Projects

The CCF At Work

Every year the CCF funds more than $1 million in biological and economic research and watershed-scale demonstration projects. Projects range from native fish genetics studies and instream flow analyses to multi-year efforts to address sweeping issues, such as climate change and whirling disease. The following are a few examples of the work underway with the support of CCF members.

View the full list of CCF projects.

Protect

Marcellus Shale Project  (NY, PA, WV)

An unprecedented gas drilling rush is underway in the Marcellus shale, which underlies six Eastern states.  TU is working to make sure that drilling is done responsibly despite inconsistent environmental laws and underfunded regulatory agencies.  In 2010, the Coldwater Conservation Corps was launched in Pennsylvania to train TU volunteers and other sportsmen and women how to monitor water resources for impacts from gas drilling and violations of state laws.  In 2011, TU will hold at least eight trainings throughout Pennsylvania reaching at least 250 volunteers.  We also hope to utilize the volunteer monitoring data collected by Coldwater Conservation Corps volunteers, in conjunction with TU’s Conservation Success Index (CSI), to identify areas where TU can work with a responsible gas drilling company to implement pilot projects using best management practices (BMPs).  TU’s goal is to ensure that native and wild trout are protected through the use of BMPs, whether voluntary or regulatory in nature.  Read more.

Bristol Bay (AK)

Some call Bristol Bay the most important salmon ecosystem on earth.  It is the most prolific sockeye salmon producing system in the world, and also has large runs of chinook and coho salmon.  Salmon, as well as huge rainbow trout that grow large and strong feeding on salmon eggs and flesh, draw sport anglers from around the globe to Bristol Bay rivers.  TU is leading the fight to prevent development of the proposed Pebble Mine, an enormous gold and copper mine that would be located in the middle of salmon spawning grounds in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, and could decimate this irreplaceable ecosystem and the $445 million dollar fishing-based economy it supports.  Read more.

Reconnect

Penobscot River Restoration Project (ME)

The Penobscot River Restoration Project is the most comprehensive river restoration currently underway on the east coast.  Removal of two dams and a bypass around a third will restore access to Maine's largest river for Atlantic salmon and 10 other species of sea run fish.  Trout Unlimited and its Penobscot River Restoration Trust partners have now raised the $25 million needed to purchase the three dams, bringing restoration of the Penobscot River one step closer to reality.  Through one of the most innovative river restoration projects in the nation, access to nearly 1,000 miles of river and stream habitat will be improved.  Maine is home to the last remaining wild Atlantic salmon in the nation.  The Penobscot holds the state’s largest population of Atlantic salmon and this project is considered the last best chance for their recovery.  Read more.

Restore

Rogue River Home Rivers Initiative (MI)

TU's newest Home Rivers Initiative is on the Rogue River near Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is the first initiative to focus in a true urban area, presenting a different set of issues such as concentrated development and storm water issues over a large part of the watershed.  So far we have begun to engage in municipality watershed plannning, conducted studies and assessments of the watershed and begun to communicate with local chapters and organizations in the area.  In the coming year, we hope to hold trainings for new volunteers on collecting flow and temperature data at locations in the watershed as well as host volunteer events such as river clean-ups to increase awareness. Read more.

Sustain

Conservation Success Index

The Conservation Success Index (CSI) supplies the roadmap TU needs to achieve its vision of conservation success. It compiles the existing scientific data to produce a picture of how a particular trout or salmon species is faring across its range—which populations are strong and which are struggling? What are the most serious threats, and which restoration projects are likely to yield the greatest benefits? How might emerging threats, such as climate change, proposed oil and gas drilling, or new non-native species invasions affect a particular site or species? Armed with this information, TU staff and volunteers can prioritize projects more effectively and measure success over time. Read more.

Trout in the Classroom

Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is an environmental educational program through which participating teachers and K-12 classrooms raise trout in a classroom tank throughout the school year and then release the fish into a stream in the spring. Caring for the trout emphasizes the importance of teamwork, shared responsibility and careful monitoring of water quality.  Currently, TU partners with state fish and wildlife agencies and operates more than 1,000 TIC programs nationwide, impacting tens of thousands of students annually. With the merger of the New York Headwaters Initiative into TU, the goal is to further expand this program across the country. Read more.

View the full list of CCF projects.