New York State Council of Trout Unlimited, Inc.

NYS Council’s goals are derived from TU National’s current strategic plan framework. The framework defines the biological imperative of our work as protecting the highest quality habitat for wild and native fish, and reconnecting that and other habitat to other areas through restoration. The framework’s social imperative is to ensure that our efforts endure, and are sustained over time. The elements of TU's current strategic plan are focused on Conservation, Engagement, Communications, and Funding.
CONSERVATION GOALS • Protect high quality habitat for native and wild cold water fish. • Reconnect fragmented fish populations and habitats by maintaining river flows and free flowing rivers. • Restore watersheds by working in collaboration with others.
ENGAGEMENT GOALS • Build volunteer capacity to execute projects that support the Protect, Reconnect, Restore, Sustain (“PRRS”) conservation plan. • Increase member participation and fundraising to help achieve TU’s vision. • Invest in youth to create a sustaining constituency to ensure the durability of TU’s mission and work through future generations.
COMMUNICATIONS GOALS • Reorient NYS Council communications to build a web-based community that attracts and engages members and anglers and helps achieve conservation and other goals.
FUNDING GOALS The funding plan seeks to solicit charitable contributions to meet the Conservation, Communications, and Engagement plan goals.

NYS Council’s role is implementing TU National’s strategies at the state level.
CONSERVATION STRATEGIES: Protect, Reconnect, Restore, Sustain • Work with sportsmen-conservationists and others to protect important watersheds and public and private lands. • Protect the genetic integrity of native fish • Use existing rules to maximize instream flows, water conservation and wise groundwater use. • Remove, re-operate, or re-tool dams and culverts to recover cold water fisheries. • Implement watershed restoration in strategically important areas. • Improve hatchery management to minimize harm resulting from the introduction of hatchery fish into waters holding wild and native cold water stocks.
ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES: Seek to increase participation of members in Council’s and Chapter’s activities as volunteers on projects. • Through Youth Headwaters Programs including Youth Camps, Trout-in-the-Classroom and education programs, inspire young people to become the next generation of conservation and environmental stewards. • Through outreach programs, seek to attract new constituents such as veterans and breast cancer survivors in partnership with other not-for-profit organizations such as the Wounded Warriors Project and Casting for Recovery.
COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES: NYS Council will be launching a new website intended to provide a robust source of information about activities and projects and links to other resources useful to constituents. • Council will implement a communication calendar to keep members and others informed and engaged.
FUNDING STRATEGIES: NYS Council has established a formal Development Committee and will sponsor an Annual Giving Day with details provided at the appropriate time. • Funding through charitable contributions and grants will be sought for Council’s and Chapter’s conservation projects and activities and other programs.

The members of NYS Council’s governing board represent diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. • Council oversees and supervises nearly 8,000 members in over 30 chapters, throughout the State. Members of Council stay in close touch with TU National’s staff, who regularly assist with programs and activities.

TU’s members are community leaders, professionals, and business owners, and are among the most effective and articulate grassroots advocates for protecting our important watersheds and landscapes

During the latest fiscal year, TU members in New York State volunteered and spent more than 11,630 hours ($ 314,010 value ) by, among other things, organizing restoration projects on local rivers and streams, educating youth in environmental stewardship, and engaging with state regulatory agencies.

While NYS Council is involved with many projects and activities, the following are examples of significant endeavors, prior to the onset of COVID-19.
The Battenkill River forms part of the state boundary as it flows from Manchester, VT, to the Hudson River near Schuylerville, NY. It is a significant contributor to the surrounding economy and supports successful agricultural operations that rely on a highly productive and functioning watershed. The Battenkill Home Rivers Initiative was launched January 2020 to conserve, protect, and restore the Battenkill’s fishery and watershed. This effort builds off years of work by Council and local TU chapters (Adirondack, Clearwater, and Southwestern VT) and the Battenkill Watershed Alliance, among others to revitalize the Battenkill with a collaborative, watershed-wide approach. • Council Regional Vice Presidents have overseen members in local Chapters who have removed tons of trash from rivers and stream and have planted willow and other trees to mitigate river and stream bank erosion. • Contributions to TU Youth Camp, sponsored by Council, has enabled young people to learn conservation and fishing. • The Trout-in-the-Classroom (“TIC”) is an environmental education program for students in grades K-12, who raise trout from eggs to fry starting in the Fall and ultimately release them into rivers and streams in the Spring. Every year, over 32,000 students in over 250 public schools throughout the state participate in TIC. Through TIC, participants learn about trout habitat and water quality, gain an understanding of ecosystems and foster an environmental ethic. • At the State level, Council members have worked closely with staff at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in crafting a trout management plan that would increase native and wild trout populations and be fisherman friendly.

As the restrictions imposed by the presence of the COVID virus are lifted gradually, Council will resume many activities that have been suspended.