I am writing this letter to celebrate our fifth anniversary as a Trout Unlimited chapter, to talk about our accomplishments, and to ask you to help us forge our future.

Annual Meeting & New Leadership Needed

At our next Annual Meeting, on April 23, 2025, myself and the three other officers of the board, George Marnik Vice President, Dana Hunter Treasurer, and Tammy Packie Secretary, will be stepping down after serving six years in our respective roles. We have laid the groundwork for a successful chapter to build on, and it is time for a change. A change of ideas, of vision, perhaps even an entirely new course.  This is an important time for the chapter, its first leadership change, so I want to ask you to think about your role in DETU. 

Working on a TU chapter as an officer comes with responsibilities and challenges but it also brings rewards in the work that is accomplished under your leadership. I would like to have a conversation with any member who might like to have a role in decisions to be made going forward. Please feel free to call or email me so we can chat.

Though we are stepping out of our officer roles, none of us are going away. We will be available to help new leaders transition, working on committees as we have been, and we will continue to support Downeast Trout Unlimited.

Five Years of Accomplishments

When I started in my role as President of Downeast Trout Unlimited I was, to say the least, surprised at how many people had never heard of TU. Having been a TU member for over thirty years I assumed people involved with other conservation groups would know of the work done by this national organization. I found that if people were not fly fishers or not working with fish conservation they didn't know of TU. 

I think our biggest achievement is that we have established the presence of Trout Unlimited in downeast Maine. 

We have done this with a big effort on outreach. We invited members of NGOs from the area, who do not necessarily work with fish conservation, to speak to our chapter about their work.  We also reached out to like-minded groups and now DETU participates in events such as the Penobscot Fly Fishers Cabin Fever Reliever, the Pleasant River Fish and Game Association Puckerbrush Weekend, Island Heritage Trust Family Fishing Day, Green Ellsworth's Union River Summit, and Downeast Salmon Federation's Smelt Fry.   

Of course the various federal and state agencies and NGOs that work with fisheries and habitat conservation and restoration have been involved with our chapter. Many staff members have spoken at our meetings and others have had conversations with me on different issues. Several have told me they are happy to see a TU chapter in downeast Maine. 

We cannot forget the effect our newsletters have had. While DETU averages around 250 members, Tammy sends the newsletter to over 800 people, some as far away as New Mexico and California. Based on feedback our newsletter is greatly enjoyed. A couple of weeks ago Tammy and I were at a Project Share dinner and when Tammy introduced herself to someone from the Maine Sea Grant program he responded, “Your Tammy, you send out the newsletter!" When Tammy replied “Yes” he told us it's a great letter and he enjoys getting it. All of this outreach work has been time consuming but it has paid off and helped us get out our message.

Oh yes, and then there was Covid.  Thanks to Tammy DETU was able to get Zoom meetings up and going very quickly and in so doing we were able to continue with monthly board and members meetings.  At the first Cx3 after Covid we were recognized and praised for this by TU staff and attendees from around the country. I guess if anything good came out of the pandemic it is that we now have hybrid meetings and that has allowed us to have speakers from far away who would not come to speak in person, as well as giving those who choose to do so the opportunity to attend our meetings remotely.

Several members have participated in advocacy work at the local, state, and national level.  This work has included advocating for or against bills in the state legislature, for fundraising, and on connectivity issues. 

While we have not done a lot of conservation projects as a chapter, DETU members have worked on Sea run Brook Trout Surveys, water chemistry sampling, the annual Card Brook Clean-up, and with Project Share doing large wood installation on the Narraguagus River.

Lastly, something very important to me, DETU partnered with Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing to create a new program in Machias. Forty years ago, before I knew of TU, and long before I heard about using fly fishing for therapy, I worked as a Firefighter/EMT.  On multiple occasions after working horrific incidents, I would go home at the end of my shift, clean up, grab my fly rod and a box of flies and head to a pond to fly fish and collect myself.  During the time of year when the fishing season was closed I grabbed binoculars and went birding, but somehow that never worked as well as fly fishing, I think it may have to do with the physical aspect of casting and retrieving, rhythm and timing, but I can't say. What I can say is we have several members who are instructors for fly tying or casting, or both.  Working with a group of vets is incredibly rewarding and a lot of fun. This is a great and ongoing program. 

Downeast Maine was an area of the state that was begging for a TU chapter. 

Our chapter territory, bounded by the coast, ranges from the Penobscot River on the west, to the St. Croix River on the east. It has six rivers located between those boundaries, rivers that are home to the last populations of endangered Atlantic Salmon.  Downeast Maine is also home to many waters with healthy populations of Landlocked Salmon, including two of the original watersheds where these fish evolved following the last glaciation, the St. Croix River, including West Grand Lake, and the Union River, including Green Lake.  Many of our waters hold Brook Trout and, of particular note, many streams with open access to the ocean have Sea-run Brook Trout.  Maine is the only state in the lower forty eight with native populations of Arctic Char. Two of those lakes, Floods Pond, and Green Lake, are in the DETU chapter area. These fish species and their habitat need the support of TU to continue to survive in the face of a myriad of threats to them. 

People ask me why I got involved as deeply as I have with TU. Well, I just told you why. 

Finally, Tammy and I are dealing with ongoing health issues.  Not only do these issues sideline us at times, they are definitely a mental distraction. Unfortunately, our problems are not going away anytime soon, but hopefully will be resolved in a year or so.  In the meantime, we will both remain connected and committed to the chapter and will support our new leadership team.  

As always, thank you all for your support of Downeast Trout Unlimited.  Don’t hesitate to reach out to learn how you can become more active as a leader.

Rob

Robert Packie

President Downeast Trout Unlimited

rbpackiegmail.com (rbpackie[at]gmail[dot]com)

207-610-0976 

Reel Craft Pass The Reel Craft brewery booklet promotes craft beer and flyfishing, with 50% discount on 1 beer at over 50 Maine locations throughout 2024. Cost $20. Available at The Reel Craft Pass on Facebook or www.reelcraftpass.com  Reel Craft Pass is donating a portion of the proceeds from their 2024 Maine Edition of the Reel Craft Pass to DETU. We have received over $400 to date.

Downeast Trout Unlimited Gear: Hats $25, Brook Trout pins $15, Brook Trout Earrings $16.

TU Maine State Council is seeking donations for a $150,000 legal defense fund to hire lawyers to help Maine TU deal with Brookfield in the FERC dam relicensing process for the Ripogenus, Rumford Falls and Aziscohos Hydro Projects Legal action may be necessary to protect the fisheries on these waters.  Contact Steve Heinz, heinzmaine.rr.com (heinz[at]maine[dot]rr[dot]com) for more information.

Draft Water Quality Certification: Green Lake Hydroelectric Project 
Project Folder: Green Lake Hydroelectric Project

Downeast Trout Unlimited (DETU) chapter 305 is dedicated to conserving, protecting, and restoring Maine's cold water fisheries and their watersheds. New memberships are half price. To join DETU go to www.tu.org/join305Downeast To renew call 800-834-2419.  Donations may be mailed to Downeast Trout Unlimited, c/o Dana Hunter, Treasurer; 9 Lobster Pool Road Little Deer Isle, ME 04650.  For more information contact Tammy Packie, tpackiegmail.com (tpackie[at]gmail[dot]com) 207-288-5442 or visit https://www.downeasttu.org/ or Downeast TU on Facebook.

Membership: Downeast Trout Unlimited (DETU) is dedicated to conserving, protecting, and restoring Maine's cold water fisheries and their watersheds. Membership link and discount for new members: The Individual rate is $17.50, half price the normal rate of $35. DETU will receive $15 for recruiting new members. To join go to www.tu.org/join305Downeast To renew your membership call 800-834-2419.  Donations may be mailed to Downeast Trout Unlimited, c/o Dana Hunter, Treasurer; 9 Lobster Pool Road Little Deer Isle ME 04650. For more information visit https://www.downeasttu.org/, Downeast TU on Facebook or contact Tammy Packie tpackiegmail.com (tpackie[at]gmail[dot]com)