PANHANDLE CHAPTER - TROUT UNLIMITED
CONTRIBUTIONS

• -$5,000 to Idaho State Council Trout Unlimited;
• -$2,500 to support the Rock Creek Alliance in its efforts to protect water quality in the Clark Fork Basin by opposing the development of Asarco/Sterling's Rock Creek mine site;
• -$2,000 to National TU to be directed towards Western Native Trout Programs;
• -$1,000 to National TU's Coldwater Conservation Fund;
• -$1,000 to National TU's Embrace A Stream Fund;
• -$500 to help sponsor the Pend O'reille Water Festival for Bonner County elementary students;
• -$250 to the Tri-State Implementation Council, used to monitor water quality in Lake Pend O'reille
• -$100 Bonners Ferry Fishing Clinic, Allowing for the purchase of additional rod and reel outfits used as prizes;
  

• -held our 20th Annual Spring Fever Fundraising Banquet netting over $17,000;
• -helped to sponsor another Bull Trout Camp to count redds on the St. Joe River;
• -sponsored the 5th Annual Rod Raffle Dinner at Ivano's;
• -completed a Flyfishing/Conservation Workshop for kids. On a day dedicated to flyfishing and conservation we taught about 15 kids how to cast, tie knots, and get tangled up as well as provide some experiential activities designed to teach the importance of conservation and protection of our natural resources. We had a follow up fishing evening at Jewel Lake where all kids who participted in the workshop were invited;
• -was awarded a $10,000 Embrace-A-Stream grant to work on Kickbush Slide. Kickbush Slide is cutslope failure that has been continually slumping for years. The sediment ends up running into main Gold Creek (a tributary to Lake Pend Oreille, on the south end of the lake). During fall rains, the sediment is deposited on bull trout redds. The project will stabilize the slope and fix the problem. Gold Creek is the 2nd most important spawning stream in the Lake Pend Oreille Watershed. We will be looking for Embrace A Stream funding to complement Forest Service and Avista funding, making this a muti-financed project (it will be expensive to fix--we estimate over $200,000). The current situation is causing direct take of bull trout by choking redds; fixing this will immediately improve conditions for spawning fish. In addition to bull trout, Gold Creek supports westslope cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and spawning kokanee.
• -continued support in the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams;
• -participted in the National TU Conference "Roll On Columbia" in Portland, Oregon;
• -served on the Pack River TAC(Technical Advisory Committee);
• -continued involvement in an Adopt-A-Wetland program on the Pack River;
• -completed the Twin Creek project with a "pic-nic in the woods" celebration recognizing all who contributed to the project;
• -with the help of local Sandpoint High School students we are reestablishing our chapter newsletter "Casting About";
• -donated copies of "A Stump Full of Lures" to area schools
• -installed two large Bull Trout kiosks in Noxon and Heron, Montana.

2000

• -$4,000 to Idaho State Council Trout Unlimited
• -$3,000 to national TU $1,000 of the $3000 to be directed to the West Coast Office TU
• -$2,500 to support the Rock Creek Alliance in its efforts to protect water quality in the Clark Fork Basin by opposing the development of Asarco/Sterling's Rock Creek mine site;
• -$500 to Idaho State Council Trout Unlimited for as a challenge to other Idaho Chapters.
• -$1,500 for the purchase of another Living Stream aquarium for installation in a school in Bonner County;
• -$660 to purchase 15 fly rod, reel, line combos for a beginner fly-fishing class held throught the Sandpoint Parks and Recreation. Rods to be placed in library for check-out after City Rec. Program;
• -$500 to help sponsor the Pend O'reille Water Festival for Bonner County elementary students;
• -$250 to the Tri-State Implementation Council, used to monitor water quality in Lake Pend O'reille;
• -$100 Priest Lake Fishing Clinic. Money used to purchase tee-shirts and prizes to give to the children attending the event;
  

• -Held our 19th Annual Spring Fever Fundraising Banquet netting over $13,000;
• -helped to sponsor another Bull Trout Camp to count redds on the St. Joe River;
• -Was awarded a $50,000 grant for the Trestle Creek Watershed Conservation Project to purchase conservation easements and fee title interests on 200 acres of private lands in the Trestle Creek watershed to secure and protect crucial habitat for bull trout. Trestle Creek is recognized as one of the most important bull trout spawning streams in the Pacific Northwest, hosting an annual run of 500-1,000 fish, representing 30 to 50 % of the adult spawners from Pend Oreille Lake. In 1998, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed bull trout as a "threatened" species. A comprehensive Bull Trout Problem Assessment cited residential development as the primary threat to the integrity of the Trestle Creek watershed and its continued suitability for bull trout;
• -continued support in the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams;
• -joined The Nature Conservancy in a clean-up and work day at Gamlin Lake;
• -officially commented on the Iron Honey DEIS;
• -Built and installed large fish ladder in St. Joe River;
• - Applied for an Embrace a Stream Grant to work on Kickbush Slide. Kickbush Slide is cutslope failure that has been continually slumping for years. The sediment ends up running into main Gold Creek (a tributary to Lake Pend Oreille, on the south end of the lake). During fall rains, the sediment is deposited on bull trout redds. The proposed project will stabilize the slope and fix the problem. Gold Creek is the 2nd most important spawning stream in the Lake Pend Oreille Watershed. We will be looking for Embrace A Stream funding to complement Forest Service and Avista funding, making this a muti-financed project (it will be expensive to fix--we estimate over $200,000). The current situation is causing direct take of bull trout by choking redds; fixing this will immediately improve conditions for spawning fish. In addition to bull trout, Gold Creek supports westslope cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, and spawning kokanee.

• -$5,000 to national TU and the Idaho state council of TU;
• -$2,500 to support the Rock Creek Alliance in its efforts to protect water quality in the Clark Fork Basin by opposing the development of Asarco's Rock Creek mine site;
• -$1,500 for the purchase of another Living Stream aquarium for installation in a school in Bonner County;
• -$500 to help sponsor the Pend O'reille Water Festival for Bonner County elementary students;
• -$250 to the Tri-State Implementation Council, used to monitor water quality in Lake Pend O'reille.
• -helped to sponsor another Bull Trout Camp to count redds on the St. Joe River;
• -sponsored the 4th Annual Rod Raffle Dinner at Ivano's. This year's proceeds were dedicated to the Idaho State TU Educational Endowment;
• -are co-sponsoring a national Whirling Disease Symposium in Coeur d'Alene to be held in February;
• -extended a funding challenge to the other TU chapters in Idaho to help fund the state council. Two chapters responded, which resulted an additional $2,000 of funding.

• The removal, in partnership with the Crown Pacific Corporation, of a dam on Colburn Creek. This will open the creek for the first time in fifty years to migration of native fish;
• -fabricted and installed a fish ladder to assist with fish migration in Colburn Creek;
• -continued support in the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams;
• -assisted Idaho Fish and Game in a census of the fish population in the Moyie River;
• -joined The Nature Conservancy in a clean-up and work day at Gamlin Lake;
• -performed the annual Adopt-A-Stream clean-up of a section of the Pack River;
• -attended state council and national Trout Unlimited meetings;
• -attended meetings concerning the allocation of mitigation funds from the relicensing of the Clark Fork River dams;
• -applied for a grant through the Clark Fork/Pend Oreille Wetlands Trust to help fund the rehabilitation of Twin Creek near Clark Fork;
• -applied for a grant with the Fish and Wildlife Foundation;
• -collected e-mail addresses of chapter members to allow for better and more timely communication within the chapter;
• -developed a web site for the Panhandle Chapter. (This can be accessed through the national TU site or through the Sandpoint Online site.)

• -$6,000 to national TU and the Idaho State Council of TU;
• - $2,500 to support the Rock Creek Alliance in its efforts to protect water quality in the Clark Fork Basin by opposing the development of Asarco's Rock Creek mine site;
• - $3,700 to the Trout Unlimited Educational Endowment which has been set up during the past year; its purpose is to eventually provide funding for a graduate student in cold-water fisheries at an Idaho university;
• - $1,500 to help fund an aquarium project at Southside Elementary school; this wil soon be joined by at least one more that will be jointly purchased with the Lake Pend O'reille Idaho Club;
• - $500 to help sponsor the Pend O'reille Water Festival for Bonner County elementary students;
• - $250 to the Tri-State Implementation Council, used to monitor water quality in Lake Pend O'reille.

In addition, the chapter has been involved in the following areas:

• - the relicensing agreement for Avista's dams on the Clark Fork River;
• - played a leading role at the national TU convention in passing a resolution in support of breaching the four lower Snake River dams to promote the recovery of salmon populations in Idaho;
• - received a $5,000 Embrace-A-Stream grant to assist with stream rehabilitation on Twin Creek, a tributary to the Clark Fork River;
• - is involved in opposition to a proposed hydroelectric dam on Boundary Creek, home to native strains of rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, bull trout, kokanee salmon, and burbot, as well as other sensitive species such as harlequin ducks;
• - helped to sponsor another Bull Trout Camp to count redds on the St. Joe River;
• - participates in the Watershed Advisory Group (WAG), which is charged by the state with developing a viable plan for the protection and restoration of bull trout in our area;
• - participated in the first annual Trout Unlimited TV program; this nationally televised program was hosted by Tim Linehan, a guide and outfitter fram Yaak, Montana;
• - sponsored the 3rd annual Rod Raffle Dinner at Ivano's. This year's proceeds were dedicated to the Idaho State TU Educational Endowment;
• - reviewed and responded to approximately 25 project proposals and environmental statements for United States Forest Service and the Idaho Department of Lands.