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Fishing club or conservation group? Asked and answered
By Chris Wood Are we a conservation organization or a fishing club? That was the question for the Trout Unlimited Deerfield watershed chapter in northwestern Massachusetts when they formed almost ten years ago. Kevin Parsons tells the story: “A buddy approached me and said, ‘Let’s create a TU chapter.’ 'Fine,' I said "You be the…
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Intelligent tinkering
By Chris Wood It gives me great pride to live in a country that says it is our policy as a nation to “halt and reverse the trend toward species extinction, whatever the cost.” The Endangered Species Act is a patently American idea. Its presence demonstrates that we are not a desperate nation, hungrily grubbing…
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Alaska and Montana sit at the top of every angler’s bucket list
By Chris Wood Montana wisely chose to stop stocking trout in 1974. Alaska’s sheer size and quality habitat make it the most desired destination-fishery for very large native rainbow trout and salmon and steelhead. Passing separat e ballot initiatives in each state will ensure that both states remain iconic. In Montana, I-186 would allow the…
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Yes for salmon
By Chris Wood Some bad ideas rise above others: New Coke, Diet Water, the Red Sox trading Babe Ruth to the Yankees. One of the worst ideas of all time? The proposal to build a mine in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Scientists during the during the Obama Administration said the mine was too…
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Of fish and kids
By Chris Wood My friend, Blaine, who works for The Conservation Fund, was telling me about the project tour he and his son, Witt, took to Mossy Creek in Virginia on property managed by the great TU Business leader, Mossy Creek Outfitters. Keith Curley, who directs our eastern conservation work, led the tour of work…
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‘I am just a typical TU volunteer’
By Chris Wood Roberta and Curtis Cole are members of the board of the Shasta-Trinity-Cascades Chapter. Like dozens of others, they volunteered at the Trout Unlimited annual meeting in Redding this past weekend. The Coles are like many other members of their chapter—excep t, their house burned to the ground in the Carr Fire. Their…
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Roadless redux? Really?
Photo by John Schoen By Chris Wood The state of Alaska’s recent proposal to re-open the roadless debate brought back memories. Mike was flossing his teeth when I entered his office. “I’m sorry. I’m running late for the dentist.” It was 1998, and Mike Dombeck, the chief of the U.S. Forest Service, had proposed a…
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