Scoring a discount on Skwala gear is great, but it's not the best part of the 2025 12 Days of Skwala Sale. This year, we’re giving 5% of the total retail price on all sale items to two organizations that protect fish and fisheries: Trout Unlimited and The Bonefish and Tarpon Trust.
Skwala Supports Trout Unlimited
Trout Unlimited was founded in 1959 when group of Michigan anglers noticed a decline in their home state’s trout fisheries and figured they ought to do something about it. Back then the catch and release was virtually unheard of, and the term “habitat restoration” had yet to be coined (though the concept was out there).
In the 60+ years since, TU has established itself as a juggernaut for coldwater fisheries research, conservation, restoration, advocacy, and protection across North America. They have an army of over 300,000 members who volunteer more than 700,000 hours each year to improving their local watersheds through clean-ups, streambank stabilization, and other projects. Not to mention the tireless efforts of their more than 350 full-time staff across the country. When it comes to trout and salmon habitat improvement, TU gets it done. Full stop. They also publish a lovely magazine full of excellent writing and fantastic imagery, if you’re into that kind of thing.
TU chapters are active across the country, probably working on a river system near and dear to you. Check out their project list and find one you want to help with. The vast scope if TU’s goals, infrastructure, and networks can’t be captured in a short write up like this, but we want to highlight a couple ways that their projects are improving the fish habitat we all care about.
Cleaning Up Historic Messes
The western United States are littered with derelict mines. Most of these mine sites are located on or beside watersheds, where toxic tailings (like mercury and cyanide) slowly leach into the streams on which coldwater fish, like trout, depend. Abandoned mines pollute an estimated 40 percent of Western headwater streams.
Cleaning up old mine sites is difficult, time consuming, and expensive. They’re often located in remote areas which makes access challenging, especially for the heavy equipment needed to remove waste material. Mine sites are scattered across different landownership including Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, State Land Trusts, and private individuals, so securing permission can be onerous and complicated. The materials themselves are highly toxic, so safely removing and disposing of them requires specialized equipment and expertise.
In addition to all that, mine cleanups are legally precarious. As soon as a group takes on one of these restoration projects, they assume full legal responsibility for the water quality and any damage caused by the hazardous materials they're attempting to remove. They didn’t make the mess, but by trying to clean it up, they now own it. As a result, most agencies and organizations will not even attempt these efforts.
TU is an outlier. Though the work is slow, the bureaucracy frustrating, and the risks great, they have been actively involved in mine site clean ups for twenty years and have also pushed for legislation like the Good Samaritan Act that would incentive organizations to clean up mine pollution and shield them from fear of liability.
Restoring and Improving Streamflow
You know what a culvert is, right? Those tubes, arches, and pipes that allow water to flow under roads and other obstacles? Though most of us (even committed anglers) take culverts for granted, TU understands how important functional and effective culverts are to river connectivity, fish passage, and stream health. Turns out those metal tubes make a huge difference, as our good friend Jake Keeler explained after spending time with TU’s Great Lakes Stream Restoration Team.
TU funds, organizes, and executes culvert projects that make a massive positive impact for trout, salmon, and char from Alaska, to California, to Michigan, to Maine—and everywhere in-between. They’re getting colder, cleaner water back into river systems, ensuring fish can access critical spawning habitat, and reducing erosion and sedimentation of streambeds. We should all be more grateful for functional culverts and the people who design and maintain them.
Healthier Fisheries = Better Fishing
The math is so simple, evena bunch of former fishing guides (like us) can do it. We hope you’ll take advantage of our limited 12 Days of Skwala Sale discounts to both get yourself great gear at an excellent price and help us make a meaningful contribution to fisheries conservation. But even if you don’t participate in this sale event, please consider joining your local Trout Unlimited chapter, getting involved in habitat projects in your area, or (at the very least) donating to TU. They do the hard work so all of us can enjoy the benefits.