A Sneak Peek into the March Rabun Chapter Meeting
Topic: New Ways to Make A Difference, Emerging TU Tools to Help Conserve, Protect and Restore Trout in Georgia
Presenters: Jeff Wright, TU Southeast Coordinator and Sarah Baker, GA DNR Trout Biologist
The last year has been difficult for TU members throughout the country. With many traditional activities still on hold, people are looking for new ways to get on the water and do something to support their favorite rivers and streams. TU’s Southeast Coordinator, Jeff Wright, and GADNR’s Sarah Baker will join us to discuss how just about anyone can use TU’s Community Science program to do just that. Our emerging app-based surveys, includ- ing Sedimentation Survey, the RIVERS app and a pilot program in Georgia called TroutFinder, give anyone with a smartphone the power to become a data collector and provide input into future conservation projects. Whether you just want to know how to report river issues when you see them or you are interested in a more in-depth, hands-on way to help, this talk will provide new opportunities for every volunteer to make a difference.
BIO: Jeff Wright is TU’s Southeast Coordinator. In this role, he focuses on project management, implementation and engaging volunteers in key focal areas in the Southeast. He also assists grassroots members with various issues. Jeff’s passion for conservation and the outdoors stems from a childhood hunting, fishing, and generally running around exploring wild places of Missouri. He continued to develop an outdoor ethic through college, earning both a bachelor’s and master’s in biology, and has worked or volunteered in various conservation roles. Jeff combines this education with over a decade of experience working and volunteering in education, leadership development, and nonprofit management to support TU in the Southeast.
BIO: Sarah Baker is GA DNR’s Trout Biologist. She developed a passion for trout while conducting research as an undergraduate at The College of Idaho. She has been tromping through streams with electricity for the past 8 years in search of answers related to salmonid population dynamics, habitat utilization, riparian restoration, and nonnative species interaction. She has fallen in love with Georgia’s mountain streams (rhododendron and all) and flings flies into them every Saturday that she can.