Nutmeg TU goals: conservation and education
By Rich Rosen
President, Nutmeg TU
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and want to wish you and your families a happy and healthy new year. I’d also like to thank the board members and volunteers for their time and effort.
2022 was a transition year as we finally got back to in person meetings. We are an open and I hope welcoming group. We encourage you to get involved, volunteer and bring your friends.
Our goals as a chapter are simple.
We are a conservation group with a common interest in fishing.
We bring people together in three ways:
- Conservation projects
- Fishing outings
- Informative meeting/get togethers
We would like to engage a wider segment of the general population, including women, children, and veterans. If you are interested in any of these activities, let any board member know. We want your ideas.
In 2022 we started collaborating with the Aspetuck Land Trust. We planted 50 trees along Park Avenue in Easton by the middle bridge. Working with ALT we plan to do a Christmas Tree revetment in the Warners Anglers Preserve and matched $10,000 in new donations towards the purchase of the South Park Avenue property (Prayer Center).
Along with ALT and DEEP CARE, we taught 20 + children from the Wakeman’s Boys and Girls Club in Bridgeport about fishing. In cooperation with BassPro, we will offer children going thru the program starter rods and reels and BassPro will start giving interested children store tours. We hope to continue and expand this program.
The long-delayed plan for the Mill River along Congress Street is nearly complete. It is a very exciting project which will deepen, harden, and enhance 17 spots along the river. Fundraising, permit approvals and meetings with interested parties will begin in 2023. We will be updating members and have tours as we go. Again, if you are interested in more details, let us know.
We will continue to have monthly meetings, at least one monthly local fishing trip, participate in local youth activities like fishing derbies and sponsor river cleanups. We will continue to monitor the health of some of our local rivers with temp loggers and Redds surveys. TU held a women’s event at which three of our members provided training.
In January, we will deliver trout eggs to 9 local schools again this year. If you want to help deliver the eggs, let us know. We need drivers. Next year we would like to teach the TIC students how to fish, as they are potential future members.
Going forward we would like to step up our vet, youth, inner city, and women’s outreaches. If you have a friend that wants to join, there is a 50% off intro rate.
Finally, 2022 was Nutmeg TU’s 50th anniversary. Perhaps this year you can celebrate with us.