Garrison and Corinne Doctor are the co-founders of a small company that punches way above its weight. If you don’t know this awesome young couple, you should. From the very first, they knew RepYourWater had to be about more than providing creative and unique designs on high-quality apparel and merchandise for people who love the outdoors. So, early in the life of the company, they teamed up with Colorado Trout Unlimited to contribute to the conservation of Colorado fisheries and set in motion what the company is today. As the company grew and more people knew about the products, they partnered with more TU chapters and councils. RYW not only made great gear that promoted those groups and their conservation mission. They gave back a portion of the proceeds to those same groups to further that mission. It was a win-win deal for everyone. But it didn’t stop there.
RYW donates at least 3 percent of its sales to conservation partners like Trout Unlimited, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. In fact, they’ve donated well over $300,000 to conservation. They’ve made giving back to conservation part of the business plan. But their generosity doesn’t stop there. They’ve also donated their time – a precious commodity for small business owners like these two. They continue to serve in leadership roles in both the fly fishing industry and the conservation community.
That’s why it was no surprise at all when they were all in with Trout Unlimited on the proposal to remove the lower four dams on the Snake River in eastern Washington to save salmon and steelhead. I checked in with them recently to talk about it. They were running full speed as always, just back from a trip to fish for brown trout in Iceland. When I asked them why they jumped on this proposal so quickly, Corinne said “For us, this was a no brainer. For my entire lifetime, we’ve been trying to have both dams and fish. We’ve spent billions of dollars trying to do that. It hasn’t worked and it won’t work. These fish need free-flowing rivers to survive. Hatcheries are no substitute. We need to remove the lower four.”
“This is an opportunity,” Garrison said. “If we’re going to have wild steelhead and salmon in the Columbia River Basin, the Snake River is the place. There are tens of thousands of miles of high-quality salmon and steelhead habitat in the Clearwater, Salmon, Grand Ronde and the other tributaries. These rivers supported massive runs of fish before the dams. We can have that again. Mile-for-mile, the Snake River basin has the coldest, most undisturbed stream habitats in the Lower 48. About 46 percent of Idaho’s historic spawning and rearing habitat for spring and summer Chinook Salmon and summer steelhead is still accessible. Our company stands with Trout Unlimited and our friends in the outdoor industry behind this proposal.”
RepYourWater is a proud Gold Level TU Business member, and we’re so pleased the company continues to help with our annual Embrace a Stream effort. You can learn more about that here.
Rep Your Water
Garrison and Corinne Doctor
Erie, CO 80516
(303) 717-0267