Researchers work to gather data on Lahontan cutthroat trout. Jason Barnes/Trout Unlimited Determining the conservation needs of at-risk wildlife species is complicated business. Federal and state wildlife agencies—and their partners — need to assess the unique characteristics of different populations to understand the conservation needs of a given species. They typically ask questions like: “Which
Paiute cutthroat are often called the rarest trout in North America. Their historic range is an 11-mile long stretch of a single creek in the eastern Sierra Nevada near the California-Nevada border. The population of this singular trout, with its unique purplish hue and markings, succumbed to a variety of factors over the past century,
By Jason Barnes As one of only two lakes in the world to support a relict self-sustaining and naturally reproducing population of Lahontan cutthroat trout, a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, Independence Lake is irreplaceable. We are no stranger to adverse conditions at the high elevation lake near Truckee, Calif., but even the
Twenty years ago Twenty years ago, Trout Unlimited looked across the landscape of the West at water use and saw huge, complicated, unaddressed problems that were sucking the life out of our best trout rivers and streams. Twenty years ago, thousands of miles of trout and salmon habitat were fragmented by makeshift dams, obsolete irrigation
Trout Unlimited is serving youth and volunteers in new ways to keep them engaged in our mission to protect, conserve, and restore North America’s coldwater fisheries during the pandemic. Some of our programs have been adapted to fit virtual and at-home formats to provide safe avenues of participation. Online platforms come with unique challenges but boast some exciting prospects. Here are examples of how we, the
Editor’s note: To kick off our education series exploring the complexities of water in the West, we interview author and TU’s water policy associate for its Western Water and Habitat Program, Sara Porterfield. How long have you been with TU and what do you work on day-to-day? Sara Porterfield: I started with TU in October
From Sept. 25 through Oct. 2, we’ll bring you dozens of ways to connect — from virtual conversations with important names in conservation and fishing to in-person opportunities to get your hands dirty and your waders wet with local TU members and supporters
Legislation necessary to remove liability hurdles preventing abandoned mine cleanups Contacts: ARLINGTON, Va.—Today, a coalition of 78 outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing businesses and associations delivered a letter urging Congress to pass the bipartisan Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 (S.2781 & H.R.7779). Senate legislation is sponsored by U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM)
Recognizing Trout Unlimited’s amazing chapters, volunteers and partners is one of the most important parts of our organization’s annual meeting. This year in Redding, California, two chapters, five volunteers and four partners were singled out for their contributions to Trout Unlimited efforts across the nation. TU’s national conservation awards have been a part of our
Ranchers, Bureau of Land Management staff, and other partners tour Susie Creek in 2012.Photo courtesy Carol Evans/BLM. If you hang around a Bureau of Land Management biologist near a stream long enough, you are bound to hear the acronym PFC. Proper Functioning Condition is a long-standing rapid assessment the BLM uses to evaluate the overall condition or
By Dean Finnerty Editor’s note: Steelhead management requires balancing of competing consumer demands, statutory requirements, science and politics. Hatchery steelhead weaken wild stocks, but help keep our fishing heritage alive. Where habitat conditions are favorable, we should manage for wild steelhead; where they aren’t, as in the upper Willamette between Dexter Dam and the Calapooia
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
Like the Bureau of Land Management and the Park Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is an agency within the Department of the Interior. However, FWS responsibilities extend beyond land management and include the management of fish and wildlife themselves, not just habitat. This includes many fish and wildlife management activities that fall under their purview, including enforcing wildlife-related laws, including the Endangered Species
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
Sheep Creek is a tributary to the Grande Ronde River and provides important spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead. But over the past few years, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has found no salmon redds (nests) and few steelhead redds in the reach of Sheep Creek on U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
Despite challenges posed by the pandemic 2020 was a busy year for Trout Unlimited Driftless Area Restoration Effort in Minnesota. TU and its partners collaborated on a number of habitat restoration projects in the state. Here’s a rundown of the projects.
It looked like the brookies were almost certain to extirpate native cutts and that work to improve Jim Creek was a lost cause
For the California Golden Trout, even minor levels of meadow degradation have big impacts on resident populations.
AT TROUT UNLIMITED, we fix rivers and streams. We bring people together. We make waters and communities more resilient to the effects of climate change. We believe the most complex and seemingly insurmountable challenges can be solved when people come together and get to work. We know this from experience. We were founded by anglers who
The Utah Cutthroat Slam consists of a challenge to catch the four unique cutthroat trout subspecies in their respective native historical ranges within the state
