TU spearheads growing partnership for brook trout conservation in MD

By Seth Moessinger On Sunday October 13, five neighboring chapters of Trout Unlimited joined forces to help restore important riparian habitat along Crabtree Creek within Western Maryland’s Savage River watershed.  The watershed supports the largest population of native eastern brook trout in the state and is managed by the Maryland DNR as a zero-creel limit,…

Hard work has payoffs

I recently went out with the Five Rivers TU chapter in Durango, Colo., to help plant willows along the banks of the Hermosa Creek. (Full disclosure: I’m on the board of the chapter). Closing in on the final steps, I couldn’t wait to get out there to see all the work completed so far and to help with the finishing efforts.  …

Corridors paved with water

A view of the mountains in New Mexico.

When teaching guide clients how to read a stream, I stressed three basic conditions that dictate where a trout will hold: access to food, access to safety and access to shelter from energy-sapping currents. A healthy and stable abundance of any or all of these conditions affords trout the option of staying put, perhaps enabling…

Help return water to the Eklutna River

Lower Eklutna Dam before removal

For nearly 90 years, the abandoned lower Eklutna Dam blocked salmon migration on the Eklutna River, contributing to the downfall of the salmon fishery. In September of 2018, we, along with many others, rejoiced the successful removal of the lower dam. This dam removal marked a first step in reconnecting 22 miles of salmon habitat and securing a free-flowing future for the Eklutna River.

TU plants trees to restore Michigan trout streams

Trout Unlimited has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to plant nearly 17,000 trees along coldwater streams in Michigan. The project, “Reducing Runoff in the Rogue River Watershed,” aims to address stormwater runoff that pollutes, erodes and warms the important West Michigan trout fishery by…

Thinking big, starting small

Herman Garcia (L) of CHEER and Matt Clifford, California Water Attorney for Trout Unlimited, at an off-stream storage project site along Little Arthur Creek. In 2006, the Pajaro River on California’s central coast came out of obscurity to make national headline—for the wrong reason: it was named the most endangered river in America. Historically, the…