When the fish don’t show up, the river tells the truth 

out in a boat chinook fishing

In May, I sat in the boat with my brother on the Clearwater River, fishing for spring Chinook. Our excitement had been brewing for a year, since last season ended. The river looked right. The water felt right. It was the kind of morning that reminds you why people in Idaho wait all year for these incredible fish to come home. But by the end of the day, we had not gotten a…

A champion for one of the Lahontan cutthroat’s last native holdouts

Lahontan cutthroat trout

After 5 miles of mountain biking, I rigged up my fly rod, observed my surroundings, dapped a parachute Adams onto the surface of the 2-foot-wide creek and pulled a 15-inch Lahontan cutthroat into my net.   The mountain bike wasn’t mine. I borrowed it from Dave Sarazin. He also supplied the maps, the fly recommendations and numerous teaser photos in the leadup to my trip to the…

Idaho’s spring Chinook season: A reminder of what we’ve lost and what we can still restore 

chinook season

This isn’t just about whether a fishing season opens on April 25. It’s about addressing the real problem and restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River to rebuild the conditions needed for healthy, harvestable wild salmon and steelhead to return.

Faces of Restoration: Capitan Forestry in Oregon

Restoration work in Oregon couldn’t happen without Capitan Forestry. The Grande Ronde and North Fork of the John Day headwaters are critical habitat and special places to fish, and the collaboration between TU and Capitan is making it even better.   Capitan Forestry historically specialized in upland forest restoration work, but after partnering with TU’s aquatic restoration efforts in the…

White House directs agencies to prioritize wild salmon recovery in Columbia River Basin 

Areal view of damn

TU: Removal of dams on the Snake River is key to recovering wild fish runs  Contacts:  ARLINGTON, Va.—The White House is recognizing treaty obligations to the sovereign nations of the Pacific Northwest and directing federal agencies to prioritize the recovery of wild salmon, steelhead and other native fish in the Columbia River Basin, and ordering…