Trout Unlimited applauded Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns yesterday for an increase in conservation funding in the Farm Bill by $7.8 billion, almost tripling existing funds.
Yesterday’s announcement also included a proposed Regional Water Enhancement Program, which would invest $175 million annually to support projects that improve water quality and increase stream flows.
Here is the full TU response to the Farm Bill.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
More dead sea lions on Oregon beaches
Leave those dead/dying sea lions alone, say experts from Oregon State University in an Associated Press report from today's Seattle Times. More of these animals are washing up on Oregon beaches than usual, thanks to an increased sea lion population, gun shot wounds from angry fishermen and a bacteria called Leptospirosis that is potentially harmful to humans. The disease has shown up in roughly 1/3 of the dead animals.
Fishermen are blamed for a significant amount of sea lion deaths because sea lions steal hooked salmon. Last November I almost tripped over a dying sea lion that had been shot in the back while I was walking along the Sixes River at Cape Blanco. See below:
For more info, check out the Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
Fishermen are blamed for a significant amount of sea lion deaths because sea lions steal hooked salmon. Last November I almost tripped over a dying sea lion that had been shot in the back while I was walking along the Sixes River at Cape Blanco. See below:
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| From MattStansberry |
For more info, check out the Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Storming Mount Pisgah
After spending the past 10 days on the East Coast, I finally got back to Oregon today and hit the city of Eugene's personal stairmaster, Mt. Pisgah. The trail starts at the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum and climbs 1.5 miles to the 1500ft summit (about 1,000 ft elevation gain).
The snowcapped Cascades were shining to the northeast from the summit -- almost as good a view as I got flying in the tiny prop plane from PDX to Eugene this morning.
The snowcapped Cascades were shining to the northeast from the summit -- almost as good a view as I got flying in the tiny prop plane from PDX to Eugene this morning.
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| From MattStansberry |
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| From MattStansberry |
Oregon feature photo: Mount McLoughlin
Today's Oregon feature photo comes from Steve Byland, who said: On a recent trip through southern Oregon, I glanced out of the car window and saw this sight. I pulled over and took a few photos - amazed that other people in passing cars barely gave this mountain a second look. I had to get out a map to even find it's name.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Mount McLoughlin (aka Mount Pit or Pitt) rises 1,200 meters as a steep-sided, dominantly basaltic andesite lava cone. Mount McLoughlin is a young volcano, according to experts.
You can check out Mt. McLoughlin yourself on the 5.5 mile long trail to the summit (11 miles round trip) through the Winema National Forest.
Klamath dams coming down?
This news comes courtesy of Teh Wind Knot: the U.S. federal government has ordered utility giant PacifiCorp to modify four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River to allow passage for salmon.
From today's Washington Post article: Since modifying the aging dams would cost an estimated $300 million, removing them has suddenly become a much more plausible -- and considerably cheaper -- option.
For more info, check out the Klamath Restoration Council.
Also, here is a link to the official Trout Unlimited response.
In the meantime, I'm taking advice from the Trout Underground and popping a celebratory beer.
From today's Washington Post article: Since modifying the aging dams would cost an estimated $300 million, removing them has suddenly become a much more plausible -- and considerably cheaper -- option.
For more info, check out the Klamath Restoration Council.
Also, here is a link to the official Trout Unlimited response.
In the meantime, I'm taking advice from the Trout Underground and popping a celebratory beer.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Oregon Outdoors feature photo: Upper Proxy Falls
This photo of Upper Proxy Falls was taken in the Willamette National Forest, in Lane County Oregon. If you would like more info on Upper Proxy Falls, check out Waterfalls West. This is the first entry of a new feature on Oregon Outdoor Journal; I will be posting some of the best Oregon outdoors photos from random photo-bloggers at Flickr. If you have a photo you would like to submit, let me know. Thanks to bookgrl for stepping up to the plate to be the first one.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers looking for NW Sportsmen's Show volunteers
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers conservation group is looking for member volunteers in the Washington-Oregon area for the Northwest Sportsmen's Show from February 7-11 2007 in Portland. A few of the founding members are working the event, but they're looking for more voluneers.
If you're wondering who the BHA is, they're a hunting and fishing group dedicated to keeping our roadless wilderness areas wild. Sick of seeing bubbas sitting in recliners in the back of pickup trucks with rifles driving up to Waldo Lake? I saw that on Opening Day of blacktail season last year. Or how about the time I went to check out a little coastal stream a few months back called Tenmile Creek, where I watched a bunch of brain damaged apes pull each other around the parking lot of a recreation area on their trucks, while a bunch more watched, revving their 4-wheelers. Yeah. That was pretty awe inspiring.
If you're looking for a group that will help fight the ATV lobby that's trying to put quad runners in your favorite stretch of wilderness, maybe it's time to give BHA a look and a hand. Definitely stop by the booth.
If you are a BHA volunteer and will be able to run a booth for a little while, write a note to BHA Director Mike Beagle.
If you're wondering who the BHA is, they're a hunting and fishing group dedicated to keeping our roadless wilderness areas wild. Sick of seeing bubbas sitting in recliners in the back of pickup trucks with rifles driving up to Waldo Lake? I saw that on Opening Day of blacktail season last year. Or how about the time I went to check out a little coastal stream a few months back called Tenmile Creek, where I watched a bunch of brain damaged apes pull each other around the parking lot of a recreation area on their trucks, while a bunch more watched, revving their 4-wheelers. Yeah. That was pretty awe inspiring.
If you're looking for a group that will help fight the ATV lobby that's trying to put quad runners in your favorite stretch of wilderness, maybe it's time to give BHA a look and a hand. Definitely stop by the booth.
If you are a BHA volunteer and will be able to run a booth for a little while, write a note to BHA Director Mike Beagle.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Fishing bloggers taking action
Fishing bloggers are taking action on issues that impact our sport. I've been going out and reading a lot of outdoors blogs lately, and I've been really impressed. One of the bloggers I'm reading hits close to home, Greg Lum from Rotten spawn sacs, tattered flies and leaky waders wrote about a private club owner that is moving in on Ohio steelhead streams, trying to lease the crown jewels of the Great Lakes run. I lived 25 years of my life in Ohio and I'm glad somebody like Greg is watching over the home range. Plus, I love fishing Midwest steelhead with my dad and brother when I'm back east, see below:
Then there is the Trout Underground, who wrote one of the most persuasive posts to take action to save trout I've ever read. This guy should be working for Trout Unlimited.
From the Trout Underground:
As if surviving another work week wasn’t accomplishment enough for a Friday, it turns out we need to stop a Canadian mining company from building an open pit coal mine. Seems they want to build it smack dab atop the headwaters of the Flathead River in British Columbia.
I myself think that you simply haven’t truly enjoyed a quality outdoor experience until you’ve seen a couple dozen trout go belly up from toxins while taking in gorgeous scenery like mountains with their tops removed.
If it’s one thing the Trout Underground stands for, it’s Trout Protection. We worship trout. We got their backs.
Here’s the part where you walk the walk: invest 18 seconds (I timed myself, honest) convincing the British Columbia government to reject the Cline coal mine and protect the trout fishery of the Flathead River. Eighteen Seconds. That’s all it takes. Eighteen (I timed myself). Do it. Now. Right now. Now. And then let us know you did.
Well, what are you waiting for? Fill out a letter.
Lastly, special thanks to Fishing Jones for the link today. I've been blogging in various forms since '03, but I always existed in a vacuum. What I'm finding now is a real community. It makes me feel like I might not be crazy.
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| From MattStansberry |
Then there is the Trout Underground, who wrote one of the most persuasive posts to take action to save trout I've ever read. This guy should be working for Trout Unlimited.
From the Trout Underground:
As if surviving another work week wasn’t accomplishment enough for a Friday, it turns out we need to stop a Canadian mining company from building an open pit coal mine. Seems they want to build it smack dab atop the headwaters of the Flathead River in British Columbia.
I myself think that you simply haven’t truly enjoyed a quality outdoor experience until you’ve seen a couple dozen trout go belly up from toxins while taking in gorgeous scenery like mountains with their tops removed.
If it’s one thing the Trout Underground stands for, it’s Trout Protection. We worship trout. We got their backs.
Here’s the part where you walk the walk: invest 18 seconds (I timed myself, honest) convincing the British Columbia government to reject the Cline coal mine and protect the trout fishery of the Flathead River. Eighteen Seconds. That’s all it takes. Eighteen (I timed myself). Do it. Now. Right now. Now. And then let us know you did.
Well, what are you waiting for? Fill out a letter.
Lastly, special thanks to Fishing Jones for the link today. I've been blogging in various forms since '03, but I always existed in a vacuum. What I'm finding now is a real community. It makes me feel like I might not be crazy.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Lightweight Backpacking and Camping book review
I finished reading Lightweight Backpacking and Camping this week and it was definitely worth the price ($25). I wrote about some of the things I learned in a recent post and this is a follow up to include more of the points I took away from the book.
Key things I learned:
Waterproof lining inside of your pack (a trash bag for example) works better than trying to keep your whole pack dry.
Closed cell foam pads are warmer than air mattresses. Use both (air for comfort) and keep them under you by either lashing them together with straps (for couples) or buying a sleeping bag with a pocket to keep pads underneath you.
Tarps are lightweight and open (good ventilation and great views); but they look like a real pain in the ass (my opinion, not theirs).
Vitamin C tabs or electrolyte additives are a good idea, especially if you're treating your water with chemicals.
Purell doubles as hygeine and emergency fire starter.
Passive cooking allows you to boil water and not have to simmer a dish on the stove. This means you can boil water for macaroni or something, put it in a flat-bottom ziploc and avoid dirtying your cook pot. You're looking for items with cook times of less than eight minutes.
Pre-planning should include giving someone detailed trip plans, packing notes on evacuation options and packing A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness and Travel Medicine.
Pack fiber foods, Imodium and disposal blue shop towels. The runs will hurt you pretty bad out in the bush.
Like I said, great book, one of the most helpful I've ever read on any topic. I highlighted a ton of info and I'll likely become a member of their Web community ($25).
Key things I learned:
Like I said, great book, one of the most helpful I've ever read on any topic. I highlighted a ton of info and I'll likely become a member of their Web community ($25).
Friday, January 26, 2007
Summer steelhead action heats up in Eugene and Springfield
In order to keep the blog updated while I travel, I'm posting this content in my absence. This is the second article I wrote for the Springfield News Outdoors Section before the paper closed last fall.
Fly fishing for summer steelhead is peaking right now on the Middle Fork of the Willamette and McKenzie River near town.
Last week I stood waist deep in the Middle Fork, watching my fly line float down and across the current. I had been catching 10-inch trout, rainbow and cutthroat, in the hours before dinner.
On my last cast before packing it in, I whipped my line into the middle of the river and let it swing through the tail out. I twitched the fly with a pull of my left hand and felt a tap. A split second later, the reel handle spun back so fast it nearly broke my thumb.
The big fish didn’t give me time to dwell on my wound. It dug itself into the current and started yanking me into the river and taking line. I knew I had to land this fish or no one would believe me.
A short time later I had the giant sea-run rainbow on the bank, and a short time after that it was on my grill.
Brian Marz, owner of the McKenzie Angler fly shop in Walterville, OR said the good fishing will continue on both rivers. He recommended wade fishing the stretch below Leaburg Dam on the McKenzie during the week -- weekends are a zoo. He said boat anglers would have success drifting the Willamette from the D-Street ramp down to Valley River.
According to Marz, who often guides in the area, the fish in the town runs can really turn aggressive with the falling temperatures, shifting daylight and fresh rain.
A heavy stonefly pattern or leech imitation with an egg fly dropper will catch a lot of fish on either river. It’s a down and dirty presentation, heavy flies and floating strike indicators, but it gets the job done. My personal choice over the past week has been a weighted olive wooly bugger with big rubber legs.
Marz said this year the fishing has been better than usual, especially on the McKenzie. He attributes this in part to the fact that Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife hasn’t been trucking fish back down river from the Leaburg Hatchery -- an operation ODFW terms “recycling”.
In past years, ODFW biologists trapped adult steelhead stacking up outside of Leaburg Dam -- fish that are trying to return to the hatchery where they were reared. The biologists loaded steelhead onto trucks and then hauled them back down river where the anglers would have another shot at them.
According to Jeff Ziller, district fish biologist, this was done for two reasons. First, it gave anglers another shot at catching the fish as they ran up the river again. Secondly, it kept a number of fish from breaching the fish ladder at Leaburg Dam.
While ODFW rears and plants steelhead on the McKenzie system, they don’t want them to move upriver beyond the dam or reproduce. These stocked fish can carry a virus that could potentially affect wild trout populations upriver. Yet the waterway must remain open because ODFW cannot impede the migration of spring Chinook salmon. But the recycling program minimizes that risk.
This year, ODFW did not recycle the steelhead, and Marz said he thinks the fishing has been better as a result. “The recycled fish are thrown for a loop and won’t bite for a month,” he said. “You can pound a recycled fish in the face with a fly and it won’t bite. There are more fish biting this year, they are fighting more and have better flesh.”
Marz hadn’t spoken with biologists about his theory and was anxious to hear what they had to say.
Ziller agreed that there might be some validity to Marz’ idea, but he said other factors played into the better than average season.
Ziller said the river systems had more water this year and the fish didn’t get the summer doldrums. Also, 20,000 steelhead returned to the Willamette system this year, 25% more than last year’s count of 14,000.
With more and meaner fish in the system, the action should remain steady for the coming weeks. If you are interested in learning about how to fly fish for steelhead, the McKenzie Angler is offering a seminar on Sunday evening. For more information call (541) 736 5045.
Fly fishing for summer steelhead is peaking right now on the Middle Fork of the Willamette and McKenzie River near town.
 |
| From MattStansberry |
Last week I stood waist deep in the Middle Fork, watching my fly line float down and across the current. I had been catching 10-inch trout, rainbow and cutthroat, in the hours before dinner.
On my last cast before packing it in, I whipped my line into the middle of the river and let it swing through the tail out. I twitched the fly with a pull of my left hand and felt a tap. A split second later, the reel handle spun back so fast it nearly broke my thumb.
 |
| From MattStansberry |
The big fish didn’t give me time to dwell on my wound. It dug itself into the current and started yanking me into the river and taking line. I knew I had to land this fish or no one would believe me.
A short time later I had the giant sea-run rainbow on the bank, and a short time after that it was on my grill.
Brian Marz, owner of the McKenzie Angler fly shop in Walterville, OR said the good fishing will continue on both rivers. He recommended wade fishing the stretch below Leaburg Dam on the McKenzie during the week -- weekends are a zoo. He said boat anglers would have success drifting the Willamette from the D-Street ramp down to Valley River.
 |
| From MattStansberry |
According to Marz, who often guides in the area, the fish in the town runs can really turn aggressive with the falling temperatures, shifting daylight and fresh rain.
A heavy stonefly pattern or leech imitation with an egg fly dropper will catch a lot of fish on either river. It’s a down and dirty presentation, heavy flies and floating strike indicators, but it gets the job done. My personal choice over the past week has been a weighted olive wooly bugger with big rubber legs.
Marz said this year the fishing has been better than usual, especially on the McKenzie. He attributes this in part to the fact that Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife hasn’t been trucking fish back down river from the Leaburg Hatchery -- an operation ODFW terms “recycling”.
In past years, ODFW biologists trapped adult steelhead stacking up outside of Leaburg Dam -- fish that are trying to return to the hatchery where they were reared. The biologists loaded steelhead onto trucks and then hauled them back down river where the anglers would have another shot at them.
According to Jeff Ziller, district fish biologist, this was done for two reasons. First, it gave anglers another shot at catching the fish as they ran up the river again. Secondly, it kept a number of fish from breaching the fish ladder at Leaburg Dam.
While ODFW rears and plants steelhead on the McKenzie system, they don’t want them to move upriver beyond the dam or reproduce. These stocked fish can carry a virus that could potentially affect wild trout populations upriver. Yet the waterway must remain open because ODFW cannot impede the migration of spring Chinook salmon. But the recycling program minimizes that risk.
This year, ODFW did not recycle the steelhead, and Marz said he thinks the fishing has been better as a result. “The recycled fish are thrown for a loop and won’t bite for a month,” he said. “You can pound a recycled fish in the face with a fly and it won’t bite. There are more fish biting this year, they are fighting more and have better flesh.”
Marz hadn’t spoken with biologists about his theory and was anxious to hear what they had to say.
Ziller agreed that there might be some validity to Marz’ idea, but he said other factors played into the better than average season.
Ziller said the river systems had more water this year and the fish didn’t get the summer doldrums. Also, 20,000 steelhead returned to the Willamette system this year, 25% more than last year’s count of 14,000.
With more and meaner fish in the system, the action should remain steady for the coming weeks. If you are interested in learning about how to fly fish for steelhead, the McKenzie Angler is offering a seminar on Sunday evening. For more information call (541) 736 5045.
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