May 2026 President's Report
I met with Jen Lewis and Dan Liwicki from FFI regarding working together on Veterans Outreach - both in Buffalo and Batavia. We will be changing the date for Buffalo VA fly tying to the third Wednesday starting in June 2026. Dan and I are working to hold a Fly Fishing 101 class for the Batavia group with the intent to hold a fishing event in late summer 2026.
The Buffalo Veterans fishing event will be held on June 20th at Bond Lake Park. Let me know if you are interested in helping out.
There will be a Veterans Fishing Day at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge on June 13. Let me know if you wish to attend - lunch is provided by the GC Veterans Outreach group. Great event as it provides a good chance to introduce youngsters to fly tying and fishing.
We approved some funds to support the GC Boces group led by Jerry Krajna. We are confident that these funds will provide great returns over the years.
The Caledonia Trout Festival is being held on May 30th - and we will have a table inside the firehall from 10 am - 4 pm. A great family friendly event.
Jim Jowsey and I attended the NE Rendezvous in Roscoe, NY. The presentations will be available online by the end of May. Congratulations to Jim on being elected as Region 9 VP to the NY TU State Council. And Many thanks to Chuck Godfrey for his many years of service to the State Council.
The NY TU State Council posted a newsletter last month and it is now posted at the state council website.
Jim Jowsey has produced a Welcome Letter for new members - Thanks Jim.
The Beer Launch Party was a great success - with nearly $1000 raised. Many thanks to Kyle Glenn and Jesse Vadala for putting together much of the program. And to all who helped out, attended and supported the chapter. Great Job everyone.
The NYSDEC issued a press release regarding Ischua Creek - and it can be found at dec.ny.gov/news/press-releases.
Buffalo Niagara Waterkeepers held their Spring Sweep on April 25th. Thanks to everyone that assisted them in cleaning up our local waterways.
Jim Jowsey and I held a Fly Fishing 101 event with students at D'Youville College on April 25th. We anticipate them starting a fishing club and look forward to working with them in the future.
Trout Unlimited's chapters annual reports are due to National by 5/15. I will be working with Chuck, Joe and Tony to get our report submitted. Please make sure you have any hours accounted on the website so that we can include your time and efforts in the report.
TU Teen Camp is being held on June 28-July 3 in Deposit, NY. Please let a board member know if you have a teen interested in attending. They camp is looking for fishing mentors for the teens for each nights fishing. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks to the chapter members that assisted the Genesee River group on their tree planting - we appreciate your time and efforts.
The Stamp Project planning board meeting was cancelled. We continue to monitor this project and the state and national groups have weighed in. The AI data centers are a very big topic throughout the country and national has issued numerous documents to assist local chapters in addressing these projects.
I sent in letters to the Great Lakes Council and the HOW group of the GLC indicating our strong support of their efforts to get funding restored to many of the GLC programs.No one supports wasteful government spending, but many of the programs are crucial to the Great Lakes - and many have demonstrated positive track records.
Thanks to Joe Morgan and the folks from NFG for the work in cleaning up multiple locations on 18 Mile Creek.
For the second year in a row we'll be pairing up with Muddy Wheels Accessible Outdoors for our Accessible Fishing event at Hoyt Lake in Delaware Park in the City of Buffalo. Meet us on Saturday, June 6th at 10am down by the casino. The event is FREE and open to anyone of any ability.
KEN KINECKI