• Summer Fishing Precautions

• Upcoming Trips in 2022 - Sign up Now!

• Updated Paid Trip Policy

• Lilli Genovesi Leaves TIC

• Fly Tying Night Patterns

NEWS FROM NYS COUNCIL OF TROUT UNLIMITED

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The Brook Trout -- New York State's Official  Freshwater Fish is VULNERABLE

During the hot days of summer, trout and salmon experience serious physical stress whenever water temperatures climb above 70° Fahrenheit.

Help protect New York's trout fisheries when planning warm weather fishing trips. Heat-stressed fish in streams often seek pockets of cold water created by upwelling groundwater, small feeder streams, or water released from deep reservoirs. These refuges allow trout to avoid or recover from potentially fatal levels of heat stress. To protect these fish, avoid catch and release for trout and not disturb trout during hot days.

According to the NYS DEC, when fishing tailwaters, like those below New York City water supply reservoirs, the cooling influence of reservoir releases will not extend as far downstream during periods of intense heat. By paying attention to water temperatures and adapting fishing strategies to changing conditions, you can help New York State's trout and salmon to beat the heat.

Stand up for the Clean Water Act

Small streams and headwaters need the protection of the Clean Water Act, America’s bedrock water program. A new proposal is a step toward seeing that they get it. Speak up today to tell the Environmental Protection Agency that you support clean water and healthy fisheries.

On tap:

A STRONGER CLEAN WATER ACT

The EPA is proposing a new policy that would be the first step in restoring protections for small streams, headwaters, and wetlands that are critical to a healthy and functioning water system.

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This “Waters of the United States” rule is based in sound science (and good common sense): If we pollute upstream, we put downstream waters at risk.

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Millions of miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands lost Clean Water Act protection under the previous administration. Now we have a chance to see that they’re protected going forward.

This proposal would officially roll back the previous administration’s rule and largely return to earlier guidelines. Speak up today on behalf of the rivers and streams we care so much about, and the watersheds we are working so hard to conserve.

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And then stay tuned. Later this year, the EPA will release a new definition of “Waters of the United States” covered by the Clean Water Act, and TU will be working hard to ensure it provides lasting protections for small headwater streams.

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Tell the EPA to protect the Clean Water Act. CLICK HERE

Mark Your Calendar  - Upcoming Trips

Trips coordinator Ed Poulton has done a great job scheduling trips this year from March through October, including four overnight trips and two day trips to the Connetquot River. The complete list is below. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP and get more information.​

• September 23, 2022 - Connetquot River State Park. Day trip limited to 15 anglers. $50.00 per person.

• October 18-19, 2022 - Deerfield River, MA. Overnight trip guided by Harrison Anglers. Limited to 8 anglers. $500.00 per person, excludes lodging..

Updated Paid Trip Policy

With an expanded list of paid trips during 2022, we want to take this opportunity to reacquaint chapter members with our participation and refund policy.

Paid trips are open to Croton Watershed Chapter Trout Unlimited (CWCTU) members and their immediate family members. From time to time the trip coordinator may allow other TU members to enroll after our members have first had an opportunity to sign up. Trip participation is on a first paid basis.

Participants who cancel at least 30-days in advance of a trip will receive a full refund. The Chapter will also issue a full refund if the participant cancels less than 30-days in advance and finds a suitable replacement. Although the trip coordinator will provide assistance in finding a suitable replacement, final responsibility for finding a replacement is the participant's. Participants cannot cancel less than 30-days in advance of a trip and apply their payment as a credit against a future trip.

Lilli Genovesi Leaves TIC

It is with mixed feelings that we say goodbye to Lilli Genovese, our Trout in the Classroom
coordinator for NYC and the Croton and Delaware watersheds. Lilli is resigning to accept a
position with the Department of Environmental Protection in NYC. We are very happy that she
is embarking on a new career but sad to lose such a dedicated and inspiring educator.
Lilli started with Trout in the Classroom in August 2008. As TIC coordinator, Lilli worked in
partnership with the DEP and coordinated with the DEC and other environmental education
centers and museums, to raise awareness for our waterways and their importance in our
ecosystems. Her job involved providing professional curriculum assistance to science teachers,
giving classroom talks to students and helping with setting up and maintaining classroom trout
tanks. In addition, Lilli published a monthly TIC newsletter and maintained a TIC website that
posted lesson plans, schedules for feeding trout and tips for maintaining tanks.

At the start of every academic school year Lilli organized the annual TIC Teacher Conference at
the FDR library in Hyde Park. She arranged for the DEP Hatchery in Livingston Manor to
distribute trout eggs to teachers and coordinated teacher’s workshops on various aspects of TIC.
She arranged for notable keynote speakers that over the years included representatives from the
DEP, DEC, EPA, and experts on STEAM education. Attendance at these conferences was
typically over 200 teachers.

The TIC year culminates in the spring with teachers and students travelling to Ward Pound
Reservation to release the fingerling trout that started as eggs in their classrooms. For many
students, especially those from New York City, this was the first time they were exposed to
woods and streams. The day at Ward Pound starts with a stream side presentation by Lilli on
conservation and the importance of clean water. Afterwards, there were nature walks to explore
the ecology of the reservation. Volunteers from our chapter participated in collecting
macroinvertebrates and giving a talk on how they are indicators of healthy waters.
macroinvertebrates collected from the reservation stream. Lilli recalls the number of schools
releasing at Ward Pound grew from about a dozen, from when she started, to almost 60 in 2019.

During the Covid pandemic Lilli became a “trout uber”, driving to rescue trout after schools
were closed and forced to go virtual. She assisted many teachers who chose to videotape trout
releases to share with their students. In the Fall of 2020, Lilli kept TIC alive by setting up a trout
tank at the trailside museum at Ward Pound and initiating a blog called Virtual Think Tank,
where she and numerous guests presented topics on water quality and stream conservation.
During her 13-year tenure with TIC Lilli worked with over 200 schools and students spanning
pre-K to high school, including undergraduates from New York University. Her biggest
challenge was sometimes not having enough resources and support, especially when working
with under-sourced schools. She told me that the most gratifying part of her job was engaging
with students, teachers, and volunteers.

Lilli's dedication, enthusiasm and knowledge touched
thousands of lives and she will be sorely missed. We thank her for her years of service and wish
her all the best in her new endeavor.

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