Currently browsing… wildfire
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Fixing what ails our western forests and communities
The haze over the early morning sun spurred a call from a friend. “Did you see the moon this morning? It’s wild!” It wasn’t the moon, but it was wild. Wildfires 3,000 miles away shrouded the sun in smoke. The light smoke in Washington, D.C., signaled devastation in the West. In California, for example, at least 26 people have perished from wildfire, and more than 7,000 structures were destroyed. In…
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The tonic of wildness
If you are active in the outdoors, it’s hard to beat living in the American West. That’s because all states west of the Great Plains have big swaths of public lands available for fishing and hunting. Except when big swaths of extraordinary wildfire shut them down. Right smack in the middle of Public Lands Month.…
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The importance of quality partnerships
Across the country, Trout Unlimited takes pride in its long-standing partnership with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). In many western states, enormous national forests containing many vital watersheds and trout streams are in desperate need of restoration to help prevent catastrophic wildfires and to protect those aquatic resources. The existing partnerships frame those challenges and opportunities. In Arizona,…
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Trout Unlimited survey: Anglers worried about effects of climate change on trout
Increasing number of members supports steps to address climate impacts Nearly nine in 10 Trout Unlimited members acknowledge that climate change is happening, and three in four are worried about global warming, according to the third in a series of surveys conducted by TU's Climate Change Workgroup. The latest survey shows a steady uptick, with…
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New study links human influence to recent megadrought
Apache and Gila trout face vast new challenges thanks to landscape alterations What do two 19-year intervals separated by four centuries have in common, and what do the similarities mean for native trout? A recent study reconstructed climate for Southwestern North America, including California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, and found the years 1575-1593 and…
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Working with nature
America has such a well-earned reputation for innovating our way out of problems that we sometimes miss the obvious natural solution. In a series of open houses this summer in Great Basin communities, the Trump administration revealed a plan to reduce wildfire risk by constructing 11,000 acres of fuel breaks across public lands in parts…
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Chris Wood’s full testimony “fire borrowing”
November 5, 2015 Testimony of Trout Unlimited to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hearing on: Wildfire: Stakeholder Perspectives on Budgetary Impacts and Threats to Natural Resources on Federal, State and Private Lands. Chairman Roberts, Ranking Member Stabenow, and Committee Members: My name is Chris Wood. I am the President and CEO of…