TROUT UNLIMITED INC

CONSERVATION OPERATIONS:THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME NOTABLE DEVELOPMENTS UNDERWAY IN TU'S IDENTIFIED "PRIORITY WATERS":EASTERN CONSERVATION MAINE THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WITH LAND TRUSTS, TU IS WORKING ON A COMBINATION OF LAND PROTECTION, STREAM RECONNECTION, AND INSTREAM HABITAT RESTORATION. TOGETHER, THESE COMPREHENSIVE EFFORTS WILL SECURE SOME OF THE BEST NATIVE BROOK TROUT STRONGHOLDS IN THE U.S. AMONG THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2024 FIELD SEASON WERE SIX MILES OF INSTREAM WOOD ADDITIONS ON STREAMS IN THE KENNEBAGO AND PLEASANT RIVER WATERSHEDS. WEST VIRGINIAMORE EVIDENCE OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WOOD ADDITION PROJECTS WAS GAINED THROUGH MONITORING OF WORK DONE BY TU AND THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE IN WEST VIRGINIA. AREAS WHERE LARGE WOOD WAS ADDED TO STREAMS SHOWED AN INCREASE IN POOLS AND POOL DEPTH AND INCREASES IN TOTAL BIOMASS AS WELL AS THE NUMBERS OF LARGE BROOK TROUT. BY RE-ENGAGING THE FLOODPLAIN AND IMPROVING GROUNDWATER RECHARGE, THE PROJECTS LED TO MAXIMUM WATER TEMPERATURES THAT WERE 1.2 DEGREES CELSIUS LOWER THAN THE MAXIMUM WATER TEMPERATURES IN THE CONTROL SITES.GREAT LAKES COASTERS ARE BROOK TROUT THAT LIVE IN LAKE SUPERIOR AND MIGRATE TO TRIBUTARIES. IN 2024, TU ORGANIZED STATE AGENCIES, TRIBES, FEDERAL AGENCIES AND OTHERS FOR THE FIRST COASTER-FOCUSED STAKEHOLDER MEETING IN OVER 15 YEARS. THIS LED TO THE FORMATION OF A NEW BROOK TROUT WORKGROUP UNDER THE GREAT LAKES FISH COMMISSION'S LAKE SUPERIOR TECHNICAL COMMITTEE, AND TU WAS ASKED TO CHAIR THE WORK GROUP, BECOMING THE FIRST NGO TO CHAIR A TECHNICAL COMMITTEE WORKGROUP. TU IS CONDUCTING FISHERIES SURVEYS, TAKING TISSUE SAMPLES FOR GENETIC ANALYSIS, CONDUCTING HABITAT ASSESSMENTS AND CULVERT SURVEYS, AND COLLECTING TEMPERATURE DATA TO INFORM COASTER MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATION. TU ORGANIZED A MULTI-STATE PARTNERSHIP ACROSS PENNSYLVANIA, NEW YORK, AND NEW JERSEY THAT RESULTED IN A MULTI-YEAR, $3.5 MILLION GRANT FROM THE NEW JERSEY DEPOF WHICH TU IS A SUB-RECIPIENTFOR BROOK TROUT RESTORATION. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF FUNDING, BUT EQUALLY IMPORTANT IS THE COMMITMENT IT REPRESENTS FROM THE STATE AGENCIES TO WORK WITH US ON LARGE-SCALE BROOK TROUT RESTORATION ACROSS THE THREE STATES.PACIFIC CONSERVATION ALASKAWE CONTINUE TO ENGAGE IN THE COURTROOM TO DEFEND THE GOOD DECISIONS TO DENY PEBBLE ITS 404 PERMIT AND CLEAN WATER ACT 404(C) PROTECTIONS. IN THE YUKON RIVER WATERSHED, A RELATIVELY NEW GEOGRAPHY FOR TU, WE HELPED REMOVE A PROVISION IN THE FY25 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT THAT WOULD HAVE GREENLIGHTED THE PROPOSED 211-MILE AMBLER INDUSTRIAL ROAD IN ALASKA'S BROOKS RANGE. THE ROAD WOULD HAVE CROSSED MORE THAN 2,000 STREAMS AND LIKELY CAUSED SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO FISH, AND FISHING AND HUNTING, IN THE AREA.CALIFORNIAFOR THE PAST 18 MONTHS, TU HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE PIT RIVER TRIBE AND SELECT CONSERVATION PARTNERS ON A CAMPAIGN TO PERMANENTLY PROTECT A UNIQUE COMPLEX OF PUBLIC LANDS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA THE STTTLA HIGHLANDS AS A NATIONAL MONUMENT.. TU STAFF AND GRASSROOTS, WITH OUR SHASTA TRINITY CASCADES CHAPTER IN THE VANGUARD, LED THE EFFORT TO CONVEY THE SUPPORT OF ANGLERS AND HUNTERS FOR THIS DESIGNATION; OUR MEDIA TOUR PRODUCED MULTIPLE ARTICLES, QUOTES, BLOG AND SOCIAL POSTS SUPPORTING NATIONAL MONUMENT STATUS FOR STTTLA, THE CULTURAL HEART OF THE PIT RIVER TRIBE. IN JANUARY, PRESIDENT BIDEN SIGNED A PROCLAMATION DESIGNATING THE STTTLA HIGHLANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT. ON CALIFORNIA'S CENTRAL COAST, TU REMOVED A DAM ON LITTLE ARTHUR CREEK, A TRIBUTARY TO THE PAJARO RIVER, WHICH IS DESIGNATED CRITICAL HABITAT FOR ESA-LISTED STEELHEAD. THE 30-FOOT-HIGH, CENTURY-OLD DAM HAD BLOCKED FISH PASSAGE AT ALL FLOWS TO MORE THAN THREE MILES OF PRIME SPAWNING AND REARING HABITAT, WHICH STAYS WET EVEN IN PROLONGED DROUGHT PERIODS. THE PROJECT, WHICH CONCLUDED IN OCTOBER, TOOK FIVE YEARS TO PLAN, FUND AND IMPLEMENT. KEY PARTNERS INCLUDED THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY WATER DISTRICT, THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE, RESOURCES LEGACY FUND, NOAA FISHERIES AND THE AMAH MUTSUN TRIBAL BAND. THE STEINBECK COUNTRY CHAPTER, THE SANTA CRUZ FLY FISHERS, AND THE SAN JOSE FLY FISHERS ALL PROVIDED MATCH FUNDING AND VOLUNTEER LABOR.IDAHOTU'S IDAHO PROGRAM RECEIVED A $3.8 MILLION AWARD FROM THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT THAT WILL FUND STREAM RESTORATION AND FISH PASSAGE PROJECTS BENEFITING NATIVE FISH SPECIES IN THE UPPER SALMON AND UPPER SNAKE BASINS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. KLAMATH (OREGON AND CALIFORNIA)WITH THE KLAMATH RIVER DAMS GONE, SALMON AND STEELHEAD ARE NOW SWIMMING IN WATERS THEY HAD BEEN DENIED ACCESS TO FOR A CENTURY. THE FIRST SALMON, A FALL-RUN CHINOOK, WAS OBSERVED ON SONAR PASSING THROUGH THE FORMER SITE OF IRON GATE DAM. IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, OVER 100 FALL-RUN CHINOOK WERE SEEN SPAWNING ABOVE THE DAMS, INCLUDING ALL THE WAY INTO OREGON. SMALLER NUMBERS OF COHO AND STEELHEAD HAVE ALSO BEEN OBSERVED ABOVE THE FORMER DAMS AND PRELIMINARY SONAR DATA REVEALED THOUSANDS OF FISH MIGRATING THROUGH THE FORMER IRON GATE SITE.OREGONNEW FUNDING FROM THE COLUMBIA BASIN WATER TRANSACTION PROGRAM AND TU'S COLDWATER CONSERVATION FUND HAVE ALLOWED TU TO EXPAND ITS FLOW RESTORATION WORK INTO THE JOHN DAY BASIN, THE LARGEST BASIN IN OREGON MANAGED FOR WILD SALMONIDS. IN THE ADJACENT WALLOWA RIVER BASIN, WE SECURED A $3 MILLION AWARD FROM A CORPORATE DONOR TO SUPPORT TU'S PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NEZ PERCE TRIBE, CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE UMATILLA INDIAN RESERVATION, CHIEF JOSEPH BAND OF THE COLVILLE TRIBE AND THE WALLOWA LAKE IRRIGATION DISTRICT TO BRING SOCKEYE SALMON BACK TO WALLOWA LAKE. SOCKEYE WERE EXTIRPATED FROM THE WALLOWA RIVER IN 1919 BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF WALLOWA LAKE DAM. WASHINGTONIN THE UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN, NOT FAR FROM THE CANADA BORDER, TU COMPLETED THE FINAL PHASE OF THE JOHNSON CREEK FISH PASSAGE PROJECT, WHICH OPENED MORE THAN EIGHT MILES OF CRITICAL HABITAT FOR ESA-LISTED SUMMER STEELHEAD. THE PROJECT COST $5 MILLION AND TOOK SEVEN YEARS TO COMPLETE, BUT IT WAS WELL WORTH THE MONEY AND EFFORT. EIGHT FISH PASSAGE BARRIERS WERE REMOVED ON ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT COLDWATER STEELHEAD TRIBUTARIES TO THE OKANOGAN RIVER, WHICH PROVIDES A KEY MIGRATION CORRIDOR FOR SALMON AND STEELHEAD TO ACCESS COLD WATER REFUGES AND SPAWNING GROUNDS IN NORTH CENTRAL WA AND BC.ROCKIES CONSERVATIONMONTANATU WRAPPED UP WORK ON THE FLAT CREEK MINE RECLAMATION PROJECT SITE NEAR SUPERIOR, MT. THE MULTI-YEAR PROJECT, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE, REMOVED APPROXIMATELY 50,000 CUBIC YARDS OF CONTAMINATED MINE WASTE FROM THE FLOODPLAIN AND RESTORED OVER A MILE OF NATIVE TROUT HABITAT ON THE LOLO NATIONAL FOREST. TU RECEIVED SIGNIFICANT FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING THROUGH THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND THE BOR FOR LARGE-SCALE RESTORATION EFFORTS ON THE UPPER CLARK FORK RIVER NEAR DEER LODGE, FLINT CREEK NEAR HALL, AND THE JEFFERSON RIVER NEAR TWIN BRIDGES. FINALLY, MONTANA'S BIENNIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION KICKED OFF IN JANUARY, WHERE TU AND MTU STAFF ARE WORKING TO PASS A PACKAGE OF WATER BILLS THIS YEAR WHILE DEFENDING AGAINST POLICY THREATS TO WATER AND FISHERIES RESOURCES.SOUTHWESTIN ARIZONA, IN THE MT. BALDY HEADWATERS OF ARIZONA'S WHITE MOUNTAINS, TU ORGANIZED A COALITION OF PARTNERS TO SECURE OVER $2.2 MILLION IN NATIONAL FISH PASSAGE-BIL FUNDING FOR PROJECTS TO DIRECTLY BENEFIT THE RECENTLY DELISTED APACHE TROUT POPULATIONS. THE FUNDING WILL ALLOW TU TO RECONNECT FISH PASSAGE TO 18 MILES OF STREAM HABITAT, PROTECT AND RESTORE HUNDREDS OF ACRES OF RIPARIAN AND WET MEADOW HABITAT, AND ASSESS THE REMAINING FISH PASSAGE BARRIERS IN THE RANGE OF APACHE TROUT.NEW MEXICO TU AND THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE ARE MITIGATING THE IMPACTS OF THE WHITEWATER BALDY FIRE ON GILA TROUT POPULATIONS. IN THE GILITA CREEK WATERSHED, TU SECURED DESIGNS TO RESTORE SEVEN MILES OF STREAM HABITAT AND THREE LARGE WET-MEADOW COMPLEXES. IN THE UPPER RIO GRANDE, TU IS PROTECTING AND RESTORING RIO GRANDE CUTTHROAT TROUT HABITAT. IN THE RIO COSTILLA WATERSHED, TU IS LEADING A $1.2 MILLION FISH PASSAGE EFFORT TO PUT THE FINAL TOUCHES ON A DECADES-LONG MISSION TO ESTABLISH THE SPECIES' LARGEST METAPOPULATION WITH 121 MILES OF INTERCONNECTED HABITAT. EFFORTS ARE ALSO FOCUSED ON INCREASING CLIMATE RESILIENCE FOR EXISTING CONSERVATION POPULATIONS IN CHIHUAHUENOS CREEK AND THE RIO SAN ANTONIO THROUGH LOW-TECH PROCESS-BASED RESTORATION ACROSS MORE THAN 10 MILES OF STREAM. FINALLY, TU IS LEADING AN EFFORT TO PROTECT 166,000 ACRES OF FEDERAL LANDS IN THE HEADWATERS OF THE PECOS RIVER WATERSHED FROM MINING IMPACTS BY MANAGING THE NEPA PROCESS TO SECURE A 20-YEAR MINERAL WITHDRAWAL.

VOLUNTEER OPERATIONS AND CHAPTER SUPPORT:PLANT FOR OUR FUTUREWE ARE HEADED INTO OUR THIRD YEAR OF PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACTOR SUPPLY COMPANY ON THE PLANT FOR OUR FUTURE INITIATIVE, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LEVERAGE THE INITIAL INVESTMENT TO ATTRACT AND SECURE FUNDING TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM. THE ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION HAS BECOME ONE OF OUR CORE NEW PARTNERS, INTRODUCING US TO CORPORATE FUNDERS LIKE TD BANK, VERIZON WIRELESS, AND NIAGARA BOTTLING. OUR AGGREGATE IMPACT TO DATE IS: - PLANNED 255 PLANTING PROJECTS IN 18 STATES - PLANTED 84,492 NATIVE TREES - ENGAGED MORE THAN 4,003 VOLUNTEERS - RESTORED MORE THAN 1,277 ACRES - INTERCEPTED MORE THAN 21,114,551 GALLONS OF STORMWATERHEADWATERS YOUTH EDUCATION PROGRAMSTAFF ARE PRIORITIZING THE DELIVERY OF BEST-IN-CLASS RESOURCES AND SUPPORT TO TU VOLUNTEERS, TEACHERS, ENGAGEMENT MANAGERS, CAMP DIRECTORS AND STUDENT LEADERS ENSURING THEY HAVE THE TOOLS NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT YOUTH EDUCATION EFFECTIVELY IN THE FIELD. THE 5 RIVERS PROGRAM HAS OVER 5,000 ACTIVE COLLEGE-AGED MEMBERS ACROSS 80 CAMPUSES PARTICIPATING IN THOUSANDS OF ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING A RECORD-BREAKING WESTERN RENDEZVOUS IN COLORADO LAST FALL THAT SOLD OUT IN MINUTES, AND OVER HALF OF PARTICIPANTS WERE YOUNG WOMEN. AFTER A FUN SUMMER OF CAMP AND EXPEDITIONS, STUDENTS RETURNED TO THEIR CLASSROOMS, AS DID THEIR TROUT IN THE CLASSROOM TANKS. OVER THE PAST FOUR MONTHS, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF EGGS HAVE BEEN DELIVERED ACROSS THE COUNTRY BY DOZENS OF LOYAL TU VOLUNTEERS. THE HEADWATERS YOUTH EDUCATION BOARD CONTINUES TO EVOLVE AS A DYNAMIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE, PLAYING A PIVOTAL ROLE IN GUIDING AND SUPPORTING YOUTH EDUCATION EFFORTS. THE BOARD OFFERS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE HANDS-ON WITH TU'S YOUTH EDUCATION ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND WE ARE ALREADY PLANNING OUR NEXT GATHERING IN BEND, ORE. IN OCTOBER 2025. THESE GATHERINGS SHOWCASE GRASSROOTS IMPACT, PROVIDE SHARED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AND CELEBRATE TU'S SUCCESSES.