Trout Unlimited Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 30, 2014
Contact:
Pat Byorth, (406).548-4830
Scott Yates, (307)-349-0753
Trout Unlimited names Ziemer to new water policy post, Byorth to lead Montana Water Project
(Bozeman)Trout Unlimited (TU), the nations largest organization dedicated to trout and salmon conservation, today announced that Laura Ziemer, director of TUs Montana Water Project, will lead a new effort to coordinate TUs water policy work in the West and that Pat Byorth will succeed Ziemer as director of TUs Montana Water Project.
As the new Senior Counsel and Water Policy Advisor for TUs Western Water Project, Ziemer will be responsible for guiding national water policy, integrating water policy initiatives across western states, and helping to forge strong collaborative relationships between TU and other entities working on western water and western working landscapes. She also will help secure financial support for the policy and river restoration work of TUs Western Water Project.
For the last 15 years, Ziemer has served as director of TUs Montana Water Project, which works to enhance streamflows and fish habitat in Montanas river basins. Among other accomplishments, Ziemer helped shape and implement a pioneering state water statute that allows leasing of private water rights for the benefit of fish and wildlife habitat. Shes overseen many collaborative stream and restoration projects involving landowners, agencies and other stakeholders. Her Montana work also included collaborating with the agriculture community and others to integrate ground and surface water management in Montana and working to implement stricter permitting oversight of so-called exempt wells, used by some developers to avoid water diversion rules.
In the past decade, Laura Ziemer has established herself as a leader in finding smart, creative solutions for water challenges in the West, said Scott Yates, director of TUs Western Water Project. She understands that the increasing pressures on our riversfrom drought and wildfires to development and energy productionrequire new approaches, thinking and collaboration. Lauras skills and expertise in water policy make her ideally suited to lead this effort.
This is an exciting opportunity, because its clear that to effectively address the large challenges facing Western rivers, we must address them on a large scale, said Ziemer. TU is working to reconnect and enhance river systems on a landscape scalefrom ridgetop to ridgetop. That kind of scope and complexity require broad partnerships in which stakeholders bring diverse skills and resources to the table. And increasingly, the health of a river in Montana or Utah might depend on decisions made in Washington, D.C., about Farm Bill conservation programs or the Bureau of Reclamations reservoirs. We have to coordinate the players and resources in a way that maintains the health of our rivers and outdoor heritage.
Ziemer will continue to be based in Bozeman, Montana, working closely with her colleague Pat Byorth. Pat is uniquely qualified to lead TUs Montana Water Project at this time, because one of its primary initiatives is to restore streamflows important to Yellowstone cutthroat trout, said Ziemer. With Pats 20-year history with Yellowstone cutthroat trout restoration and recovery and private landowners, he is keenly aware of both its challenges and opportunities.
Yates added that Pat combines years of experience with Montanas wild and native trout with a deep understanding of water law, which allows him to think creatively about how to leverage the greatest conservation benefit from TUs partnerships with agricultural producers. Hes also a long-time angler, and TUs grassroots base of fisherman across Montana will help him identify and work on exciting projects to benefit legendary trout rivers like the Big Hole, Madison, Clark Fork, and Yellowstone.
Im excited by the opportunity to lead a program thats bringing Montanans together to do pragmatic, high-value on-the-ground restoration projects, said Byorth. I look forward to working with old partners and meeting new ones in the coming year.
The Western Water Project is TUs largest conservation program with six state offices and over 30 field staff integrating both policy and on-the-ground work with the efforts of thousands of grassroots members and activities in rural communities in the West. The Montana Water Project has a number of legal and policy initiatives to restore streamflows while working closely with the grassroots chapters of Montana Trout Unlimited on restoration projects, said longtime Montana TU Executive Director Bruce Farling.
One of the strengths of Montana TUs conservation work is that we combine the passion and commitment of our many grassroots volunteers and chapters with the legal and scientific expertise of Montana-based national staffers such as Laura and Pat, said Farling. This allows us to get a lot of conservation work done where it matters moston our streams and rivers.
For more information, contact Scott Yates (ext. 102 syates@tu.org) or Pat Byorth (ext. 100 pbyorth@tu.org) at (406) 522-7291.
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Trout Unlimited is the nations oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring North Americas trout and salmon and their watersheds. Follow TU on Facebook and Twitter, and visit us online at tu.org.