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North Umpqua fire changes complexion of an iconic river
We stopped first at Swiftwater Park. My brother, Greg, and I always start there when we fish the North Umpqua searching for summer steelhead. It’s not much of a park, really. Just some parking next to the river, along with his and her’s vault toilets. The river is the attraction. This is the final upstream spot before reaching the North’s famous fly-only water. We…
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Infrastructure package could help the drought-stricken Colorado River Basin
A massive package of legislation, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is currently working its way through Congress, having been passed by the Senate earlier this week. If enacted, this bill would make essential investments of remarkable size and scope to help the nation address the impacts of climate change, including some of the worst impacts of the…
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Senate passes ‘transformational’ infrastructure bill for fish
Let’s face it: the word infrastructure suggests concrete, rebar and L.A. freeway interchanges rather than productive coldwater fisheries and a fine day of wading a clear, cold trout stream. Yet infrastructure is mission-critical for Trout Unlimited. That’s why TU has launched groundbreaking programs such as the Salmon SuperHwy in Oregon. The infrastructure bill includes $1…
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Bugs have stories to tell
Since the beginning of time fire has played a big part in shaping the western landscape. And that is even more true today with larger, more intense fires with more frequency. We dove into two researchers' stories who determine the impacts of fires to forests and ultimately our beloved rivers––one in the summer issue of…
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Enduring with ‘grace under pressure’ in Rio Grande cutthroat trout country
It looked like the brookies were almost certain to extirpate native cutts and that work to improve Jim Creek was a lost cause
by Kevin Terry Growing up in rural northern New Mexico gave me the opportunity to interact with Rio Grande cutthroat trout in their beautiful and rugged native habitat. I also loved engaging with so many different people with different cultural backgrounds. I was blessed with great mentors with a diversity of perspectives. Some were teachers, some family and friends, others just people in my community with whom I…
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Time in the field brings balance into focus
by Tasha Sorensen We must give due consideration to the tenuous balance between fish and wildlife conservation and energy development and update our antiquated public land energy policy before it’s too late. Our public lands help sustain America’s energy needs, host a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities and provide healthy habitats to support some of the last strongholds of native fish and wildlife. As a mom, aunt…
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Reflecting on the Yankee Fork project
Idaho work turns river right side up to help salmon, steelhead and trout It took a floating dredge just a few years between 1940 and 1952 to turn seven miles of Idaho’s Yankee Fork of the Salmon River upside down. In the 68 years since, there has been almost no natural recovery — the valley…
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