Stand up for trout and salmon, public lands, and clean water

What happens in Washington, D.C., matters on your local rivers and streams. You can make a difference.

Every day, policy decisions in our nation’s capital reverberate all the way to the places we live, love and fish.

Agencies like the Forest Service and NOAA decide whether to fund a restoration project on a trout stream or a salmon river. Congress decides whether public lands should stay in public hands. The White House weighs how to apply the Clean Water Act to the nation’s waterways.

Trout Unlimited was founded by a band of anglers who saw a problem on their rivers, and decided to do something about it. Decades on, we’re still at it.

Stand up with us and make your voice heard.

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Federal conservation investments and the restoration economy

Trout Unlimited restoration work injects millions of dollars into local economies, supports small businesses, boosts tourism, and ensures that healthy communities thrive alongside healthy rivers and thriving trout and salmon.

Stand up for federal conservation investments and the jobs they support.

Stand up now!

Public Lands Protection

Public lands are core to who we are as Americans. These are the places we hunt, fish, and recreate with our friends and families. America’s 640 million acres of public lands are some of the last wild places in the country.

Take action for public lands and support our nation’s hunting and fishing traditions.

Stand up now!

Frequently asked questions

What does the news out of Washington, D.C., have to do with Trout Unlimited?

Policy decisions by the White House and Congress have a significant impact on Trout Unlimited’s conservation priorities and restoration work. Federal dollars help us to restore rivers and recover trout and salmon populations. Public land management policies help us to conserve sensitive fish and wildlife habitat. Robust funding for natural resource agencies ensures that we have strong federal partners supporting our mission.

This year, each of these issues are in play, and we are hard at work advocating for federal conservation investments, supporting agency partners, and defending public lands.

How does TU work on these issues?

One of TU’s core values is that we are “collaborative.” Staff and volunteers rely on non-partisan collaboration and partnership to achieve our goals. We have built a reputation among congressional representatives, agency leaders and on-the-ground partners as a trusted and pragmatic partner that looks for lasting solutions to intractable problems. We build relationships without regard to political party with a view on our long-term mission. That’s an approach that has served us well for decades, and it does not change when the White House or Congress change hands.

What is TU doing now to respond to cuts in federal funding and threats to public lands?

When funding for the work we do was “paused” at the start of the year, TU relied on our relationships with decision-makers, built over decades, to make the case for why these investments are so important. Our Government Affairs staff in D.C. and conservation staff in the field wrote, called, and met with key officials in the White House and Congress and our federal partners on the ground. Our trustees made the case during “Hill Day” visits. Our members sent thousands of messages to lawmakers. We created maps and charts and stories showing how the work we do with federal partners creates jobs in rural communities and conserves fish and wildlife habitat that matters to hunters and anglers. We empowered the construction workers, engineers and equipment operators we work with to tell their stories about the role they play in the restoration economy and the impact that stop-work orders would have on their workers and businesses.

This has always been the TU playbook, and so far, it’s working. Agency funding is flowing again in support of more than 260 restoration projects from coast to coast.

What can I do to help?

This work is not over. In fact, it’s never over. We need to continue to talk about the importance of these federal agencies—Forest Service, NOAA, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and more—and the federal programs that help restore rivers, recover fisheries, and make our communities healthier and stronger. We are continuing to tell stories about the work we do, reach out to lawmakers, and host field tours for decision-makers and the media.

And we need to continue to advocate for our public lands. Today, there are more threats than ever to our federal lands and the native trout habitat they support. Efforts to sell, dispose, or divest public lands undermine our outdoor traditions and threaten rural economies. These lands belong to all Americans and provide vital access for anglers, hunters, campers, and outdoor enthusiasts, and should not be seized by states or private interests.

We need your help! Follow the links below to learn more about how you can make your voice heard.

What else should I know about advocating with Trout Unlimited?

Stay on message: When you help spread the word, use Trout Unlimited talking points. You can find them on TU’s Stand Up action page.

Stay positive: Emphasize the many benefits of federal conservation investments and public lands: clean drinking water, healthy trout and salmon fisheries, family-wage jobs, thriving communities.

Stay local: Share examples from close to home about how investing in conservation and keeping public lands in public hands help restore and protect rivers, support rural communities, and provide clean water and healthy fisheries

Focus on the issue at hand: Avoid statements about the administration and about unrelated policy issues. Our rule at TU is to talk about policies—not people.

Stand up for policies that impact trout and salmon