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Nudging streams back to health
"You just want to nudge it. Too often restoration work is over-engineered. The key is to simply nudge the system in the right direction, and then allow for natural processes to occur.” Gary leaned back and looked upstream. A smile crept up. “I had two anglers who told me they caught 80-90 brook trout here…
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Ticking time bombs in Appalachia
Editor's note: TU President and CEO Chris Wood was invited to testify before Congress on innovative approaches and economic development opportunities of abandoned mine land reclamation. TU hopes to work with Congress to advance legislation to support this type of restoration work, both on coal and hardrock mines across the country. To learn more, visit…
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Protecting Bristol Bay… This One is Personal
By Chris Wood Last month’s release of the draft “environmental impact statement” to permit industrial-scale mining in Bristol Bay, Alaska, made me recall the first time I set eyes on that remarkable landscape nearly 12 years ago. Trout Unlimited was looking to expand our presence in Alaska, so I consulted Tim Bristol, a long-time Alaska…
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Little streams make a big difference for our drinking water
By Chris Wood As it flows along my family’s land in Levels, West Virginia, the Little Cacapon River is fed by several small seasonal waterways formed by rainwater and snowmelt. Eventually, all that water runs into the Potomac River and on past our nation’s capital, where a half-century ago, forward-thinking policymakers crafted a landmark act…
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How the shutdown is harming anglers
By Chris Wood "Good riddance. Think of all of the money we are saving.” I looked at Max in exasperation. He is one of the most hard-core sportsmen I know. I have hunted for whitetail with him in driving rainstorms in West Virginia, and stalked catfish on the Potomac using hummus-impregnated Clouser-minnows. He is a…
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He’s just an old dog
“He’s just an old dog.” Parker lit up, at least as much as a 17-year old pit-lab mix can. Larry, the neighborhood poet, and resident feral cat-feeder, was on his way to the back-alley to spread his cat food, and Parker stayed glued to the bag at Larry’s side. “We are all old dogs,” I…
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Just enough
By Chris Wood Fred’s note was unexpected. He was one of the first TU volunteers I met 17 years ago when he was 78 years young. At the time, I wondered who is this cool cat with the white pony-tail and turquoise rings? His note read, “a few months ago our son, Jon, and his…
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