Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited

The Little River Chapter was well represented, with over 20 members in attendance, at the GSMNP Fisheries Department annual volunteers meeting at the Twin Creeks Science Center.  Matt Kulp presented results of the ongoing acid deposition study as well as volunteer opportunities thru January 2024.  If you are interested in additional information about volunteering with the Fisheries Department, contact Richard Barnes at canceleer1@gmail.com.  While there, the Chapter presented the Fisheries Department with a check for $10,000, representing funds from the auction, volunteer contributions, and the Chapter. 

The Stream Barrier Survey Teams are back in full force now that the weather has improved and stream flows are more manageable.  The teams are on track to complete surveys of all Phase I sites by the end of April.  For further information on this project, contact Bernie Maloy at 52bazzman@gmail.com.  

The LRCTU Board of Directors is continuing development of the Volunteer Recognition Program.  Details of this program should be available at the April Chapter meeting.  Please remember to enter all your volunteer hours, beginning in January 2023, using the link provided on our Chapter website (lrctu.org).

Bob Bishop
President

March 2023 Newsletter

The Little River Chapter was recognized at the TU Tennessee Council Coldwater Resources Meeting by Jeff Wright, Trout Unlimited Southeast Project Coordinator, for their accomplishments on Stream Barrier Surveys in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This project quantifies and ranks the severity of stream barriers associated with culverts, bridges, and fords; and the barriers effect on aquatic organism passage. This is the first project of its kind conducted in a National Park by Trout Unlimited and the first-time volunteers have been granted authority by Trout Unlimited to train team leads. The stream barrier assessments which support the Aquatic Organism Passage Study is one of three high priority projects for the TU Southeast Region this year.  For more information or if you are interested in participating in this program, see Bernie Maloy’s article in this newsletter.

If you would like to learn about opportunities to support the GSMNP Fisheries Department, please attend the annual volunteers meeting lead by Matt Kulp at Twin Creeks Science Center on February 18 at 9:00 a.m. Matt will present a summary of last year’s accomplishments and the plan for volunteer support this year. Matt is also the featured speaker at our Chapter Meeting on February 23.

A link has been added to our Chapter website (lrctu.org) that provides an easy and consistent method for reporting your volunteer hours. Please start entering your volunteer hours including those performed in January 2023.  For additional information and details see Harry Fetterman’s article in this newsletter.

Bob Bishop

February 2023 Newsletter

As of Thursday, February 9 2023, the Chapter’s revised Bylaws are available for review. They may be found at the below link and will be up for adoption at the chapter meeting on February 23.

LRCTU By Laws 2023