President’s Message:
Dear Mid-Missouri Trout Unlimited Members,
Our next meeting will be Tuesday March 7th at the Conley Street Hy-Vee in Columbia. We last met there before the pandemic. For those of you that have not met with us there it is on the second floor above the restaurant. The address is 25 Conley Rd, Columbia, MO 65201. This is in the strip mall just north of East Broadway near US 63 exit to East Broadway.
At our next meeting Jen Girondo will be our speaker. Jen is the Missouri Department of Conservation Fisheries Biologist for the Maramec Watershed.
At our last meeting there was more discussion about our spring trip to the Wisconsin Driftless region. The dates selected are May 18th to the 21st and it will again be at Jerome’s Campground. This was where we fished last year and it was a great time. Basically you just show up when you want, leave when you want and you can come earlier or leave later. You just pay Jerome for the days you want to stay. You can find more information about the trip and a review of last years trip at https://www.midmotu.org/post/announcing-our-2nd-annual-driftless-trip.
There are no more details about the mid-August trip to Western Colorado but the trip is still going to happen so block out some time if you are planning to go.
Last month Jeff Holzem presented information on climate change. Jeff is our representative of the TU Climate Change Committee. In his presentation he presented information from TU scientists that details the devastating effects climate change will have on Trout populations by 2080 given it’s current trajectory.
TriLakes Fly Fishers have offered us a table at their Expo on March 11 in Clinton, Missouri at the Benson Center. The table is being provided gratis. I would like to have some more volunteers available to provide information about Trout Unlimited and our mission. Currently I have one volunteer. Thank you Eric Cunningham. We will leave from my house at 6:15 AM on March 11th. Please give me a phone call if you need directions to my house. I will be able to drive up to 5 passengers but that might be a bit crowded.
Doug Grove
douggrove@yahoo.com or 573-999-5114
More about our February 4th meeting.
TU was formed as a conservation organization in 1959 on the banks of the AuSable River. One of the founders was George Griffith, whose name is now famous for the Griffith’s Gnat. For most of the time since then, TU focused on measures to help trout and salmon adapt to the changing climate. In 2013 the NLC Climate Change Workgroup was formed to raise awareness of climate change. Jeff Witten from our chapter was an early chair of the workgroup.
A 2015 Board of Trustees policy statement said: Climate change poses a significant long-term threat to North America’s cold-water fisheries increasing water temperatures which contributes to the frequency and severity of adverse weather events. TU recognizes the powerful connections between our energy choices and climate change.
TU understands that avoiding the severe harmful effects that climate change will have on cold-water fisheries requires:
a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from existing energy production
a fundamental energy source shift from fossil fuels to low-carbon technologies and conservation
TU supports policies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and hasten the shift to low-carbon energy sources and conservation.
The group’s first mission was to raise awareness of climate change. Today 89% of TU members are concerned about climate change and the workgroup now advocates for measures to reduce emissions.
You can read more about the NLC Climate Change Workgroup here, https://www.tu.org/get-involved/volunteer-tacklebox/council-leader-resources/national-leadership-council/nlc-conservation-workgroups/climate-change-workgroup/.
Scroll down to watch the video with TU’s chief scientist that we discussed during the meeting. It provides details on the impact of climate change on cold-water species, what TU is doing, and how you can help.
We also reviewed some of the $1.2 trillion in benefits for trout and salmon that are available from the Bipartisan and Inflation Reduction Laws. If fully implemented the latter can reduce emissions by 40%. There are billions of dollars available to benefit cold-water habitats including forest, dams and culverts, fisheries, mine clean up and much more. Check out the PDF with this link to see the specific projects that will benefit.
Jeff is currently on the Board of Trustees. He provided an update on funding TU has secured. TU had gotten around $20M by September, but the amount is now $70M.
President
Doug Grove
Vice President
Travis Figg
Past President
John Wenzlick
Secretary
Nathan McLeod
Treasurer
Brandon Butler
Banquet Chairs
Alternative Funding Committee
Travis Figg
Education Director
John Wenzlick
Membership
Curt Morgret
Conservancy
Bill Lamberson
Conservancy
Sam Potter
e-Newsletter
Jeff Holzem
Web Master
Ty Figg
Facebook editor
Ben Moore