Author

Paul Burnett

  • Conservation Barriers From the field

    Barriers limit cutthroat trout migration

    We are broadly familiar with the plight of the salmon, hatching in freshwater, moving downstream as smolts and, entering the ocean. Their magnificent return to the rivers during spawning migrations, hundreds of miles up the Columbia and Salmon rivers, illustrates fish movements at a grand scale. Few people know the same phenomenon occurs with inland native trout such as the cutthroat

    Few people know rivers more intimately than anglers. Every bend, pool and overhanging trees of our favorite river stretches are stored in the recesses of our brains. Particularly those where big fish are known to hide.  From year to year, the pools we fish are usually static and don’t change dramatically. We walk up to our favorite stream and, by all appearances, the water looks…

  • Conservation

    Reconnection efforts continue on Utah’s Weber River

    The Weber River is an important trout fishing destination in northern Utah offering excellent angling opportunities and provising a home for unique native fish species at the same time. Trout Unlimited started the Weber River Restoration Program seven years ago to improve fishing and increase native populations. Fluvial (migratory) Bonneville cutthroat trout in the mainstem…

  • Conservation

    Bonneville cutthroat return to headwaters after 50 years

    For the first time in 50 years, Bonneville cutthroat trout in Utah’s Weber River were able to ascend Strawberry Creek, an important spawning tributary, thanks to a major conservation effort in Northern Utah. Since 2012, Trout Unlimited has worked closely with many partners in the Weber River Basin to reduce habitat fragmentation and allow native…