Welcome to the latest installment of the Wednesday Wake-Up Call, a roundup of the most pressing conservation issues important to anglers. Working with our friends at Trout Unlimited, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, The Everglades Foundation, Captains for Clean Water, VoteWater.org, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, and Conservation Hawks (among others), we’ll make sure you’ve got the information you need to understand the issues and form solid opinions.
1. Groups Sue Glacier Park Over Gunsight Lake Trout Conservation Project
In a complicated and unusual situation, conservation groups are suing to stop a project whose explicit purpose is to help save native trout species. It’s a situation that highlights the sometimes contrary perspectives of groups trying to achieve similar aims. The result is a fascinating look at the ways in which the “how” of a conservation project can be contentious, even if both sides agree on the ultimate goal.
Two environmental groups on Sept. 16 filed a lawsuit challenging a multi-year conservation strategy underway in Glacier National Park, where fisheries managers last summer exterminated an invasive population of rainbow trout in Gunsight Lake with plans to replenish the remote alpine basin with genetically pure, locally adapted strains of westslope cutthroat and bull trout, effectively establishing a native fish reserve.
The lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Missoula comes from Friends of the Wild Swan and the Council on Wildlife and Fish. In their complaint, the groups argue that federal agencies overseeing the conservation project — the National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) — violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because they failed to consider the consequences of collecting and propagating drainage-specific bull trout, precluding public comment.
Click here to read more in the Flathead Beacon
Related stories:
- Conservation groups file federal lawsuit against National Park Service over Gunsight Lake project on dailyinterlake.com
- Gunsight Lake bull trout project in Glacier lands in federal court in Montana in the Daily Montanan
2. TU Puts Together Amazing Story Map on the Klamath River
If you’d like to gain a deeper understanding of Klamath River restoration, the dams that were removed, and what’s next for the river, check out these excellent resources from Trout Unlimited. “The Klamath River: Reconnection and Restoration” is an online experience built around an interactive map that allows you to focus on the many parts of the project. Be prepared to egt lost in the fascinating details and the engaging online experience.
Click here for “The Klamath River: Reconnection and Restoration” from Trout Unlimited
Related Stories:
- Klamath reconnected: The four dams are gone on tu.org
- An ongoing commitment to restoring the Upper Klamath on tu.org
3. The Astonishing Trout Comeback of Oregon’s Fall River
Photo by Scott Linden
It’s an amazing story of recovery from environmental disaster. In 2002, an errant air drop of wildfire retardant killed more than 22,000 rainbow trout in Oregon’s Fall River. After more than 20 years healing and of work, anglers are once again enjoying success in chasing trout.
In the heyday of the Fall, an angler could sneak up on multiple 18-inch rainbows in a day of fishing, once in a while duping one into striking his fly. The wild fish are smaller now, but just as energetic. They’ve never been easy to catch. Trout see anglers before anglers see them, and slip under the lava-rock shelves or into deep clefts in the bed of this stream born of volcanoes. That’s one of the challenges that beckon anglers. Another is the distraction of incredible scenery at every bend. Many make the pilgrimage because the stream is as much a photographer’s dream as an angler’s.
Click here for the full story on gameandfishmag.com
4. 50 million anglers: How can we address the biggest threat to our fly fishing?
Last week, we featured the new video from Conservation Hawks, featuring some of the biggest names in fly fishing. The folks at Hatch magazine have posted some more information about the film and its stars.