Trout Facts: The Brown Trout is an immigrant to the United States. The first successful importation occurred on February 24, 1883, when 80,000 fertilized eggs of European Brown Trout, Salmo trutta, arrived in New York Harbor aboard the steamship Werra. read more here
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Would you like to see more Trout Facts in future newsletters?
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Yes, I can't enough Factual News!!
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No, I prefer the fishing quotes that used to be here!!
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Message From The President |
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June 2022 Newsletter
Welcome to the June 2022 newsletter. June begins summer, and the opportunities for outdoor adventure, fishing and conservation activities abound. But, probably not in the valley itself. June begins summer or as we say in Arizona the hotter season.
June we also honor Father’s Day. Although I’m sure some kids, when challenged to get dad a gift, would long for the day they could buy dad a necktie – forget the necktie kid; get dad a fishing lanyard!
June also begins our third year of Arizona Council Trout Unlimited – Grand Canyon Council Fish Camp beginning Sunday, June 5, 2022. We have two 1-week sessions this year. We’ll have more about camp in next month’s newsletter.
Our conservation work continues at R-C Scout Ranch. During the latter part of April and then on May 6 and 7, we had a number of volunteers help with several volunteer projects. Additionally, we had a number of scout volunteer helpers. More about these projects later in the newsletter.
***Stop the presses ***
Breaking News from our retail friends and partners.
Arizona Council received a very generous donation of $500 from the AZ Fly Shop during their recent anniversary celebration.
And today, we accept a check from the Orvis Phoenix store of over $3000 generated during their Orvis Give Back Days. Thank you, Orvis, and thank you to all of you who donated to this fund. These funds will help with our youth education and conservation efforts.
We look forward to a great summer and hope you’ll be able to join us for some of our upcoming events. Everyone is also invited to join in our board meetings each and every month!
Board meetings - We’ve gone virtual!!!!
Please join us for our monthly board teleconferences the
First Thursday of each month @ 7:00 – 8:45 PM
Microsoft Teams meeting:
Join on your computer or mobile app
Or call in (audio only)
Phone Conference ID: 597 936 271#
Until then,
Tight Lines.
Alan Davis
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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 are currently 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 great Instagram! Follow us here!
- Arizona TU (@trout_unlimited_arizona)
- Volunteer Opportunities and Updates:
- See above in the President's Message
- Arizona Fish Camp (after Conservation below)
- Public Policy
- Legislative Updates
- Next Meeting June 9th at 7 PM
- Conservation
- Roundtail Chub Update: No Endangered Listing.
- National Leadership Council
- The Controversy Over Saving the Apache Trout
- Fly Girls Women's Initiative
- Ladies Fall Lees Ferry Trip
- Education
- Trout in the Classroom - End of the School Year
- Fishing
- Auto-Renewals for Fishing Licenses Online
- Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are Here
- Other Angling organizations
- ZGTU and affiliates calendar
- Follow ZGTU on Social Media
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Legislative Update
HCR-2024, the resolution opposing the America the Beautiful initiative, has gone to a Senate floor vote and was defeated with the help of Senators Pace and Boyer's NO votes. Trout Unlimited, along with the Arizona Wildlife Federation, met with both Senators multiple times in anticipation of HCR2024 going to a floor vote, we thank these Senators for their stance on public land conservation and their willingness to vote against their party. With that said, we're not out of the woods yet. Senator Kerr has motioned to reconsider the bill and that motion has passed. This means that HCR2024 will go again to the Senate floor for a re-vote. We're guessing that Senator Kerr will try to change the votes of both Pace and Boyer. TU and AWF will meet with Senators Pace and Boyer to hopefully cement their vote as a NO against HCR2024. For more information reach out to Nate Rees at nathan.rees@tu.org
American Conservation Experience (ACE)
At our May meeting, Rafael Rosa, the Chief Program Officer at ACE, and Keean Ruane, the Division Director for the Southwest Region for ACE, shared with our Committee the mission of the group and their operations model. They are the modern day “Civilian Conservation Corps” – citizens engaged in building infrastructure in our parks and forests. They have between 100 and 120 staff members and between 300 and 450 “crew” members. Most of the crew are between the ages of 18 and 25 and want to participate in outdoor conservation work. Some move on to careers in conservation and environmental protection. They do a lot of work building and repairing trails, removing invasive species and embankment restoration. We agreed that we would all like to partner on a conservation project in the future.
Arizona Surface Water Protection Program
This program, which is the outgrowth of legislation passed in June of 2021, is the first program in Arizona’s history to put rules in place to protect our surface water. Prior to this legislation, the state relied on the federal Clean Water Act. Trout Unlimited strongly supports the Arizona Surface Water Protection Program (SWPP). The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is the state governmental entity that is responsible for implementing the program. They are committed to issuing 5 technical papers that will lead to the official “rule Making” that will be the definitive implementation of the SWPP. Four of the Five technical papers have been released and are available for review on the ADEQ website at https://azdeq.gov/SWPP. The first paper defines how the Protected Surface Water List (PSWL) was developed and how it will be maintained. The fourth one defines how the Economic, Environmental and Social cost/benefit analysis will be done to add or delete waters from the list. With the exception of 5 waters, all of the waters on our Priority Waters list are included in the PSWL. We are working with ADEQ and AZGFD on the 5 that are not currently included. Our primary focus right now is to understand how decisions will be made to delete waters and how the cost/benefit analysis will be completed. Stay tuned! If you have questions, please contact Tom Osterday at tgosterday at publicpolicychair@az-tu.org
Upcoming Events
June Meeting, Thursday, June 9th at 7:00 PM:
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The AZTU Public Policy Committee (PPC) hosts a virtual meeting on the second Thursday of the month at 7:00 until 8:00 PM. If you are interested, please contact Tom Osterday at PublicPolicyChair@az-tu.org .
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Wild Arizona: Federal decision a big win for chub in Lower Colorado River basin |
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The AZ Game and Fish Department applauds the April 5 determination by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the Lower Colorado River basin distinct population segment of roundtail chub is not at risk of extinction in the foreseeable future and does not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act.
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Our Recent Volunteer Efforts at R-C Scout Ranch |
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On Friday May 6 and Saturday May 7 several volunteers and scouts from Troop 41 rolled up their sleeves and rolled some rocks, moved some dirt, seeded and covered some hillsides, and earned every calorie consumed.
Over the two-days, we moved, smoothed, and distributed, approximately 105 cubic yards of earth (enough dirt to cover a football field with about an inch of dirt); 112 cubic feet of rock and gravel, spread 200 pounds of native seeds, laid down 3000 square feet of environmental fabric, and consumed gallons of water and Gatorade, dozens of sandwiches, bagels, and energy bars, plus we did get a few photos.
A special thanks to Dan Briley, Sal Cirincione, Mickey Fletcher, Doyle Gaines, Tom Knight, Bob McMenemy, Ken Richter, Sam Simmons, David Wasson, Taylor Wheeler, and Vicki Ainsworth who put in long hours and tremendous effort in getting our tasks performed. Thanks too to Scoutmaster Brian Cook and Troop 41 from Phoenix and their efforts in helping with the work.
Photo credits and thanks to Bob McMenemy for his photo expertise. Additional photos are here. The album shows the work we did about three-weeks before, in addition to our most recent efforts.
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The Controversy Over Saving the Apache Trout |
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Arizona has only two trout that are native to our waters: The Gila Trout (also found in parts of New Mexico) and the Apache Trout found only in our state. The Apache trout, Arizona’s official state fish, was once abundant in the White Mountains. However, in the early 1900s, stocking of non-native trout unintentionally became a threat to the native Apache trout to the point of nearly wiping them out.
There has been some heated discussion about the methods that have been used to bring them back from extinction. Anglers have argued that the recovery plan involved eliminating the wild rainbow and browns in order to stock the native Apache. It is thought that since the genetics for the Apache from the hatchery are weak due to interbreeding that the stocked native Apache trout have died. Further comments suggest that the program has killed more trout than it has saved. And this is a detriment to fishing.
Let’s not try to win an argument. Let’s try to solve a problem.
There is a difference between wild trout and native trout. Both are an important and vibrant part of our ecosystem and the sport of angling. Trout Unlimited is a conservation organization. Therefore, the preservation of a species is important to us and our conservation partners.
In 1975, the Apache Trout Recovery Team comprised of representatives from Arizona Game and Fish Department, White Mountain Apache Tribe, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the USDA Forest Service developed a plan to ensure the long-term survival of the endangered Apache trout.
The goal of the Recovery Team was to ensure that 30 self-sustaining populations of Apache trout were established within their historic range. This success would be significant as no fish species to date has been removed from the endangered species list (except when they actually became extinct).
Despite some frustrated anglers’ thoughts that fishing opportunities have been lost, due to the efforts of the Recovery Team, the Apache trout is close to reaching the recovery criteria. In fact, through the efforts of various fish hatcheries at Williams Creek National Fish Hatchery (where eggs are produced and raised to be catchable-sized trout) and Silver Creek and Tonto Creek state hatcheries, stocking and monitoring has allowed for most wild Apache populations to become fishable.
Happy angling!
If you would like to learn more about Trout Unlimited’s mission and goals, please contact Arizona’s NLC representative, Susan Geer, here or at the link below.
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ONLY THREE SPOTS LEFT!
Ladies Fall Lees Ferry Trip
October 7-9, 2022
AWOTU is pleased to announce a ladies’ guided fall fly fishing trip to Lees Ferry! Described as “The World’s Largest Spring Creek,” Lees Ferry offers fly fishing in crystal clear tailwaters surrounded by sandstone cliffs, making for a spectacular and unforgettable experience. Come meet other women anglers, learn from top guides and enjoy a weekend getaway to this world-renowned trophy trout fishery, located in our own backyard.
All levels welcome!
Details: Check into the lodge on Friday, October 7 and enjoy a welcome happy hour with the group at the restaurant on-site. We will start early on Saturday and enjoy a full day on the water, wading and boat fishing. Depart on Sunday at your leisure.
8 spots guaranteed, with 2 fly fishers per guide boat. We will run a wait list and add more if possible.
Cost: $550, SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY (double occupancy less but there is an additional 3% fee if using a credit card.) Included in cost: Happy hour, 2 nights lodging, full day of guided fishing with boat (two anglers per boat), including lunch.
At participant’s own expense: Tip for your guide (15-20% of fee is customary), other meals, beverages and purchases. Fee to get in/park at the Glen Canyon Recreation Area (see below). Transportation to and from Marble Canyon.
Park Fee: The launch site is a short drive from the lodge, located inside Glen Canyon Recreation area. The entrance fee is $30 per vehicle/4 occupants. If anyone has an America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass or Senior Park Pass, please BRING IT and maybe we can carpool.
Lodging/Rooms: Lodging is at Cliff Dwellers Lodge is located at Mile Post 547 N Hwy 89A in Marble Canyon, AZ. We have reserved enough rooms for each person to have her own room, or you may double up with a friend. Queen and Full rooms include two beds. King rooms have one bed. Please specify preference when reserving and indicate if you plan to share a room. Room allocations will be made first-come, first served.
Amenities/Other activities: A restaurant and a fly shop are located on site. There are no other stores in the immediate area, so you will want to pack accordingly. In addition to sightseeing, other activities in the area including kayaking, SUP and boat rentals. Learn more at https://cliffdwellerslodge.com
About Lees Ferry: “…Described as “The World’s Largest Spring Creek,” the Colorado River at Lees Ferry is a massive, clear running tailwater fishery. The river runs 15.5 miles from the outflow of Lake Powell at Glen Canyon Dam to the upper end of the Grand Canyon. …
RESERVATIONS/QUESTIONS: Please contact Eileen at ekleinaz@gmail.com to RSVP and make a deposit of $300 to claim your spot!
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Social Media:
Check out the Instagram page for
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Trout in the Classroom - School Year Ends
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After only three months from hatching, students and teachers report the trout have grown quickly. With the school year just ending so does a shortened TIC program for the 2021 - 2022 school year.
We are pleased with the rapid growth of the program in Arizona from 3 schools in 2016 to 40 schools in 2022, even with the delays caused by COVID.
Volunteers are already planning and preparing for the 2022 - 2023 school year program. We are committed to expanding the program statewide and ask for your assistance in promoting the program to other schools.
Please refer anyone interested in any school who would like to consider participating to submit an application or as a volunteer to sign up for more information.
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AZGFD offers auto-renewal for hunting, fishing licenses |
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The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) has introduced a new option that allows hunting and fishing license holders to have their licenses automatically renewed upon expiration. “Arizona’s annual licenses are valid for 365 days from the date of purchase, but not everyone remembers when their licenses expire,” said Assistant Director Doug Cummings. “The voluntary auto renew option was added to improve customer convenience so they don’t have a gap when their license expires.” continue reading here...
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Fire Restrictions Increase Across Arizona
Help protect Arizona's wild spaces by following all fire restrictions. Most of the State is in Stage 2 Fire Restrictions, with only a few jurisdictions in Stage 1. (anticipated to transition to Stage 2 near term) With hot, dry weather and high winds across our public lands, many small wildfires are already burning. You can help by sharing this information with others! Click Here to learn More
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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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AZ Flycasters Club
@ The American Italian Club
7509 N 12th St
Phoenix, AZ 85020
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Fly-Fishing Social Event night - 2nd Tuesday 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. Social Event 6-7 Meeting @ 7PM Great speakers; 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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Committed to
Protecting, Connecting and Restoring Arizona's watersheds and fisheries.
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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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