Trout Unlimited has a new tagline: “Every River Needs a Champion.” And while we would like to think it describes an organization that has grown from one grassroots chapter in Michigan to a national operation with outsize impact on conservation, really the tagline is about the people of TU, all the hundreds of thousands of advocates, volunteers, supporters and allies making a difference in ways great and small.
The stories in the handful of pages to follow—and in fact all the best stories we tell about the people of TU—travel the same path.
- Part 1: The protagonist falls in love with a river, a stream, a pond. Maybe it happens with a trout at the end of their line. Or maybe not: The same passion could emerge during an epic float trip through public lands, or on a quiet hike along a stream.
- Part 2: They see a problem. A fragile fishery degraded by pollution. A salmon run blocked by dams. A misguided development proposal on a cherished water.
- Then comes Part 3: the transformation. Having seen something go wrong, they decide to do something about it. They act.
That’s the route to becoming a champion.
It’s worth taking a moment to think about what it means to “do something about it.” Yes, you could be a U.S. senator who works to protect public lands and the waters that flow through them, or a retired Navy commander who sets your sights on a dam wreaking havoc on Maine’s Penobscot River. But you could just as likely be working quietly on a stream few people know about, collecting water quality samples or planting trees along the banks. You could be writing letters and meeting with staffers in your local lawmaker’s office. You could be signing a petition or writing a check so organizations like TU can keep doing what they do year after year and decade after decade.
The point is, not every action will land you on the Mount Rushmore of conservation. But small acts matter. They add up.
So take TU’s tagline as inspiration, invitation, exhortation—and a challenge: How will you be a champion for the water and the fish we care so much about?