We’ve accomplished so much over the past year.  

Salmon are returning to the Klamath River after the largest dam removal project anywhere. 

Apache trout are off the endangered species list and on the road to recovery.  

Good Samaritan abandoned mine cleanup legislation is nearing the finish line.  

From Vermont to Virginia and the Driftless to coastal Oregon and beyond, Trout Unlimited staff, volunteers, and partners are leveraging public and private dollars to restore wild and native fish populations.  

In his annual State of Trout Unlimited talk, TU president and CEO Chris Wood celebrates our wins this year—and some of the champions who made them possible. 

Chris Wood: “We are a nation that is bound by a set of ideals that led to the formation of the United States of America. And I am honored to say that Trout Unlimited is the embodiment of those ideals. 

“We work together to help our neighbors recover in rural Appalachia from devastating hurricanes. 

Ellie Miller, TU’s Northwest Colorado program manager (center), and team. (Kellon Spencer)

“We are optimistic, and we believe in a future where Atlantic salmon once again swim up our Maine rivers and along the Atlantic Coast. 

“We are pragmatic, and we work together to fix the mistakes of the past in places such as the Upper Colorado. 

Jason Willis, Western abandoned mine lands program director with Trout Unlimited. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

“We do not allow politics to keep us from doing what is best for the nation, such as passing a fundamentally bipartisan law that will make it easier to clean up the scourge of abandoned hard rock mines. 

“We never give up, even on species such as the Apache trout that are found in some of the most inhospitable parts of the country for trout.  

TU Expedition students installing man-made beaver dams on Muddy Creek in Southwest Wyoming. (Kellon Spencer)

“We represent the best of America, the work of Trout Unlimited.  

“Your work gives lie to the notion that America can no longer do big things. We do big things every day, and we do it without division or rancor.” 

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