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Wild or hatchery? Idaho fisheries managers want to know
A rainbow trout from the Snake River. Roger Phillips photo. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game wants to know if the rainbow trout that swim in the Snake River between two eastern Idaho impoundments are wild or if they're hatchery fish that have migrated upstream. The rainbows between Gem Lake, just below Idaho Falls…
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Collaboration and compromise restore trout almost lost in Colorado
A Colorado River cutthroat landed in Colorado. Daniel A. Ritz photo. Progress and discovery alive and well in the center of the fly fishing universe 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…
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Yellowstone National Park closes fishing after 2 p.m.
High-water temperatures and low stream flows prompt fishing closures across the park Effective Saturday, July 24, Yellowstone National Park’s rivers and streams will close to fishing in the afternoon and evening due to high-water temperatures and unprecedented low stream flows. This closure will protect the park’s native and wild trout fisheries. What will be closed?…
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20 Questions: Christine Peterson
Prolific freelance writer juggles everything from motherhood to conservation on an ever-evolving journey I’ve known and admired Christine Peterson for years, largely through our mutual affiliation with the Outdoor Writers Association of America, the oldest professional organization dedicated to outdoors communicators in the country. Earlier this year, Christine was named the organization’s new president —…
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Five reasons you should be fishing lakes today
Fishing stillwater for trout is so good for you, and good for your game, on so many levels. But many anglers don’t bother. Here are five reasons to go jump in a lake (or at least fish from the shore 1. Knowledge You learn things you don’t often learn on the river. Making casts so…
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Everything you wanted to know: Colorado River cutthroat trout
Colorado River cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii pleuriticus) Species status and summary: The Colorado River cutthroat trout (CRCT) historically occupied most cool water habitats of the Colorado River watersheds in Colorado, southern Wyoming, eastern Utah, extreme northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona. Currently, however, Colorado River cutthroat trout occupy approximately 16 percent of their historic range, primarily…
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Guaranteed: they will come back
Pacific salmon and steelhead connect the Pacific Ocean to the Sawtooth mountains and persist at 1-2 percent of their historic numbers. Their decline precisely parallels the construction of the four lower Snake River dams
Editor’s note: This is the sixth and final installment in a series of articles showing that removing four dams on the lower Snake River is the last, best hope for wild Snake River salmon and steelhead. Wild Snake River salmon and steelhead are on the brink of extinction, but we can bring these incredible fish…