MOLDY CHUM

Even the Rainbow Trouts Can Live with it

 

On his was to the office, via Sunset Beach L.A., Chum junkie Kevin Green snapped this epic shot.

Common Waters of Oregon

Yeah, we live in Washington, but Oregon has our heart.  Which is why we're keep our fingers on the pulse of this.

Please help make the legislators aware of Common Waters of Oregon and let them know we would like to review any bills that involve public river rights.

If you could send a note to Senator Bates and to Senator Atkinson asking them to get any information on river rights bills to us, we would greatly appreciate it.

Your chance to weigh in on Western Oregon Plan Revision

The Western Oregon Plan Revision is the BLM’s attempt to ramp up logging and dramatically reduce riparian protections on 2.6  million acres of land in the western part of the state managed by that agency. The timber industry asserted in a lawsuit that the Northwest Forest Plan cannot apply to Oregon BLM lands, most of which were acquired through the Oregon and California Railroad Act.  Instead of defending itself, the agency rolled over and scrapped the Northwest Forest Plan in favor of the WOPR.  MORE ON THIS AT OREGON FLY FISHING BLOG

EMAIL HERE

Dear Governor Kulongoski:

I am writing you as an angler to express my concern about the Western Oregon Plan Revision.  The BLM’s plan to reduce riparian reserves on fish bearing streams and eliminate the Aquatic Conservation Strategy is unacceptable.   The WOPR is certain to harm our already struggling populations of salmon and steelhead.

Resource production is an important use of public land; however, the BLM is also an important partner in restoring our salmon and steelhead populations.  As such it is critical that they follow the sound, scientifically based standards of the Northwest Forest Plan.  They have not. The BLM’s proposal does not do enough to protect or restore beleaguered salmon and steelhead populations.

Angling for salmon and steelhead occupies a special place in northwest culture and the fish must be protected.  Thank you for your consideration of my comments.

Sincerely,

(Your name here)

Busy as a Beaver

When things slow up, look around.  It makes you feel good that others are actually working harder than you.

It's getting hot in here

Montana: Trout and Drought HD from Climate Central on Vimeo.

17,000 miles of Pebble Mine peddalin' kickassedness

In 252 days, Seth, Parker, Chris, and Benjamin start their journey.  They're peddaling for awareness and to garner support for protecting the Bristol Bay Watershed.  And, from Prudhoe Bay to Tierra Del Fuego, it's gonna be one long ass journey.  LEARN MORE

FFF Green Fishing Tool

The monomaster is a new tool for collecting and storing waste monofilament
while on the water.  It avoids problems of cluttered pockets and tangles and
keeps the waste secure so it doesn't fall out into the water.  LINK

The most most extraordinary fish story you've never heard

Some mistakes you don't get to "do-over." Wiping out a unique fish, the Menhaden, the keystone species of America's Atlantic and Gulf fisheries, amounts to ecocide.  Listen to the podcast here

Previously on MC - LINK

Give a dam for salmon - Youth Art Contest

The contest is open to all public, private and home school students in the United States in grades K-12. Grade categories: K—4, 5—8 and 9—12.  Via ilovesalmon.org LINK

Help Clean the Clack!

How many times a year can you paddle a river and do good for the world at the same time? Where else can you treasure hunt for discarded lawn chairs and end up with keys to a BMW, or that mis-matched pair of flip-flops you’ve always wanted? And how many times can you remember sitting in an eddy when a scuba diver pops up next to you clutching a garbage bag plump with aluminum cans with a smile on his face?

We can’t think of too many experiences in life quite like this one… CLACKAMAS RIVER CLEAN UP

Discovery: Planet Earth

If you've not seen it yet, do so.  In HD, the Discovery Chanel's Series: Planet Earth is the next best socially acceptable thing to a Peter North montage.  I've had HD for two years now and can't believe I've waited this long before watching this series.  On Sunday, April 8th, Discovery will unveil its Shallow Seas episode.  Set your Tivo.  You won't be disappointed. 

Water diversion to save precious fish in Tarim River

The rare Bighead fish, which livesonly in the Tarim River in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and is close to extinction, has reappeared in the river's lower reaches after water diversion to that area. Via Engrishpeople.com LINK

Speaking of Precious:

Salt with your Lenore Lahontan?

Cream With Your Flounder?

I guess I'll take it black next time.  Via Seattle PI LINK

Scott, Orvis and AFFTA...

...join forces to protect the Bristol Bay watershed from industrial mineral development.  VIA Flyfish.com LINK

Anglers fear Effects of Storm

And I thought our Pacific Northwest rain was a bummer.  VIA Great Yarmouth Mercury LINK

A sure fire way to get rid of Delaware River Snakeheads

This from the same administration that brought you the Clear Skies and Healthy Forest initiatives. 

Citing new safety assurances, the Environmental Protection Agency has dropped its objections to a plan to treat and dispose of chemical weapon wastewater at a DuPont Co. plant along the Delaware River

Via CNN LINK

Arrrrrrrrrghhh!!!!

Greenpeace activists will shift their focus to protest against pirate fishing off Africa's west coast following two months battling Japanese whalers, the group said on Wednesday.  LINK

This is your Fish

This is your fish on drugs

Our pharmaceutical drugs are turning up in the environment and in animals.

VIA Discover LINK

Makah overfishing having big effects

Big news here in the Pacific NW.

The outcry from anglers regarding the blatant over fishing by the Makah tribe and how WDOFW allowed it to happen has gotten the attention of some of the state's politicians.

LINK

The Makah are also the tribe pushing for annual whaling permits and who were in the news back in 1999 for hunting a Grey Whale.

The ancestral heritage argument for whaling and fishing rights pale in the ancestral glow of casinos, firework stands and tax free smoke shops.

LINK

Steelhead limits for gill-netters

Oregon does the right thing and restricts the incidental catch of spawners to 2% on the Columbia.

LINK

Washington on the other hand raises their percentage to 4, THEY WANTED 6%!

LINK

In Fish vs. Farmer Cases, the Fish Loses Its Edge

One of our goals is to highlight the assault on endangered fish populations and their habitat. We will also highlight the network of groups that do the heavy lifting when it comes to preserving that habitat and those vulnerable fish. If you're a fisherman and your level of environmental activism ends at your TU membership card you should dedicate some fishing time getting involved in preserving what remains of endangered fisheries.

San Francisco - Legal fights over water in the West are as common as summer rains are rare. But a flurry of cases in California is attracting intense attention from scholars and state officials who see them as an extraordinary assault by agricultural interests on protections for endangered fish and other wildlife.

LINK