August 2026| View Upcoming Events

August 2026 Newsletter

It’s August, it’s hot, fortunately we are getting some rain from the monsoon season. This should help our water situation, and our mountain streams. This is also the time we begin to prepare for the coming school year. AZTU is ramping up the Trout in the Classroom program for the coming school season, see Jim Walker’s article later in the newsletter.

The Trout in the Classroom program is a very rewarding and impactful educational program. This program takes considerable effort to support each year. Please consider

volunteering to support this very important program. The participating teachers and

students will greatly appreciate your help.



As you read this newsletter, please think about ways you can get involved to help

promote fishing, conservation, education and the love of nature. Please contact me or

any board member to let us know about your ideas.

Tom Goodwin

Chapter President

Conservation

Paradise Creek Culvert Replacement 

The first culvert is out — that rusted old pipe is gone, replaced with an open-bottom arch that lets the creek run underneath the way a creek should. Culvert two is underway right now. The third goes in by September 1. This is what fish passage work looks like. Old crossings fragment the water Apache trout depend on. Replace them, and the creek reconnects — more room to move, feed, and spawn.

Club Meetings

Arizona Flycasters Club (AFC) AFC meeting is August 11th at 6:00pm, Annual Silver Doctor and Member appreciation night!Wear your AFC apparel, there's a raffle and an auction! Please PIZZA! They meet at the Italian American Club in Phoenix.

Desert Fly Casters Club (DFC) DFC's meeting will be on August 12th at 7pm; come visit for the annual swap meet!They meet at the Elks Lodge in Chandler.

And, if you need to renew your TU membership you can do it here easily.

This link should take you directly to the renewal page.

Fish250 is part of the national celebration marking 250 years since the founding of the United States. To mark the occasion, Arizona Game and Fish Department is encouraging everyone to get outside, explore our waters, and connect with the landscapes that shape our state.

Now through August, sign up to participate in Fish250 and be eligible to receive a Fish250 sticker pack. Through fishing and outdoor recreation, Fish250 helps celebrate Arizona’s heritage as part of the work led by the Arizona America250 Commission.

The challenge is simple. Just take a selfie at the following locations:

• Fish 2 community waters.
• Fish 5 lakes or streams.
• Have 0 bad days.

Whether you’re a lifelong angler or picking up a rod for the first time, Fish250 is about discovering new places, spending time outdoors, and making great memories on the water. Learn more



Secure Your Fish250 Sticker Pack

2 Community Waters | 5 Lakes or Streams | 0 Bad Days

Once you have completed the Fish250 challenge, submit the Fish250 completion form to document your achievement and receive your Fish250 sticker pack.

It’s our way of celebrating your time on the water and recognizing your participation in this statewide outdoor initiative.

July Meeting Summary

The AZ Council of Trout Unlimited Public Policy Committee (AZ TU PPC) did not hold a monthly meeting in July 2026 do to the number of AZ TU PPC members traveling in July 2026.

The Lake Powell water level is currently less than 23% of its capacity. There is concern that the water level could drop low enough, to about 3,490 feet, where electrical generation at the dam would cease, and that the water temperature through the dam could rise enough for to reach a temperature above 60 degrees where the small-mouth bass (an invasive species) could begin to spawn. The Department of Interior has yet to make a decision to continue the cool mix water flows through the Glen Canyon Dam bypass tubes which is vital for the rainbow trout fishery in Lees Ferry. The water temperature below the Glen Canyon Dam could reach well into the high 70's and above if the cool mix flows cease.

Legislative Update

The state legislature sent a State 2026-2027 budget to the Governor for signature and the Governor signed it on June 13, 2026, which ended the regular legislative 2026 session. The 2026-2027 budget includes the AZ Game & Fish Department's appropriation request for $11 million to modernize the Tonto Creek and Bubbling Ponds hatcheries!

We are pleased to report that the Oregon Initiative Petition 28 (IP28), also known as the Peace Act, officially failed to qualify for the November 3, 2026, ballot in Oregon after falling short by about 14,000 valid signatures. This Act would have made it unlawful to fish, hunt, ranch, farm, etc., if animals were harmed in any manner.

In June 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced its intention to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. The rescission notice was posted on August 27, 2025, in the Federal Register. Without the Roadless Rule, 45 million acres of National Forest land across the country, impacting fish and wildlife habitat, will be open to harmful development! The Forest Service has nearly $11 billion of deferred maintenance currently on 370,000 miles of roads in our National Forests; do we really need additional roads? TU National is now encouraging all state Councils and chapters to start a mailing campaign from TU members to congressmen and congresswomen to stop the discontinuance of the Roadless Rule. The USDA is in the rule-making process to rescind the Roadless Rule and expects to finalize the repeal in 2026. Once the US Forest Service releases a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), a public comment period will open. The DEIS has not been released yet.

The National Office of Trout Unlimited has created a new TU Advocacy Champions online community group. If you are interested in receiving the periodic emails from the Advocacy Champions, please email Doug Agee at doug.agee@tu.org and request to be put on the email list.

Groundwater Management in Rural Arizona

Tom Osterday - Past Chair AZ TU PPC

The Rural Water Working Group (RWWG), which AZ-TU is a member, should be incredibly proud of its efforts to defend Arizona’s groundwater resources against a significant number of legislative proposals that

threatened to weaken existing safeguards. Among the most notable victories was the defeat of

House Bill 2758, legislation backed by New York-based Water Asset Management that would have

facilitated the transportation of groundwater from the McMullen Valley Groundwater Basin

without adequate protections for the affected communities. The proposal was supported by a well-

funded coalition of influential interests, making the RWWG’s successful opposition campaign a

significant accomplishment.

Upcoming Public Policy Events

The next regular scheduled AZ TU PPC monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at 7:00 pm.

The AZ TU Public Policy Committee hosts a virtual meeting on the second Thursday of the month at 7:00 pm until 8:00 pm. If you are interested, please contact Ron Stearns at PublicPolicyChair@az-tu.org.



The Arizona Council consolidated the Arizona Trout Unlimited chapters. Effective January 1, 2025, much of eastern and southern Arizona, Kingman and Navajo County east and south including White Mountains: Show Low, Greer, etc., is becoming a part of the Old Pueblo Chapter based in Tucson.

The Mogollon Rim, and areas west of Kingman, including Flagstaff, Lees Ferry and the Colorado River down to Yuma become part of the "new" Zane Grey Chapter based in Phoenix. The below map will give you some idea of the new alignments. The Green areas are the new Zane Grey Chapter, while the Blue areas are the Old Pueblo Chapter's new alignment. The non colored areas are National parks, Military reservations, or other government areas, do not have postal delivery Zip code, and few if any residents.

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 thirteen years to support the Annual Native and Wild Trout Conferences, Fish Camp, Trout in the Classroom program and various conservation projects.

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. 

Social Media: 

Check out our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/zanegreytu Check out the Instagram page for

Arizona of Trout Unlimited: @Trout_Unlimited_Arizona

If you're more traditional, try signing up for the private Facebook group: Arizona Women of Trout Unlimited.

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:

Make sure to follow our Instagram @Trout_Unlimited_Arizona