A critical time for critical minerals

We need to protect trout and salmon fisheries when mining the raw materials of our clean energy future Among policy makers, critical minerals are a big deal. As for the rest of us, we may not know just how important these minerals are to everyday life.     In today’s world, minerals like cobalt, lithium, rare earth elements, tellurium and dozens of others…

Trout and conservation get two big wins in Pennsylvania

By Rob Shane Pennsylvania’s trout fisheries were on the receiving end of two conservation wins recently.   The first is passage of legislation that will pump much needed revenue into the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s coffers.  The second is the long-awaited release of the 2020-2024 Draft Trout Stream Management Plan.   Over the past 16 years, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has not been able to implement a fishing license fee…

The slug

I hereby state for the record that I would much prefer to catch small trout, rather than larger fish. Not that size doesn’t matter, of course. So there are caveats. The first is that this predilection doesn’t apply to steelhead or salmon. The second is that it only applies on streams with a mix of…

When one door closes another opens

A lot of college internships have been cancelled this year because of the global pandemic. Bryce Larson, a senior at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, found herself in that boat but determined to explore her options. Her tenacity paid off by landing a Trout Unlimited summer internship working on a risk assessment for native Bonneville…