With great sadness, we learned this morning that our dear friend, Al Crise, has left us.
He was a gracious, joyful soul, and he certainly made this a nicer, kinder place by his presence.

As Jim Bass of MetroplexFlyFishers so beautifully put it, “Shortly after midnight, our teacher went Home….”

Al, we already miss you.

In lieu of flowers, his family has graciously requested that donations be addressed in his honor to Casting for Recovery and Reel Recovery.
Please make your donations to:

CFR/TEXAS
Susan Gaetz
5202 Periwinkle Path
Austin, TX 78745
For more information, you can contact Susan at susan@susangaetz.com

Reel Recovery
4505 El Campo Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76107
800.542.2246 or 817.914.3807
warren@texasreelrecovery.org

We grieve for Al’s wife and family—please keep them in your thoughts and prayers—and we grieve for all of us, his friends—for surely, he made us feel as if we were part of his family.

Today, Heaven has a new master casting instructor.

Tight lines, My Good Friend.

-greg

A forum has been set up for GRTU's Project Healing Waters Program at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. This program assists with the physical and emotional rehabilitation of our wounded warriors by teaching them the skills associated with fly fishing and taking them on fishing outings on the Guadalupe River. The forum will be used to manage our schedule, provide maps to the facility, provide announcements of activities and a place for volunteers to go to sign up and help. Our Project Healing Waters program is currently looking for San Antonio-based volunteers to help with weekly fly tying and casting lessons at BAMC. We are also in need of donations to help pay for program supplies and to fund the fishing outings. Additional information is available on the PHW Forum.

Great news!! GRTU has received formal approval from the Army Corp of Engineers for our initial habitat restoration plan on the Guadalupe River. On Saturday January 9, 2010, GRTU President Bill Higdon received a letter from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Canyon Dam district office granting approval of our plans for restoration activities in the Guadalupe River below Canyon Dam

So what does our plan include? We will be completing restoration efforts in two areas near the dam that were severely affected by the 2002 flood. Our work in these areas will involve replanting vegetation to stabilize the river bank, restore the riparian vegetation, and restore instream vegetation. You can read our Plan for more information: Application For COE Permit for Guadalupe Habitat Restoration

These activities are significant because they represent something very important, our first steps towards improving the habitat in the Guadalupe River. This work will also help establish a good working relationship with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. We’ll be looking for volunteers to help with the plantings once this work is underway so keep checking back for updates or contact [email=CobbG@grtu.org">Gary Cobb[/email"> directly.