About Us

Welcome to the Northwest Arkansas Chapter Trout Unlimited Website

Thank you for checking out our Chapter’s website. And thanks to all who participated in our online fundraising auction and sweepstakes in 2021 and watch for more events like these in 2022.

Unfortunately, we have decided to hold off on scheduling indoor, in-person events, and so we regret that our annual Conservation Banquet and Auction fundraiser will not be held in March. This is the third year in a row that this very popular and important fundraising event has not happened. Our priority has been to ensure the safety and health of all Trout Unlimited (TU) volunteers, members, staff, and supporters, and follow Covid guideline updates in the wake of the Omicron and Delta resurgence.

During this time the Chapter Officers and Board of Directors have been actively working with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) to repair and restore the trout stocking station located at the Parker Bend access point on the Beaver tailwater. This site was heavily damaged in the 2015 flood, so the Norfolk fish hatchery has not been able to stock trout at Parker Bend. Our Chapter made a financial contribution towards the initial repair work to improve truck access to the stocking chute. That work was completed in February 2021. The AGFC is assessing and planning for additional improvements and repairs. Hopefully, trout stocking can resume sometime in 2022. Also, in 2021, the AGFC Trout Management Program approached TU Chapters in Arkansas about partnering on a multi-year Hooking Mortality Study on the White River, our Chapter contributed to support this project. The outcome of this study will be important for AGFC’s Trout Management.

In 2020 AGFC’s Stream Habitat Program completed the second phase of the ongoing project to restore and stabilize areas of the eroding streambank along the Beaver tailwater. Erosion and the resulting sedimentation are very detrimental to the aquatic ecosystem and trout fishery of the Beaver tailwater. Now that the soil has settled, NWA Trout Unlimited and the Beaver Project Office of the Army Corps of Engineers have embarked on a project to sow grass seed and plant trees on the newly settled soil. The addition and restoration of grasses and trees will provide root systems to help stabilize the soil and reduce sedimentation in the river. We expect to hold Chapter workdays sometime later this year. More will be announced about those closer to the dates.

Also, despite Covid interruptions, thanks to some loyal and dedicated educators and NWATU volunteers, Trout in the Classroom is alive and well at six northwest Arkansas schools. Cooper Elementary in Bella Vista, Elkins High School, Farmington High School, Fayetteville High School, Gravette High School, and McNair Middle School in Fayetteville have trout tanks in classrooms.

We are planning at least two outdoor family events in 2022 and we hope you can participate. Check out the Upcoming Events tab on this website and watch for more details for these events and hopefully more events in 2022.

Thanks to all the Trout Unlimited members and supporters of Chapter 514, the Northwest Chapter Trout Unlimited. If you are not a member of Trout Unlimited, it is easy to join on the Trout Unlimited website: tu.org/memberships-and-giving/

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for events and programs.

Take care and be safe,

Officers and Board of Directors

Northwest Arkansas Trout Unlimited


 

About TU

Today TU is a national organization with more than 150,000 members organized into about 400 chapters from Maine to Montana to Alaska. This dedicated grassroots army is matched by a respected staff of lawyers, policy experts and scientists, who work out of more than 30 offices nationwide. These conservation professionals ensure that TU is at the forefront of fisheries restoration work at the local, state and national levels.

The organization remains committed to applying "the very best information and thinking available" in its conservation work and has developed cutting-edge tools such as the Conservation Success Index (CSI), a sophisticated framework for assessing the health of coldwater fish species throughout their native range. Whether this range encompasses a few hundred miles or multiple states, the CSI helps the organization target its efforts toward those populations most in need of protection or restoration.

The CSI also enables TU to measure its progress in achieving the bold goals laid out in its mission and vision. These goals require the organization to work at increasingly larger scales, and to collaborate with other conservation interests, local communities and state and federal partners to begin to rebuild the natural resiliency of watersheds. Such efforts are crucial if North America's trout and salmon are to survive climate change and the host of threats facing them at the start of the 21st century.

Nearly 50 years after its founding, no other conservation organization is as well placed as TU to make a difference for the nation's coldwater fisheries.

Our Mission

To conserve, protect and restore North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.

Our Vision

By the next generation, Trout Unlimited will ensure that robust populations of native and wild coldwater fish once again thrive within their North American range, so that our children can enjoy healthy fisheries in their home waters.