Little River Chapter members accomplished over 4,200 hours of volunteer service this past year. Our Chapter provided 1,942 hours of volunteer support to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) Fisheries which is an increase of 32% from the previous year. LRCTU also provided over 900 hours of volunteer labor supporting youth education initiatives such as Trout in the Classroom. Additionally, LRCTU spent $22,543 on conservation, science, and monitoring projects. It should be recognized the above numbers are more than statistics. These numbers are a testament to LRCTU’s commitment to conserve, protect, and restore the coldwater fisheries and their watersheds in and around GSMNP and to promote conservation through youth education. Thanks to all of our volunteers who supported one or more of our Chapter’s projects.
June is fast approaching which means it’s time to prepare for the John Thurman Trout Adventure Camp held at Tremont Institute from June 17 – 22. Many of you have already volunteered to assist with one or more of the Trout Camp activities. There are still volunteers needed to support casting instruction followed by fishing with a camper on the Middle Prong Little River on Tuesday, June 18. This is an all-day event beginning at 9:00 a.m. and finishing around 5:30 p.m. If you are interested in supporting this activity or would like additional information regarding any Trout Camp activity, contact Bob Bishop at bishmoose@sbcglobal.net or visit the website at www.tntroutadventure.org.
The May Chapter Meeting will feature a presentation by Ben Fields on Euro-nymphing techniques. Ben is a videographer for Dorsal Outdoors and produced films for the Fly Fishing Film Festival. Ben always brings a high level of excitement with his presentation. The informational session following Ben’s presentation will be a brief summary of LRCTU’s Annual Report submitted to TU National. This will be an opportunity to learn a little more about our Chapter.
I, along with the other LRCTU Board members, would like to express our appreciation to Jim Jeswald and Jimmy Jones whose terms on the LRC Board of Directors expired in March. Jim Jeswald has been instrumental in supporting our Trout in the Classroom programs and will continue to work with schools in the Lenoir City and West Knoxville areas, as well as the TIC Committee. Jimmy Jones has been a featured tyer at numerous Tie & Lie events including the Townsend Fall Festival and was heavily involved in updating our Chapter bylaws. Thanks to Jim and Jimmy for their dedication to LRCTU.
Bob Bishop
President
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