The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Wednesday that the permit for the proposed Pebble Mine, which threatened irreparable harm to Bristol Bay in Alaska, had been denied.

Meghan Barker of Trout Unlimited wrote:

Citing irreversible and unacceptable impacts to wetlands and water resources, the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision follows the high standards of the Clean Water Act, longstanding science and the overwhelming opposition that Alaskans and the American people have wielded for nearly two decades.

This permit denial happened because YOU stood up, spoke out, and made sure everyone from Alaska to Washington, D.C. knows that Pebble is a bad idea. Thank you. 

Our work is not done. Now, we secure much need permanent protections for the region. If you can, please commit to this next, critical phase today with a donation. Click here. 

Trout Unlimited has always had two goals when it comes to Bristol Bay: First, prevent the proposed Pebble mine from obtaining this permit. Then, secure up-front, permanent and community supported protections against large-scale mining for the region. Today, we check number one off our list and celebrate, and commit to doubling down on number two.

To achieve permanent protections that ensure this special place, and all the communities and people who depend on it, can continue to thrive will involve more hard work and collaboration. We need your continued support. Please chip in to seeing this through today.  DONATE NOW. 

Our team would like to give each and every one of you a big ole bear hug for continuing to take action and stick with us over the years. This effort, this movement, and this win happened because people stood up and spoke up alongside the people of Bristol Bay relentlessly. Let’s keep up the effort and make sure Bristol Bay gets the protection it deserves.

We’ve shown our strategies work. If you can, please chip in to show you’re committed with us to achieving the long-term, community supported protections Bristol Bay deserves. Please donate today.  

Wishing you a warm and safe Thanksgiving with so much gratitude,

Meghan and Trout Unlimited’s Save Bristol Bay team

While the Pebble Mine proposal that threatens to forever harm the pristine salmon waters of Bristol Bay has been sent back to the drawing board, the project is not yet dead.

According to the National TU site, “The President has an important decision to make in the next 4-8 weeks on whether the Canadian-owned, massive proposed Pebble mine will get its key permit to advance in Bristol Bay, Alaska.” Click here to learn more about the mine proposal.  

After loud and clear calls from hunters and anglers this spring and summer to stop Pebble, the Trump Administration’s Army Corps of Engineers took a closer look at the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the project and found “under section 404 of the Clean Water Act the project, as proposed would likely result in significant degradation of the environment and would likely result in significant adverse effects on the aquatic system or human environment.” They announced on August 24, 2020 that the current Pebble proposal would not be permitted.

While the announcement sends the project back to the drawing board and up against major hurdles in order to advance, Pebble is still a threat, and we still need President Trump to deny the key permit. Please use the form below to send a new letter reminding President Trump that he must stop Pebble to safeguard American jobs and unparalleled sporting opportunity.

Click here to sign the form.

On behalf of the Board of Directors we what to thank you for your generous support for our Mill River project.

Between the Embrace a Stream grant and the funds raised during the challenge crowd funding week, we raised all we need to move forward.

This includes a $3,500 TU Embrace a Stream grant and $3,200 from 73 individual donors! And we earned a $1,000 match from TU’s CT Council and another $1,000 in matches and prize money from Orvis.

We also want to thank our generous neighbor to the north, Candlewood Valley TU, for their contribution.

Anyone interested in working with the vendor to create the plan, please contact me at rhrosen@aol.com.

Rich Rosen

Tim Flagler of Tightline production will demonstrate how to tie the Undertaker, then teach how to fish it effectively Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. on Zoom.

The fly could be useful on the salmon fishing trip to Campville on Saturday, Nov. 21.

If you wish to tie along with Tim during the session, click here for a list of materials.

Click here for the Zoom link for Tim’s talk, which is open to the public.

Golf and fishing come together Monday, Nov. 9, to help Trout Unlimited improve its work to conserve streams in Connecticut and New York.

Bass and Birdies, a golf and fly fishing tournament, is set for 11:30 a.m. at Tradition Golf Club, 1027 Racebrook Road in Woodbridge.

Registration is $100 for a single golfer or angler, $200 for a team of two. Social distancing and masks will be required adherent to federal, state and Trout Unlimited guidelines. Click here to register.

Single golfers will be paired with a partner. Golfers may share a cart or walk the course.

In addition to shooting nine holes of golf, competitors will have fly fish in the ponds on the course, with every 12 inches of bass shaving one stroke off the golf score.

Check and warm-up start at 11:30, with lunch served outdoors. at 12:15, groups will be formed to fish a rotation through each of the three ponds on the course.

A shotgun start for the nine holes of golf is set for 1:45 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony and prize drawing.

Money raised will support the creation of a volunteer coordinator position for Connecticut and parts of New York in an effort to help groups bolster fundraising and perform more volunteer projects.

Several members of Nutmeg TU, and several new faces, gathered at Short Beach in Stratford Saturday, Oct. 24, to fish the mouth of the Housatonic River.

A few stripers were caught, and those on the trip used both fly and spin gear.

Such trips are held roughly once a month, and are open to all.

The Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited has received a grant of $3,500 through the Trout Unlimited national Embrace A Stream grant program for its Mill River improvements, and you can help without more than clicking your mouse Nov. 2-8.

Just 45 minutes from New York City, the Mill River is one of the best native brown trout streams in New England. The section of the Mill River, starting at exit 49 along the Merritt Parkway and ending where the river crosses under the highway, has been a focus for Trout Unlimited for more than five years. Removing invasive species, planting native trees and improving the bank structure are only the beginning. We are excited to be able to attempt to bring this section of the river back to it’s original structure, providing a vital link between Lake Mohegan downstream the the tailwater flowing out of the Easton Reservoir. This grant and the funds raised will allow us to create a roadmap for  implementing this important work.

In the late 1930s this section along the Mill River was straightened to accommodate the Merritt Parkway and has since deteriorated as a Trout habitat.. In 2019, years after the change was proposed by Nutmeg TU, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection lengthened the section of the river designated a Wild Trout Management Area to include the area being restored by Nutmeg TU. A Wild Trout Management Area is not stocked, and fishing is catch and release only with a single barbless hook; bait is illegal.

The chapter started the work, partnering with the Town of Fairfield, removing invasive Japanese knotweed and reintroducing native plants to the Mill River and its banks along Congress Street at the Fairfield-Easton border, parallel to the Merritt Parkway.

As time passed, the riverbank eroded and the stream became very shallow, inhibiting the passage and holding of fish, especially during the summer months. To help rectify this, The Nutmeg chapter of Trout Unlimited, again in cooperation with the town of Fairfield, initiated  the Mill River Conifer Revetment program. Over two years they have anchored recycled Christmas trees which will narrow an area where the river is more than 40 feet wide in some places, when it should average 15 feet. This program  will narrow the stream channel and stabilize the banks using conifer revetments to prevent future erosion and ensure that the stream at the site and downstream can support excellent trout habitat. Mill River is currently home to some of the highest densities of wild and native trout in the state, but we believe that the fishery can support even more trout with habitat improvement.

Embrace A Stream is a matching grant program administered by Trout Unlimited that provides funds to local chapters and councils for coldwater fisheries conservation. Since its inception in 1975, the grant program has funded more than 1,000 individual projects for a total of $4.4 million in direct cash grants. Local chapters and councils contributed an additional $13 million in cash and in-kind services to EAS funded projects, for a total investment of more than $17 million.

“We’re thrilled to support the Nutmeg Chapter in its efforts to improve such an important local trout stream,” said Russ Meyer, chair of the Embrace A Stream grants committee, a group of Trout Unlimited volunteer leaders from across the country. “This year’s grant applications were extremely competitive, but the proposal for the Mill River stood out in our committee.”

Along with the $3,500 grant, the Nutmeg Chapter will also be entered in the Embrace A Stream Challenge, a week-long online fundraising contest running Nov. 2-8 and sponsored by Orvis and Trout Unlimited to provide an additional $50,000 in cash prizes to these important conservation and education projects. To help the Nutmeg Chapter win additional funds for the Mill River Conifer Revetment Project visit https://www.embraceastream.org/organizations/nutmeg from Nov. 6-12 and make a donation of as little as $10 to help unlock prizes ranging from $250 to $5,000.