November 5, 2016

Welcome to the John Muir Chapter!

Dear Members,

We want to share some exciting news with you. After six months of planning and preparation, we’re happy to announce the formation of the John Muir – East Bay Chapter of Trout Unlimited. As the newest California chapter, the John Muir chapter’s territory includes all of Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

Originally part of the North Bay Chapter of Trout Unlimited – which included San Francisco, the North Bay, and the East Bay – several East Bay members with the support of TU staff, the California Council, and the North Bay Chapter decided to form a separate chapter for the East Bay Area.

The Bay Area is one of the most populous regions in the state, and with a territory representing two-thirds of the region, membership in the North Bay Chapter began to swell. The California Council and leadership of the North Bay Chapter understood and agreed that the area was too large to provide an adequate level of service to all of its members and watersheds. To that end, members living in the East Bay were contacted to gauge interest in the formation of a chapter devoted to the East Bay.

After several meetings, a group of volunteers took the plunge and formed a new chapter. The new chapter is known as the John Muir – East Bay Chapter, Trout Unlimited (though we’ve been using John Muir for short.) While independent of the North Bay Chapter, the close ties many of you have to the chapter mean we will continue to work closely; and long-time North Bay member and officer Peter Mangarella was named President of our new group. A board of directors has also been selected.

Effective immediately, members of the North Bay Chapter who reside in Alameda or Contra Costa counties will now be members of the John Muir Chapter. The new chapter is just getting under way, and we encourage all of you to visit our new website (www.ebtu.org) as well as follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We are also planning an inaugural membership meeting in January, so stay tuned for details!

We are proud and excited by the formation of this new Chapter. We believe this will provide better service to the nearly 900 members who live in the East Bay. We want to thank all the volunteers who have worked hard to make this new chapter a reality, and we want to thank John Sikora, from the El Dorado Chapter, and Erik Young from the North Bay Chapter for their invaluable support and counsel which was critical to the formation of this new chapter.

Sincerely,

Peter Mangarella, President, John Muir Chapter

Patrick Kallerman, Vice President, John Muir Chapter