HOOK

of TU who has helped with their groundbreak- ing initiative "Trees for Trout". For the last few years, his chapter has col- lected post-holiday Christmas trees cleaned of any ornaments and tinsel sprinkles. The collec- tion dates are widely circulated throughout the local communities. Rather than ending up in domestic trash landfills where they do little for conservation, these discarded evergreen trees are stored during the frozen winter in readiness for their important work to come. Then, as nature warms, a few times over the late spring and summer, masses of volunteers secure these trees to previously iden- tified sections of riverbank on the Wood River. The goal is to slow bank erosion, create shelter for plants and small fishes (trout are hyper aware of avian preda- tors), and to increase localized water flows. That increased water flow pushes silts and muddy deposits downstream, which exposes clean gravel so critical for fe- male trout to es- tablish their nests called "redds" for new generations. They create these nests in the gravel by displacing the larger rocks to create a depression. Then they de- posit their eggs in the redd and cover them with gravel. Clean gravel creates enough oxy- genation for the survival of the eggs and hatchling baby trout. Clean gravel also pro- vides habitat for aquatic invertebrates, an im- portant food source for trout. Over time, nature incorporates the trees as they fill with river debris and become stable shoreline once again and with that comes the opportunity for cool water refuges. Says Todd, "Trees For Trout" is a successful, fun community effort which helps restore trout habitat, most especially significant in times of rising water temperatures, increased and more severe rain events and man's wading boots caving in stream banks. He encourages all chapters with similar river and stream struggles, to ask about incorporating this program for their home waters. There are 200 rivers marked out nationwide by TU with similar and other priority restoration needs, a number of which are in NY State. To find the nearest chapter where you live or vaca- tion visit tu.org, fishwrapwriter.com. 38 HOOK

• Cover