Trout Unlimited deserves thanks

The Olympia Chapter of Trout Unlimited deserves major kudos. As I was riding my bicycle toward the corner of Hawks Prairie Road and South Bay Road I saw a group of pickup trucks parked alongside the road. Stopping out of curiosity, I met Pat Prichard and three more volunteers from the Olympia Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

These men were volunteering their time to clean up a trail alongside Woodland Creek. This trail is part of Thurston County’s 74-acre Woodland Creek Preserve. They spent hours pulling out garbage, blackberry vines, even a telephone booth and then put in more hours moving dozens of wheel barrels full of gravel to lay down on the trail for ease of walking. With benches now in place, this once overgrown and indistinguishable trail is now a beautiful place to stop and enjoy the birds, the creek, and the preserve.

The mission of Trout Unlimited is to conserve, protect and restore North America’s cold water fisheries and their watersheds. These men did a fantastic job of not only supporting their organization’s mission but also giving back to the people of Thurston County. This is a great organization and deserves our support, either by financial donation, membership or volunteer time.

This story was originally published August 16, 2016 at 9:43 AM with the headline "Trout Unlimited deserves thanks."