September, 2022 MMTU Newsletter
President’s Message:
Dear Mid-Missouri Trout Unlimited Members,
MMTU had its first meeting after the Summer Break on September 6 at the Ficklin Shelter at Cosmo-Bethel Park. We will be meeting there again on October 4 and on November 1. The address is 4500 Bethel Street Columbia. For more information about this venue and directions go to the following link: https://www.como.gov/contacts/j-w-ficklin-shelter/. Our meetings start with a social hour beginning at 6:00 PM, followed by a short business meeting and a presentation.
The presentation in October will be by Sam Potter, a local fly fishing guide known to many of us. This presentation is subject to Sam not having a client that day. If he does have a client we will schedule him for a different day and have a different presentation instead.
At our last meeting we talked about some possible activities for MMTU this year.
Most of us, I think, would like to have our annual banquet this year. So far no one has volunteered to be the Banquet Chair. Unless we have a volunteer to be Banquet Chair and enough volunteers to have a banquet committee within the next few months, we will probably not be having a banquet this year.
The banquet has been our main fundraising event. We are however looking for alternate funding sources. At the last meeting Travis Figg presented some research he had done for raising money through sweepstakes. This program has been vetted by Trout Unlimited lawyers and used successfully by other chapters. To further explore this approach a FundRaising Committee was established with Travis Figg as the Chair. The committee will make a recommendation to be voted on at the October meeting by the members present. Perhaps with an alternate funding source the annual banquet could be made less elaborate. With a less elaborate event maybe we would be able to find some volunteers to make it happen.
As I mentioned in our last newsletter, in the past we have taken some of our chapter’s rods, reels, etc to Cosmo-Bethel park the first weekend in November to see if we can interest people in trying fly fishing. This is also a good way to make the community more aware of our existence. The first of November is when the Department of Conservation stocks the lake with trout. If you would like to help with this effort please let us know. I may not be able to attend so I am hoping someone else will be willing to take the lead on this.
Our chapter has a Missouri Stream Team. This team is committed to Little Piney River water quality sampling. This requires one visit in the Fall and one in the Spring. We would like to have a larger pool of volunteers for this work so if our Stream Team activities interest you and you have not participated in the past please come join us. We usually go fishing when we are done. This fall our sampling trip is planned for Friday October 14. We will most likely meet at the Lenoir Street Commuter Lot in Columbia at 7:00. This is across Route 63 from the Boone County Historical Society. Plans may change so please let me know if you are planning to attend so I can make you aware of any changes.
As part of Trout Unlimited’s goals to conserve and support improvement to cold water fisheries we support like minded organizations. I believe Capital City Fly Fishers is such an organization. CCFF is involved in conservation work and is attempting to increase diversity and participation in fly fishing which can only help to interest people in activities that support Trout Unlimited goals. CCFF has their meetings on the second Tuesday of every month. Next month I understand their speaker will be Mike Kruse. That is something I wouldn’t want to miss. If you are interested in that or some of their other upcoming activities go to their web site at https://www.capitalcityflyfishers.org
At the last meeting Ty Figg volunteered to be our Web Master. Thank you Ty.
Doug Grove
douggrove@yahoo.com or 573-999-5114
Water Quality Monitoring Training:
The Introduction to Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring is the entry level of monitoring. This includes training for watershed mapping, site selection, stream discharge, and biological monitoring (for stream macroinvertebrates). Starting in 2021, this workshop consists of a 2-part virtual learning and field training. After completion of the virtual learning, volunteers are eligible to attend the field training to become certified as a water quality monitor. Certified Introductory monitors will receive equipment for measuring stream flow and biological monitoring.
Level 1: Volunteers who have successfully completed the Introductory training and have submitted required data are eligible to attend a Level 1 workshop. This training covers physical assessment, chemical monitoring and reviews biological monitoring. Certified Level 1 monitors will receive equipment for chemical monitoring.
Here is the link to register for the Intro and Level 1 classes: https://mostreamteam.org/assets/intro_level1_schedule.pdf the videos are here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBQMlfy_cD4DQe07cir0nipWVrbQ2np
Virtual trainings Part A 8/23 & 8/25
Part B 8/30 & 9/1
Field Certifications are no longer available this year, but will be offered later.
Climate News:
Our MidMo chapter went on a fishing/camping trip in June to the Wisconsin Driftless area. We met with Duke Welter. He is seeking funding to remove a dam from the Kinnikinnick river, https://www.americanrivers.org/endangered-rivers/kinnickinnic-river-wi/ Our chapter made a contribution. We also met Carol McSherry Murphy, new president of Harry & Laura Nohr chapter. That chapter restored 17 miles of flood damaged streams. The work was described in the Trout Magazine winter edition and in an open forum post. That issue also tells about rescuing 23,000 fish from a Sun Valley, Idaho river that had dried up prolonged drought.
As you know TU was founded in 1959 as a conservation organization and has done a great work for coldwater fish. A video by TU's lead scientist during the Portland national meeting tells what TU continues to do to protect trout from warming conditions. https://vimeo.com/585113735?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=7977203
TU sees significant benefits for trout in the bi-partisan Infrastructure Act “ The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law this week, is a once-in-a-generation, $1.2 trillion investment to address America’s vast infrastructure needs, protect and restore watershed resilience in the face of climate change, and enable the nation’s green energy future. At Trout Unlimited, we worked diligently on a bipartisan basis to secure significant provisions in the bill that support our mission. With this memo, we are beginning the process of informing staff and volunteer leaders about program funding opportunities provided by the new law.”
This one has benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act, https://www.tu.org/press-releases/landmark-climate-act-advances-key-trout-unlimited-priorities/
Finally this one tells why TU supported that lawThe Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law this week, is a once-in-a-generation, $1.2 trillion investment to address America’s vast infrastructure needs, protect and restore watershed resilience in the face of climate change, and enable the nation’s green energy future. At Trout Unlimited, we worked diligently on a bipartisan basis to secure significant provisions in the bill that support our mission. With this memo, we are beginning the process of informing staff and volunteer leaders about program funding opportunities provided by the new law.
Jeff Holzem
Newsletter editor
Council Climate Change Coordinator
NLC Climate Change Workgroup Co-chair
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