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Written by Bjorn Stromsness
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Wednesday, 26 September 2007 |
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C onservation... no matter if you sit on the right side of the campfire or the left, the great tradition of conservation is something uniquely American. We hope that you pitch in to make sure the special places we enjoy today will still be around for future generations so I can force my daughter to go fishing with me.
There are lots of different organizations out there and they focus on lots of different issues and range in scope from international to single rivers... so, here's a few to consider:
The National Groups:
- Trout Unlimited - Of course, TU is the biggest trout related organization out there. Based in Virginia and with a budget of about $20M, they also are national in scope.
- The Nature Conservancy - OK, they aren't a trout organization, but they own property on the McCloud, just bought a ranch on the Shasta River (with an aim towards improving water quality on the Klamath), TNC is a massive organization that has done some great work. They appeal to donors on the left and right because they use a very conservative approach... they see it, they want it, they buy it. Hard to argue with.
- Federation of Fly Fishers - A bit smaller than TU, but national in scope and with the Conclave. FFF is a quality organization that is quietly doing good work.
Regional Organizations:
- Western Rivers Conservancy - This is a group that takes land and turns it over to some govt. agency, usually, for management for conservation purposes. If you've seen the Sandy River dam being taken out, this is the group that is taking the land from the power company.
- Wild Salmon Center - They are doing work to support and improve salmon ecosystems along the Pacific Rim. They are based in Portland and do work both in North America and Russia. The work they do benefits steelhead as well as salmon.
State Wide Orgs:
- Friends of the River - The bestest organization out there... did I mention I'm the Development Director for FOR? We were founded by rafting guides but our work is about rivers, not rafting. We work on dams, wild & scenic bills, water & flood policy, among other issues. The Klamath has been our biggest issue for the past few years.
- California Trout - Cal Trout is focused on trout, salmon and steelhead issues in California. They have four regional offices around the state and that helps them be feet on the ground on a lot of trout-specific issues. Some may remember the Curtis Knight (fromt he Mt. Shasta regional office) spoke at one of our Bashes in the early days.
Local Efforts & Organizations: (Click here for a list of a bunch of other river orgs, including those below )
- Upper Sacramento River Exchange
- McCloud Watershed Council
- Mid Klamath Watershed Council
- American River Conservancy
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 26 September 2007 )
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