Fishing Soda Springs: My TU Introduction

At 2:30 a.m. in Soda Springs, I rolled through a right turn at a red light and soon learned “We don’t do ‘California Stops’ in Idaho.” … or so said the police officer who pulled me over pretty much immediately. Fortunately, I had made the slow rolling turn into the broad beams of the officer’s headlights as he patrolled the opposite lane.

Yes, I mean to say, “Fortunately.”  To a diversity consultant and that’s what I am for TU – it’s all about engagement.

I confessed to the officer I had no clue what I had done wrong and admitted, as I handed him my Maine driver’s license, that I had been a long day of travel with still some hours of driving ahead of me. Given I was driving, banked in a head fog, his stopping me was not only the law; it was righteous. So stopped as I was, I was ready for my ticket.

The young officer, male, skin color like mine, light brown, I was hunching might be Latino or Native American, or something else – undoubtedly like all of us, some combination of many things – asked, “You’re from Maine?”

I nodded, “Yup.”

“Where you headed?”

“Jackson, for a conference?” shaking my head a little, “Actually, the Western Regional Meeting of Trout Unlimited.”

“Really?!” He smiled, clearly happy. “I read about that! I even thought about going myself, but have shifts this weekend, and well … “He looked away as his voice trailed off.

“So you are a TU member, a TU volunteer?” I asked a tweak timidly, he was holding my license, we were at the side of the road, colorful lights whirling across the Soda Springs wee hours, pushing 2:40 a.m..

“Yes. Well, used to be, when I lived in Pocatello. They don’t have a Chapter around here, and the new job keeps me busy. The fishing around here is great, though.”

So for the next 20-30 minutes, the young man of color (the officer) and the old man of color (me) shared stories of a few great places to fish and more about our concerns over coldwater fisheries conservation. We talked TU. We talked trout (cutthroat = him, brookies = me). We used heretical words that conservation professionals and TU folk say divert many a good conversation with non-pros and TU folk: “watershed”, “collaborative stewardship”, “environmental protection”, “invasives”, “indicator species”, “climate change”, “fly fishing”, and “spin fishing”.

The young man kept mentioning how, while he liked being a member of TU, there weren’t a lot of people his age at the Chapter meetings or events, and his friends starting families had pulled out. He spoke positively about TU’s great work with kids through Trout in the Classroom. He found it difficult to stay in TU without his friends or peers, with his new job, and now without a Chapter nearby – he let his own membership lapse.

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 I told him that Trout Unlimited hired me as a Diversity Consultant, and my immediate priority is to support the TU’s Women’s Initiative, with all other TU diversity youth programs, and other ways for increasing TU’s membership and leadership diversity. The work involves expanding TU’s inclusiveness, engaging diversity where it is, all supporting TU’s mission and work, and helping to make TU more relevant to more folks now and in the future.

Being more inclusive takes work, individual work, team and group work, and organizational work. At TU this means everyone at every level doing the work of pushing against old habits. It will mean examining our efficiencies and questioning our traditional ways of doing things. It will mean looking for and at what truly makes TU unique, and recognizing that what is emblematic of TU may take hold in any woman, child, or man. It is our work to seek out those difference in TU’s people that like the ecological diversity that makes fish and their habitat its healthiest, will make TU strongest and healthiest. We need to engage more folks where they are at, rather than expect them to engage TU only on our terms and turf.

I told the officer, that as a leader in his community, TU ought to find a way to get him back and re-involved – maybe he could start a local chapter with some friends. With a big smile on my face, I told him to bring a bunch of women conservationist and anglers into the Chapter, and get into the schools as a youth mentor.

 “There are girls and women around here who fish all the time!” The officer declared with a lot of energy for after 3:00am.

“Well, then it’s TU’s work to seek them out and engage them here.” I declared with a grinned.

After I said I had no weapons in the vehicle, the officer went back to his patrol car to run my license, and after short while came back to my window. I braced for the ticket. “You’re all set, Mr. Jackson. It was very nice talking with you. Please drive safely and observe, completely, all traffic signs and signals (big smile). Enjoy the Western Regional.”

I thanked the officer for his courtesy and the great conversation. As he turned to go, I asked him to hold on a moment. While he was running my license, I had pulled my new TU business card from my wallet. With a smile, I handed him my card, and furrowing my brow, said he was very lucky, I was letting him off only with a warning this time: “Renew your membership!”

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Sharing fish stories, engaging people where they are! At the start of my first road trip for TU, I was the one that got away and with my card dangling in front of his eyes, may yet land a great fish from the coldwater streams of Idaho … where they do not do California stops!