Trout Unlimited drifts left

One of the axioms of political life is that any organization that is not explicitly conservative will invariably drift leftward.  Some do it quicker than others. 

The latest example of this is Trout Unlimited, ostensibly an organization set up to enhance fishing opportunities nationwide.  They have a national office and a number of local chapters, 12 of which are here in Alaska.  They have been quite busy mucking around in the lives of Alaskans – and not all for the positive.

The first event was their participation in the Alaska Board of Fisheries banning felt-soled wading boots starting in 2011.  These are boots that maintain traction pretty well on rocky streams (the Russian River on the Kenai is one example).  They don’t do so well on Cook Inlet mud.  Cost for a pair is in the $100 – 200 range.  The rationale given for pushing this ban is that felt-soled boots will carry mud and other particulate matter from one stream to another, transmitting disease and other organic matter from stream to stream.  There is a problem in the Rocky Mountain States with a disease called Whirling Disease that kills trout in streams.  The ban on felt-soled boots is intended to help contain spread of that disease.  The problem with this is that anything that is not well cleaned will carry mud and other organic matter from one stream to another, spreading stuff far and wide. 

So far, so good, right?  Well not so fast.  Whirling disease is very hard to detect before the fish are infected.  And ADF&G biologist have found the parasite in Ship Creek, but are not sure whether or not it has always been resident, how it responds to cold water, or anything else.  At this stage, they are gathering more information and being careful – which is a prudent approach.

Local fly shops, which get to listen to customer complaints about having to buy new wading boots, are not so charitable to Trout Unlimited.  One pointed out that the Simms Fishing Products, a manufacturer of high end fishing gear has donated money to Trout Unlimited and blames the ban on that money trail.

Trout Unlimited has also been recently busy on the local airways, running a number of anti-Pebble Mine ads on radio.  The latest ads are professionally done and effective.  And there have been a lot of them.  So who is funding them and how much money has been spent?

Non profits like Trout Unlimited are required to make their tax returns – IRS Form 990 – available upon request.  The latest one I was able to find was their 2007 return.  It did contain a list of donors.  But that list was numbered , without names or addresses of their donors,; effectively hiding their donors from prying eyes. 

Tuesday, I sent along the following request to their national office.  I received a single response from their National Press Secretary handing me off to someone here in Alaska, who I have yet to hear from. 

I am researching for an article on your ad buy and have a few questions:

1.      How much money has Trout Unlimited spent opposing Pebble over the last two years?

2.       Are you getting any donations from either Bob Gilliam (Alaska) or the Renewable Resources Coalition (Alaska)?

3.      If so, how much money have one or both donated?

4.      Request a copy of your most recent IRS Form 990.  I have a copy of your 2007 Form 990.

5.      Request a list of your contributors on Schedule B in your Form 990.  They are listed numerically, with no name or address.  

The article will also discuss Trout Unlimited’s participation in a ban on felt soled wading boots here in Alaska from the Alaska Fish Board this year.  I have the following questions for that topic:

6.       Have you received any donations from the Simms Fishing Products of Bozeman MT over the last 3 years? 

7.       If so, how much?

I want to make sure that I have the facts before I submit the article.  Your assistance would be most appreciated.  Should you choose not to assist, I will write about that also.  Either way, I do look forward to hearing from you.  Thank you for your time.  Cheers –

So far, the silence has been deafening.  I do not expect a response.

What is the moral of this story?  It is to ALWAYS follow the money.  Trout Unlimited has been mucking around in Alaska for the last year, making changes and trying to make changes to the way we do things.  They need to step up to the plate and let every Alaskan know both the dollar amount and who has donated money for their wading boot initiative and their anti-Pebble ads.  I would like to see if Simms and / or Bob Gilliam are donors.  We don’t want large corporations or NIMBYs hiding behind their non-profit curtain.

If neither has a hand in what Trout Unlimited is currently doing, I will write a retraction.  But I don’t expect to have to do so.