizona. Feel free to join, explore, visit their websites or attend a meeting to find out more information: |
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Arizona Flycasters Club
Sunnyslope Community Center | 802 E. Vogel Ave. Phoenix, AZ
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Fly-Fishing Social Event night - 2nd Thursday of each month. Great speaker and awesome raffle. Donations support our Community outreach partners from Veterans to Youth activities.
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Desert Fly Casters
Check website for details.
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General meeting 2nd Wednesday of each month. There may be some exceptions so check website for details.
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AZFISHBOOK offers a variety of social activities. Listed below are some of the activities available.
Check out the AZFISHBOOK Groups at:
Looking for buddy to fish with?
Signup for AZFishBook Newsletter:
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Join Trout Unlimited Today!
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REMEMBER:
Your Conservation License Plate Supports TU Programs
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The Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation (AZSFWC) license plate fund is derived from the sale of wildlife conservation license plates and member organizations as well as non-member organizations are eligible to apply for those funds.
The Arizona TU Council and Chapters have received funds over the past seven years in support of the Annual Native and Wild Trout Conferences and the Trout-In-the-Classroom programs.
The next time your registration comes up for renewal, choose the conservation license plate option at registration to show your support for conservation and our projects.
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Combined Calendar
AZ Trout Unlimited & Chapters, Arizona Flycasters Club and several other area fishing and conservation calendars
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You may access our calendar here.
Zane Grey Trout Unlimited
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Protect. Reconnect. Restore. Sustain. Conserving coldwater habitat in the desert southwest. |
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