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Native and wild
A few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic, I was catching wild trout in western North Carolina with a guide who had rejoined TU because the local chapter decided to stop helping the state to stock hatchery fish, and instead chose to focus exclusively on creating the flow and habitat conditions necessary to support wild and…
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Eklutna Watershed Family Field Trip & Scavenger Hunt
Fall colors and plump berries are here. As we adjust to new school routines and chillier weather, we still want to prioritize time outside before the snow flies. While you and your family think through fall outings, we would like to encourage you to take a trip to the Eklutna River valley - a prime spot for blueberries and all the autumnal hues,…
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Tying the Franke Shiner baitfish imitation for migrating browns
Baitfish imitations work great in the fall, particularly where migrating brown trout are found. As these fish move out of lakes or upstream from big water to spawning habitat, they just get more and more aggressive. Giving them something substantial to chase — and something that looks like a dependable source of food, too —…
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One less barrier to access
As the trees from the trail opened to a view of the water, I checked out the anglers already standing in the river. Against all common sense, I immediately assumed they knew more than me. I assumed they were slightly annoyed that I had come to crowd their spot. As I walked upstream to avoid getting too close, I peeked at their gear. Little by little,…
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TU and partners remove logging dam on Wisconsin trout stream
By Chris Collier In August, TU worked with our partners in northeast Wisconsin to remove a remnant logging dam in the North Branch Oconto River. This is the second of three dams TU and our partners will remove on the river in Wabeno, Wisc. While difficult to see in this photo, this is the remnant…
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The altered definition of a river in one angler’s mind
For many within the ranks of TU, a river is not a river if no fish live in it. And until recently, I couldn’t have agreed more, but a recent trip to a very dry desert in southwestern Utah helped change my mind. As you’ve probably heard, the Southwestern U.S. is in a megadrought. We haven’t seen the likes…
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TU’s Conservation Hydrology program steps in to monitor and measure California streams
One of the fundamental precepts of science is that, to understand a phenomenon or a system, it is necessary to observe change over time, the rate of change, and the influence of causal factors. In other words, to monitor and measure. Yet frequently resource managers are stretched too thin to do consistent monitoring of salmonid…