New bill would clarify management, improve fishing in Colorado

Anglers should rejoice in the introduction of the CORE Act, particularly if they live or fish in Colorado’s iconic Gunnison Valley. The Curecanti portion of the Act, introduced by Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Joe Neguse, would establish permanent boundaries for the current National Recreation Area making management simpler and creating improved fishing access.   In 1965, Blue Mesa Dam was completed…

Restoring trout, protecting the future

Editor’s note: this is part two of a series on recovering native brook trout. You can read part one here. “What is the name of that tree?” Brandon Keplinger, the district fisheries biologist for West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, asked the 20 or so fifth graders from Slanesville Elementary School in West Virginia. The…

They’re back …

You know spring is taking its time in Yellowstone when ice floes are cruising down the river between Lake Village and Canyon on Memorial Day. It’s just been one of those years—lots of late snow, and, as of Monday, more than a solid week of high-country thunderstorms slowed spring to a crawl. Rain gave way…

TU receives tree planting grant in Michigan’s Rogue River watershed

Trout Unlimited has received funding from the U.S. 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 western Michigan trout fishery by planting trees at…

Politics and the fishing media

A Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout. Cutthroat trout today occupy less than 10 percent of their native habitat, and the waters where they do persist are largely headwater streams that could impacted by the EPA’s decision to gut the Clean Water Rule. If the fly fishing media didn’t cover the issue, many anglers wouldn’t know…