FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Erin Mooney, (703) 284-9408, TU National Press Secretary
TU Purgatoire River Anglers Chapter Receives $5,000 Grant to Restore Purgatoire River
Trinidad, Colo.-- Trout Unlimited (TU), the nation's oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization, today awarded a $5,000 Embrace-A-Stream grant to its Purgatoire River Anglers Chapter in Trinidad, Colorado. The chapter is partnering with the city of Trinidad, the Trinidad Community Foundation and other local and state agencies to improve the health of the Purgatoire River and its fishery.
The Purgatoire River, a free-flowing trout stream, was dammed in the 1970s to create Trinidad Lake. Low winter flows and poor structure in the river has prevented a sustainable trout population. The $5,000 Embrace-A-Stream grant will allow the Purgatoire River Anglers to do an initial evaluation of the Purgatoire's aquatic and riparian habitat and to develop a master plan for restoring the river, from the Trinidad Lake State Park dam through the town of Trinidad to the Highway 160 bypass—approximately 4 ¾ miles of river.
The chapter's effort will also involve public education and awareness through river walks, a stream clean-up day and fly-fishing classes.
Embrace-A-Stream is the flagship grant program for funding TU grassroots conservation efforts. Funding is provided primarily through the support of TU members, with additional support in 2010 provided by Costa del Mar and the FishAmerica Foundation. An Embrace-A-Stream Committee comprised of TU volunteer representatives and scientific advisors evaluates all proposed projects and makes the awards.
In 2010, the Embrace-A-Stream program will provide over $125,000 to 24 projects in 15 states. Projects will address stream habitat restoration, improving fish passage and protecting water quality. Many of the projects will benefit eastern brook trout from Maine to Georgia, and will help protect cutthroat trout in the West as well as coho and Chinook salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Since the program's inception in 1976, Embrace-A-Stream has funded more than 950 individual projects totaling approximately $4 million. As a result of this funding from Embrace-A-Stream, the projects have leveraged more than $12.7 million in additional funding.
"Through the hard work of TU members across the country, we are able to put our organization's mission into action," said Bryan Moore, Vice President for Volunteer Operations and Watershed Programs. "TU's grassroots members work tirelessly to protect and restore the nation's coldwater resources so that they will exist for generations to come."
Trout Unlimited is North America's leading coldwater fisheries conservation organization, with more than 140,000 members dedicated to conserving, protecting, and restoring North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.