March at TVTU?

Hope you enjoyed our annual February weather break last week - what a time!! Cannot wait until July 4th when the Oregon summer officially begins! Lots going on these next few so lets get on with the information sharing!

Speaking of Summer - Andy Andrews, the TVTU explorer has released the 2016 TVTU Outing schedule.....

Restoration work at Derry Dell Creek, Tigard, Oregon, October 26th

Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited is continuing to help out with the restoration efforts on Derry Dell Creek in Tigard. This summer the culvert at Walnut Street was replaced with a fish friendly one. On Sunday, October 26, we will be furthering the restoration effort by hanging wood duck boxes, planting native wetland vegetation, and caging trees at the culvert replacement site. 

We will be working from 9 AM til 1 PM or thereabouts. It should be a fun day and a chance to see the work that the City of Tigard has been doing. 

We can park along SW Johnson street. It starts on 99W and runs West past Woodard park and ends right at the worksite. Here is a google map:

Reply by e mail ( TVTURestoration@gmail.com ) and let me know if you are coming so we have an idea of how big a crew we will have. 

I look forward to seeing you all there!

Thanks for volunteering.

Siincerely,

-- 

Michael Ellis

Conservation Director

Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

TVTURestoration@gmail.com

Making habitat for coho salmon fry on the Necanicum

Text and photos By Michael Ellis

This is the area on the Necanicum River that we will be placing the christmas trees to provide habitat for coho salmon fry.

Speaking of C4C......

Michael did a quick tally awhile back of volunteer hours from the great participation for Christmas for Coho. The calculations show:

30 volunteers for the drop sites over 3 days = 321 hours
6 volunteers for tree placement = 36 hours
9 volunteers for hauling trees from McKenzie Farms = 56 hours

Add that all together and you get a respectable 413 project hours total!! That is just straight hours - not the periphery hours for coordination and set-up etc. Not a bad bit of information and something the TVTU members should be proud of!

So what does this mean?

Food and water - necessities of LIFE!

In case you don't get notices from national/state TU - this is a repost of an ACTION ALERT emailed to members this morning. Consider the evidence and voice your opinions - they ARE asking afterall!

As a TU member in salmon and steelhead country, we need your voice to let the Pacific Fisheries Management Council know sport fishermen want better protections on the fish that our salmon and steelhead feed on in the open ocean.

WHY WE CARE
Pacific forage fish such as sand lace, squid, sardines and whitebait smelt play a crucial role in the lives salmon and steelhead. When these little fish congregate in massive bait balls at the mouths of our rivers they provide a source of alternative prey, working as a cover against a gauntlet of seabirds, seals and larger fish as outmigrating salmon and steelhead smolt. They also provide a crucial food source, accounting for nearly half the diet composition of Chinook salmon.
Protecting forage fish is also a good return on our investment. We spend countless hours working to protect the existing wild runs we have, while trying to improve their habitat. Sending them to a life in the ocean where their food is abundant is crucial to any work we do in fresh water.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
As TU Members in the salmon states, we have the power to give public opinion to the Pacific Fisheries Management Council. Letting them know you support better forage fish management will give them the support they need to move forward with a solid Forage Fish Policy.

Send a letter today.

Sincerely,

Dwayne Meadows
Pacific Northwest Outreach Director

This month at TVTU....

GENERAL MEETING!
WHEN: Wednesday, April 9, 2014
WHERE: Lucky Lab Public House [Multnomah]
WHERE ELSE: 2nd Floor Meeting Room
WHAT TIME: 6:30 gather; 7:00 program
WHAT to EXPECT: Scott Richmond - author and the Westfly guy - sharing his take on the Deschutes River fishery. Come and see how you can take advantage of that!
WHAT to BRING: a friend! a good 'tude! a tale! [Ron wants you to come haggle on the raffle tickets too].
Don't forget FOOD & DRINK are available for purchase at the staffed bar.
MEETING INFO:
<click>
or
<website click>

OUTING!
WHEN: Saturday, April 12, 2014
WHERE: LOST LAKE - Clatsop County [since Oregon seems to have lost a few...]
WHAT TIME: 10:00 a.m. [give or take...] at the Boatramp
WHAT to EXPECT: 15-acres of natural forest lake in the mountains; stocked with rainbows - usually has some holdovers early in the season - as well as a few steelhead to warm you up.
WHAT to BRING: Float tube or pontoon is recommended. Lunch/snack is appropriate. Another friend couldn't hurt!
OUTING INFO:
<website click>

DID YOU KNOW?
The TVTU Website has a CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS as well? Sure it's only as good as the people who fill it out but we try to keep it up to date. Remember to check it out and if you have any questions - JUST ASK!

GET YOUR OUTING ON!!!

Miller Lake.................Andy and a new buddy

Continuing to strive to provide all sorts of opportunities and excitement for our members - Outing Director Andy Andrews has published the...
 

2014 OUTINGS LIST

 
New spots, favorite spots, camping trips, day trips, weekends, weekdays - he has you covered! No excuses not to make one if not all!

General Meeting: FEBRUARY!

WHEN: Wednesday, February 12, 2014

WHERE: Lucky Lab Public House [Multnomah]

WHERE ELSE: 2nd Floor Meeting Room

WHAT TIME: 6:30 gather; 7:00 program

WHAT to EXPECT: Jason Borger presenting on strategies for trout; covering how trout perceive their environment and how we perceive theirs - how to piece it all together and apply it to fishing. Food and drink are available at the staffed private bar in our meeting room.

WHAT to BRING: good attitudes, a good story, and a chance to meet others of similar interests [oh - and a couple of bucks to buy a raffle ticket or two from that pesky Ron guy who has set up a VERY nice selection of items to win (he really does do a good job....].

We hope to see you there!

Volunteer!!

WOW!! - what a C rA ZY month of January we had! TVTU was REALLY busy collecting and staging and placing Christmas trees at our Necanicum Projects - and Doug Ray, The Man of Seaside Conservation, was named by Field & Stream as a Hero [we already knew that though! What a CHAMP!] - we hosted Field & Stream at a collection weekend to film a web video for their Hero for a Day program and our very own local celeb - Grant McOmie, with his trusty video man - Jeff Kastner - came to film the project for an upcoming show....BUT:

January Meeting - What'd you miss?

With the rivers finally on the rise due to the recent rains, our January meeting found around 28 members at the Lucky Lab Public House. Though the room was far from capacity – Erle gladly welcomed 4 new attendees [we appreciate seeing the new faces] and several returning faces! We’re glad everyone could make it and hope you found it worth returning!

Read on for more......

General Meeting

January 8, 2014

[next Wednesday!!]

Momentum is good.....

More publicity for the Christmas for Coho Project - after receiving some national attention from Field & Stream last year for the Project the editors have remained in contact with the Chapter and they have placed a blurb on their website - pretty nice! Michael shared it with us the other day:

CLICK

The Chapter was also contacted by the Lamb Foundation who award grants to various Projects and groups. We did not solicit this but rather caught the eye of the board and were prompted to submit Chapter project information. The foundation was able to include the Chapter in their awarding. We are very appreciative of that recognition and will dedicate this granted money to our various goals!

The Lamb Foundation merits: 

The mission of the Lamb Foundation is to support a range of creative programs to improve the quality of human experience.

We are guided by the values of innovation, sound management and the potential for positive impact over time.

Throughout our grantmaking, we particularly encourage those projects that recognize the positive impact of direct action, exploration, and intellectual curiosity.

It is this type of visibility and recognition that will continue to allow the Chapter to meet our TU goals into the future and we appreciate all the recognition but especially the efforts of those who helped us with our various efforts. If you'd like to help - in any manner - CONTACT US.

THANK YOU!

I missed it....DID YOU???

December meeting recap:

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the member meeting this month....I was definitely looking forward to seeing our good friend and All-Knowing Necanicum guy Doug Ray again. He originally planned to bring Melissa Reich our friend from the North Coast Land Conservancy - and Power Point presentation guru - to the meeting to review and discuss the Tualatin Valley Chapter's efforts - past and future - on the north coast!.....

Don't forget......

Doug Ray at the member meeting this month - Wednesday December 11!!

Come early for a good seat!

< December Meeting >

Look to sign up for the Christmas for Coho! Project as well.

< C4C >

December Member Meeting!

Can you squeeze in some time in the wonderful and busy holiday season to come join us on December 11th? That's NEXT WEEK!!

Member meeting is at the Lucky Lab Public House in Multnomah Village [second floor]. We start around 6:30 and this month will feature our very own Doug Ray! Doug is our member on the ground at Seaside and has offered to travel into town and give us a run down of the restoration projects that TVTU assists with on the Necanicum River. If you are interested in how the Chapter uses your hard work and your hard-earned funds - not to mention how YOU can get involved - come meet Doug!

 

Doug Ray on the coast    Photo: M. Ellis

The Trout Line

November / December Issue Available NOW!!!

Willows and Sedges and Spruce Oh My, or, Planting the Circle Creek Off Channel Wetland Complex Text and Photos by Michael Ellis

The Crew, from the left: Mike Gentry, Regina Southworth, Jeff Roehm, Jon Pampush, Austin Tomlinson, Casey Corkrey, Alan Moore, Andy Andrews, Doug Ray, Rod, Lundberg, Michael Ellis

On November 2nd, 2013, 7 stalwart TVTU members and 4 North Coast Land Conservancy members braved the predicted weather (high winds, steady rain) to assemble at the North Coast Land Conservancy’s Circle Creek site to plant native vegetation in and around the new Off Channel Wetland Complex (OCWC).

North Coast Site Tour part 3

At the Circle Creek Off Channel Wetland Complex

After visiting Neitzel Farms, we proceeded on to the North Coast Land Conservancy's Circle Creek site. Our chapter provided funds, through a Trout Unlimited Embrace a Stream grant, to design, engineer and and permit this work.  

North Coast Site Tour part 2

Next we went to Neitzel Farms, another Off Channel Wetland Complex (OCWC) that TVTU helped to build and plant. 

At Neitzel Farms, from left: Les Neitzel, Mike Coddington, Robert Williams, Doug Ray, Greg Fritts, Jon Pampush, Erle Norman

North Coast Site Tour

On Wednesday, October 23rd, 7 members of the Tualatin Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited met for a tour of the projects we have been involved in over the years. In attendance were Erle Norman, Jon Pampush, Greg Fritts, Mike Coddington, Robert Williams, Michael Ellis, and the leader of the tour, Doug Ray.

Cedars, bull rushes and sedges getting established