Jan - Feb 2009 Trout Line Newsletter, Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

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Transcript of Jan - Feb 2009 Trout Line Newsletter, Tualatin Valley Trout Unlimited

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    Where Have We Been? Where Are We Going?

    The last twelve months were dynamic for our chapter, the Ore-gon TU council and our TU home office. I expect 2009 to beequally vibrant. Here are a few reminders of our various ac-complishments and thoughts on goals for 2009.Tualatin Valley-20081. Bylaws: These serve as a blueprint and guiding principles.We adopted chapter bylaws2. ConservationexpandedEfforts outlined below.A. Necanicum River Watershed: This is an 85 square milearea. Led by our chapter, TU members embarked on a majorhabitat restoration and protection initiative targeted at streamshosting Coho and chum salmon, sea-run cutts, steelhead, andlamprey. We selected this watershed as a focus project as a long-term watershed initiative. Now just over a year old, this initia-tive established partnerships with over a dozen groups, stateand federal agencies, timber companies and local landowners,

    and has habitat projects underway or completed at two majorsites. (See article on page 4)1. Weve worked twice in restoring Thompson Creek. Our 5k

    grant, given to the chapter, allowed for planting, etc. We have asecond 5K grant under consideration.2. TU secured a grant for barrier culvert removal on MulliganCreek. The culvert nearly eliminated fish passage. We replacedit with a half culvert thereby allowing fish passage. A jointlyfunded $80,000 project paid fully by American Rivers NOAAgrants and matching funds from Weyerhaeuser Company al-lowed this reconnecting.B. Metolius River Preserve: In a joint effort with the Clacka-mas Chapter, on Lake Creek we removed a walkway and path

    that had blocked fish passage. To help restore this area, weplanted 1,500 bushes, ground cover and flowers. This was oureighth restoration effort in this area, over the last five years.C. Steelhead Reintroduction: Near Prineville, we helped rein-troduce 800,000 steelhead fry into Wychus and McKay creeksand Crooked River sub-basin.D. Wild Salmon: We represented TU at efforts encouraging

    people to eat wild salmon and stopping construction of whatwould be the worlds largest open pit mine. That mine would

    ruin the worlds largest commercial Pacific salmon fishery.E. National Forest Service: Met with representatives concern-ing their interest in TU helping with conservation projects in

    Mount Hood National Forest.3. Kids (and parents) Fly fishing Camp: Clackamas River TUis the lead chapter on this project. We assisted 12 kids and anearly like number of adults learn basics of fly fishing, includingall the challenges and fun.4. Project Healing Waters: We have entered into a relationshipwith this program to bring fly fishing opportunities to disabledveterans. See the article in this issue on those activities.5. Fishing Outings were fun and educational at all twelve outingsheld. We made new friends, experienced new waters, learnedfrom one another, camped in peaceful surroundings, ate excellentfood all while cherishing being outdoors and on the water. Theseoutings are a combined venture of our chapter and the ClackamasRiverchapter.6. Conservation, Efficiencies and Economics: Beginning withthis newsletter, the chapter moved to electronic distribution of ournewsletter and other pertinent information. We are joining the50% of all TU chapters nationwide using electronic distributions.

    We will be the fourth of the five TU chapters in Oregon. This willallow us to reduce our environmental footprint, better use peopletime, while reallocating the nearly of our budget formerly spenton a newsletter to aspects such as conservation and youth educa-tion.

    Tualatin Valley-2009

    1. Conservation

    A. Necanicum River Watershed:

    1. Thompson Creek will continue as one of our focus points as wecontinue with our restoration ef-forts.2 We have applied for an Embrace-A-Stream grant administered

    through our national organization.Our effort would reconnect verte-brates going from the NecanicumRiver into Circle Creek. Thatwould happen by removing an im-mense barrier, replace that barrierwith a bridge and restore vegetation.Weve asked for the maximum

    money donation established, i.e.,$10,000 matched by $42,000 via in-kind and cash contributions.(continued on next page)

    P R E S I D E N T S C O L U M N ROBERT BERNARD

    THE TROUT LINE VOLUME 09, ISSUE 1JAN/FEB 2009

    Meeting Schedule: RegularChapter Meetings are held at the LUCKYLABRADOR on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30PM with a social get-together and the formal meeting at 7:00 PM unless otherwise noted in the newsletter or website. Lucky Lab-rador, Multnomah Village, 7675 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, (503) 244-2537. Food and Beverages available.

    January 14, 2009Nymph Fishing Made Simple (50 min slide show by Rick Hafele) - Like it or not nymphs catch fish. Whilenearly everyone turns to nymph fishing on occasion, many fly fishers shy away from it because they aren't sure what to do

    or how to do it. This program explains what goes on below the surface of a stream and how to catch trout with nymphs.Plus, you will get the some key tips about what not to do when nymphing!February 11, 2009At our annual joint meeting with Stonefly Maidens,Dave Hughes will present material from his new bookon nymphing. An unnamed reliable source on our board of directors, (initails R.R.), suggests that Dave will set us straight

    on all the misconceptions that Rick Hafele presents in January. Join us both months to hear from two of the best on subsur-face fly fishing.

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    Where Have We Been? Where Are We Going? Continued from Page 1

    Page 2

    THE TROUT LINE

    3. Oregon Division of Fish and Wildlife has proposed that wehelp in restoring the north fork of Circle Creek into a free-flowing stream.

    4. We will enhance vertebrate passage by replacing two con-crete channels with fish friendly alternatives.B. Metolius River Preserve: We will assist as requested by theDeschutes River Land Trust.C. Mount Hood National Park: We are awaiting a requestfrom National Forest Service to continue on this project.D. Other locations/opportunities as they arise2. Kids fishing camp: Continue involvement with ClackamasTUs while instigating our own program.

    3. Project Healing Waters: Complete Memorandum of

    Our Trout Unlimited guiding principle is conservation. Thisprinciple has four segments: Protect, Reconnect, Restore andSustain. To help chapters meet this principle, TU, since 1975,has awarded $3.7 million dollars in grants to chapters around thecountry. Cash awards go for eligible coldwater fisheries conser-vation projects. The funding mechanism is through a programcalled Embrace-A-Stream. Program funding comes from three

    private businesses.

    Our chapter submitted an Embrace-A-Stream grant. Its purposeis to reconnect Clear Creek with the Necanicum River. We willdo so by removing a barrier located at the confluence of thesetwo waters upstream add a 70 bridge, and improve vegetation.

    This confluence is within Seaside Golf Course.

    This reconnecting will allow Coho and Chum Salmon, Steelhead,sea-run cutthroat and lamprey superb access to the five miles ofCircle Creek. This effort continues our work to improve habitatin Circle Creek and is another piece in our goal of enhancing the

    Necanicum River Watershed.The project budget is at $42,000+. We asked for the maximum

    Chapter Submits Funding Proposal for Reconnecting by: Robert Bernard

    funding via Embrace-A-Str eam-$10,000. This $10k will pay forsome of the materials and labor to the firm doing most of the

    project. The remaining $32,000 budget comes in the form ofmatch. Our chapter cash share is $500 the golf course cashmatch share is $14,000. In-kind match comes from the firm do-ing the project by donating the 70 bridge, assorted materials and

    labor. Our chapter, the Clackamas River chapter and RainlandFly Casters are donating labor. Rainland Fly Casters is a Federa-tion of Fly Fishers chapter, based in Astoria.

    Timing: application due December 12, 2008EAS TU volunteer committee review and decision-second weekFebruary 2009

    Formal decision made known shortly thereafter.

    Our application calls for this project to begin late spring andcompletion by mid-September 2009.

    I am happy to answer any questions, even send members thecomplete application.

    Agreement to support this program in Portland/Vancouver.4. Fishing Outings: Continue while expanding participation.5. Involvement:

    A. Add more participation at conservation projects.B. Involve children and females in learning about TU, fishing andconservation.C. Recruit members into TU and this chapter.D. Educate members on TUs goals and internal information

    available to us.E. Inform our members of our nationwide strategic plan, withemphasis on Oregon and Washington projects.F. Adjust our fiscal base to allow funding of conservation projectsand chapter functions.

    As many folks know, we've been working the ground game in theBend/Redmond/Sisters/Prineville area for about a year and a halfnow, scoping out the viability of a TU Home Rivers Initiativehere, coupled with a strategy to rejuvenate the relatively dormantDeschutes Chapter in Bend. While that amount of groundwork is

    pretty unprecedented for us, we feel it has been necessary tocommunicate with as many of the players here as possible, to

    both identify TU's niche and opportunities, as well as to best de-fine ourselves to others to avoid stepping on toes or crossingwires.

    In our minds, we cannot have a Home Rivers project in an areawithout a strong grassroots presence, so figuring out what'sneeded to jumpstart the Deschutes Chapter has been just as im-

    portant as the work we've been doing with partner groups like theDeschutes Land Trust, the Deschutes River Conservancy, theUpper Deschutes and Crooked River Watershed Councils, Trustfor Public Lands, state and federal agencies, and others. We havesome 387 paid members in the immediate area, however the ac-tive portion of the chapter has been made up of a very small num-

    ber of stalwart officers who are hanging on in hopes of majorreinforcements coming soon. We feel the Home Rivers Initiativefor the Upper Deschutes will be a catalyst to re-energize and re-organize the Deschutes Chapter.

    We held a "special chapter meeting" in Bend on November 2,open to all current TU members, former members, prospectivemembers, or anyone else interested in hearing more about our

    Upper Deschutes Home Rivers - Deschutes Chapter Meeting by Alan Moore

    Continued on Page 6

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    JAN/FEB 2009

    Program Reaches Out to Military and Veterans with Lessons in Fly Fishing.

    At some point in each of our lives someone was kind enough togive us the gift of flyfishng. Whether that meant we merely threwa line with a bug on the water in hopes of catching a fish, or we

    became tyers, rod builders, amateur entomologists, or even certi-fied casting instructors, this gift has changed our lives. Some ofus came to this gift late in life, others started before we began for-mal education. All of us benefit from the opportunity to tempt afish with an artificial fly.

    Project Healing Waters is a program to bring this wonderful op- portunity to members of the military and veterans. It began withmilitary personal returning from the current conflicts in Iraq andAfghanistan with very debilitating injuries being treated at WalterReed Army Hospital. Two retired military officers began visitingthe patients there to provide volunteer support. It happened thatthe retired officers were fly fishermen. One thing lead to another,military men and women recovering from their wounds began tolearn to tie flies. Without much prompting the two volunteerswere convinced that those tyers should be able to test their flies onthe water. Fishing trips were planned. The latest adventure forthose recovering military personal at Walter Reed has been the

    building of a driftboat for their use.

    To discover more about the origins of Project Healing Waters andthe adventures of the group that formed a few years ago at WalterReed, go to WWW.PROJECTHEALINGWATERS.ORG. Thereis a great deal more information and some incredible video and

    pictures of their efforts.

    TU has been a major sponsor of the Project Healing Waters na-tional program from the beginning. The program has evolvedfrom just an opportunity for those military personal in WalterReed to a national network of local programs that reach out tomembers of the military and all veterans of all ages, without re-

    gard to gender.

    Lately, we have taken up the challenge to develop Project Healing

    Waters programs in Oregon. Our flyer says: Project Heal-

    ingWatersis a group of veterans and other inter-ested individuals who enjoy the social and recrea-

    tional benefits of fly tying and fishing. We organizeworkshops and events to share this pleasure with

    veterans and active military personnel.

    In the past year Oregon programs started in White City(Medford) in conjunction with the VA Southern Oregon Reha-

    bilitation Center and Clinics (SORCC) and in Portland and Van-couver in conjunction with the VA Medical Center in Portland.

    Three more programs are in the process of beginning operationsin Salem, Bend, and The Dalles.

    Some months ago I was asked to become the Oregon Coordina-tor for Project Healing Waters by Chuck Tye, Northwest Coor-dinator. He is a retired Marine Officer and a certified castinginstructor. In this job I have had the distinct privilege to workwith some of the most selfless, knowledgeable, generous folkswho have offered their time, expertise and access to the commu-nity of fly fishing. Those folks number in the hundreds but afew deserve special mention. Casters like Stan Steele and AlBuhr have lent a hand in our workshops. Fly tyers, too numer-ous to mention, have stepped up to teach. Among them Jim

    Ferguson, Richard Twarog, Morris Fruitman, Ron Reinebach,Mike Gentry, Paul Belafante, Jay Woodbury and Wayne Orzeldeserve special mention.

    The VA Medical Center in Portland and the SORRC have beenextraordinary in their willingness to support, house, and cooper-ate in these efforts. We continue to develop contacts within theVA system at the Clinics in Bend and Salem. We are alsoworking closely with the Oregon State Veterans Home in TheDalles.

    I have reached out to many for additional support. Every time Ispeak to Tilda Runner, Mary Ann Dozer, Don Nelson, Jan Sage,and many others I get the most generous and full support I couldhope for.

    In the beginning of the effort to grow the programs in Oregon, Imentioned the opportunity to the Disabled American Veterans,Chapter One, Portland. Upon hearing of the need to supportsuch a valuable program for disabled veterans and members ofthe military they offered to very generously fund the programs.With additional significant contributions of tools, materials, andexpertise from Temple Forks Outfitters, Wasatch Tools, South-ern Oregon Fly Fishers, Tualatin Valley Chapter Trout Unlim-ited, and River City Fly Shop we have been able to presentmany workshops and fishing trips. Already more than 50 veter-ans have benefited from the programs in Oregon.

    In Southern Oregon, Richard Butler with support from theSouthern Oregon Fly Fishers has managed to conduct a series ofclasses and take two groups of veterans fishing on the upperRogue River. Contact Richard for more information about the

    program in Southern Oregon.

    In Portland and Vancouver we have had workshops each of thelast 5 months on fly tying, knots, lines, casting, and techniqueson the water. Each month we visit each campus, Portland andVancouver, to share fly fishing knowledge with veterans. On

    Continued on next page

    http://www.projecthealingwaters.org/http://www.projecthealingwaters.org/http://www.projecthealingwaters.org/
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    Page 4JAN/FEB 2009

    Program Reaches Out to Military and Veterans with Lessons in Fly Fishing. (Continued from page

    September 22, we took a group of veterans to fish on KlinelinePond in Vancouver. We will be organizing more ambitious out-ings in the year to come, including an overnight trip to a river to

    be named later.

    As we continue to grow we plan to continue the workshops andoutings in Portland and Vancouver. Richard Butler has the sup-

    port to continue to present programs in Southern Oregon. Thestartup programs in Salem (Santiam Fly Fishers), Bend (CentralOregon Flyfishers), and The Dalles (She Who Fly Fishes) are all

    planning to begin soon.

    The recreational value of fly fishing is apparent to all of us whohave been lured by a feather on a hook. Each of us finds reasonsin our own life to seek the therapeutic moments that the avoca-tion offers. For veterans and military personnel the reasons are

    just as applicable and the need is sometimes far greater.

    If you are interested in the programs that are available in Oregonor in Project Healing Waters in general, I welcome you to contactme. I am Jerry Lorang and I can be reached by email [email protected], or by phone at 971-404-5154.

    Last month we went to Thompson Creek, a very productive wildOregon Coastal coho stream, for our second visit here this year.

    No hatchery coho have ever been reported here, although hatch-

    ery winter steelhead journey up it, along with wild sea-run cuttslooking for eggs. Because the coho that use Thompson are allwild, they arrive here more naturally spaced apart, as opposed toa wave that comes in at once and then is gone, as hatchery fishoften do. Already, observers from our partner in this project the

    North Coast Land Conservancy have seen several days with mul-tiple pairs of wild coho over recent weeks in this very stretch ofThompson Creek. Wild coho spawning here can continue tillJanuary, according to locals.

    We had another strong crew, made up of ten or so TU guys fromthe Tualatin Valley and Clackamas River chapters, led by presi-dents Robert Bernard, Dick Hollenbeck and Council Chair TomWolf, and we had good support from the Rainland Fly Casters ofAstoria, a couple of intrepid Seaside HS seniors, and a crew ofabout a dozen JobCorps kids from the Tongue Point programnear Astoria. Our fearless leader again was Briita Orwick of the

    North Coast Land Conservancy, which owns this stretch ofThompson Creek. Briita, as always, did a fantastic job. It is a

    stone's throw outside of Seaside city limits and literally runsthrough a row of front yards upstream of its confluence with tidal

    Neawanna Creek. It abuts a new housing development which is,

    suffice to say, not selling homesites like hotcakes these days.Despite all of that, Thompson Creek remains one of the Necani-cum River Watersheds' most productive wild coho spawningstreams, which frankly, says more about the coho than it doesabout us, but we're working on it. Our premise for this project isto prove that through cooperation, communication and hardwork, productive wild salmon and trout streams can - or rathermust - be allowed to coexist alongside, and in many cases in spiteof, human encroachment. As the patriarch of the North CoastLand Conservancy Neal Maine says, if we write off every streamthat comes under the influence of development, we won't haveANY left pretty soon. Just as we have to direct attention andresources to the pristine mountain stream that must be protected,

    we also have to direct attention and resources toward lowlandstreams (and estuaries!) that have been impacted but that con-tinue to function.

    In Picture #1, please take note of the absence of blackberry on thework side (east side) of the creek. Where our crews worked this

    Necanicum River Project Update By Alan Moore

    Picture #1

    Continued on next page

    The Strong Crew, November 18, 2008

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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    Page 5

    JAN/FEB 2009

    plant. There were about 400 individual native plants planted .

    In Picture 3 and Picture 4 you will see the immediate riparianzone, formerly choked with blackberry up to 7 feet tall, nowhappy with some mature alder grove which the beavers are en-

    joying too, ready for some native vegetation re-growth. If youwant to see what this side used to look like, look at the other sidein the pictures. The west side is our next project, which, workingwith the US Fish & Wildlife Service, ODFW and other partners,we'll be able to access with some heavy equipment to do somemore broadscale blackberry eradication (currently there isn't ac-cess for equipment plans have been discussed for installing a

    bridge downstream for equipment access to the west bank). Cer-tainly all of your hard work along the east bank will make thatwestside project even more of a priority!

    Special thanks for this continuing project go to the North Coast

    Land Conservancy and its fine staff and board for allowing TUto get a foothold in the efforts to restore and protect these areas,and to the Jubitz Family Foundation for giving us our firstfunding to get that start underway. Trying to thank everyoneinvolved in projects like this quickly turns into a hopeless exer-cise because 1) you'll forget someone important and 2) it tends to

    appear to ignore the vast myriad of other projects just as good asthis one, going on all over Salmon and Troutdom any weekend ofthe year. We choose just to rest on the good feeling that we're

    part of something bigger and better that taken collectively ISmaking a difference, and to keep it going come hell or, yes, highwater. And, we who do engage in the policy and advocacy sideof these issues cannot repeat often enough and cannot overstatehow much of a difference advocating for a place, a stream, a fishor a law in which we, our members and our partners have an on-the-ground stake makes.

    past August to eradicate the Himalayan blackberry (you can stillsee the piles of it desiccating in the rain), regrowth has been re-

    markably low. That's a tribute to our crews' work on those rootballs and breaking all those shovels back in August. The fightagainst this wicked stuff will continue for another five years,until the native vegetation we're planting takes full root and be-gins to shade out the invasives, but we're off to a great start inwinning the war in this spot. The more we knock it back now,the less we'll have to do it later on.

    A meadow was reformed that was formerly all blackberry. In

    Picture #2 on the next page you'll see we've replanted this wholearea with 9 different distinct species of native vegetation, and

    protected all of it from the beavers, elk, deer, rodents and otherforagers who use the area with wire fencing. We put up threeseparate large "exclosure" areas, 2 in the meadow area and onealong the riparian zone, as well as protected each individual

    Necanicum River Project Update By Alan Moore

    Picture #2

    Picture 3

    Picture #4

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    Page 6

    THE TROUT LINE

    11960 SW Pacific Highway, Tigard, Oregon 97223Phone 503-639-6400 Fax 503-684-7025www.kman.com email [email protected]

    Everything for the flyfisherTackle, Classes, Guided Trips & Worldwide Travel

    Upper Deschutes Home Rivers - Deschutes Chapter Meeting by Alan Moore (continued from page 2)

    do that anyway.

    So what does a Home Rivers Initiative look like? It starts with an

    on-the-ground presence, someone almost certainly from the areawho works for TU and works every day in partnership with othergroups and agencies on habitat projects, grassroots development,

    project fundraising and management. That local presence is thencomplimented by policy and advocacy support from the PortlandOffice and, when needed, Washington, DC.. Habitat restorationis the anchor, be it small day-labor type projects, large multi-year

    projects and everything in between. Funding has been securedthrough a private foundation to make the initial hire we shouldhave a staff person on the ground by spring. Some Home Rivers

    projects in the pastthe Deschutes is TUs 20th nationwidehave had ending dates. The Deschutes Home Rivers Project doesnot. We hope to be around in the Deschutes for an awfully long

    time.

    We've been having conversations, and will continue to do so,with groups and agencies working in the Upper Deschutes to findareas in existing projects we can invest in, as well as needed pro-

    jects we can help get rolling. The whole upper basin is the rangeof this project, including the Crooked, Middle and UpperDeschutes, Whychus Creek, the Metolius, and all of their tribu-taries. We will go where the opportunities take us in that area.Grassroots involvement from the immediate area as well as fromTU members and partners across the state will be a constant ele-ment. The Project will also bring policy, science expertise andadvocacy to the Upper Deschutes, provided by TU national staff,something many of the local groups working there often cannot

    provide. We can.

    We have a long road ahead, but we've put some miles behind usnow too, and we feel like we're on our way to a real signature

    presence in the Deschutes we can all be a part of and be proud of.

    Alan Moore is the Acting Director - Pacific Salmon and Steel-

    head for Trout Unlimited in Portland, OR.

    plans for a Home Rivers Initiative in the Upper Deschutes. Weinvited all partner groups and agencies we've spoken with formore than a year, with an open invitation to speak to the group

    with their ideas of how TU can best fit into the crowded playingfield here and help move the ball forward conservation-wise.

    Our guest speakers included reps from Native Fish Society,Deschutes Land Trust, Deschutes River Conservancy, UpperDeschutes Watershed Council/Oregon Trout, Trust for PublicLands, ODFW, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Serviceand the Crooked R Watershed Council. Bryan Moore, TU VicePresident for Volunteer Operations was here from West Virginia,his staffer Beverly Lane was here from Jackson, WY, and Grass-roots Trustee Paul Maciejewski from Buffalo, NY was here totalk about chapter development. TU Trustee Sherry Brainerdalso spent the day with us she has a home near Sisters and was in

    the area. Kate Miller and I were there from the Portland office.We sent two electronic invitations to all the good email TU mem-ber addresses we have in the state, and we sent a hard copy news-letter/invitation to all of the Central Oregon TU members wehave addresses for.

    Turnout was good. We had over 40 folks show up, representinga broad mix of former members, current but inactive members,and a lot of partners who are sincerely intrigued by TU having amajor presence in the Upper Deschutes. Central Oregon Flyfish-ers was very well represented, as many, if not most, of theirmembers are TU members too. There was some frank and opendiscussion with COF members about how best an active TUchapter and COF could share space in the Upper Deschutes. Our

    message to address any concerns about competition is prettystraightforward: We are not interested in covering turf alreadyoccupied by someone else what we are interested in is the job ofconservation in the Deschutes, and making TU the most effectiveand enjoyable mechanism we can to help join others in gettingthat job done. We understand that partnerships are the key to thatoutcome, and we are open to any and all that make sense. If wewere interested in going it alone, we wouldnt have invited so

    many potential partners to the meeting, much less had so manyconversations leading up to it.

    Again, TU's investment of time and resources into the UpperDeschutes serves two main purposes: One is to bring any and all

    resources we can to bear on the goal shared by all of us workingin the upper basin, (and demonstrated best over the years frankly

    by Dick Hollenbeck and the Clackamas Chapter) of realizing thefull restoration and conservation potential of the UpperDeschutes. The second is creating a presence in theDeschutes River Basin that will foster the local and statewidegrassroots involvement, investment and pride that a one-of-a-kind-in-the-world river system like the Deschutes deserves.That's it. We will work with any and all partners who share ourgoals, and who want to work with us. There's plenty to do in theDeschutes we won't be fighting over turf, and won't have time to

    http://www.kman.com/http://www.kman.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.kman.com/mailto:[email protected]
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    Board of Directors:Outings Andy Andrews (971) 409-6149

    [email protected]

    Ron Reinebach (503) [email protected]

    Communications Vacant

    Newsletter editor Jerry Lorang(971) 404-5154

    [email protected]

    Officers

    President- Robert L. Bernard (503) [email protected]

    Vice Pres. Michael J. Gentry (503) [email protected]

    Treasurer- Erle Norman (503) [email protected]

    Secretary- Jerry Heppell (503) [email protected]

    Membership Bill Schoen (503) [email protected]

    Ex-Officio Hank Hosfield (503) 228-6553(Past Pres.) [email protected]

    TUALATIN VALLEY TU OFFICERS AND BOARD

    Page 7

    JAN/FEB 2009

    Fly of the MonthPeacock Soft Hackle by Mike Gentry

    Potter Stewart, a former U.S. SupremeCourt Justice, when ruling on a pornogra-

    phy case years ago, remarked that I may

    not be able to define it but I know it when I

    see it. That well may hold true for theallure of a soft hackleneither the fisher-man nor the fish may be able to say withcertainty what the fly represents, but bothknow it is a winner when seen on the endof a line and drifted through good trouthabitat.1. Place the bead head on the hook, securethe thread on the hook and secure the beadhead with wraps of thread.2. Wind the thread back to just past the

    beginning of the bend of the hook and se-cure a length of silver wire, letting the rest

    of the wire trail off the back of the hookand out of the way.3. Tie in by the tips one (for sizes 14 and16) or two (for sizes 10 and 12) 5 or 6 inchlong peacock herl strands, wind around thethread to make a yarn, and wind the yarnforward to the bead head and tie off.4. Counterwrap the wire over the bodywith six or so wraps to behind the beadhead and tie off with two turns of threadand clip.5. Select and trim to length (by cutting thefeather quill) a grouse or partridge featherwith beginning strands about the length ofthe body. Right behind the bead head, tie

    in the trimmed quill tip with two wraps (foreand aft over the quill tip) over the tip. Theshort feather will be sticking out more or less

    perpendicular to the hook shaft.

    6. With a small hackle pliers, grasp a few ofthe middle splines of the outer tip end of thefeather and gently wind the feather one wrapright behind the bead head. This is the dici-est part of the process it is necessary to usevery little pressure on the pliers while wind-ing or the gripped feather splines will tearaway. Tie off the wrapped feather with twoturns of thread and cut or gently tear awaythe tips grasped by the hackle pliers.6. Finish by wrapping three or four turns of

    thread right behind the bead head, tograsp a bit of the wrapped hacklefeather. Tie off and clip the thread andsecure with a tiny bit of head cement.

    Various articles Ive read, and variouspeople Ive talked to, suggest this pattern

    at times can serve for emerging forms ofvarious mayfly or caddis species as theytravel through the water column. The

    pattern also can be tied without a beadhead to provide more emerging orslightly subsurface stages. It is veryeffective when fished through the swing,

    particularly at the rise at the end of theswing.

    Materials:

    Hook: Tiemco 100BL or 3769 (forstronger hook in bigger sizes)#s 10-16

    Head: Medium gold bead

    Thread: Black 8/0 unithread

    Body: Peacock herl

    Rib: Fine silver wire

    Hackle: Grouse or partridge breastfeather

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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    Conserving,protectingandrestoringNorthAmericascoldwaterfisheriesandtheirwatersheds..

    TheTroutLine

    TualatinValleyTroutUnlimitedChapter

    4739SEFranklinStreet

    Portland,OR97206-3117

    PRESORTSTANDARD

    U.S.POSTAGEPAID

    PERMIT#543

    BEAVERTON,OR

    Negotiated Agreement Reached on Carmen-Smith Hydro Relicensing

    Recently, representatives from 17 different entities including state and federal agencies as well as tribal governments, NGOs andhydro operator, Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) met in Eugene, OR to sign a negotiated settlement for the relicensingof the Carmen-Smith hydroelectric project on the McKenzie River. The Settlement Agreement outlines the protection, mitigationand enhancement measures that will be submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for inclusion in a newoperating license for the project.

    This settlement concludes nearly two years of negotiations among the parties. Trout Unlimiteds Kate Miller negotiated on behalfof TU and four additional conservation and recreation organizations with support from the local Upper Willamette/McKenzieChapter and their representative, Karl Mueller. The agreement was filed today with FERC as part of the re-licensing process.

    Just a few of the key provisions of the Settlement include:

    Fully volitional fish passage at the lowest project dam, Trail Bridge, providing access to upstream habitat and reconnectingpopulations of ESA-listed chinook salmon and bull trout.

    Improved instream flow conditions through the project reachesproviding additional water for improved spawning and rear-ing habitats.Commitments to add gravel and large wood in project reservoirs and reaches to restore and enhance habitat complexity for the

    benefit of aquatic species.

    Because of the length of FERC hydro license terms, relicensing settlement negotiations like this one are often our best - and some-times onlychance in a generation to effect broad improvements in river systems with hydro dams. Those changes obviously can

    come in passage improvements and flows, but also regularly involve habitat restoration, hatchery operations, and other key ele-ments for trout and salmon. This agreement attempts to balance the need for power with the values of ecosystem protection andthe need to protect, reconnect and conserve our nations coldwater fisheries.

    ______________________________________________________________________For additional information, contact Kate Miller at (503) 827-5700 x.16 or at [email protected].

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]