Staff from across the Rockies honored with recognition for their work and expertise
Recently, Trout Unlimited staff from across the Rockies received well-deserved recognition for their work to restore the West’s prized watersheds at the Western Division of the American Fisheries Society’s (WDAFS) annual meeting in Westminster, Colorado.
AFS and TU partner for healthier rivers
The American Fisheries Society is the world’s oldest and largest scientific and professional organization dedicated to strengthening the fisheries profession, advancing fisheries science and conserving fisheries resources. The Western Division is one of four geographic subdivisions of the Society within North America.
“Being recognized by the WDAFS and our partners at the USDA Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management speaks to how competently our staff collaborate with rural communities to advance priority projects and investments,” said Emily Olsen, vice president of the Rocky Mountain region for TU. “I’m proud of our TU team’s achievements. It’s meaningful to receive this recognition from partners who we respect and truly admire.”
Tom Fresques, fisheries and riparian lead for the Aquatic Resources Program at the Bureau of Land Management and Rick Henderson, aquatic biologist at Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grasslands, nominated our incredible TU staff, councils, chapters and volunteers for the American Fisheries Society’s Max Award of Merit.
“We nominated TU for this prestigious award because of the organization’s exceptional accomplishments over the past two years at leveraging funds, maintaining existing partnerships and fostering important new ones,” said Henderson and Fresques. “All this effort has facilitated vast amounts of meaningful and impactful on-the-ground habitat and conservation work on federally managed BLM and USFS lands.”
Presentations and more awards
Additionally, TU team members such as Bear River program director Jim DeRito, Lower Bear River project manager Tyler Coleman, Upper Bear River project manager Mike Fiorelli, scientists Brian Hodge and Emma Lundberg, GISc director Louis Jochems, fisheries director Daniel Dauwalter, and national restoration director Warren Colyer all gave presentations about their respective work and areas of expertise at the conference.
“It was great to not only see the recognition for TU’s field work, but to also hear many of these same people present on the positive impacts of this work for both fisheries and local communities,” said Helen Neville, TU’s senior scientist. “It really demonstrated TU’s ability to work as a team to secure local conservation goals rooted in fisheries science.”
TU also secured the WDAFS Conservation Achievement Award in recognition of Louis Bacon and the Trinchera Ranch in Colorado’s San Luis Valley at the conference. This honor is awarded annually to an organization that has made significant, lasting contributions to fisheries conservation across 13 Western U.S. states.
“This recognition is a testament to the exceptional leadership and dedication shown by Louis Bacon, Trinchera Ranch and its partners for more than a decade,” said Kevin Terry, Southwest program director at TU “Their work exemplifies the spirit of this award — grounded in science, driven by passion and sustained through strong partnerships.”
Finally, a trio of recent films either produced by and/or featuring TU were also named as Official Selections at the WDAFS Aquatic Film and Photo Festival, demonstrating a range of projects and partnerships across Wyoming, Idaho and Utah. Lifeblood also went on to receive second place (Silver Award) overall at the festival.
Lifeblood: Muddy Creek’s Revival
Horses and Highwater: Restoring Tincup Creek
Tight Loops Fly: The Incredible Story of Utah’s Giant Trout
“Collectively, all this recognition underlines the strengths of TU: community, collaboration and conservation,” said Olsen. “We could not be prouder of the TU staff responsible for this work, their dedication to building partnerships and their ability to communicate about it to a variety of audiences.”