Priority Waters

Picture a native trout in a river, suspended in the flow. Or wild salmon flooding into a stream, following instincts handed down over too many generations to count.
Picture a native trout in a river, suspended in the flow. Or wild salmon flooding into a stream, following instincts handed down over too many generations to count.
The NLC Priority Waters Workgroup (NLC PW WG) advances the Trout Unlimited Priority Waters Program by enhancing communication and fostering collaboration to expand the Priority Waters Program. Join our virtual meetings We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 8 pm ET. Email Jeff Plackis or Greg Hardy for more information. Committee contacts…
Our Priority Waters approach borrows heavily from the portfolio concept by ensuring that risk for trout and salmon is spread across a variety of habitats and populations.
Here lies the promise of our plans to develop a shared agenda of priority waters.
I was in my 20s and working for the Bureau of Land Management when the second longest shutdown of the federal government occurred. It lasted three weeks and was punctuated by “a storm like no other,” so I spent much of the three weeks shoveling neighbors’ sidewalks and helping push out snowbound cars. When the…
Trout Unlimited’s staff and municipal partners continue to work diligently to complete a wide-spanning list of New York priority culvert surveys and replacements. The reconnection of fragmented and dammed rivers resides at the core of our strategy to improve habitat for New York’s wild trout. With our small but mighty team, we reconnected over 30…
The Trout Unlimited Priority Waters initiative is all about pulling together to care for and recover America’s trout and salmon watersheds. Our vision: volunteers and staff working hand-in-hand with partners and allies in their communities to protect, reconnect and restore more than 200 Priority Waters from Alaska to North Carolina, from California to Maine. We…
A year after Hurricane Helene’s devastation, Hawthorne is among those both looking back at the response and action in the aftermath of the storm while also looking ahead knowing that recovery is just beginning.
TU’s sticktuitiveness at work on a Priority Water in California
Nation’s largest coldwater conservation nonprofit identifies 200+ “Priority Waters” where work is needed to reverse declines of wild and native fish Contacts: ARLINGTON, Va.—Wild and native trout and salmon, as coldwater fish in a warming world, are facing enormous threats. More than 1.5 million miles of America’s trout and salmon waters are degraded, and populations…
As dam removal moves ahead, an innovative collaborative plan to share the basin’s water and restore its iconic salmon and steelhead runs is finalized
2023 was a good year for Great Lakes coldwater conservation, marked by an influx of federal funding for necessary infrastructure upgrades.
Trout Unlimited and Connecticut DEEP band together for wild trout data collection and improved regulations. Here’s how YOU can help today!
TU projects in Alaska, Oregon and Washington Priority Waters recommended for a new round of federal infrastructure funding
As part of its statewide Trout Management Plan, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is proposing to simplify angling regulations for all inland waters “to make them easier to understand, and to better align regulations with management objectives on each water.” CDFW is taking public comment on this effort, and on proposed changes…
Another award highlights TU’s good work on coho populations and steelhead benefit too.
Last year, CCC coho salmon returns surged to their highest numbers since extensive monitoring began!
The California Salmon and Steelhead Coalition celebrates ten years, legislative leaders for coastal streams and water policy
TU’s North Coast Coho and Steelhead Restoration Program is clearing the way for salmon and steelhead in coastal streams north of San Francisco.
Local community members and volunteers from Trout Unlimited chapters near and far turned out in a big way to care for and enjoy the Mecan River at the first annual Central Sands Community Celebration on a wet weekend this past May.