Trout Unlimited began organizing sportsmen and women in a coordinated manner in 2001–largely in response to my observation when I worked at the Forest Service that the voice of hunters and anglers was largely missing from the development of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule—an initiative that protected nearly 60 million acres of some of the…
What Happened? On Wednesday, Sept. 25, the House Natural Resources Committee advanced the National Fish Habitat Conservation Through Partnerships Act (H.R. 1747). The bipartisan and widely-supported bill, if enacted, will codify and formally recognize the existing National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP). NFHP was created in 2006 by state fisheries agencies and other stakeholders to improve…
A native Chinook salmon from California’s Central Valley. Conservation of freshwater biodiversity faces major challenges. The fragmented nature of freshwater habitats often results in species populations being highly vulnerable to extirpation. Moreover, areas managed for resource conservation typically reflect jurisdictional or landscape boundaries that have little meaning for aquatic species. Now, a team of scientists…
The world’s largest dam removal project takes another step forward as the reservoirs behind Iron Gate and JC Boyle Dams begin to be drained
Emerging is the official podcast of the TU Costa 5 Rivers program and has been running for four seasons. The show began in the fall of 2020 when University of Georgia fly fishing club president, Joseph Berney, had the idea to share stories using this medium. Thanks to early support from Simms and Costa, the…
Partnerships and collaboration are a core value at Trout Unlimited, a deep-seated philosophy of teamwork for the benefit of coldwater fisheries.
By Chris Hunt Years ago, after being abruptly transplanted from the high-mountain meadows of Colorado to the hot, sticky pine forest of East Texas, I found solace in the loss of my Rocky Mountain roots in the writings of men like Bob Saile, Ed Dentry and Charlie Meyers. And I found the spirit to laugh…
There is real hope for restoring the Klamath and its fisheries, however. That’s because a multi-decade effort to remove the four dams of the Lower Klamath Project is now close to the finish line.
Most of trout country is in the grips of winter, but that doesn’t mean trout fishing has to stop. Fly fishing for winter trout can be just as productive as spring, summer or fall fishing if anglers take care to adjust to the changes in trout behavior, habitat and, of course, cold temperatures that might…
By Ty Churchwell No one in Durango nor Silverton, Colo., will ever forget Aug. 5, 2015 — the day of the Gold King mine spill that sent 3 million gallons of ugly, toxic mine water down the Animas River in southwest part of the state. To say the accident was highly visible is an understatement. In today’s digital world, photos of the orange…
There is no opportunity for productive fishing or hunting if there is no productive habitat in which to sling a line, spot and stalk or swing an over-under. Bottom line.
By Chris Hunt There’s a stretch of the drive between my home in Idaho Falls and my former home in Colorado that often lulls me into a state of semi-consciousness—a state of being where driving becomes the innate foundation of my psyche while the rest of my mind wanders off into the mountains. Starting just…
By Chris Wood Fred’s note was unexpected. He was one of the first TU volunteers I met 17 years ago when he was 78 years young. At the time, I wondered who is this cool cat with the white pony-tail and turquoise rings? His note read, “a few months ago our son, Jon, and his…
Steve Fraley has had ties to the Baldwin area and Pere Marquette River for most of his life. He has been guiding primarily fly fisherman with some spinning in the mix on the Pere Marquette River for almost 3 decades. He also guides in Alaska during part of the summer, as well as hosting trips…
Wednesday afternoon, a day that America won’t soon forget, I was on a phone call just across the river in Trout Unlimited’s Arlington, Va., headquarters. A group of us at TU were talking about recovering Snake River salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest when my phone began blaring with a message from the mayor of Washington, D.C. In response to the attacks on the Capitol, she was ordering a city-wide curfew in three hours. TU staff and volunteers regularly go…
It is finally September in Northeastern Oregon As the season changes, TU’s Andy Scheele thinks about time, restoration and steelhead returning to their home waters It is finally September in Northeastern Oregon; my favorite month of the year. The weather and foliage are changing. Elk are bugling in the mountains. Insects are burying their heads…
TU’s Cory Toye works to bring people, industry, and agencies together to protect the streams and native fish that run through the Bighorn Basin.
6/22/2004 New TU Report Demonstrates Vital Link between Oregon’s Roadless Lands and Native Fish, Wildlife New TU Report Demonstrates Vital Link between Oregon’s Roadless Lands and Native Fish, Wildlife Bulk of states remaining healthy salmon, steelhead & trout depend on headwaters and tributaries found within federal roadless lands, which also support its longstanding fishing, hunting…
Dams will forever change a river.
Sometimes I sit and wonder what certain rivers must have been like prior to a dam’s construction. That typically brings about more questions than answers. What was the river like years before? Were there bigger rapids? What was the fishing like? What did the native cultures lose when we buried a canyon under water?
Editor’s note: TU sent a handful of college students to the Pacific Northwest for this year’s TU Costa 5 Rivers Odyssey to study and fish in the Columbia River basin. The Odyssey team’s journey started in typical Pacific Northwest fashion, a little bit of sunshine, and a fair amount of rain. We set out the…
