Dear Governor Brown: Thank you.

By Chrysten Lambert, Oregon Governor Kate Brown did a tough thing last week.   In a letter to Washington Governor Jay Inslee, Brown took a bold position on creating a better future for her constituents by committing to finding collaborative, science-based solutions for restoring the Snake River.  As salmon and steelhead populations continue to dwindle, the Pacific Northwest faces a choice: Maintain the status quo or come together

Conservation programs on the administration chopping block once again

The Trump administration is once again proposing significant government funding cuts that that would hamstring critical clean water programs and weaken TU’s federal partners. If these cuts were enacted, they would undermine efforts by Trout Unlimited and our conservation partners to protect coldwater habitat in places like the Colorado River basin, the Chesapeake Bay and

Wash. Suction dredge reform passes State House, moves to Senate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Crystal Elliot-Perez, Trout Unlimited Washington Habitat Director, celliot@tu.org or (509) 386-7768 Suction dredge reform passes State House, moves to SenateBill approved by State House would update regulations for recreational mining using motorized suction dredging in habitat for endangered species. OLYMPIA, Wash. — Last night, Washington State Representatives approved legislation aimed at improving

Conservation and timber interests agree to changes to Oregon forest practices

Today, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced a historic agreement between conservation groups and timber companies that represents an important first step in a process that will see the most significant update of Oregon’s Forest Practices Act in decades.  This agreement, formalized as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the timber industry and major conservation groups, should deliver

Wild steelhead diversity is key to long-term survival

By Eric Crawford If only it was as simple as an adipose fin.   The presence of an adipose fin is universally recognized as the mark. An individual with an adipose fin is, with a few exceptions, considered a wild steelhead. On the other hand, those marked, clipped, or ad-intact fish, they are the hatchery ones. Although it is

Of chukar and steelhead in the Snake River country

Hunters hike steep mountain slopes in search of chukar.

By Michael Gibson Nothing clears the mind like a good chukar hike. So, when the boss called for a work/chukar retreat in lower Snake River Country, I got excited. Late-season chukar in some of the best, and most rugged, chukar country the planet has to offer. About now, you are probably wondering, what’s this got to do with fish?    We’ll get

Lessons from Warren and Scott

Warren Colyer and Scott Yates.

Trout Unlimited members, and many of our staff, love to fish. Perhaps none more than Scott Yates and Warren Colyer, both of whom co-lead our largest staff cohort, the Western Water and Habitat program. One of my favorite memories at TU was fishing on Wyoming’s Gros Ventre River at dusk. I was working the far