PRESS RELEASE August 21, 2002

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Richard Jones, Ted Trueblood Chapter Pres.: Richard Prange

The Ted Trueblood Chapter - named for the famed Idaho outdoorsman, conservationist and author -received the 2002 Gold Trout Award for Conservation from TU at the organization's national convention last week in Portland, Maine. The Gold Trout has been awarded annually since 1971, and goes to the individual TU chapter that has made the most noteworthy contribution to coldwater conservation in the previous year. The Ted Trueblood Chapter was selected over some 500 TU chapters nationwide.

"We were surprised when our name came up," said chapter president Richard Jones. "We're usually so busy with projects I guess we didn't realize how much we were getting done. It's rewarding to be recognized for that."

Whether in the stream, in the classroom, or in the air, Ted Trueblood Chapter projects have been helping protect and restore Idaho's trout, salmon and steelhead and their habitats for years. Recent examples include:

• Trout in the Classroom: TU brings the stream to the kids: A carefully regulated trout tank allows students to better see and understand aquatic environments and to learn about the life cycles of trout.

• The Bear Valley Radio Telemetry Project: TU volunteers assisted the U.S. Forest Service radio-tagging and tracking native westslope cutthroat trout by air to better understand migration patterns.

• The Eagle Island Stream Rehabilitation Project: Will reconstruct a stream channel and restore spawning habitat in the lower Boise River.

"The Ted Trueblood Chapter serves as a model for what TU is all about," said Jeff Curtis, TU Western Conservation Director. "Their projects stress the importance conducting habitat work and reaching out to young people, and not being afraid of getting your hands dirty or having fun doing it."