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Senate passes ‘transformational’ infrastructure bill for fish
Let’s face it: the word infrastructure suggests concrete, rebar and L.A. freeway interchanges rather than productive coldwater fisheries and a fine day of wading a clear, cold trout stream. Yet infrastructure is mission-critical for Trout Unlimited. That’s why TU has launched groundbreaking programs such as the Salmon SuperHwy in Oregon. The infrastructure bill includes $1…
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Bugs have stories to tell
Since the beginning of time fire has played a big part in shaping the western landscape. And that is even more true today with larger, more intense fires with more frequency. We dove into two researchers' stories who determine the impacts of fires to forests and ultimately our beloved rivers––one in the summer issue of…
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Ode to the homely jon boat
As I rowed the 14-foot lumbering jon boat back to her berth on the side of a remote lake in the Adirondack mountains after an incredible day of smallmouth fishing the other day, I thought to myself how much I both love and hate jon boats. They are ugly as hell, hard to row, but…
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‘To thine ownself be true’
The Roan Plateau in northwest Colorado. Sharing creates advocates, while oversharing creates problems “To share or not to share…” If Hamlet were a fly fisher instead of just an angst-ridden 30-something pining for his dead father, this might have been what he uttered as he pondered the value of his own life. For, much like…
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Enduring with ‘grace under pressure’ in Rio Grande cutthroat trout country
It looked like the brookies were almost certain to extirpate native cutts and that work to improve Jim Creek was a lost cause
by Kevin Terry Growing up in rural northern New Mexico gave me the opportunity to interact with Rio Grande cutthroat trout in their beautiful and rugged native habitat. I also loved engaging with so many different people with different cultural backgrounds. I was blessed with great mentors with a diversity of perspectives. Some were teachers, some family and friends, others just people in my community with whom I…
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What’s your vote for America’s ‘national fish?’
The author's choice? The smallmouth bass. USFWS photo. It’s a silly question, but it’s fun. And it’s Friday. If you were to vote for a national fish, what would it be? The brook trout currently holds the title of most revered freshwater “state fish” with nine states—including Michigan, Pennsylvani and New York—making it their choice.…
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The 117 degree Kern River melting pot
What rainbow trout can teach us about engaging native fish, salads, diversity and river towns Daniel Ritz is fishing across the Western United States this summer in an attempt to reach the Master Caster class of the Western Native Trout Challenge, attempting to land each of the 20 native trout species in their historical ranges of the 12 states in…