In it for the long haul

For the past decade or so, I have had the pleasure of visiting and fishing Bristol Bay for salmon and (very large) native rainbows. Lodge-owners, commercial fishermen, people from the native villages, and guides all impressed upon me the importance of protecting this remarkable $1.6 billion fishery that supplies half of all of the world’s…

Video spotlight: WWHD Pebble Mine

In today’s polarized political landscape, it’s not uncommon to have federal agencies and their directives change drastically when administrations change. Take the Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, and its findings in 2015 that hard-rock mining in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed would likely prove harmful to the region’s salmon runs—it’s home to half of the world’s…

Video spotlight: A Day in the Life: Alaskan Bush Guide

When I was younger and much more enamored by the idea of being a fishing guide, I received a Father’s Day gift of a guided trip down the Cardiac Canyon stretch of the Henry’s Fork. The trip was awesome—our guide, the legendary Rod Patch, put us on fish most of the day. And he worked…

Video spotlight: Trout of steel

The rainbow trout fishery of Bristol Bay is simply legendary. With hundreds—maybe thousands—of miles of salmon streams that flow from the headwaters of the drainage to the sea, it’s easy to see why rainbow trout are so vibrant and plentiful, given the food base. Alaska Sportman’s Lodge, run by all-star TU volunteer Brian Kraft, is…

Voices from the River: River thoughts

By Eric Booton Where does the river take you? Well, the obvious answer is downstream. But on the river, I find myself in a better place. I started at a rocky headwaters with a head full of doubt and little sense of direction. The river swept me downstream to a more pleasant place that I…

Stealing rivers … and less to steal

By Noel Gollehon Two scientific studies published this month captured some pretty dramatic details of how climate change is affecting our rivers, lakes and streams. A recent article in Nature Geoscience described the first known case of river piracy due to climate change. In this case, the climate change pirate stole the flow of a…