TU Members

[Diver Dan]

Originally Posted by whalensdad

.... regardless of what the National TU has done, .....

Actually, the national has given me plenty of reason to drop them, but the incident that the fisheries I talked to was involved with was a local chapter. There is another incident going on right now that I have been informed of, but asked to hold off on identifying the situation just yet, and I will comply with the request, but I believe that is a local as well.

There are good locals I am sure. Yours may very well be one, and for that I commend them. But based on what has become of the national and many of the locals I will just wipe my hands clean of the whole mess till pressure from the good locals like yours get the rest of the 'wanderers' back with their feet on the right path.

If your local and the others like it, can't apply the proper steerage to fix what is becoming an increasingly bad direction for TU, then the only other way is to do as I did and walk away till such time as they cure their anal/cranial inversion.

Uno mas sacred cow successfully tipped.

[stl_geoff]

Life member here. I like getting the magazine, the calander is always pretty nice and I really enjoy the rod and reel combo I got. Mainly the way I looked at it was I wanted a very nice rod and reel, and at the same time it always nice to help out a conservation group. So why not?!

Our local chapter is meh, the meetings they have are a good 1.5 hours away so i never go to them, but they have done some good work with funding and creating habitat for the local streams.

[Vans]

Originally Posted by Diver Dan

TU has become involved in more than one thing I consider to be counterproductive. If you remember, there was a thread last year where I contacted the local fisheries office on one of those counterproductive things they were doing, and Fisheries said they were not contacted by them. They were aware of it and agreed it was someplace between stupid and destructive.

If it were an isolated thing I would dismiss it as a one off and move on. It is not. That's is why I dropped my membership and will not be going back in the foreseeable future.

My wife is a principal level fisheries biologist and has done a lot of restoration work for coal mines, state govts and the national govt. She has a similarly dim view of the restoration work that TU has has done.

I however am a member but just an annual one. I like to think that TU does the best they can with the financial resources they have. I think their best work is done with making our people and politicians aware and applying pressure and lobbying where needed.

[trout champ]

I too am just a regular member. I am also on the Board of Directors for my local TU Home | Cheyenne Mountain Chapter of Trout Unlimited. I know the money would go to good use. But how much of that money really goes to TU? On the website only the amount after your gifts are taken out is tax deductible. MSRP on the rod is $795 and the reel is $200. That leaves only $200 for conservation. I don't know if TU and Sage have something worked out or not.

And $100 is a little steep for most of us these days. Here is what I was thinking: I would sign up for our Preferred Membership at $10 a month or $120 a year. No gifts so theoretically more would go to TU.

Just bouncing things around.

I don't like The One anyway.

Randy

[shotgunfly]

I was an annual for a year or two then let it lapsed. I recently (3 weeks ago) dropped the $1200 to become a lifetime member.

The local chapter (Massanutten Chapter Virginia) has done a good bit on the waters I fish (public and private) so I felt like I should do my part. The rod and reel was an incentive but not something I really needed. I also wanted to give myself a few bday presents since I'm turning forty.

Glad I did it.

[wt bash]

I'm a member but annually. I've seen TU do good and some not so good, here I don't see them do anything but really what can they do it Ohio. My Chapter stocks a lame creek with oversized bows and a once a year stream clean up but I know the Mad Men Chapter are a little more involved in riparian repair. Guess you gotta take the good with the bad.

[Diver Dan]

Originally Posted by Vans

My wife is a principal level fisheries biologist and has done a lot of restoration work for coal mines, state govts and the national govt. She has a similarly dim view of the restoration work that TU has has done.

And they seem to never ask any local fisheries if some crackpot idea they have is a good one or not. I think in a short while you will hear from someone else where what they are doing is actually quite destructive. I said I would stay quiet for a while till more information is gathered. In fact I will wait for the other parties to speak first, but unfortunately when you give them money, you fund these crackpot things they do. And it really is bad in a lot of cases. If some of you who think they are doing good in your areas, called your local fisheries and asked if they are helping or hurting you would be quite surprised. One thing that would help would be start asking the area fisheries before they go in and do detrimental stuff.

And it doesn't end with their efforts on the waters. They are just wrong on a long list of things. Funding them only encourages more of the same. Cutting them off will either straighten them out or end them. Works for me either way.

[woodrivertroutbum]

I am not a member, but am friends with people on the "inside" so I am at least able to keep tabs on them haha. I would much rather give my money to the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture or the Sea Run Brook Trout Coalition.

Not all TU chapters are "bad" but I do have a bad taste in my mouth.

[plecain]

Despite my reservations about any group that says it's a 'conservation' group, I'm a TU annual member.

The 'free' rod last fall was a Winston BIIIx (it changes about every 3-4 months). I almost gave that a shot.

The local chapter so far hasn't done anything I'd consider counterproductive. The newsletter is informative. So, I'll keep my membership for now.

[stl_geoff]

Yesterday night when I made my post I complained semi about the "local" chapter Im in is 1.5 hours away. Well, this morning I got an email that I have been reassigned to a new chapter, that is 100% actually local haha. they are going to have a drift boat/new chapter party in a couple weekends, guess I'll go and see who I know.