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When the fish don’t show up, the river tells the truth
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…
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An anniversary to remember — and the efforts to sustain a native trout fishery
Trout Unlimited and others in the Basin have committed to studying all options to increase water availability in the Upper Snake as the potential rebuilding of the Teton Dam is once again being explored.
June 5, 2026, will mark the 50th anniversary of the catastrophic failure of Teton Dam in eastern Idaho. The dam, which had just been completed in the fall of 1975, was filling for the first time when leaks appeared on its face early on the morning of June 5, 1976. While workers quickly attempted to plug the leaks with bulldozers, the impoundment catastrophically failed before noon,…
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Video of the Week – Spread Creek
Protecting native trout is one of Trout Unlimited’s many passions, and expanding their habitats is what creates the river champions we celebrate. Let’s head to the northwest corner of Wyoming to learn more about projects bolstering Snake River cutthroat trout habitat in this week’s video, Spread Creek. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVlp1gI0q_g&list=PLEXZljM8NmhuAXJrK2nLIDwzCHmcddp0D&index=10&t=1s
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Numbers look good, but are they really?
If you’ve seen the recent news regarding Snake River steelhead returns, you’ve likely asked yourself, what’s the issue with the four lower Snake River dams? With returns totaling nearly 100,000 steelhead over Lower Granite dam one would believe brighter days are ahead. But if history repeats itself, this is just a blip on the radar…
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By the numbers on the Snake
Understanding the metrics used to evaluate and represent recovery of wild salmon and steelhead in the Snake River basin is an exercise worthy of a Ph.D. From annual abundance numbers, to understanding Endangered Species Act delisting criteria, to smolt-to-adult return ratios (SARs) to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) survival statistics, the numbers can…
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It is finally September in Northeastern Oregon
It is finally September in Northeastern OregonAs the season changes, TU’s Andy Scheele thinks about time, restoration and steelhead returning to their home waters It is finally September in Northeastern Oregon; my favorite month of the year. The weather and foliage are changing. Elk are bugling in the mountains. Insects are burying their heads into…
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Legendary Red Shed Fly Shop says the Lower Four should go
Legendary Red Shed Fly Shop says the Lower Four should go
Anglers talk a great deal about the incalculable importance of fly shops. While they’re great places to drop a few bucks on a new spool of tippet, a tube of floatant and a couple hot patterns, we’re talking about more than their value as retailers. A good fly shop is far more than that. The…
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