Meeting- The Regular Meeting will begin at 7:15 PM. This month we will have two speakers which relate to each other. At 6:30 PM we will have Samantha Root an Intern working with Biology Professor Catherine O’Reilly of Bard College. She has been doing research on decontaminating fishing gear for didymo, she will come talk to us at our meeting? We are asked to be interested to be willing to fill out a survey about didymo she is utilizing for her studies and will have some available at the meeting. The survey is also online http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G2C8T36 if you wanted to fill it out and email the link to other fly fishermen you know. She will also discuss with us on best strategies we might think of for didymo decontamination. Followed by Mike Courtney of CCC discussing the Esopus Watershed and how we can become volunteers to help studies and work on the same with possible grants for kiosks and cleaning decontamination wash stations.
The World Fishing and Outdoor Exposition Show- March 3 to 6 in Suffern, NY- This annual event is a great show for all outdoorsmen. You can also to see retailers, new equipment and possibly meet old friends. Also, there are seminars, of which some are for strippers and bass as well as fly casting demonstrations. It is on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is held at the Rockland Community College Field House in Suffern. For more information and directions you can go to www.sportshow.com. Show Hours: Thur. 2p-9p, Fri 1p – 9p, Sat 9:30a-7p, Sun 9:30a -5p. Admission: Adult: $13 for one day. Order ticket(s) online and save $2. Why not get a few friends together and carpool down next week.
Conservation Committee- Ted has several people step up to help and the chapter is hopeful that we are getting back to conservation issues and protection of our resources. We have set up a stream clean up date in April and possibly another in June to comply with the national TU requests. Contact the Conservation Chairman Ted Hoover at: thoover@hvc.rr.com if you can help. We will also have a sign up sheet at the meeting for upcoming events.
Newsletter- I mentioned this last month and 5 of you responded. Some of you receive this newsletter by electronic emails. Others still receive by regular mail. We would like to streamline the newsletter to as many email addresses as possible to save on rising postage costs. The monies saved could be used for more conservation work or activities. Therefore, I am asking all of you once more to help us reduce costs if possible. At this time to send me an email with your name and email address so you can be added to our list. Only those needing regular mail then will receive a hard copy. To get on the email list and help your chapter save mailing finances, send to me Ron Urban at: Ronsgonefishing@aol.com If you get both ways this message, then also send me your name and email address so you can be removed from the regular mailing. For those of you that contacted me last month, Thanks.
New Website in Progress- Reminder about web site. Here’s how to get there: Go to www.cmtu.org . On the right half of the page you’ll see User Interface, click Register and enter your name and email. Use a name you feel comfortable posting comments with, and will be recognizable for us to speed approval.
A message will be sent to Frank Baker, who will approve registration as soon as he can. After that you’ll get an email including your login information. Please take a minute and review your settings under Site Admin and change your password, and then take a few more minutes to get to
know the site – we’ve already done quite a bit of work on it! Feel free to contact Paul Cowell at cmtu@paulcowell.com or Frank Baker at; frbaker@thorcs.com. With the next Fly of the Month coming up and you’d like to share with members and visitors to the site contact Frank also. Something that can be used on local streams or in near by states that work.
Thanks, and we look forward to seeing you at our meetings and online!
Annual Banquet- At he last meeting we discussed the date of this years Annual Conservation Banquet Fund raiser. It will be on November 5th. This meeting time we need to decide on a location or receive suggestions. Your voice is important and hope to have your input. Several have suggested again to StoneHedge as last year. Facility accommodations were terrific and attention to our needs was met. Dates get taken fast so we should proceed to narrow this down.
Team Spirit- That is what we’re calling the idea discussed at the January Meeting and accepted by all in attendance. A motion to purchase a fly rod and reel to be raffled off in November at the banquet was passed. The president will seek out these items from several sources and a limit of $400 was motioned and passed. When you attend any activity of the chapter like, stream clean ups, youth fishing day, banquet planning, etc. your name will get a ticket into a bucket for the raffle.
TU Veteran Service Program- On January 11 Trout Unlimited (TU) announced its new Veterans Service Partnership program that will serve U.S. veterans throughout the country through conservation projects and fly fishing instruction. Alan Folger as a disabled veteran and lifelong fly fisherman has experienced firsthand the therapeutic value that fly fishing can bring to those suffering the traumas of war. Two years ago he was introduced to Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing (PHWFF), the national non-profit dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active duty military service personnel and veterans through fly fishing, fly tying education and outings. That introduction changed his life, just as it has thousands of disabled veterans and TU members across the country. Trout Unlimited has been actively involved with PHWFF since its beginning. With this program, TU hopes to exponentially expand our involvement with PHWFF and other like-minded groups. Today, there are more than 3.25 million veterans in the United States with a service-connected disability, and of those, nearly 1 million are from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan
With your help, I will engage our network of volunteers to introduce injured and returning veterans from past and present conflicts to TU’s conservation work through fly fishing and fly tying. Through our partner organizations we can teach the basics of fly casting and fly tying, and provide an introduction to conservation issues and on-stream outings throughout the country. Alan Folger, Veterans Service Program Coordinator, afolger@tu.org
Weather Related Cancellations- In case of possible weather conditions preventing a meeting, contact Ron Urban, President at: 845-339-5938 or at Ronsgonefishing@aol.com to find out if a cancellation is in order. Also, we will notify Gander Mountain of our cancellation for that meeting night.
Tying and Fly Fishing Classes- We are planning these classes. Tying will be held at Gander Mountain Lodge beginning Tuesday the 15th (night before meeting) @ 6:30 pm and the Fly Fishing Schools will be held at UCCC tentatively set for March 14th, 21st, 28th, April 4th and 11th. As always, our qualified chapter staff will instruct both classes. For tying you can still contact Ed Meyer at: 339-3655. If you know anyone interested in the Fly Casting class, contact either Bob Sills at 338-4292 or Ron Urban at: Ronsgonefishing@aol.com or 845-339-5938. 7 weeks until Opening Day
