Ted Trueblood Chapter - October 1998 Letter
"Best of all he loved the fall
The leaves yellow on the cottonwoods
Leaves floating on the trout streams
And above the hills
The high blue windless skies
...Now he will be a part of them forever"
Ernest Hemingway - Idaho - 1939
Bear Valley Project. A few brave souls escaped Boise's Art in the Park and
headed for Bear Valley Creek to continue the Chapter's efforts at restoration
of this stream. Thanks to Bart Kline for organizing the Chapter's efforts
this year.
Trout Unlimited on Cable TV. TU Launches Trout Unlimited Television on espn2:
First TV Series For The "Complete Angler" Premieres Oct. 4, 1998.
Other fishing shows feature famous fishermen. But only Trout Unlimited
Television, a new series premiering Sunday October 4, 1998, on espn2,
spotlights "complete anglers" - fishermen who know that conservation is as
important as fly selection.
Airing Sunday mornings at 5:30 a.m. Mountain Time (Yikes!), on espn2, Trout
Unlimited Television (TU TV) will feature the best of TU's conservation work,
presented in the context of great trout and salmon fishing nationwide. Each
episode will be rebroadcast twice on Wednesdays, at 4:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Mountain Time. For Boise viewers, with TCI cable, espn2 is channel 27.
Production took place this summer, and episodes on the Beaver Kill, Delaware,
Willowemoc, Big Blackfoot, Clark Fork, Yellowstone, Snake (Wyoming), Madison,
and Truckee Rivers have been shot. Other locations include the Kickapoo River
in Wisconsin, Deschutes River in Oregon, and Virginia's Shenandoah National
Park. Members of Idaho's Panhandle Chapter in Sandpoint were involved in the
episode on the Clark Fork River in Montana.
While each half-hour episode of Trout Unlimited TV will feature one or two key
projects or issues that have an impact on coldwater fishery conservation, the
show is hardly a "doom and gloom" environmental documentaries. Each episode
is full of exciting fishing action and valuable information on angling tactics
and techniques.
Trout Unlimited TV is produced by Barrett Productions, and is made possible by
Glenmorangie Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky, Sage Rods, Washington Water
Power, and Ford Motor Company. Additional assistance is provided by Abel
Automatics, Columbia Sportswear, Cortland, Dan Bailey's Fly Shop, Simms
Fishing Products, Action Optics, and Hyde Drift Boats.
Lamenting the dire state of Pacific salmon recovery in the Columbia and Snake
River system, Trout Unlimited recently endorsed breaching of the four dams on
the lower Snake River to protect and restore threatened and endangered salmon
and steelhead stocks.
Breach the Dams. In a resolution adopted by Trout Unlimited's 40-member
National Resource Board (NRB) on behalf of TU's 100,000 members nationwide,
the conservation group outlined the desperate decline of the Northwest's
salmon fisheries, and called for decisive action to accelerate salmon recovery
efforts.
"It is hereby resolved by the National Resource Board of Trout Unlimited O
that the earthen portion of the four lower Snake River dams must be removed
and the natural river channel restored, and appropriate mitigation be
implemented to minimize the effects to the region," reads the resolution,
which was proposed by NRB delegates from TU's Pacific Northwest Region
(representing Alaska, Oregon, and Washington) and TU's Idaho Council.
The document pointed to the dramatic decline of salmon stocks, from a historic
high of more than 10 million fish to fewer than 0.5 million today, and to the
clear failures of barging and other attempts to transport fish around dams on
the rivers.
Many recent scientific authorities that have studied the salmon recovery
efforts have concluded that the Columbia and Snake Rivers, long corralled in
slackwater reservoirs behind dozens of large and small dams, must be restored
to their natural flows. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission recently considered
the natural river option to be the best biological choice to recover wild
salmon and steelhead. In addition, the Independent Scientific Advisory Board
stated that the current remedial measures will not restore Snake River salmon
and steelhead, and that a normative river would be the best choice to restore
those species.
Idaho Statesman Award. At its annual awards luncheon, Trout Unlimited's
president, Charles Gauvin also presented TU's Trout Conservationist Award for
Communications to the editorial board of the Idaho Statesman, which was among
the first to publicly advocate removal of the dams.
Upcoming Programs with Boise Valley Fly Fishermen
- November 10 - Bernie Babcock of Ontario, Oregon, returns to present a program
on fly fishing eastern Oregon waters.
- December 8 - Open auction of fly fishing related gear and outdoor equipment.
Start getting your unwanted stuff located!
- Mid December - Annual Ted Trueblood Chapter Christmas Dinner. Details to
follow.
- January 12 - Dr. Bob Friedli will present a program on wintertime fly fishing.