Morgan Werner, Matt Anderson, Niyah Banfill, and Meriah Gannon planting riparian trees along Blakeslee Creek. By Jamie Vaughan Rockford locals may have noticed green-clad students working throughout the community this summer, usually covered in mud and always sporting a smile. It may look like a typical summer gardening job, but don’t be fooled: This group
Tom Tidwell is retiring as Chief of the US Forest Service. It is difficult to overstate the importance of the 191 million acres that the Forest Service manages to trout and salmon. Half of the blue-ribbon trout streams in the country flow across national forests. A vast majority of western native trout and salmon depend
By Chris Wood Montana wisely chose to stop stocking trout in 1974. Alaska’s sheer size and quality habitat make it the most desired destination-fishery for very large native rainbow trout and salmon and steelhead. Passing separat e ballot initiatives in each state will ensure that both states remain iconic. In Montana, I-186 would allow the
Boating events present good opportunities to engage current or prospective members in TU’s mission and to provide beneficial, on-the-water experiences for others. Boating events, however, present some risk of injury to the participants, and those events must be structured to minimize those risks. TU has prepared the following checklist for boating events sponsored by TU
Gifts of assets other than cash can be a substantial and tax-wise way to support Trout Unlimited. Whether you donate land, stock, artwork, life insurance, or retirement assets, your gift always helps support the critical work of Trout Unlimited. Contact a TU gift planning professional to learn about the many different options. Appreciated Securities– donating
Dustin Wichterman lives trout. By day he manages Trout Unlimited’s restoration and protection work in the Potomac headwaters. Most of the rest of the time he’s either fishing for trout or dreaming about fishing for trout. And a big part of that dream is that one day the Potomac headwaters will again regularly churn out native brook trout pushing
The Trees for Tribs Program from New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation provides Trout Unlimited with bare root and potted trees to plant along trout streams. Being a stream guy, I had to take advantage of the offer, made possible by funding from the Arbor Day Foundation. Walking through the tree garden I had my
Trout Unlimited has many on staff and among its volunteer-members who are expert in policy issues related to trout and salmon conservation. Matt Clifford, attorney for TU’s California Water Project, is one. Clifford testified today at a hearing held by the Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee of the House Natural resources Committee, in support of
By Jacob Fetterman Stretching from Manchester, Vt., to the Hudson River in New York state, the Battenkill River holds a firm place in fly fishing history. Beyond the river’s fame and beauty, it has become evident that, without proper stewardship, the wild trout fishery supported by the Battenkill could slip away due to the degradation of quality habitat through factors such as deforestation, sedimentation, channel modification,
Should New Mexicans have the right to wade, float and swim in all the state’s waterways? And if that’s the case, what does that mean for private landowners?
The Bucknell University Club has over 100 proud members and is one of our newest clubs. It is located in Lewisburg, PA.
Here’s everything you need to know to plan your trip to Arapaho NWR.
SFS Chief Moore gets a firsthand look at TU restoration work in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National ForestThe eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains in North Central Washington are one of the epicenters for catastrophic fire risk in the Western United States. Climate change, tree disease and over a century of forest mismanagement are to blame. In recognition of this risk, the Forest Service recently launched the Central Washington Initiative (CWI) in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest as part of its national Wildfire Crisis Strategy. This important work is supported by $100 million of funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The CWI is one of approximately 20 initiatives of its kind across the nation receiving this unprecedented investment through 2026. These initiatives represent an “all lands, all hands” approach to addressing forest health and wildfire resilience, meaning the Forest Service sees partnerships as the key to success. TU’s $40 million keystone agreement with the Forest Service is a perfect example. Through this partnership, TU will be implementing many of the aquatic components of this work and other critical efforts benefiting wildfire resilience and coldwater habitat recovery on National Forests across the country.
Collaborating to Reduce Wildfire Risks
The risk for catastrophic fire in North Central Washington is well known to TU and other members of the North Central Washington Forest Health Collaborative (NCWFHC) who have been working on the issue of forest health in this region for more than a decade. During this time, NCWFHC partners have been frantically building solutions while bearing witness to the biggest wildfires in Washington State history. To say there is a sense of urgency surrounding this work is a wild understatement.
Developing and implementing innovative approaches to helping the Forest Service increase the pace and scale of restoration on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest has been NCWFHC’s key objective, and we have made significant progress in recent years. Enough progress, it turns out, to entice the Chief of the Forest Service, Randy Moore, to come out and see it with his own eyes in late May.
As part of the NCWFHC’s tenth anniversary celebration, we had the honor of hosting Chief Moore on a field tour of some of the Collaborative’s project sites.
Working to Keep Water on the Landscape
One of the stops on the NCWFHC tour was at TU’s beaver dam analog (BDA) project on Alder Creek, outside of Leavenworth Washington. This work is led by staff from TU’s Wenatchee-Entiat Beaver Project. TU’s Lisa Foster and Michael Dello Russo were on site to answer questions and demonstrate the work to partners and USFS staff.
I’m biased, but the site visit seemed to be a highlight for Chief Moore given his willingness to thrash through thick brush and endure heinous mosquitos to get an up-close view of the project. We got to talk about how low-tech process-based restoration techniques, like BDAs, expand floodplain connectivity, improve late season flows and increase soil moisture in riparian zones to create fire breaks in an otherwise parched landscape. Michael Dello Russo and his crew were also able to demonstrate how these structures get woven together with streamside trees. The Chief seemed so impressed with the work that he hinted at returning when we extended an invitation. We hope he takes us up on it.
We want to thank all of the NCWFHC partners for their ongoing work and for making the anniversary tour such a success.
Thank you, Chief Moore, for taking the time to join us in the field. We are grateful for your enduring support of this important work in North Central Washington forests and watersheds!
Conservation Committee Duties The Conservation Committee takes the overarching conservation and restoration goals of the chapter to bring these facets of the strategic plan to life by developing projects, partnerships and plans to get the work done. Many chapters have a standing conservation committee, or appoint a conservation chair, whose duties include organizing and implementing
The Weber River is an important trout fishing destination in northern Utah offering excellent angling opportunities and provising a home for unique native fish species at the same time. Trout Unlimited started the Weber River Restoration Program seven years ago to improve fishing and increase native populations. Fluvial (migratory) Bonneville cutthroat trout in the mainstem
My heart raced as we proceeded down the almost 15-mile Swanson River Road. We kept expecting to be turned around any minute. Knowing there were so many lake options with confirmed populations of char, I had a lot of faith one would offer me the opportunity to bring an Arctic char to hand. The problem was, the bumpy pothole strewn dirt road was, as far as I knew, the only artery to the lake systems. If this fire got out of control, as the 2019 fire did, I could be shut out.
By Jamie Vaughan It’s not by accident that the Rogue River in southern Michigan offers some of the best trout fishing in the state. This urban river, just minutes from sprawling Grand Rapids, boasts robust brown trout populations and some of the Great Lakes finest steelhead, reminiscent of a more remote, northern Michigan trout stream.
By Jamie Vaughan It’s not by accident that the Rogue River in southern Michigan offers some of the best trout fishing in the state. This urban river, just minutes from sprawling Grand Rapids, boasts robust brown trout populations and some of the Great Lakes finest steelhead, reminiscent of a more remote, northern Michigan trout stream.
Crooked River, Oregon. Photo: Brian O’Keefe FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Chrysten Lambert, clambert@tu.org, (541) 973-4431 December 18, 2017 Trout Unlimited: OWRD grants for Crooked, Sprague River projects vital and multi-benefit $4.2 million awarded to high priority fish passage, streamflow restoration projects in key salmon, steelhead and native trout waters KLAMATH FALLS, OreTrout Unlimited hailed recent
By Seth Coffman For many Virginians, the Eastern brook trout (above) is the iconic symbol of pristine streams and wild places. Brook trout go hand in hand with clean, cold water, and seeing one rise to your well-presented fly never gets old. That is just one of the many reasons TU has been working to
