Oregon conservation groups, timber interests reach historic agreement

The State of Oregon is justifiably famous for many things, among them its world-renowned salmon and steelhead fisheries. But a slew of impacts, including hotter and drier conditions associated with climate change and harmful timber practices (especially on private forest lands), have diminished many of Oregon’s salmon and steelhead runs. Late last Friday, eighteen months…

Celebrating the Gila River while asking for ‘wild and scenic’ designation

Seventeen years after I first visited, I finally made my way back to the Gila River. Last week, about 75 attendees convened in Silver City, N.M., to celebrate the Gila River, expand our knowledge of the area and its extensive list of supporters, and of course, got out on the stunning landscape to renew our…

A season’s ending, not yet

Autumn. Grouse, elk, trout, football, and deer. It’s been a great summer of rivers, dry flies, high country native trout, and late nights around the campfire but as the seasons change so do activities. There are some river trips, however, that should still be explored long after the last coat of 303 is applied for…

‘We need to know what we’re working with’

“The coolest part of the new angling community is that all sorts of people are interested in them,” Shimek laughed to himself in an inspiring moment of self-awareness. “It’s women and children, new anglers, people of color. It’s skateboarders and people with rings in their noses. We have a real opportunity to educate this new community to make sure that the future is different from the past.”