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Sharing expertise: The Driftless Symposium
More than 15 years ago, when Jeff Hastings took over leadership of Trout Unlimited’s Driftless Area Restoration Effort, one of his first priorities was to build his knowledge of restoration techniques. As he dug in, he found plenty of information. He also found that much of it didn’t get wide distribution throughout the area’s four…
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Resilience.
On Apache Trout, and the people who ensured their survival
On Apache Trout, and the people who ensured their survival July in Arizona and the heat lies out there like some hulking great beast, a monster with an appetite that seems always unsated. It swallows all when it can, but we humans move behind glass, the bake held at bay in containers of refrigeration. A…
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A long overdue update: bringing the federal oil & gas program into the 21st century
At Trout Unlimited, we believe that energy development and conservation need not be mutually exclusive, but it takes the right polices to strike this balance. Updating our oil and gas policies is a priority – our public lands, waters, wildlife and communities depend on it – and there is already overwhelming public support for the…
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A disappointing step backwards in the fight for Smith River protection
The battle over protecting Montana’s unparalleled Smith River continues. Located in west-central Montana, the Smith is the only river in the state that requires a recreational permit. Boaters embark on a remarkable float, totaling nearly 60 miles over several days, through towering limestone cliffs, incredible canyons, and pristine wild trout waters. We have said it…
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Are my secret streams really my secret to keep?
Anglers have a complicated relationship with secrecy.
Anglers have a complicated relationship with secrecy. We hope a secret fly or lure, or bait will give us an edge. We get a tingly feeling when a friend entrusts us with knowledge of a secret spot. But secrets also bring their own stresses and disappointments. There is nothing quite like the endorphin rush you…
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The True Cast – It isn’t about the gear. It’s about the hook.
When I first signed on as the editor of TROUT magazine, the great John Merwin—author of The New American Trout Fishing and then the fishing editor for Field & Stream—offered me some friendly advice. “Run a cover that shows a trout with a Panther Martin lure hanging out of its mouth,” he said. “That’ll get…
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New map highlights 2023 infrastructure upgrades in Great Lakes priority waters
2023 was a good year for Great Lakes coldwater conservation, marked by an influx of federal funding for necessary infrastructure upgrades. It's hard to believe that 2024 is here and I’m kicking off my 14th year at Trout Unlimited. When I was hired to manage the Rogue River Home Rivers Initiative in 2010, I was…