THANKS! To all TVTU members and volunteers who helped with Christmas for Coho again this year. Although the weather was a challenge, many trees were collected and staged for placement later this year. Remember, if you are interested in this and other Projects, please contact us through the TVTURESTORATION@GMAIL.COM email and let us know to include you directly with volunteer opportunities. We hope to start placing trees this summer – hopefully you can help!

Northwest Fly Tyer & Fly Fishing Expo is March 10-11 this year. This annual gathering at the Linn County Expo Center in Albany is one of the largest gatherings of fly tyers in the states. Auctions, demonstration, manufacturer reps and sales, casting, tying and tactics lessons round it out – if you have not been – you should go at least once! $10 general admission with FREE parking; admission is free for FFF members. Info: www.nwexpo.com

Northwest Flyfishers: annual Fisherman’s Garage Sale and Pancake Breakfast will be March 18th at the Sam Cox Building in Glenn Otto Park. Admission and parking is FREE; Pancake breakfast is $6. Buy, sell, barter – new and used.  Northwest Flyfishers is a partner with TVTU and other fly fishing clubs in the area in presenting the Northwest Fly Tyers Rendezvous each year.  This year the event will happen on November 11. 

Elliot State Forest [updates excerpted from The Oregonian]: after the state received one bid for this large tract of forested land accessible to the public, Gov. Kate Brown’s last-minute proposal to maintain public ownership has been opposed by Treasurer Tobias Read and Secretary of State Dennis Richardson. Read and Richardson both supported the ongoing effort to privatize the land and sell it to a logging company. If finalized, Oregonians will get $221 million and an assurance that half of their forest will be kept open to public access. Read said the proposal to sell the land to Lone Rock Timber Management was not perfect, but was the state's best option. He further noted that the land was held in trust to fund education. Richardson said he thought the sale was a bad deal, the price too low. But the state has an obligation to make good on its commitments.

With the advent of sales and exchanges of public lands across the west to private interests, this could be a large continuation of lost lands to the public. Trout Unlimited has a significant interest in these sales across the West and has several areas open for members to participate: ONLINE DISCUSSION/UPDATES and ACTION ALERTS. Please consider contacting representatives and voicing your opinions.