TROUT UNLIMITED INC

Programs

1. Conservation operations:the following are some notable developments underway in tu's identified "priority waters":eastern conservation maine through partnerships with land trusts, tu is working on a combination of land protection, stream reconnection, and instream habitat restoration. Together, these comprehensive efforts will secure some of the best native brook trout strongholds in the u.s. Among the highlights from the 2024 field season were six miles of instream wood additions on streams in the kennebago and pleasant river watersheds. West virginiamore evidence of the effectiveness of wood addition projects was gained through monitoring of work done by tu and the u.s. Forest service in west virginia. Areas where large wood was added to streams showed an increase in pools and pool depth and increases in total biomass as well as the numbers of large brook trout. By re-engaging the floodplain and improving groundwater recharge, the projects led to maximum water temperatures that were 1.2 degrees celsius lower than the maximum water temperatures in the control sites.great lakes coasters are brook trout that live in lake superior and migrate to tributaries. In 2024, tu organized…

   $83,631,407 spentof which $940,328 as grants$4,226,700 earned by the program
   91% of program spending

2. Volunteer operations and chapter support:plant for our futurewe are headed into our third year of partnership with tractor supply company on the plant for our future initiative, we have been able to leverage the initial investment to attract and secure funding to expand the program. The arbor day foundation has become one of our core new partners, introducing us to corporate funders like td bank, verizon wireless, and niagara bottling. Our aggregate impact to date is: - planned 255 planting projects in 18 states - planted 84,492 native trees - engaged more than 4,003 volunteers - restored more than 1,277 acres - intercepted more than 21,114,551 gallons of stormwaterheadwaters youth education programstaff are prioritizing the delivery of best-in-class resources and support to tu volunteers, teachers, engagement managers, camp directors and student leaders ensuring they have the tools needed to implement youth education effectively in the field. The 5 rivers program has over 5,000 active college-aged members across 80 campuses participating in thousands of activities, including a record-breaking western rendezvous in colorado last fall that sold out in minutes, and over half of…

   $2,124,071 spent$107,350 earned by the program
   2% of program spending

3. Membership development:the nlc workgroups continue to make progress toward completing their quantifiable goals which support the tu strategic plan. Tu continues to evolve its membership messaging to focus on collaboration and engagement.

   $2,801,691 spentof which $155,544 as grants$141,596 earned by the program
   3% of program spending

4. Communications:tu's priority waters communications campaign launched in mid-january following completion of a new website (https://prioritywaters.tu.org) that includes state-by-state rundown of priority waters work, a section about how we work and why it matters, and maps. This new website is integrated with tu.org and is an update for our standing conservation content. A multimedia effort involving social media, blogs, press, emails, ads, and films is promoting the message that tu is working at scale across the nation, and working in places you live, love and fish. The first of a series of priority waters films launches in february: "a beautiful mess" highlights our work in tennessee's cherokee national forest. Forthcoming installments are set in arizona (apache trout), california (golden trout), the olympic peninsula (salmon and steelhead), and wyoming and utah (cutthroat trout). This is an all-hands-on-deck evergreen campaign, and we have been encouraging staff, volunteers and leaders to help us spread the word using a tu priority waters toolkit.

   $1,850,086 spent$93,503 earned by the program
   2% of program spending

5. Government affairs:at long last, good samaritan legislation passed congress and was signed by president biden into law on december 17. This campaign embodied a "one-tu" approach, leveraging the collective strength of grassroots and staff across not only government affairs and executive leadership, but also science, communications, development, and restoration staff. Widely recognized as the campaign leader, tu recruited numerous partners, leveraging relationships and assets to overcome abundant hurdles along the way to legislation being enacted. We will continue this leadership throughout the implementation of this pilot program, including bringing together the epa, federal land managers, state agencies, and other potential good sams and stakeholders to develop guidance for program implementation within the congressionally required 180-day deadline. We will also renew our efforts to secure similar liability protections for cleanup at abandoned coal mines, an effort that has bipartisan support on both sides of capitol hill. Additionally, the department of the interior initiated administrative mineral withdrawal processes for new mexico's pecos river watershed and nevada's ruby…

   $1,850,991 spent$93,548 earned by the program
   2% of program spending

The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $92,258,246.