A Brief History of the Central Alberta Chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada

The Central Alberta Chapter is celebrating its 26th anniversary this year. From the beginning in 1986 the Chapter centered on grassroots volunteers whose passions were to contribute to the preservation, conservation and enhancement of cold water fisheries within Alberta. The backbone of the Chapter is a strong desire to embrace field work as well as actively seeking to influence polices and programs affecting rivers and lakes at all levels of government.

Over the years field work projects have included a Red Deer River rainbow trout stocking program; North Raven River beaver management program; stream assessment/study initiatives such as Schrader Creek, Harlech and Nordegg ponds and North Ram River; stream restoration projects on Clear Creek, McLeod River and Stauffer Creek; supporting the  Stream Watch program on the Blackstone and Ram rivers; development of trophy lake fisheries in the Sundre to Alder Flats area,  and the annual Red Deer River clean-up campaigns.

The Chapter played a major role in leading the initiative to have bull trout declared Alberta's provincial fish. Additional efforts have focused on water and forest management policies affecting fisheries, Eastern Slopes angling regulations, policy development relating to illegal perch stocking and the Alberta Conservation Association fencing agreement programs.

While the chapter's core activities have been on fisheries, they also place a high value on their members (past, present and future) whose ideas and passions come together to develop responsible stewardship of our most important resource - water. This has resulted in members of the chapter receiving special recognition by Alberta Sustainable Resources.

In its twenty-six years, the Central Alberta Chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada has established a rich history that supports a vibrant present with high expectations for the future.