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Hiking the CDT: Long hikes in the rain and tent trouble
Editor’s Note: The Strawbridge family from Lakeland, Fla., is hiking the length of the Continental Divide Trail – all 3,100 miles of it – from Canada to Mexico. Henry Strawbridge, 14, will be providing updates of their journey to Trout Unlimited as they pass through the historic range of seven native trout species. You can track the…
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Massachusetts brook trout conservation area growing
Franklin Land Trust recently acquired for conservation 154 acres in Heath, Mass., abutting its 96-acre Crowningshield Conservation Area, also in Heath. The purchase — which took place on June 25, 2020, from the Gudell Family — increases the size of a tract important for protection and conservation of native brook trout.It was supported by funding from…
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FERC clarifies path to Klamath dam removal
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) this week approved the partial transfer of ownership of four dams on the Klamath River from the utility PacifiCorp to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC). The purpose of this transfer is to enable the KRRC to decommission and remove these dams, beginning in 2021. FERCs decision marks a…
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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…
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New NEPA rule a disappointment for anglers
"Any actions that limit transparency and public engagement are actions that undermine trust and forsake opportunities to bring stakeholders together. Federal decision making can be a time-consuming process, but quick decisions often lead to bad decisions," says TU's Chris Wood about rollbacks to NEPA
The Trump administration announced final rollbacks to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) today, a bedrock environmental law signed in 1970 to balance environmental risks when permitting major projects such as pipelines and highways. The final rule cuts opportunity for public participation, reduces considerations of climate change when making decisions and significantly curtails the amount…
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Hopper season
Fly fishing with grasshopper patterns can bring big trout to the top, even on small, backcountry streams
Every year about this time, grasshoppers start to show up on the banks of my favorite backcountry trout streams. By mid-July, a few warm days have managed to string themselves together, and, although not terribly big, the hoppers are now officially prolific. They’ll get bigger and bigger as summer progresses, but right now might be…
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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…