Advocacy

​Advocacy is an important part of Trout Unlimited’s mission to protect trout habitat. You can help by engaging with policymakers and encouraging legislative decisions that support sound management of our state’s streams and watersheds. 

Healthy trout streams depend on cold, clean water, which is closely related to land use in the surrounding watersheds. TCTU advocates for environmental and land use policies that prevent runoff pollution, sustain groundwater resources, and limit development in sensitive areas. While significant progress has been made to protect and restore coldwater habitat in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, much work remains.​

By partnering with Minnesota Trout Unlimited, along with other TU chapters in our region, TCTU helps to educate decision makers and garner public support around key conservation issues.

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Water Quality

Most trout streams in the Twin Cities region are located in largely agricultural watersheds, making them vulnerable to nutrient runoff and erosion. On a positive note, farming practices have improved over the past several decades, benefiting trout populations in many streams throughout the region. But with climate change expected to bring more frequent and larger rain events to these watersheds, it is important to support science-based policies and programs that help manage flooding and prevent manure, fertilizers and chemicals from washing into streams.

At the state level, Minnesota has taken some positive steps to address agricultural water quality concerns. These include a buffer requirement designed to implement filter strips of perennial grasses along waterways that border farm fields, and an Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program that incentivizes farmers to adopt conservation practices on their land.​

TCTU streamkeepers are actively monitoring water quality in local streams by using the WiseH2O app to record water temperature, stream disturbances, and concentrations of key chemicals.

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Groundwater Protection

Minnesota’s Groundwater Protection Rule restricts the application of nitrogen fertilizer in the fall and on frozen soils in areas vulnerable to contamination, and it promotes fertilizer best management practices that help reduce groundwater contamination. TCTU supports this type of targeted regulation, particularly in areas with karst geology (the Driftless region) where surface water moves quickly underground through springs and sinkholes.​

Excessive groundwater pumping for irrigation and municipal drinking water can also impact trout streams, which depend on underground aquifers for consistent water temperatures and base flows. The Department of Natural Resources in both Minnesota and Wisconsin have faced legislative challenges seeking to limit their groundwater permitting authority, which could threaten the long-term sustainability of spring-fed trout fisheries.

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Development Pressure

TCTU can play an important role in advocating for sensible development that limits the building of new roads, businesses and residential neighborhoods proposed in close proximity to sensitive trout streams. These decisions are often made at the city and county level where public participation can make a big difference. With more than 2,000 members, our chapter is a strong voice for conservation in a growing metropolitan area that still supports healthy coldwater ecosystems nearby.