An abandoned mine overlooks Lion Creek drainage near Empire, Colorado By Randy Scholfield We are bouncing along in four-wheel drive vehicles, high in the Clear Creek watershed west of Denver, overlooking beautiful forest vistas and steep hillsides laced with snowmelt creeks. We are here with a group of reporters to show them a dark secret
Trout Unlimited is devoting the month of September to celebrating public lands and the agencies dedicated to upholding America’s public land heritage. It’s no coincidence that National Hunting and Fishing Day and National Public Lands Day are both during September — the month is tailor-made for hunters and anglers to enjoy all that public lands
When teaching guide clients how to read a stream, I stressed three basic conditions that dictate where a trout will hold: access to food, access to safety and access to shelter from energy-sapping currents. A healthy and stable abundance of any or all of these conditions affords trout the option of staying put, perhaps enabling
By Garrett Hanks Wolf Creek pass in the San Juan mountains of Colorado serves as the tipping point between the westward San Juan basin, home to the recently rediscovered San Juan cutthroat trout, and the Rio Grande cutthroat’s namesake river to the east. Unlike trout, bear, mule deer and other wildlife are unhindered by the ridgeline; their tracks freely cross the divide. Look north and you’ll notice the burn scar from the West Fork fire of 2013. Setting off south along the Continental Divide Trail, you quickly
By Jeff Arterburn Very few people encounter the mountainous region of southwestern New Mexico known as “The Gila” by accident. The nearest interstates track the open desert valleys far from the sierra. Locals here will still acknowledge the occurrence of oncoming vehicles with a finger raised momentarily from the steering wheel, and not the middle
Early season trout fishing on the high desert of Idaho
I hereby state for the record that I would much prefer to catch small trout, rather than larger fish. Not that size doesn’t matter, of course. So there are caveats. The first is that this predilection doesn’t apply to steelhead or salmon. The second is that it only applies on streams with a mix of
As I’ve gotten older, this is the time of year I like the least — it’s cold, but it’s going to get colder. There’s snow now, but so much more to come
I finally realized it’s because every time I get new genetic results it’s like receiving a surprise gift.
The Upper Rio Grande Initiative aspires to leverage our ongoing and future efforts towards basin scale resilience. This vision not only entails the protection and enhancement of the Rio’s natural ecosystems, but its profoundly adaptive human resources as well. The Initiative acknowledges the interconnectedness of the basin’s ecosystems, its economy and culture. Thus, the ecological outcomes we achieve will not be at the expense of the cultural and economic resilience of our partner communities, but exactly because of it. Protect Protecting functioning streams and habitat–as in our efforts to secure Outstanding Natural Resource designations for several New Mexico streams–will be a top priority. Protecting the Pecos River basin from
It looked like the brookies were almost certain to extirpate native cutts and that work to improve Jim Creek was a lost cause
By Jim Aylsworth Corey, an old friend from college, has become a wise philosopher. He thinks life is all about “experiences” and how he wants more of them. This adventure to Colorado was my sixth attempt to time my trip for the famous Mother’s Day caddis hatch on the Arkansas River. The moment the Ark
There is no opportunity for productive fishing or hunting if there is no productive habitat in which to sling a line, spot and stalk or swing an over-under. Bottom line.
11/20/2000 International Report Reveals Flaws in U.S. Dam Regulation International Report Reveals Flaws in U.S. Dam Regulation Prompts Call on New President and Congress to Reassess Federally Owned Dams in the United States Contact: 11/20/2000 — — November 20, 2000. Washington, DC . . .A report issued by the World Commission on Dams released in
Editor’s Note: Five students from the TU Costa 5 Rivers Outreach Program have embarked on a once-in a-lifetime journey in pursuit of 16 native trout species, all on public lands. With support from the U.S. Forest Service, Costa Sunglasses, Simms Fishing Products, Fishpond and Post Fly Box, these students will tell the stories of our
FFA president joins Trout Unlimited and other partners to urge passage of infrastructure funding to ensure water security in the West By Laura Ziemer and Pat O’Toole It’s not every day that you see municipal, agricultural, and conservation interests coming together around big, substantive issues. Last month, these diverse interests jointly urged Congress to include resources for water, forestry and ecosystem
The headwaters of the Snake River are a dynamic place, carved by glaciers and snowmelt coursing through the jagged peaks and valleys of the Teton and Gros Ventre Ranges, in the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The underwater network formed by the mainstem Snake River, freestone tributaries, and spring creeks, is largely intact, providing
Questions for Bryce Albright, executive director of the National Dude Ranchers’ Association
Hardrock mining played an essential role in shaping the national character of the United States. It served as a catalyst for western expansion, beginning with the California Gold Rush in 1848. Today, the mining of hardrock minerals like gold, silver, iron and copper feed our economy and are essential to building the world we live
In praise of urban trout streams The thought occurred to me while I was fishing under the Highway 20 bridge over the lower Yuba River in California’s Gold Country. To reach the water I had crossed a floodplain so altered by quarrying, mining and off-road vehicles that it more resembled a moonscape than a functional
