It’s been a tough few weeks for people who care about fishing and wild places.
- We nearly saw millions of acres of public land sold off, but it was defeated thanks to many of you speaking up for the importance of keeping these rivers and lands public. But we’re sure this fight is far from over, so stay tuned.
- An effort to rescind the Roadless Rule, which protects 58 million acres of American forests (which TU’s CEO Chris Wood was instrumental in creating, dating back to his days at the U.S. Forest Service). One of the forests that benefit most from this rule is the Tongass in Alaska… dubbed America’s Salmon Forest because that habitat is a veritable, natural salmon factory.
- Recently, the administration revoked the Resilient Columbia Basin agreement, which undid years of efforts by tribes and others that pointed toward ensuring the survival of 50 percent of salmon and steelhead in the Lower 48.
Ouch.
As a lifelong angler, it stinks when things that should, in my mind, be “cultural” issues, get sucked into the political sausage factory. My heart breaks for the many people who poured their souls into efforts meant to ensure future generations would have access to places to fish, and that the fish would be there at all.
What in the world is wrong with any of that?
All about what happens next
But I play the long game. And I still believe that right is right… truth is truth… and people who care deeply about fish and rivers and this passion we share will figure out ways to work together and do the right thing.
It’s all about what happens next, right?
I learned that as a young athlete. When I had a bad race, I had a choice to make; I could sulk and feel sorry for myself or bust my butt and figure it out how make something good happen the next time out.
That’s almost instinct for those of us who fly fish: do you land a fish with every cast? Heck no. Would you even want to? Not me.
Sometimes I cheer for the fish, because I know when they win, I have to up my game. Miss a fish with a perfect cast, and it’s all about what happens next.
Move on.
Get better.
Golf, sister sport to fly fishing in my mind, is all about what happens next. You missed that putt, so how are you going to drive it off the next tee?
The difference between champions and those who never quite win, is that the champs are the masters of managing what happens next.
A baseball player can make the hall of fame if they manage to get a hit one out of every three times they come to the plate. Doesn’t matter if they strike out, ground out or fly out the other two times, it’s the hits that matter.
Think about that in the context of any sport. Champions are those who inevitably manage, for positive effect, the “what happens next” factor. Be that tennis, football, swimming, diving, volleyball, or anything else.
I’m here to tell you that we, the angling/conservation community, have taken some shots and even lost some games recently. But we’re darn sure not out of contention. We are, after all, resilient, and we have been the victors, over and over again, for generations.
So go out there and resolve to win. Now is the time to put your game face on, train hard, put forth your best effort and chase victory.
It really is all about what happens next. And you are now up to bat, at the tee, on the blocks, at the line of scrimmage…
Be a champion.
On Thursday, President Trump revoked the historic Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement by signing the following executive order: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Generate Power for the Columbia River Basin.
With the stroke of a pen, Trump undid years of collaborative effort between the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the states of Oregon and Washington and the U.S. government.
The Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement (RCBA), struck in December 2023, represented a critical step toward meaningful salmon and steelhead recovery in the Pacific Northwest and honoring tribal treaty rights.