December 2, 2009
Trout Unlimited Celebrates its 50th Anniversary
The national organization, Trout Unlimited, is celebrating the end of its fiftieth year of working to conserve, protect and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. Over 10,000 river miles have been protected by the organization which has pioneered new scientific, legal and legislative tools to make America’s rivers cleaner and healthier.
Since 1972, the Bay Area’s local chapter, North Bay Trout Unlimited (NBTU), has succeeded in fulfilling National’s mantra by working to protect waters in the bay area as well as the Eastern Sierra’s Walker River drainage protecting Lahontan cutthroat trout as well as a rare strain of Paiute cutthroat in Silver King Creek above the high Sierra’s Llewelyn falls. In addition, the chapter, led by its late leader Leo Cronin, worked extensively on projects to protect the McCloud River redband trout. Mr. Cronin has received highest honors from TU National as well as being inducted into the Bay Area Federation of Fly Fishers Hall of Fame in 1994.
Along with Cronin, Mill Valley’s Stan Griffin has recently been honored by TU National as “One of Ten”, who has had the greatest impact on the nation’s trout and salmon fisheries throughout the organizations 50-year history. Stan was one of a few NBTU members who, in 1982, began working to restore Coho (silver) salmon in the Lagunitas (Marin Co.) watershed. In July, 1984, 40,000 wild Coho eggs were placed in hatch boxes and in 1985 rearing troughs (the beginning of NBTU’s hatchery) were constructed behind the Marin Municipal Water District’s treatment plant. Fish from the boxes were reared until they reached a suitable size for release. In June, 1985, 25,000 fish were released into the watershed and this work continued into the 1990’s which culminated into a return of over 500 fish in 1995 or 10% of the return in the entire state.
NBTU and TU California has worked for over 25 years on the Lagunitas watershed, assuring life giving flows from Kent Dam, importing spawning gravel and cobble, planting trees, erecting exclusionary fencing and gates restoring trials, building footbridges, and securing Embrace-A-Stream grants from TU National, which in 1998 provided seed money to modify Roy’s Dam in San Geronimo amid national attention. Educational programs are also a large part of NBTU’s work. As early as 1989, students in Marin and Sonoma Counties were able to take part in the Trout & Salmon in the Classroom Program (TIC). Classroom teachers are trained by the Dept. of Fish & Game and volunteers from NBTU assist the teachers in their K-12 classes. Students watch the progress of eggs being hatched in their tanks, learning about the fish’s habitat and how to preserve it, to be followed by the release of the fry into local streams.
San Rafael’s Chuck Schultz was one of two recipients of TU National’s “Youth Education Award” for his longtime work with the TIC program. NBTU also sponsors First Cast days where youngsters learn how to fish with the hope that they will become the future stewards of our watersheds.
NBTU continues its work with workdays in the Lagunitas watershed as well as assisting the National Park Service with their restoration of Redwood Creek at Muir Beach in Marin County. If you would like to volunteer for any of NBTU’s programs, please go to the website at nbtu.org.
