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Long live the Gila trout
Seven of us pierced the Gila wildlands that day, and, despite the best efforts of a clueless pot-shotter, all seven of us made it out without holes in our hides. We never figured out who was shooting or what they were shooting at
Huddled as close to the fallen tree as we could get, Kirk and I looked at each other, our eyes wide with surprise and a touch of fear. The bullet had missed us by a wide margin, but the fact that we could hear it as it zinged overhead after the ricochet was unnerving. "Wait…
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It’s time for the lower Snake River dams to go
“It is our collective opinion, based on overwhelming scientific evidence, that restoration of a free-flowing lower Snake River is essential to recovering wild Pacific salmon and steelhead in the basin.” So reads a remarkable letter recently sent to the governors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana by 10 of the finest and most-respected salmon and steelhead scientists in…
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Celebrating 20 years of roadless conservation
When you think about your favorite remote fishing or hunting trip, a wild landscape where large trout, wild salmon or big game are plentiful, or breathtaking scenery where you can get away from it all, the odds are good you’re thinking of a roadless area. Roadless areas are strongholds for vulnerable fish and wildlife,…
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Hiking the CDT: Concrete and dust
By Henry Strawbridge Editor’s Note: The Strawbridge family from Lakeland, Fla., hiked the length of the Continental Divide Trail – all 3,100 miles of it – from Canada to Mexico. Henry Strawbridge, 14, provided updates of their journey to Trout Unlimited as they passed through the historic range of seven native trout species. You can track the…
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Conserving Oregon’s ‘vast and wild’ Owyhee River
The rugged country and streams in the Owyhee River watershed in eastern Oregon represent one of the best remaining opportunities for landscape-scale conservation in the West. Trout Unlimited is working through a coalition of sportsmen’s groups and sporting businesses — Owyhee Sportsmen — to ensure this remarkable area remains unspoiled by development. The campaign to…
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Reams Construction helps reclaim mine site in southwest Colorado
Recently, TU partnered Reams Construction on just this type of project. Reams won a competitive bid for the Atlas Mine and Mill reclamation project outside of Ouray, Colo. This project sits on the edge of a 100-year floodplain on Sneffels Creek where the former Atlas Mill stood years ago
Editor's note: TU works with some extremely talented characters while developing and completing projects in the field that help make fishing better. We are excited to bring you a series highlighting these Contractors. We hire equipment operators, truck drivers, laborers, material suppliers, engineers, technicians, and water testing labs. They are unique, talented, humble and some are downright wild, but TU’s contractors…
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Tying the Wiggler version of the San Juan Worm
The good, old San Juan Worm is one of the best fly patterns out there, even if you might feel a bit sheepish tying it on for fear one of your buddies will see you casting it and accuse you of high-brow cheating. Of course, you’re not cheating—you’re imitating an aquatic food source that’s common…