Committed to 
Protecting, Connecting and Restoring Arizona's watersheds and fisheries.
"You do not cease to fish because you get old, You get old because you cease to fish!" 
~unknown
Message From The President
Greetings!

Welcome to the November 2021 Newsletter,
 
Welcome to the November 2021 newsletter. As we write this, we are fishing on the San Juan River quality waters, below Navajo Dam, New Mexico. Autumn is truly in full charge. The Cottonwood trees have turned to gold, the mornings are brisk and crisp, and the coffee tastes just a bit better as it warms you up in anticipation of a great day of fishing “the Juan.”
 
We have had great success with our volunteer opportunities so far this fall, with more yet to come. Please see the articles and pictures of our activity helping Madison Meadows Middle School where we introduced over 200-middle school students to fly fishing and fly casting. Also, some Trout Unlimited volunteers helped the Arizona Game and Fish Department stock Gila trout in some Southern Arizona waterways.
 
The Arizona Trout In the Classroom (TIC) program is gearing up for the 2021-22 School year. However, now, due to supply chain issues getting enough tanks and equipment, the egg delivery is delayed until the first week of December. More about TIC and an upcoming workshop later in the newsletter.
 
We plan a great finale to 2021 and start to 2022, and look forward to you joining us for our various activities and conservation opportunities. Please watch our schedule and volunteer section for upcoming activities. 
 
Our team continues to make great strides in our quest of protecting, reconnecting, restoring, and sustaining the cold-water fisheries of Arizona. But we need your help! Check out the articles in our newsletter outlining how you can help take action; whether it is by assisting in the Gila Trout Stocking, supporting the Kids Fishing Workshop, by volunteering for Trout In the Classroom, and more!
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)
  • Volunteer Opportunities and Updates:
  • Youth casting instruction
  • Gila Trout Stocking
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: National DEI Workshop
  • Public Policy – Presentation by Jim Goughnour, AZGFD Commissioner
  • Fly Girls Women's Initiative - Kick Off Event Thank you!
  • Virtual Book Club: 52 Rivers: A Woman's Fly Fishing Journey
  • Conservation: Trout Tracking K9s
  • Education: Trout in the Classroom - Updates
  • Fishing: AZGFD Hatcheries, an inside look.
  • Other Angling organizations
  • ZGTU and affiliates calendar 
  • Follow ZGTU on Social Media
 We’ve gone virtual!!!!
Please join us for our monthly meeting:
Look for our October board meeting announcement.

Until then, 
Tight Lines. 
 
Alan Davis
  • We are currently looking for volunteers for the Kids Fishing Workshop, Saturday, November 20, 2021, Kiwanis Park, Tempe

Scroll Down for more details!
Name: Kids Fishing Workshop
Date: Saturday, November 20, 2021
Times: 9AM - 11AM (Volunteers arrive at 8:30AM)
Fly-fishing at Madison Meadows Middle School
Zane Grey Chapter introduces fly-fishing to middle school
Earlier in October nearly a dozen ZGTU volunteers introduced over 200-middle schoolers to fly-fishing. This activity included a 25-minute classroom session, and a 25-minute hands-on how to fly cast session.

These middle school students are part of a special outdoor education class led by teacher Nathan Butler.

Special thanks to John Doss who led the event and ZGTU volunteers and supporters:
  • Kevin Boutin
  • Rod Buchanan
  • John Doss
  • Jim Kelehan
  • Eileen Klein
  • Dito Ladd
  • Bill Laudenschlager
  • Gary Miller
  • Kirk Norton
  • Jim Walker
Gila Trout Stockings Update
On Wednesday (Oct. 27), Native Trout and Chub program, Region 5, Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, Canyon Creek Hatchery, Research Branch, and Habitat Branch staff along with several volunteers from organizations such as Trout Unlimited (TU) and Oxbow Ecological Engineering successfully stocked 500 Gila Trout (South Diamond
lineage) in the lower section of Marijilda Creek. All of the fish were stocked starting where the Around the Mountain Trail crosses the stream and extending upstream for approximately 1 mile.

At the same time, Region 5, Region 6, USFS, and USFWS staff along with several volunteers from organizations such as the Old Pueblo Chapter of Trout Unlimited successfully stocked 250 Gila Trout (South Diamond Lineage) into Frye Creek. Approximately half of the fish were stocked into the section of Frye Creek near where the trail switchbacks up away from the stream, approximately 1 mile upstream from the parking lot, and the other half were stocked in a section of Frye Creek about 0.5 mile upstream from the first stocking location.

On Thursday (Oct. 28), Native Trout and Chub program, Region 5, USFS, and USFWS staff stocked 100 Gila Trout (Whiskey Creek lineage) into the upper section of Marijilda Creek near Shannon Campground.

I really want to thank all of the staff and volunteers who helped out with this stocking event!! Your help makes these projects possible and it is greatly appreciated! I would also like to thank Evan Mosser from Mora National Fish Hatchery for delivering all the fish for these stockings, along with the rest of the staff at Mora NFH for raising these fish!

Finally, you can view photos from these stockings in this folder. If you helped out and have photos you’re willing to share please upload them to that folder in the appropriate subfolder. Please feel free to pass this on to anyone I may have missed and let me know if you have any questions!
-Zach Beard
Native Trout and Chub Coordinator
Arizona Game & Fish Department.
National DEI Workgroup Year In Review Showcased At TU Annual Meeting.

Trout Unlimited’s Annual Meeting was held virtually and the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Workgroup held a breakout session where members shared stories, anecdotes and revelations gained from their time as TU DEI members and volunteers.  Stories included why people keep showing up the workgroup, why DEI is important to them and what they’ve learned from participation.  

If you missed the breakout presentation, you can watch it here:
DEI is a skill that we have to keep learning and practicing.  Our goal is to make the need for this TU Workgroup obsolete.  We would love to hear YOUR ideas about how to help encourage the love of nature and coldwater conservation to any underserved community.  Also, 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.  
We are better because of you—so please join in the conversation!
Public Policy Updates
Presentation by Jim Goughnour, AZGFD Commissioner

Jim Goughnour, one of the five AZGFD Commissioners, was our guest speaker at our October meeting. The following are excerpts from his comments:

The AZGFD:
The Commission was established in 1958 by the state legislature under Title 17-231.
The Commission has 5 members that serve five-year terms: Bill Brake, Chairman and in his final year, Todd Geiler, James Goughnour, Clay Hernandez, and Kurt Davis who is finishing his 2nd term.  The Commission meets 10 times a year in a public forum and has 2 workshops each year that are open to the public.

The Commission is responsible for the following:
A $130 million budget for fiscal 2022. 70% of the funds is from hunting and fishing license sales, discretionary funding. The other 30% is from the Federal Government, grants, etc. There are no AZ state appropriations, zero tax dollars, given to the Commission. However, the AZ state budget includes the Commission’s budget because the Commission is a State Agency. The 2019 appropriations for the Commission was not approved because certain  state budgets were not approved because of COVID-19. $2.5 million of fish hatchery improvements were postponed until the 2021 budget.

The Commission is responsible for the management of all AZ wildlife. The AZ wildlife belongs to the State and the title to the wildlife is held by a public trust.

The Commission’s priorities:
Increase sport fishing opportunities which includes stocking 750,000 pounds of fish annually in the lakes and streams. Look for new fish stocking areas.

Make fish hatchery improvements by completing at least 60% of the hatchery goals annually.

Increase fish habitat structures. AZGFD owns and manages 500 structures on 67 different properties for a total of 48,000 acres. The Commission buys and sells property on an as needed basis.

Manage 6 natural water flow fish hatcheries. The current drought conditions make this priority quite challenging.

Continue issuing fishing and hunting licenses. In 2020, 1 in 5 residents in AZ got fishing licenses, record numbers, and 1 in 6 or 7 residents got hunting licenses. The outdoor recreation activity in AZ represents approximately $1.5 billion in revenue to the state annually.

Monitor the Species Status Assessment (SSA) process; e.g. the round tail Chubb which resides in many streams in AZ.

James G. summed up his presentation with the following:
He believes that cold and warm water fishing is the best he has seen in AZ in years.

He hopes that AZ will be excluded from the 30 X 30 initiative as AZ has about 37% of its land already managed by the federal government. The initiative is now known as “America the Beautiful”.

Curt Gill has been promoted as the State’s native fish program manager for the AZGFD. Curt reports to Julie Carter.

The USFWS has approved the AZFGD’s 2021 to 2031 sport fish stocking program. Gila trout are included in new waters in the program.

AZFGD purchased the Cold Spring Ranch which will be converted into a recreational Gila Trout broodstock facility and will take up to 5 years to get functioning after planning and infrastructure changes are made. A huge step forward for Gila Trout!

He stressed the need for AZTU to continue working with Julie Carter at AZFGD on strategic planning. She is very excited to work with TU.

He supports the Community Fishing Program which will bring fish to the AZ communities. Communities are on a waiting list to get the CFP facilities and will pay for the fish.

He supports the Recovering America's Wildlife Act (RAWA) and thank you letters were mailed to the Senators for their support of the Act.

He noted the concern over uneducated people misusing the forests and recreational areas with off road vehicles designed for the sand dunes. The State Parks agency is responsible for this activity and have been writing volumes of tickets for violations.

He noted it was an honor to be a Commissioner for the AZGFD and noted that the bottom of the AZGFD website has the email addresses of the commissioners so that the public could correspond with them.

Audubon Groundwater Webinars

Audubon recently conducted 3 very informative webinars on ground water pumping. The links are here:


Future Guest Speakers

Steve Kandell, TU Staff, will speak on the 30X30+20 Initiative (America the Beautiful +20?) at the November 9, 2021 meeting. If you would like to participate, please contact Tom Osterday at publicpolicychair@zanegreytu.org .

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 Kick Off Event Was A Huge Success!
Thanks to the Arizona Flyshop for hosting the Arizona Women of Trout Unlimited's planning meeting! Many old and new friends joined in to plan fun events and activities for the upcoming year. If you were unable to attend but want to receive the meeting summary, please contact Diversity@AZ-TU.org and join in the fun!
Women's Virtual Book Club: 

Book - 52 Rivers, A Woman's Fly Fishing Journey by Shelley Walchak

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

Next conversation: Thursday, NOVEMBER 18th, 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.
Meet the Pawsome Canines That Track Trout for Conservation
Canine aquatic detection is a powerful new tool for monitoring stream health, tracking and combating invasive species, and protecting threatened and endangered fish. The latest conservation project for the Working Dogs for Conservation is trout like the westslope cutthroat and bull trout species. To help conserve native trout, the scientists at Working Dogs for Conservation have proven that dogs can differentiate species of fish, by scent, while the fish are swimming in their habitat.
Trout in the Classroom Update
What’s the Latest?
 
All too often we are hearing of a delay or cancellation of activities and events due to unavailable supplies.
 
The supply chain that delivers our supplies is causing a slight “delay” (not a cancellation) in the start of the Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program for the 2021 - 2022 school year.
 
Even with many challenges, VASCA Aquarium Supply, our partner, has been successful in locating most of the chemicals, equipment and other supplies for our upcoming program. 
What’s Next?
 
The pickup of eggs and delivery to 40 schools throughout Arizona is now tentatively planned for the week of December 6th.
 
Volunteers are needed in many different roles and the amount of time is minimal over the school year but very rewarding. We need drivers on delivery day in December. If you have up to 3 hours available to deliver a bag of 100 rainbow trout eggs to a school near you in December please contact us at info@aztc.org.
 
More information on the TIC program can be found at our newly redesigned website at www.aztic.org.
Arizona Game and Fish Hatcheries – An Inside Look
Since 1922 the Arizona Game and Fish Department has operated 15 fish hatcheries, 6 of which are still maintained. Five of these fish hatcheries are used for cold water production and play a major role in providing trout fishing opportunities in Arizona. The sixth hatchery is dedicated to warm water fish production. Almost all of the trout harvested in Arizona are stocked from our hatcheries. Every year, Department fish hatcheries contribute to the state economy by producing on average 385,000 pounds of fish, which equates to over 3 million fish that are stocked into 118 locations throughout the state. These fish hatcheries are destination facilities for bird watchers and the general public as well. Thousands of tourists annually visit the hatcheries to learn about the fisheries program and the Department’s mission.
Looking for a Fishing Opportunity?
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:
Organization
AZ Flycasters Club
@ The American Italian Club
7509 N 12th St
Phoenix, AZ 85020
Link To Website

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.
Contact
Desert Fly Casters
Check website for details.

General meeting 2nd Wednesday of each month. There may be some exceptions so check website for details.
Sun City Grand Fishing Club
Sun Lakes Fly Fishing Club
Payson Fly Casters
White Mountains Fly Fishing Club
http://flyfishingwm.com/
White Mountains Lake Foundation
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:
Join Trout Unlimited Today!
Not a member yet? Looking for a gift idea?  Join today at Trout Unlimited!
REMEMBER:
Your Conservation License Plate Supports TU Programs
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. 
Combined Calendar 
AZ Trout Unlimited & Chapters, Arizona Flycasters Club and several other area fishing and conservation calendars
You may access our calendar here
Zane Grey Trout Unlimited
Protect. Reconnect. Restore. Sustain. Conserving coldwater habitat in the desert southwest.