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Committed to
Protecting, Connecting and Restoring Arizona's watersheds and fisheries.
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"Most fishermen use the double haul to throw their casting mistakes further." ~Lefty Kreh
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Message From The President |
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Welcome to the June 2021 Newsletter,
We are writing you from Fish Camp; the Grand Canyon Council, BSA and Arizona Council of Trout Unlimited joint venture. This is our second year, and things are shaping up well. We have 10 campers our first week and another ten coming our second session. In addition, we are blessed with a number of great volunteers, including Council Chair Steve Reiter.
This Memorial Day we honored those that gave their all for our freedom. This freedom, is the ability to enjoy the weekend; and from the looks of the traffic coming through Payson en route to Fish Camp the entire state of Arizona is enjoying their freedom.
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Breaking News:
Your chapter received a $2530 donation from the Orvis Giveback Days. Thanks to all who donated during the Orvis Giveback days. Your generosity, and the Orvis Company philanthropy made this possible.
Please see the picture above of John Jordan receiving the check form Orvis Phoenix store Fisheries manager Jakob Smith.
We look forward to a great summer and sincerely hope you get an opportunity to get out and enjoy all we have in Arizona.
Be sure and check out the winners of the 2021 Photo Contest.
Here are the 2021 photo contest winners.
Peoples Choice - Gayle Gaines - West Clear Creek
Judges Choice - Ryan Hummel - Rainbows on the Rio Grande
Kids - Ayden Strogen - Bridge Pool at Washington Park
Honorable Mention
First Tree to Change - John M
Dusk on the Pool - Carol P
Northern AZ - Steve T.
We have started off the year strong, plan to continue our great 2021, and look forward to you joining us for our various activities and conservation opportunities.
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.
- Fishing & Nature Photo Contest Winners Announced!
- Urban Fishing Tournament for Kids
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Something For Everyone
- Public Policy – Waters of Arizona Update;
- Priority Waters
- The Good, the Hopeful, and the Bad News
- FFI Women Connect Event
- Virtual Book Club: Sleeping Lady
- Help AZGFD Manage the Gila Trout Fisheries
- TU Lapel Pin Opportunity!
- Fishing: A New Method of Catch and Release
- Other Angling organizations
- ZGTU and affiliates calendar
- Follow ZGTU on Social Media
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We’ve gone virtual!!!!
Please join us for our monthly meeting:
Thursday, June 3, 2021 7:00 - 8:45 PM
Please let us know if you are joining us. Contact me.
Until then,
Tight Lines.
Alan Davis
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PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS AND PRIZES |
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Grand Prize – People’s Choice: H&H 9’ 6wt fly rod-Gayle Gaines-West Clear Creek
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Grand Prize – Judges Choice: St. Croix 5wt fly rod and case - Ryan Hummel - Rainbows on the Rio Grande
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Kids Submission - Ayden Strogen - Bridge Pool at Washington Park |
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Honorable mentions (3): AZ hand tied fly assortment and TU ball cap
First Tree to Change - John M
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Dusk on the Pool - Carol P. |
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It appears that we’re turning the corner on the pandemic and feeling more comfortable in small gatherings outside. As TU works to involve more diverse and underserved communities in our mission to protect cold, clean fishable water, your local chapter has a lot of opportunity for everyone to join in.
Women are getting out and getting acquainted this Saturday morning at Road Runner Park in Phoenix. Saturday also kicks off the start of the National Urban Kids Fishing Derby. There are always opportunities for local clean ups and citizen science. Locally, Trout Unlimited is supporting an effort by the Arizona Game and Fish Department to collect information from anglers who fished for Gila Trout. See the survey story and link to the AZ-TU.org website in this newsletter. And, finally on a national
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Got other ideas for national TU? We would love to hear YOUR ideas. 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 hope to see you June 17!
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Senate Passes Water Infrastructure Bill with Major Investments in Job-Creating Conservation Projects - Read more
Priority Waters
One of the major initiatives in the Five-year Strategic Plan coming out of TU National is the concept of "Priority Waters". As a conservation group, we can be drawn into any number of issues. This initiative recognizes that we can only do so much and we need to FOCUS on the waters that are aligned with our mission: cold, freshwater that sustain native and wild trout (and salmon). We are aligning our focus on the 85 waters in AZ that AZGFD has identified as their current or potential wild and native trout waters. We are once again demonstrating our forward thinking by embracing the "Priority Waters" concept and are pursuing a pilot role in this initiative. The next step is to engage in further dialogue with AZGFD to narrow this further to waters
2021 Legislative Sessions
The 2021 Arizona legislature is still in session. Rep. Cobb projected on 4/29 that the session will close in mid-May. We'll see! A few of the most important bills relative to our mission are featured again for this month. Updates are italicized.
Good News:
- SB1368/HB2056 - This bill, called the "use it or lose it" bill, will allow water rights holders to NOT use their entire allocation without losing future rights to that water. This bill was passed by the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor. This is great news as it allows water rights holders to leave water in rivers and streams without losing their rights to access that water in the future.
- SB1442/HB2440 - This bill, known as the Governor's Healthy Forest Initiative, provides for a four-fold increase in the state's funding for thinning forests at the urban-wildlife interface of our communities using Department Of Corrections inmates. It also provides a career path for incarcerated people. This was passed by the House and Senate and signed by the Governor on 3/9.
- SB1177/HB2247 - This bill provides tax credits to companies that process forest products. This will support forest thinning by supporting enterprises who will remove the slash (biomass) left over after useful timber is removed. This bill passed the House & Senate and was signed by the Governor on 4/28
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SR1002/HR2003 - This bill would strip the ACC of the authority to establish renewable energy standards and transfer that responsibility to the Legislature. It has passed the house and is awaiting action in the Senate. We are opposed to this legislation as we perceive it as a move by the Legislature to stop the transition to renewable energy in Arizona. Ironically, the utility providers in AZ are moving in this direction on their own. This bill is dead.
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HB2702 - This bill, proposed by Representative Finchem, would require a land-owner to get approval of the Arizona Legislature before being able to sell their land to the federal government. The supporters justify this proposed legislation based on a claim that it would protect the property tax that the state gets on this land because the state does not receive tax revenue from federal land. We are strongly opposed to this legislation. It would deny property owners their rights to do what they deem appropriate with their property without undue interference from the state. Outdoor recreation provides over 200,000 jobs in the state and delivers over $1.4B in state and local tax revenue, which far outweighs the property tax value of the land. This bill has is dead.
Hopeful:
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SB1384/HB2127 - The American Heritage Fund bill would dedicate $10M to be spent on maintaining and improving Arizona's trails, parks, cultural sites and open spaces. As of 2/11/2021, this bill has passed the House and is being reviewed in the Senate Appropriations and Rules Committees. We support this legislation. Several amendments have been made on the amount of funding, but it is still in process.
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HB2691 - Probably the most impactful legislation for protecting the clean, cold water we like to fish is the legislation that the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has drafted as the "Surface Water Protection Program". We have been tracking this in past ZGTU Newsletters. With the issuance of the Navigable Water Protection Rule by the US Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers, most of the surface water in AZ has lost its protection. This is Arizona's attempt to put protections in place. While we are concerned that ephemeral streams may not receive adequate protection and "dredge & fill" is not managed, this is a major step forward. This bill has passed the House and was then passed in the Senate with amendments. It has been sent back to the House on 4/28 to have amendments voted on.
Bad News:
- HB2679 - This bill would have allowed county boards of supervisors to take action to protect their groundwater. This bill is dead.
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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
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Women's Virtual Book Club:
Book - Sleeping Lady by Sue Henry
Next conversation: Thursday, SEPTEMBER 16th, 6 PM
Join us whether you've read the book or not!
Call In: 712-432-0220
Access code: 4632017
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Social Media:
Check out the Instagram page for
Arizona Women of Trout Unlimited: @AZWOTU
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Help AZGFD Manage the Gila Trout Fisheries |
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For those anglers targeting Gila Trout in Arizona, the Arizona Game and Fish Department asks that you please take the time to fill out this survey form after each fishing trip targeting Gila Trout. The form collects information on when and where anglers fished for Gila Trout, the type of fishing gear used, and how many fish caught. Filling out this survey is completely voluntary and responses are completely anonymous. The information will be used by the Arizona Game and Fish Department to better manage Gila Trout in Arizona. |
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A New Method for Practicing Catch and Release |
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Catch and Release practices typically help preserve the fish population but are these practices safe for the fish? Handling a fish out of the water to remove a fly hook or take a photo can result in undesirable consequences to the fish. A High Country Fly Fishers member developed an improved and faster method to release a fish. Here is a link for more information.
After several members used this tool during their 2020 fishing season, HCFF decided to make 250 of these catch and release tools this year as a conservation project for less than about $0.25 each. We are distributing them for free to fishermen and fisherwomen around Utah.
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A video on the website link shows how effective and fast this release tool works. The website link also gives more information on the damage to fish during handling, instructions on how to make these CRTs and who to contact if you need additional information. I have had fish days during 2020 where I caught 30 or more fish without netting or handling one fish. Try it and you won't go back.
Stay healthy and have a great day!
Bill Quapp
Vice President & Program Organizer
High Country Fly Fishers – A Trout Unlimited Chapter
Heber City, UT
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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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Arizona Flycasters Club
Sunnyslope Community Center | 802 E. Vogel Ave. Phoenix, AZ
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Fly-Fishing Social Event night - 2nd Thursday 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. There may be some exceptions so 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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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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