Saluda River Chapter makes donation to Partners For Trout Susan Guynn of Partners For Trout is presented with a $5,000 check from board member & ex officio Keith Cloud (on left) and SRTU Chapter President Luke McCary (right) --→

Partners for Trout, a coalition that has renovated and restored many miles of trout streams in South Carolina’s upstate region, received a $5,000 donation from the Saluda River Chapter of Trout Unlimited on January 14, in Columbia. The donated funds will be used for the Middle Saluda River restoration project.

Luke McCary, president of Saluda River Trout Unlimited, and ex officio Keith Cloud, presented the check to Susan Guynn, chairperson for Partners for Trout. “In presenting this check, we endorse and support the work of Partners for Trout in its continuing program of improving, restoring and maintaining cold-water trout habitat and angler access in Upstate South Carolina streams,” McCary said.

Since its beginnings in 1997, Partners for Trout has received financial support through private and public donations, grants and volunteer assistance, and has done streambank, riparian and instream restoration on six miles of streams. Partners for Trout has also installed more than seventeen bottom-water-release structures on dams, which has improved water quality (cooled the releases in summer) in more than 50 miles of streams.

Partners for Trout, based in Clemson, is a coalition comprised of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, Foothills Resource Conservation and Development Council, Trout Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, private landowners and the Pickens, Greenville and Oconee Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The group is committed to restoring and enhancing trout streams in South Carolina. South Carolina's trout streams are located within a small area in three upstate counties--Oconee, Pickens and Greenville.

South Carolina’s trout fishery generates more than $9 million annually for the state’s economy in direct retail sales, with a total economic output of more than $18 million, according to a study on the economic benefits of freshwater fishing in South Carolina. The effects of trout fishing can be felt in many segments of Upstate and Midlands communities, from motels and restaurants to gas stations, local bait and tackle shops and sporting goods stores.

The Saluda River Chapter of Trout Unlimited is proud to support Partners For Trout and their successful work in stream restoration and coldwater fisheries conservation in South Carolina. To read about the work they have done on the Eastatoee River, see the article entitled "Partners for Trout Protects and Restores Rare South Carolina Waters," located on our homepage.