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Building resilient rivers and communities
Generally speaking, hitchhiking in remote, mountainous areas is probably not a good idea. Simply put, there are a lot more bad possibilities than good ones. It’s certainly not a situation where one might expect to find a job that would change the direction of their life. But in 2019, somewhere between Wyoming’s Wind River Range and Teton Valley, Idaho, in the passenger seat of…
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Defining moments on the Truckee
The indicator dipped below the milky green waters of Northern Nevada’s Truckee River. Riley Roberts pulled hard on his 10-foot 4-weight. He looked at the water through the green mirror of his sunglasses. “Fish? No, maybe a stick?” he wondered with a laugh. “Wait, what? What is that?” As the line slowly lifted out of…
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A little motivation goes a long way
What parent hasn’t dangled a reward in hopes of encouraging a child to accomplish something? Chris Myhrum fondly remembers such an enticement from his childhood. “Our neighbors had a pool with no shallow end,” he said. “I’d jump in and just hang on the edge. My dad said, ‘If you swim across this pool, I’ll…
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Catching salmon & restoring habitat in the Tongass
Aaron Prussian was chasing salmon 50 miles offshore in a remote part of Southeast Alaska, getting battered by intense weather. As he headed towards land, the sea suddenly calmed and the water turned glass. A fur seal broke the surface, playfully following the boat and flipping through the air. Albatross and storm petrels flew overhead.…
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TU’s resident river doctor on finding a prognosis for the Colorado
Meet, Dr. Sara Porterfield.
Meet, Dr. Sara Porterfield. With a PhD in transnational history of the Colorado River Basin and a background as a raft guide with the Colorado Outward Bound School, Porterfield brings a unique perspective to both the high-level policy discussions happening about the future of this watershed and the impacts of the historically low water levels…
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Doing something to protect what you love
For Mike Mihalas, a surprise encounter in that pond (located in suburban Connecticut in this case) was the springboard to a life focused on fish, rivers and wild places.
Most of us don’t start our fishing lives on some storied fishery. Not many people spend their formative years on the Railroad Ranch of the Henry’s Fork nor in the lore-rich valleys of the Catskills, but a great many begin their journey at the exact same humble body of water; the neighborhood bluegill pond. For…
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Where passion and career align
USFS scientist Nat Gillespie's formative years fostered his desire to champion river health across the country The metro DC area isn’t exactly an outdoor mecca, but outdoor adventure is where you find it. As a kid growing up in Alexandria, Va., Nat Gillespie found plenty. “My parents were free-range,” Gillespie recalls. “They allowed me to…
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