Search results for “tomorrow fund”

Everything you wanted to know: bonneville cutthroat trout

Published in Fishing

Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah)  Species summary and status: The State Fish of Utah, the Bonneville cutthroat was historically found in the Bonneville Basin, including suitable habitat within Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada. Although scientists believed pure strains of Bonneville cutthroat were extinct, a few isolated populations were discovered in Utah in the 1970s and…

Partners Building Fire Resilience with the Forest Service in Washington

Published in Conservation
Two men have conversation next to a stream

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!

The elusive Arctic char of the Kenai Peninsula

Published in Fishing

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.

Reconnection efforts continue on Utah’s Weber River

Published in Conservation

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…

TU applauds Idaho Sportsmen?s Caucus for position on roadless area protection

1/31/2006 TU applauds Idaho Sportsmen?s Caucus for position on roadless area protection January 31, 2006 Contact: Todd Carter, Idaho Trout Unlimited (208) 237-1299 Bob Minter, Ada County Fish and Game League (208) 287-4901 Stan Riddle, Deer Hunters of Idaho, (208) 939-1878 Chris Hunt, Trout Unlimited (208) 552-0891, ext. 714 TU applauds Idaho Sportsmens Caucus for…

Dombeck Leads Forest Service Down the Right Road

2/11/1999 Dombeck Leads Forest Service Down the Right Road Dombeck Leads Forest Service Down the Right Road TU Supports Roadless Area Moratorium, But Says Forests of the Pacific Northwest Should Be Included Contact: 2/11/1999 — — The nation’s largest trout and salmon conservation group today applauded the start of an 18-month moratorium on road-building in…

Keystone Wants Huge Increase In Water For Snowmaking — But Doesn't Want Public Review

7/15/1999 Keystone Wants Huge Increase In Water For Snowmaking — But Doesn’t Want Public Review Keystone Wants Huge Increase In Water For Snowmaking — But Doesn’t Want Public Review Contact: 7/15/1999 — — Colorado conservationists today criticized Vail Resorts-owned Keystone Corporation’s attempt to avoid public oversight of its proposal to more than double the amount…

Hydropower Dam Fight Delayed: Sparks Expected in Full Committee

5/16/2000 Hydropower Dam Fight Delayed: Sparks Expected in Full Committee Hydropower Dam Fight Delayed: Sparks Expected in Full Committee Subcommittee Hydro Amendments Reveal Flaws in Dam Licensing Legislation Contact: 5/16/2000 — — Contact: Steve Malloch, Trout Unlimited Counsel: (703) 284-9415 Washington, DC…Members of the House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power received more than they…

Maine Atlantic Salmon Listed Under Endangered Species Act

11/14/2000 Maine Atlantic Salmon Listed Under Endangered Species Act Maine Atlantic Salmon Listed Under Endangered Species Act TU Calls on State, Federal, Local Officials to Contact: 11/14/2000 — — Contact: Jeff Reardon, New England Conservation Director, Trout Unlimited, (Brunswick, ME): (207 373-0700); Leon Szeptycki, East Coast Conservation Director, Trout Unlimited, (Charlottesville, VA): (804 984-4919) Brunswick,…

Major Step Forward for Yakima Basin Water Supply and River Restoration Plan

July 1, 2015 CONTACT: Steve Malloch, American Rivers, 206-818-0482 Lisa Pelly, Trout Unlimited, 509-630-0467 Ben Greuel, The Wilderness Society, 360-670-2938 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sen. Maria Cantwell Introduces Legislation for Precedent-Setting Water Deal SEATTLE A groundbreaking plan to address water supply and river restoration in the Pacific Northwest got a major boost today with the introduction…

TU's Hodge honored with USFS Rise to Future Award

ArmstrongCreek 003.JPG Brian Hodge (left) talks to volunteers at Armstrong Creek field work day. Media Contacts: Rick Henderson, USFS Fishery Biologist (970) 870-2219 Randy Scholfield, TU Director of Communications, Southwest Region (720) 375-3961 TUs Brian Hodge Honored with USFS Rise to the Future Award (STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.) February 18, 2016 U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and…

Wyoming counties stand up for public lands

Published in Uncategorized

A rainbow paints the sky over the Green River on the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. Photo by Tom Koerner/USFWS. By Tasha Sorensen EDITOR’S NOTE: Within 24 hours of this post Wyoming Senate President Eli Bebout told the Casper Star-Tribune he was killing the bill. This is a victory for sportsmen and…

Voices from the River: Celebrating Texas trout

Published in Voices from the river

As I sit here in Idaho Falls watching two feet of snow melt into a slushy pond at the foot of my driveway, my buddy Kirk Deeter is likely stringing up a 5-weight with members of one of my favorite TU chapters in the country and preparing to chase some fat, tailwater trout. In Texas.…

BDAs and BWOs: Squaw Creek habitat improvement project

Published in Uncategorized

One of several BDAs (beaver dam analogues) recently installed in Squaw Creek to improve floodplain connectivity, among many other habitat benefits. By Tom Kloehn Trout Unlimited believes that conservation work begins with people. This belief was affirmed again when over 75 volunteers gathered recently to renew one of the Lake Tahoe region’s most popular places—Squaw…

TU hails OWRD grants for projects in Crooked and Sprague Rivers

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…

Important salmon-producing areas threatened in proposed rollback of Tongass National Forest Plan Amendment

November 20, 2017 Contact: Austin Williams, Trout Unlimited, (907) 227-1590 PRESS KIT AVAILABLE: including b-roll footage, photos and interview footage about the Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan at this link. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Important salmon-producing areas threatened in proposed rollback of Tongass National Forest Plan Amendment New measure by Sen. Murkowski (R-Alaska) would undo…

TU and AI

Published in Science

This could empower our entire community of fishers to not only have fun learning more about their fish, but it will also add data to help with science needs like estimating fish population abundance, measuring growth and movement and tracking use of different habitat types.