CONSERVATION
Grassroots Activist Network
At the center of TU’s efforts to raise the profile of coldwater
conservation is the Grassroots Activist Network – TU
members who have volunteered to contact their members of
Congress, Governors, members of state legislatures and natural
resource agencies on issues of importance to trout and salmon.
Grassroots Activists receive brief summaries or
Action Alerts
of
issues pending before government decision-makers that could
harm or help coldwater fisheries, and guidance on how to be an
effective voice for trout and salmon.
As we work to protect fish and their waters, we need your
support and involvement to carry the conservationist message.
To join the Grassroots Activist Network, please send an email
containing your mailing address
to
grassrootsactivist@tu.org
Joe Fagan needs volunteers for Sport Fishing
Programs!
OPTU member, Joe Fagan, has recently been awarded the
contract of
Sport Fishing Educator
for the Arizona Game
and Fish Department
. He is in need of a cadre of
volunteers to assist him with various Fishing Programs in
Tucson and other towns in southern Arizona. E-mail Joe
(
JFaganFishEd@Gmail.com
), call him on his cell phone
(520-730-6398), or speak to him at OPTU meetings. He
can provide you with a volunteer packet to complete. The
AZGFD office on Greasewood Road (across from Pima
Community College) can do your fingerprints, essential for
certified volunteers. The completed form and fingerprints
are sent to the AZGFD main offices in Phoenix. Then,
calendars of Fishing Program events will be mailed to you.
Joe can inform you of programs he’ll be doing any time.
Jeff accepting the award from AzGFD
State Report from AZTU
We had a State council meeting this month. Zane
Gray(TU Chapter of Phoenix) was largely in attendance.
There were several issues they were concerned with; both
issues should concern OPTU as well.
Issue one- Zane Gray were board members to an
organization called Environmental Fund of Arizona (EFA).
This organization is the Conservationists equivalent of the
United Way. They go to employers who have their
employees donate directly out of their paychecks to EFA or
can have funds go directly to an org who is a member of
EFA; example Zane Gray. The person who occupied the
seat on EFA for Zane Gray resigned from the Council and
Zane Gray Board this past year due to illness. Zane Gray
has also been inactive with the funds they received from
EFA and therefore were removed from EFA. AZTU (Arizona
Council) was asked by EFA to be a member which we
gladly accepted. This means that funding that goes into
AZTU from EFA can be used toward projects presented by
any of the Arizona Chapters. Not just Zane Gray. We, the
Council, feel that this is the best scenario for all of Arizona
as money from EFA will only go towards an active project
and not sit unused. We hope you all agree.
Issue two- Canyon Creek (lower portion) is being
looked at by the AZGFD to possibly make it a "Put and
Take" Fishery. It presently is one of the few Arizona Blue
Ribbon Fisheries and is designated "Catch and Release".
AZGFD is presently doing creel studies to determine if this
fishery is used enough in its "Catch and Release" state. If
you have fished this lower portion of Canyon Creek or ever
wish to, please write to Curtis Gill
CGill@azgfd.gov
to let
him know of your wonderful experiences or future desires
for Canyon Creek. Please note the Mr. Gill is heading the
process of determination and not the "bad guy", so please
be kind with your emails. I also urge you to write to the
AZGFD Commissioners as they will make the final
determination. This Canyon Creek project was lead by the
Zane Gray Chapter of Phoenix back in the 80's and 90's.
They did a wonderful job on this stream which shows what
significance TU can have on restoration projects. OPTU
still has it's own restoration project which will have several
workdays this year; PLEASE GET INVOLVED!
AZTU will be having its next meeting in April, all TU
members are invited. This years OPTU workdays are in the
Presidents Message in this month’s Newsletter; they will
also be posted on the Website,
www.optu.org
.
OPTU was given the 2007 Award of Excellence by the
AZGFD Commissioners. It will be on display at Dry
Creek Outfitters.
In other news, the eggs have arrived at Sahaurita
Middle School for our pilot Trout in the Classroom. There
are 500 eggs and came in Whitlock Vibra Boxes. I received
a good article on vibra boxes and am going to present this
article to AZGFD for use on our Apache and Gila Trout
Recovery Streams. The vibra boxes can be placed directly
into the stream full of wild apache or gila trout eggs. The
claim is they have a 95% success rate. More to come on
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