30 Great Places: The Methow

Area: Pacific NorthwestActivity: FishingSpecies: Cutthroat Trout (or Westslope Cutthroat Trout), Rainbow trout Where: The picturesque Methow Valley rests in north central Washington’s Okanogan Country, roughly four hours northeast of Seattle amongst the 4 million acre-Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. The valley, which rests in the rain shadow east of the North Cascades, is home to Winthrop, a…

30 Great Places: Little Mountain

Region: RockiesActivities: Fishing, huntingSpecies: Colorado River cutthroat; Mule deer; Elk Where: The Greater Little Mountain Area (GLMA) is a magical high desert region of over 500,000 acres in southwestern Wyoming’s Sweetwater County. This habitat of badlands, aspen groves and pine forests – simultaneously rugged and fragile – is one of Wyoming’s most sought after hunting…

Commission moves to formalize fracking prohibition in Delaware River basin

By Keith Curley The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has begun a rulemaking process to protect one of our most valuable fisheries from the impacts of hydraulic fracturing, formalizing a de facto moratorium in place since 2010. Across the country, Trout Unlimited advocates for responsible energy development, which involves protecting the highest quality habitats and…

Short casts: Protecting a river in Albania; Dams coming out in MT and NC

The Vjosa is the “last big, wild river in Europe,” outside of Russia, and recently, an Albanian court struck down a government effort to construct a hydropower dam on the river that would have flooded an inhabited valley, bisected important fish habitat and interrupted migratory spawning routes. The decision itself is remarkable, given that the…

30 Great Places: North Umpqua

Region: Pacific NorthwestActivities: FishingSpecies: Steelhead Where: The North Umpqua flows 110 miles from its headwaters in the Cascade Mountains (near Crater Lake National Park) to its confluence with the mainstem Umpqua west of Roseburg, in southwest Oregon. Of particular interest is the river’s fly-fishing-only water, beginning near Rock Creek and continuing 31 miles upstream. Why:…

30 Great Places: Thompson Divide

Region: Southern RockiesActivities: Hunting, FishingSpecies: Elk; cutthroat, brown and rainbow trout Where: The Thompson Divide encompasses 221,000 acres of public land within the White River National Forest in Pitkin, Garfield and Mesa counties, just south of the Roaring Fork Valley in west-central Colorado. Why: The Divide is home to one of America’s most prodigious elk…