I Finally Joined Trout Unlimited

Yesterday I received my Trout Unlimited packet. I've never understood why organizations like this give you a membership card, maybe you can tell me. I've been debating whether or not to join for quite some time. They are a great force for good in the conservation world. However, I do not fully support all of their approaches. That, coupled with the fact that I am not fully educated in all of the issues, has made me hesitant. There are many more good causes than I have money, so I try to be careful.

Trout Unlimited's four mission points are Protect, Reconnect, Restore, and Sustain. I love their Reconnect, Restore, and Sustain goals. They do an amazing job of educating the public and organizing stream and river restorations. This is unbelievably important if we are going keep the waterways we have. Most importantly, I believe, is their lobbying efforts. Lets face it, without political help there is only so much private citizens can do.

I really like how balanced most of their stands are. Check out their climate change fact sheet.  They acknowledged that climate change is occurring, but do not place blame. They also make no efforts to stop global warming, it is here no matter what we do. What they do is offer solutions to "restore resistance and resilience to out aquatic system." I really respect that.

My only concern is with their Protect goal. I personally feel that they may go a little overboard here. Don't get me wrong, we have a desperate need to protect our clean, wild lands. Without organizations like TU we would not have much or any of the untouched land that we now have. My problem is that at times (rarely) conservation gets in the way of progress. I have a lot of trouble telling a man that he cannot have a job to provide for his family because I don't want him to risk hurting a fish. There is a balance and we as a society have to draw the line somewhere. I, and again this is just my opinion, would like to see the line drawn a little further in favor of jobs than TU does.

After many days of contemplating this I decided to support them financially even though I do not agree with 100% of their efforts. The good they do far outweighs any bad. I have never fully agreed with any politician I have ever supported.  I don't agree with everything the NRA does, and yet I am a big supporter of them. I surely don't agree with everything the government does, yet I would die for my country. I don't even agree with everything my Church teaches, and yet I have basically devoted my life's work to it (I work at a Christian School). So why would I expect to agree with everything a conservation group does?

Conservation needs our time, talents, and money. What have you done lately to conserve our wildlife?
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