‘Evangelist’ of fishing inducted into Freshwater Hall of Fame

With an annual budget of nearly $80 million and a nationwide staff of 260, Trout Unlimited (TU) has become one of the most influential international conservation organisations.

Now the man who has played a central role in growing and shaping TU has been inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. Chris Wood joined TU 20 years ago and has been President and CEO since 2009. The industry has seen the benefits of Wood’s work in the shape of the protection of public lands and waters and the restoration of rivers and streams.

“Chris is an evangelist of fishing and fisheries conservation,” said Steve Moyer, TU’s Vice President for Government Affairs and a Hall of Fame inductee in 2014. “He loves to fish and generously and routinely takes people fishing on the Potomac River each spring. His fishing excursions include members of Congress, federal agency leaders, friends, kids and veterans.”

TU helped support the Clean Water Act and was at the vanguard of the effort to defeat the proposal for the notorious Pebble Mine in Alaska. It was also instrumental in working with Congress to pass the Great American Outdoors Act that protects public lands and waters. Before joining TU, Wood was the senior policy and communications advisor to the chief of the US Forest Service. He also worked for the Fish and Wildlife programme at the Bureau of Land Management.

Also among the inductees for this year’s Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame is former TU employee, Dave Kumlein, a former Montana fishing guide who founded the Whirling Diseases Foundation that later merged with TU. He also helped start the Quiet Waters Foundation dedicated to helping combat veterans.