http://news.idahotrout.org/

Magic Valley Fly Fishers Website

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:52:28 -0500

Magic Valley Fly Fishers Website: The Magic Valley Fly Fishers has established a website. Check it...

The Idaho trout license plate has been redesigned. This work is...

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 11:14:26 -0500

The Idaho trout license plate has been redesigned.

This work is a nice update from the original plate that has been sold for the past five years or so. Long-timers may recall that Idaho Trout Unlimited was instrumental in bringing the plate into law through the Idaho Legislature and in getting Governor Kempthorne to sign the legislation back in 2002. We first raised the idea with the Idaho Fish and Game Commission back in 1999 but they did not want to have anything to do with it.

Fish and Game Meetings on Fishing Rules

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:50:00 -0500

Fish and Game wants to know what rules changes anglers would like to see for the next two years,...

Northwest Can Save Salmon, Build Clean Energy Future

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:26:03 -0500

Northwest Power and Conservation Council Analysis Finds Lower Snake River Dam Removal Will Have...

Mild winter days and steelhead fishing.

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:54:00 -0500

Mild winter days and steelhead fishing.

Idaho Sportsmen's Website

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:22:32 -0500

Idaho Sportsmen's Website : Idaho sportsmen can follow the happenings of the Idaho Legislature at...

Dear Trout Unlimited member,I am writing you today to announce...

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:34:00 -0500

Dear Trout Unlimited member,

I am writing you today to announce changes within TU staff that I am sure will be of interest to you.

After serving for 20 years at the helm of TU, Charles Gauvin will be stepping down as our CEO/President on February 1. Charles has made outstanding accomplishments and exceeded even the most ambitious goals. Charles will serve as CEO Emeritus for the next year in an advisory capacity to insure that the transition will be seamless. Charles has also been elected to the Board of Trustees, so we will continue to have his wealth of knowledge and institutional experience available.

Chris Wood, currently TU’s Chief Operating Officer, will become our new CEO on February 1. Many of you know Chris and the fine work he has done during his years with the organization. Chris was instrumental in the development of TU’s current strategic plan, and has actively worked to improve the programs and services to our members. For more information read our press release: http://www.tu.org/press_releases/2010/trout-unlimited-announces-succession-plan-0?tr=y&auid=5851317

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. And thanks for everything you do for TU and our coldwater resources.

Sincerely,

Bryan Moore
Vice President for Volunteer Operations
Trout Unlimited
bmoore@tu.org
304-641-2658

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Idaho Trout Unlimited, Henry’s Fork...

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:31:00 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Idaho Trout Unlimited, Henry’s Fork Foundation pleased with retention of state parks department

Jan. 22, 2010

Contact:

James Piotrowski, (208) 869-4609

Steve Trafton, (208) 652-3567

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Idaho Trout Unlimited, Henry’s Fork Foundation pleased with retention of state parks department

BOISE—Gov. Butch Otter’s announcement Friday that the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation will remain a state agency, albeit with a different management structure, was welcome news to Idaho Trout Unlimited and the Henry’s Fork Foundation, who expressed concern over an initial plan to consolidate the parks department under the Idaho Department of Lands.

Had Otter’s original proposal been carried out, the state risked losing management of Harriman State Park and its trophy trout fishery, and likely other state park properties. The gift of Harriman State Park to Idaho in the 1960s essentially created the state’s park system, so other parks throughout Idaho could have been in jeopardy, as well.

“We’re pleased the governor is taking a softer approach to this issue,” said James Piotrowski, president of the Idaho Council of Trout Unlimited. “We still have concerns over the long-term management of Harriman and all our state parks, but by keeping the parks department in place, we have time to assist the state in coming up with a permanent solution. TU stands ready to help.”

Piotrowski also noted the important role TU members and the angling community played in reaching out to Gov. Otter on this issue.

“I’m sure the governor’s office was flooded with calls, letters and e-mails encouraging him to back away from any proposal that would have left Harriman or any state park at risk,” he said. “While the governor’s announcement today is a good development, taking care of our parks is a long-term commitment our members expect ITU to make, and we’re serious about it.”

Steve Trafton, executive director of the Henry’s Fork Foundation, noted that Harriman’s economic contribution to the state’s economy is simply too great to risk losing the priceless property.

“Harriman generates millions of dollars annually in eastern Idaho, and I suspect most of our state parks contribute greatly to their local economies,” Trafton said. “Keeping the parks department in place, and keeping management of our parks under that agency is vital, and I’m glad the governor listened to everyone’s concerns and, with the help of parks department personnel, came up with a plan to protect Harriman and our other parks while a long-term solution can be crafted.”

Essentially, the state will now run it parks department more like a business, and general fund expenditures on state parks will be reduced through agency-wide efficiency measures and the reduction of 25 full-time employees. Additionally, some money from the state RV Registration Fund will be earmarked for parks.

“We don’t like to see jobs cut, but we’re confident we and other users of the state’s park system can contribute greatly to a better plan to protect these important places and keep these treasures available to future generations of Idahoans,” Piotrowski said.

Trout Unlimited is the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization. It has over 140,000 members dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring North America’s trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds.

To unsubscribe to this and other news releases from Trout Unlimited, please e-mail chunt@tu.org.

Governor Smylie Remembers – excerpts from Idaho Governor Robert...

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:48:00 -0500

Governor Smylie Remembers – excerpts from Idaho Governor Robert E. Smylie’s memoirs concerning the donation of Harriman State Park and the establishment of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation.

“Harriman had been impressed with the manner in which our Department of Fish and Game had cleaned up the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River and restored that fishery to its original magnificence. He said that he did not want the Railroad Ranch, once he was gone, to be cut up into a commercial development and he would like to preserve the area in one piece as a wildlife refuge. He inquired whether or not I thought the state would be willing to accept it as a gift for the purpose of a state park or wildlife refuge or both. Harriman wanted to be sure that once the area was a state park, it would be under professional career management and that it would be preserved for the uses that he intended in his original gift. I told him that I would think it necessary to secure ratification of such a proposal by the legislature because it would require ongoing expenditures, and he agreed to that suggestion. We agreed to study the proposal further and to get back together again later in the fall in New York City. It is now history that in 1977, the park became a part of the Parks Department of the state of Idaho and has been an adornment of that agency ever since. The contract provided that the park had to be administered by the state pursuant to a system of professional career employees, which in essence meant a civil-service type administration, and that the contract could not be carried into effect unless and until it had been ratified by the legislature. When the contract was presented to the legislature in 1963 they ratified it. With that ratification, the decision was made for a professional career park management that would be used in all of the parks in the state system. We had already set aside the property for Veterans’ State Park in the heart of downtown Boise, and that pretty much guaranteed a statewide constituency for parks and their services. The provisions in the Harriman Park contract, which were my idea, pretty much acted as the catalyst which made it necessary for the legislature to adopt professional career management for its parks.”

“The Thirty-seventh Legislature in 1963 finally accepted the notion that we needed an independent department of Parks and Recreation that would have as its sole mission the maintenance and operation and, for that matter, the origination cam about as a result of the ratification of the contract which I had signed with the Harriman brothers, E. Roland and Averall, which promised to convey to the state at the appropriate time the Railroad Ranch. The legislature could summon the resolution to ratify the contract, but it was not ready to go the whole road and establish the independent park system that was necessary before the Harriman gift of the Railroad Ranch could fully vest as property of the people of the state of Idaho.”

“I count it as one of the great positive, long-term achievements of my twelve-year administration. The twenty-eight parks and recreation areas which the Department of Parks and Recreation administers are not only a very successful attempt to preserve a part of what Idaho was for what Idaho will be, it also constitutes a tremendous commercial advantage to the tourist trade of the state and is an economic asset of great value.”

“It is obvious that the Harriman contract had pushed us into the position of establishing a State Parks Agency.”

January 12, 2010 To all Henry’s Fork Foundation members and...

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:50:00 -0500

January 12, 2010 To all Henry’s Fork Foundation members and friends:

The following is the best information that we have at the moment concerning the status of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, Harriman State Park, and the Governor’s proposed budget. We will keep you informed of developments and, as soon as possible, ideas of what you can do to register your concerns.

Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter has proposed the elimination of general funding for the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) as part of the 2010 state budget. The elimination of IDPR potentially means the loss of public access to state parks and facilities all over Idaho, including the world-famous Harriman State Park in Fremont County.

IDPR was established, in large part, as a result of the Harriman family’s gift of Harriman State Park to the state. The family made their gift on the condition (among others) that a professional state agency be created to manage the park. Since then, IDPR has grown to include more than two dozen parks all over the state, providing a wide range of recreational activities to the people of Idaho and to countless visitors from around the country, and the world.

The most obvious potential effect of IDPR being eliminated could be the loss to the people of Idaho access to the lands and facilities currently managed by the agency. These range from alpine Priest Lake in the north to the desert at City of Rocks in the south, and they provide an extraordinary range of recreational opportunities to an equally broad cross-section of the public. IDPR also manages several recreational programs, including park and ski opportunities, trail maintenance for a variety of recreational uses, avalanche awareness for snowmobilers, and equestrian opportunities (among others).

At no place would the potential loss to the public be more obvious than at the park that started the agency: Harriman. This 11,000 acre park with its eight miles of the Henry’s Fork is an international destination, arguably the most famous trout river in the world and one of Idaho’s most recognizable landscapes. The Henry’s Fork Foundation was founded in a cabin across the river from Harriman State Park, and in 1999 Trout Unlimited members voted the Henry’s Fork the best trout stream in America. A study conducted by Colorado State University and sponsored by the Henry’s Fork Foundation and Trout Unlimited estimated that the Henry’s Fork generated nearly $30 million towards the local economy and supported, directly or indirectly, more than 800 jobs. According to the agreement between the Harriman family and the state of Idaho, the park must revert to the family should the state default on any of the provisions of the agreement, including that of the provision of a managing agency.

According to State sources, the Governor has recommended that responsibility for park maintenance be transferred to the Idaho Department of Lands, with a goal of continuing to operate state parks. This leaves many questions unanswered, among them how a land management agency with an overarching mandate to generate revenue (Idaho Department of Lands) will approach park management, and whether the elimination of IDPR, regardless of whether or not some of its functions are carried forward by other agencies, will constitute a violation of the terms of the Harriman agreement – not to mention the intentions under which other Idaho parks may have been established. Key concerns, and questions, include the following:

IDPR provides a vital public recreational and aesthetic benefit to the people of Idaho at a fraction of the cost of the overall state budget.
Eliminating IDPR is a false economy; although revenue generated by state parks and other facilities may not make a significant direct contribution to the State coffers, the funds generated by IDPR parks make tremendous contributions to the local economies in their areas.
If IDPR is eliminated, what will the State’s management philosophy be for state parks?
How, in specific terms, does the State plan to ensure that the elimination of IDPR will not result in Harriman State Park (and other sites as applicable) passing out of public ownership?
At Harriman State Park (and other sites as applicable), how does the State plan to ensure that its future management of the park does not violate the terms of the gift agreement?

— from the Henry’s Fork Foundation

2009 Fish stories: The top news affecting Idaho’s native...

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:09:00 -0500

2009 Fish stories:

The top news affecting Idaho’s native trout and salmon in 2009, including some stories less known and reported. Compiled by Idaho Trout Unlimited.

Idaho’s Salmon and Steelhead runs fate in the hands of Judge James Redden and the Obama Administration. The new Administration reviewed the Federal plan for management of the hydroelectric dams and largely endorsed the product of the Bush Administration. Judge Redden held court in November on the plan and is expected to issue a decision in early 2010.
A record steelhead run returns to Idaho in the fall of 2009, including the best wild steelhead numbers seen since the mid 1960s.
The Obama Administration endorses the Idaho Roadless Rule that was adopted in late 2008, a regulation that protects nine million acres of National Forest Roadless Areas including many important strongholds for native cutthroat, bull trout and salmon and steelhead populations.
The state of Idaho declares war on invasive species such as quagga mussels, imposes a sticker requirement on most boats and rafts, and implements widespread inspections at major waterways and ports of entry.
Snake River Sockeye Salmon mark a second year of hundreds of adult fish returning to the Stanley Basin. As Recently as the 1990s most annual adult returns were in single digits.
An underreported losing streak continues as Idaho’s wild Snake River spring and summer Chinook salmon return at lower numbers, barely replacing the previous generation of fish that spawned four and five years ago. After the record adult returns in 2001 many thought the run was rebuilding, but from 2005 – 2008 there were four years of successive losses from one generation to the next. 2009 barely staunched the bleeding.
Idaho Trout Unlimited and its member chapters, in partnership with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, brought new focus to the next generation of anglers and conservationists by breaking previous records for its Trout in the Classroom Programs, teaching thousands of Idaho students about the necessity of clean, cold water to sustain Idaho’s signature fisheries, and by launching Idaho’s first Trout Camp for youth anglers.
Henry’s Fork Foundation celebrates its 25^th Anniversary of protecting the most famous fly fishing water in the United States. A highlight of the year is the funding of the retrofit of Chester Dam with fish passage as part of a hydroelectric add-on to the dam which historically diverted water (and fish) into two canals.
Trout Unlimited and the Salmon-Challis National Forest were recognized with a Rise to the Future national award by the Chief of the Forest Service for the work to repair habitat and reconnect sections of the Lost River.
Path breaking genetic research of southwest Idaho’s premiere wild trout stream – the South Fork of the Boise River – reveals the population depends in part on its connection to the Middle and North forks of the Boise River through Arrowrock Reservoir. Land and fisheries managers and anglers now recognize that the South Fork fishery needs to be considered part of a larger system, not just a ten mile section of blue ribbon fishing waters.

Last week, Jim Gregory and I were in Washington DC accepting a...

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:51:00 -0500

Last week, Jim Gregory and I were in Washington DC accepting a national award on behalf of TU’s Idaho Water Project. Bart Gamett, the South Zone Fisheries Biologist for the Salmon-Challis National Forest, nominated us for the honor. Below you can read about the award, and attached is a photo of Bart Gamett, Jim and myself at the ceremony in DC. The Forest Service treated us like royalty, paying our way and putting us up at the Ritz Carlton for the presentations and ceremony. It was quite an honor!

Hope you all have a safe and enjoyable holiday. TU’s leadership was kind enough to give the staff the week off between Christmas and New Years, so we’ll be back in the offices on January 4.

Happy holidays,

Kim

Trout Unlimited’s Idaho Water Project Receives National Partner Award

The Idaho Water Project was honored with a national award from the USDA Forest Service in December. Kim Trotter, Director, and Jim Gregory, Lost Rivers Project Manager, accepted the national “Rise to the Future” Partner Award on behalf of TU’s Idaho Water Project in Washington DC at the US Forest Service’s annual National Watershed Awards Celebration. Bart Gamett, South Zone Fisheries Biologist for the Salmon-Challis National Forest, nominated the Idaho Water Project for the Partner Award for the IWP’s collaborative leadership to restore flows and habitat in the Big Lost and Little Lost River basins.

While in DC, Gamett, Gregory, and Trotter gave a presentation to Forest Service leaders from around the country. They showcased a few of the dozens of projects in the Big and Little Lost that are helping to recover ESA listed or petitioned fish species. They also presented some of the key concepts that make the collaborative efforts between landowners, irrigators, conservation organizations, agencies, and county representatives successful.

Knowles Creek Restoration Video

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:33:00 -0500

Knowles Creek Restoration Video: Check out this video on Knowles Creek restoration in western...

Investigating the science behind the salmon plan

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:54:32 -0500

Investigating the science behind the salmon plan: Read up on the back story about the so-called...

If we don’t stop aquatic nusiance species we will pay for...

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:34:59 -0500

If we don’t stop aquatic nusiance species we will pay for it with degraded fish habitat and lousy fishing. Learn more at www.stopans.org/.

Vote for the Budweiser 2010 Conservationist of the Year

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:43:00 -0500

Vote for the Budweiser 2010 Conservationist of the Year: Click on the title above and go to the...

Asian Carp invasion threat to the Great Lakes.

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:14:44 -0500

Asian Carp invasion threat to the Great Lakes.

On the Eve of the Judge Redden Hearing The saga of Snake River...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:41:00 -0500

On the Eve of the Judge Redden Hearing

The saga of Snake River wild Chinook salmon continues on November 23rd in the Oregon Federal District Court where Judge James Redden will hear arguments whether to approve or throw out the latest Federal government plan for managing the Federal hydropower dams. Earlier this decade public officials were ready to declare victory with the improved returns of wild Chinook salmon to the Snake River. In recent years the attention is on the big returns of sockeye to the Stanley Basin as well as the 2009 Snake River steelhead fishery.

Less is said about the wild Chinook in recent years. Why is that? Maybe because the run has been in decline for the past five years? A string of productive years starting in the late 1990s has been matched with a streak of poor years.

The chart above shows the number of wild chinook returning past the uppermost dam (Lower Granite since 1975) on their way to spawn in the Snake River tributaries of eastern Oregon and Idaho. The years in red are when the numbers of returning adults were less than necessary to perpetuate the population when compared to the prior generation. Call it a lifecycle survival rate. If the rate is 1.0 the population replaces itself. Better than 1.0 (black) the population is stable or rebuilding. Less than 1.0 the population is in decline. Lots of years of less than 1.0 leads you down a path towards extinction.

The day will be eventful as the Judge hosts the national Director of NOAA Fisheries in his courtroom (presumably she can make it a short week on the west coast and stay in Corvallis for the Thanksgiving break). But once all the lawyers have argued, and the scientists have interpreted, and the modelers have modeled, and the well-healed managers and spin-meisters are done with their day and comfortable in their (all electric?) home, the Judge will have time to think about what it all means.

And he would be well served were he to cut through the thickets of paperwork and remember that Snake River salmon are still experiencing more years where they are losing population than they are gaining, and look at the chart above and wonder if the government of the United States has even started to provide that the fish will survive with an adequate potential for recovery.

by Scott EvansIdaho’s NewsChannel 7 Posted on November 4,...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:20:45 -0500

by Scott Evans
Idaho’s NewsChannel 7

Posted on November 4, 2009 at 10:59 PM

Updated today at 11:51 AM

IDAHO CITY — The 1862 gold rush in the Boise Basin is where the development of the state of Idaho began.

For decades miners traveled to Boise County looking for Gold and other precious metals. While looking to get rich - the landscape suffered. Trees and creeks all but destroyed. But soon, some of that will change, thanks to students from Horseshoe Bend, Idaho City and Garden Valley planting hundreds of trees.

Up until 1939, miners would dredge the area around Grimes Creek in Boise County.

“Basically turn the valley floor upside down extracting gold,” said Pam Elkovich who is the Boise River restoration coordinator for Trout Unlimited.

That left shallow riverbeds and a creek that no longer winds through the valley — a problem for fish.

“There’s no longer long meanders through the valley and there’s not much complexity left to the system and fish need complexity,” said Elkovich.

To help restore what once was, students from Idaho City, Horseshoe Bend and Garden Valley pulled out their shovels, gloves and work clothes to plant trees along Grimes Creek near Centerville.

“It helps cool down the water so the fish don’t die of thermal pollution by the sun,” said Sarah Fry who is a senior at Horseshoe Bend High School.

“So they have a more suitable habitat for living,” said Tyler Rainey who is a 7th grader from Idaho City.

Dig. Plant. Cover. Over and over these students planted hundreds of cottonwood trees.

“This is a way to educate the students, give them a perspective of what natural resources are available in the county, how they’ve been used in the past, and for them to vision how they can be involved in the future,” said Jamie Anderson, Boise County Commissioner.

Volunteers have been working towards that end for years. In 2006, the same thing was done a few miles downstream, along the banks of Mores Creek. That appears to be working.

“This is the first year that we saw the kokanee salmon make it all the way up to our restoration site. It’s very important. It’s critical to wildlife. There’s a whole host of animals that depend on those fish, and those fish are an indicator to our water quality. If the fish are doing well, then everything is doing pretty well in the system,” said Elkovich.

What took years to scar will take years to heal.

“They’re going to see a forest here later where it was just rock cobble,” said Elkovich.

In Memory of Dave Faurot

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:58:00 -0500

In Memory of Dave Faurot: Dave was active with TUs Trout in the Classroom program in McCall. He...