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Committed to

Protecting, Connecting and Restoring Arizona's watersheds and fisheries.

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."

~Heraclitus

Message From The President

Greetings!

Welcome to the July 2021 Newsletter,

Happy Independence Day! We hope yours is safe and sane, and includes fishing.

We finished our second year of AZTU – GCC Fish Camp. Again, we had a great success and helped create additional anglers and life-long conservationists. More about the fish camp in the next article.

July typically is a time for vacations, backyard barbeques, picnics, and escapes to the mountains or the beach. Additionally, Susan Geer talks about some odd-ball holidays celebrated this month; make it a mission to celebrate. Whatever the reason … July 7 is World Chocolate Day, something we can all get behind.

We look forward to a great summer and sincerely hope you get an opportunity to get out and enjoy all we have in Arizona. BUT, Please be careful … it’s very dry in our mountains.

We plan a great 2021, and look forward to you joining us for our various activities and conservation opportunities. Please watch our schedule for upcoming activities.

Help ~~Wanted~~ Needed!

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 STREAM Keeper leader, and a board member at-large. If interested, contact any board member, or me.

Here are some of the articles in this month's Newsletter.

Your Zane Grey Chapter of TU has a new Instagram! Follow us here!
Arizona TU (@trout_unlimited_arizona)
Fish Camp 2021
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Everyday Should be Conservation Day!
Public Policy – Waters of Arizona Update;
Priority Waters
AZ Budget Update
FFI Women Connect Event
Virtual Book Club: Sleeping Lady
Help AZGFD Manage Gila Trout Fisheries
Trout are in hot water for 2021
Other Angling organizations
ZGTU and affiliates calendar
Follow ZGTU on Social Media

We’ve gone virtual!!!!

Please join us for our monthly meeting:

No Board meeting this month, but look for our August board meeting announcement.

Until then,

Tight Lines.

Alan Davis

Fish Camp 2021 A Great Success

Two sessions with many Volunteers

The 2021 Fish Camp was a great success. This year we conducted two-sessions, and fortunately did not have the challenges of Covid-19 obstacles, nor National Forest closures. Eighteen scouts and two scouters attended the two-sessions earning the fishing and fly-fishing merit badges and a lifetime of memories.

Each camper received some sweet SWAG, including a sling pack loaded with a box of flies, nippers, forceps, leader, and tippet. Additionally, each youth received a Trout Unlimited membership, an AZGFD annual Hunt-Fish Combo license, along with a hat, a shirt, and a unique Fish Camp patch. The patch design is pictured above, and includes rockers for various trout species caught.

Highlights included keynote addresses by AZGFD Commissioner James Goughnour and Arizona Council of Trout Unlimited Steve Reiter giving credibility to the Camp and setting the stage for the week-long program.

But the Scouts didn't sit around in class all-day listening to speeches; they learned fishing basics of equipment, knots and casting techniques, fly tying, fish anatomy, dissection and pathology, entomology, including using a seine to capture aquatic invertebrates, aquatic invasive, nuisance species, water and soil conservation, including 'leave no trace' philosophy, daily excursions to other mountain lakes and streams, an introduction and understanding of AZGFD rules and regulations for fishing and taking of aquatic species, How to properly catch, clean, and cook a fish, part of the Fishing and Fly-Fishing merit badge requirements .

The overwhelming response from all was they planned to tell others about the great time they had in Fish Camp! These feelings were shared by the volunteers as well.

Thanks to Our Sponsors

This camp would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors, including:

Arizona Game and Fish Department
Arizona Sportsmen for Wildlife Conservation
AZ Fly Shop
Orvis
Arizona Council of Trout Unlimited
Old Pueblo Chapter Trout Unlimited
Zane Grey Chapter Trout Unlimited
BSA Grand Canyon Council

The most important contribution came from our volunteers; without which we could not have run a successful camp. These volunteers devoted their time, energy, expertise and enthusiasm, and literally made the camp a success. Those volunteering on-site included: Steve Berry, Rod Buchanan, Alan Davis, John Doss, Doyle Gaines, Tom Knight, Dito Ladd, Bill Larson, Bill Laudenschlager, David Mayl, Ron Stearns, Jim Strogen, Steve Reiter, Jack Williams, and Jacquelyn Williams

Thanks also to our Grand Canyon Council partners, and in particular to Greg Harmon, Director of Program Services, who helped us understand how to run a scout camp, and to Matt Graham and Nick Hutchinson who served as camper wranglers and liaisons with Grand Canyon Council. A special shout out to CEO Andy Price, who helped make this program a reality.

We all enjoyed the great opportunity the camp gave us and the opportunity to help create the next generation of conservationists.

As always, there are many opportunities to participate in the various activities and committees, make new friends and make a difference. For more information, visit our website at ZGTU Committees, contact us at Volunteer Interest Signup or contact any ZGTU Board Member for details.

Shouldn't EVERY Day Be Conservation Day?

We all know that July 4 is Independence Day. But July is also the month for many other national days of celebration. For example:

National Dive Bar Day (July 7)
Paper Bag Day (July 12)
National Get Out Of The Dog House Day (July 19)
National Whistleblower Day (July 30)

But, there are lots of other, more serious-minded celebrations also. Latino Conservation Week (July 17-25) is an initiative where various organizations hold events to provide an opportunity for Latinos to show their support for permanently protecting our land, water, and air. At press time, there were no events planned for Arizona, however new events are being added all the time, so feel free to check here for ways to participate: Latino Conservation Week

World Nature Conservation Day (held annually on July 28) has the goal of increasing awareness about protecting the natural resources and to make people understand about the importance of the conservation of nature and encourages all to participate in the protection, conservation, and sustainable management of natural resources.

Sound familiar?

This month, your Diversity-Equity-Inclusion team challenges TU members and friends to celebrate and embrace conservation within your own unique group and/or community. How do you do this? Glad you asked. You can:

Have a conversation with friends and let them know why you think cold water conservation is so important.
Find a small way to make a change in your own life, such as better recycling, shorter showers, don’t litter, plant a tree, make sure your vehicles are tuned up.
Gather the family to watch an environmental documentary. Trout Unlimited’s Vimeo channel has several great videos that you can access here.

And don’t forget: National Get Gnarly Day is July 30!

We would love to hear YOUR ideas about this column or suggestions on how we can better address diversity. Anyone and everyone is invited to join in TU’s national Diversity-Equity-Inclusion Zoom workgroup on the third Thursday of each month at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Click Here To Contact Diversity@AZ-TU.org

Priority Waters

In last month's newsletter we declared AZTU's intent to be a leader in embracing TU National's Priority Waters initiative. We had identified the 85 waters we were including in our Priority Waters portfolio based on the Arizona Game & Fish Department's "Coldwater Sportfisheries Strategic Vision Document for 2019 to 2029". This month we advanced that effort by meeting with Julie Carter, Aquatics Chief at AZGFD, to initiate the process of identifying the Portfolio of Projects they are planning to execute over the next 5 years so we can collaborate with them on these projects. Stay tuned. More to come!

Guest Speaker: Kate Miller

We were honored to have Kate Miller, TU National Director of Governmental Affairs speak at our Public Policy Committee Meeting on June 8th. She explained that the small staff of about 6 people work to affect policy at the federal level and to secure grants for conservation work. Their current priorities are the Public Lands Energy Act, Infrastructure Funding, Drought Protection, Wildfire Prevention and the 30 X 30 Initiative. She also informed us that TU does not weigh-in on cabinet and agency leadership nominations.

2021 Legislative Sessions

The Arizona legislature has not yet passed a budget. AZGFD has a 2 year $2.6M package (of their own money) for hatcheries improvements pending in the budgeting process.

Arizona Heritage Fund is still set to receive $5 million. We were hoping for $10 million, but are happy with at least getting $5 million. We have had conversations with President Fann and Speaker Bowers about the Heritage Fund and feel that we’ve exhausted our resources and $5 million is as much as we’ll get for this year. No need to take further action.

The AZTU Public Policy Committee (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 publicpolicychair@zanegreytu.org

Women's Virtual Book Club:

Book - Sleeping Lady by Sue Henry

Need more info? Contact Marcia Lescault: LescaultMarcia@yahoo.com

Next conversation: Thursday, SEPTEMBER 16th, 6 PM

Join us whether you've read the book or not!

Call In: 712-432-0220

Access code: 4632017

Social Media:

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.

Help AZGFD Manage the Gila Trout Fisheries

For those anglers targeting Gila Trout in Arizona, the Arizona Game and Fish Department asks that you please take the time to fill out this survey form after each fishing trip targeting Gila Trout. The form collects information on when and where anglers fished for Gila Trout, the type of fishing gear used, and how many fish caught. Filling out this survey is completely voluntary and responses are completely anonymous. The information will be used by the Arizona Game and Fish Department to better manage Gila Trout in Arizona.

Gila Trout Survey Form

Make sure to follow our new Instagram at this location!

Trout are in hot water in 2021

Another year of dangerous water temperatures is on tap for trout, here's what you can do. By: HatchMag.com

Whether the calendar agrees or not, summer has arrived to much of trout country, and it won’t be long before we start hearing about heat-induced fishing restrictions, or fishing closures altogether. Many eastern locales have experienced a rain-starved spring, leading to below-normal streamflows and reservoir levels, and above-normal stream temperatures. In the West, it’s another lean water year in a series of lean water years. According to the most recent report from NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NISDIS), widespread warm and dry conditions since spring arrived have led to rapid snowmelt across the western United States. In fact, according to NISDIS, many areas of the West aren’t simply facing poor or below-average snowpack compared to normal levels, but already have no or almost no snowpack at all.