FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Erin Mooney: (703) 284-9408
TU National Press Secretary
Southeast Wisconsin Trout Unlimited Chapter Receives Grant for Elk Creek Restoration
Arlington, Va.– Trout Unlimited, (TU) the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization, today awarded a $7,500 Embrace-A-Stream grant to its Southeast Wisconsin chapter.
The Embrace-A-Stream grant will help fund a restoration project on Elk Creek, a trout stream located in the heart of the Driftless Area. Working in conjunction with two other local TU chapters, the grant will fund reshaping and other restoration work on the creek. Over time, the stream’s channel has been changed by sediment and erosion due to agricultural practices.
Working in conjunction with the Richland County Land Conservation Department, the $50,000 project will begin next month.
“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.”
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.
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.