VACANCY FILLED!!

The Board is pleased to announce the recently vacated Vice President position of Tualatin Valley Chapter for Trout Unlimited has been filled! Two persons were nominated for the position - Mark Rogers and Jon Pampush. Both Mark and Jon are existing Board Members who play active roles in championing conservation efforts for the Chapter and each can easily fill the roll.

After some internal discussion between them - Jon Pampush readily accepted the nomination and during the January 27, 2015 monthly Board meeting his nomination was seconded and carried. Congratulations Jon and THANK YOU!

Jon Pampush, TVTU Vice President           photo: M Ellis

Jon was elected to the TVTU Board in November 2013. He has been an active participant and organizing member for our own Christmas for Coho program. Beyond that direct contribution Jon is very familiar with conservation items and particularly the scourge that is invasive plants in the West - so much so he is the executive director of The Western Invasive Plant Alliance - a non-profit dedicated to preventing the introduction and spread of invasive plants; they are headquartered in Tigard, Oregon. Jon is also an active member with the Tualatin River Watershed Council as Commercial and Recreational Fisheries Representative; he also is a member of that councils Watershed Watch Committee.

We appreciate Jon's dedication and welcome him to the vice-presidency!

What'd I miss - January?

Under fair skies [for an Oregon January evening] approximately 32 folks came out to the Lucky Lab for the January General TVTU meeting! What a pleasure to introduce several new members, a guest and a visitor for our kick-off 2015 meeting!
 

Member Robert Williams – another of our intrepid C4C repeat volunteers – reported several Clackamas River steelhead to hand! Way to go Robert. No pictures so we have to rely on his word! Not a far stretch for Robert though knowing he brought a 28” Davis Lake ‘bow to hand on the weekend of the 2014 Chewaucan Trip. Next time you see Robert – ask him about his expertise!
 

Andy Andrews reminded the crowd that April 18^th is the first trip of the 2015 OUTINGS SCHEDULE. A day trip to Lost Lake [the one that was lost in Clatsop County…]. It’s only a day trip and hopefully you’ll have some time to come warm up your arm and test that float tube for leaks…….

The Great Salmon Compromise

High Country News

Tom Wolf shares many bits of news and articles of worth throughout the year - one of his repeating sources is the High Country News. Below is the link to an article on the the endangered salmon runs and the Columbia Basin Fish Accords that have resulted.

The Great Salmon Compromise: The Columbia Basin Fish Accords have funded $1 billion worth of habitat restoration projects, but can they replace free-flowing rivers?

HIGH COUNTRY NEWS ARTICLE

Tom Wolf forwarded an interesting article a while back that relates to funding natural resources - the article written primarily about wildlife and hunting and the State of Wyoming - contains valid points that reach further than the noted content. This discussion applies to fish and all resources across all areas and is relevant to funding issues that all state fish and wildlife agencies face.

We here in the Pacific Northwest know that we can easily replace 'hunters' in this High Country News article with 'fisherman'....there is also reinforcement for your involvement and voice in policy-making!

Wyoming grapples with how to fund wildlife conservation
Hunters may lose influence as other groups are asked to increase their contributions.

We knew them when.....

Back in early December there was a Grant's Getaways show that aired - it featured the local Salmon Watch efforts; but more impressively Mark Rogers and his wife Janet were included as participating teacher volunteers! You'll certainly remember Mark for his increasing efforts coordinating the work with City of Tigard on Derry Dell creek - well, he and Janet fill their time teaching to the kids in Salmon Watch.....Looking to the next generations!

Besides being a great program, presented by a gracious TV host, we can say we know these folks! Tell them 'GREAT JOB' next time you see them at a meeting, camp out or Project!

Crooked River Fly water  - ODFW by Jessica Sall

Whether you call it the Crooked River or 'that river that is not straight', Tom Wolf forwarded some information from OCTU related to one of the central Oregon favorite waterways that will benefit everyone into the future. The Crooked serves not only as some of our premier fishing in the region but as most waterways also serves as the prime water source for a desert city [Prineville in this case]; add to that the agricultural aspect and water amounts and flows become critical.

Some folks got together and did some planning - and legislation to help the long term health for all....stakeholders included TROUT UNLIMITED and WaterWatch of Oregon.

12/11/14

Merkley, Walden Deliver Crooked River Agreement as Legislation Passes Senate

Bipartisan agreement is poised for passage in House; will deliver greater water security and economic growth for Central Oregon

WASHINGTON – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Greg Walden announced they have reached an agreement on legislation to implement a collaborative vision for water management along the Crooked River, and that the bill passed the Senate unanimously this afternoon.

January at TVTU!

Here we go!  The new year is upon us and we're looking for a good one! We hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable time during the holidays this year and that TVTU can be a part of your 2015. Good luck with all your resolutions!

Kicking off the year here is what TVTU has in store for the month.............

In a recent leader update from National, a notice was given for a report on 10 Special Places - we include it here for your reading; obviously, geared to the Eastern portion of the nation do not feel polarized! The information represents a need for awareness and education and applies to some of the same issues we are seeing in the west.....

 

Every place where we fish or hunt, where we take our families to get outdoors, and where we seek solitude and escape from our daily lives is special.

 

When Trout Unlimited began looking at the risks that rapidly expanding shale gas drilling operations in the East could pose to public lands, we knew we had to bring attention to these special places. Thanks to the help of many local TU volunteers working hand-in-hand with TU staff, we're pleased to present the Ten Special Places report, a TU initiative that tells the story of some of these great public places and why and how they should be protected.

 

For the 8.8 million hunters and anglers who fish and hunt in the Central Appalachian region, industrial-scale energy development encroaching on public lands is a big deal. In its Ten Special Places report, TU takes a deeper look into these public places, outlining the potential risks posed by gas drilling operations and providing recommendations to promote responsible energy development.  Already there have been wins, such as the announcement earlier this autumn that no additional lands of the George Washington National Forest would be leased for oil and gas development.

 

Thanks to volunteers such as you, TU is able to be an active participant in this and so many other important issues. Join us by learning more today.

 

Sincerely, 

Mark Taylor
Trout Unlimited
Eastern Communications Director

 

Mark can be reached through the CONTACTS PAGE of tu.org.