Paul Burnett, wearing the white hard hat, celebrates with Utah Division of Wildlife workers and volunteers after completing a 385-foot fish ladder through a concrete culvert to allow migratory cutthroat to return to headwaters they had been cut off from for more than 40 years. Brett Prettyman photo.
By Brett Prettyman
Trout Unlimited believes in community.
The conservation and fishing communities are obviously vastly important to us. Equally important are the communities TU staffers and volunteers call home.
Our goal is improve the habitat of native fish species, but when we take care of trout and their homes we take care of everything that relies on cold, clean and constant water.
Knowing this drives those connected to TU to work even harder on our projects and campaigns.
We think every one of our volunteers and staffers should get an award, but we love it when other groups recognize members of our family.
Paul Burnett works as the Trout Unlimited Director of the Utah Water and Habitat Program.
“Blueheads and Bonnevilles” is a film featuring the working by many partners to protect native fish on Utah’s Weber River.
“Within this past few years, Paul has secured funding, designed restoration projects, implemented projects, lead the Weber River Partnership, and organized a watershed symposium which brings together all partners in the Weber River including multiple state and federal agencies, county, municipal, water users and landowners; many of which are very ‘non-traditional’,” reads the nomination letter. “Paul has worked with the DWR to initiate or complete passage at 10 structures in the mainstem Weber River and its’ tributaries allowing bluehead sucker and Bonneville cutthroat trout to access important spawning, rearing, and overwintering habitats.”
Paul has also been vital in helping with other important Utah Trout Unlimited activities like Trout in the Classroom and the Utah Cutthroat Slam.
Brett Prettyman is the Intermountain Communications Director for Trout Unlimited. He lives in Salt Lake City. He can be reached at bprettyman@tu.org