Not sure what you guys read out there but there is one man who has a perspective like a razor sharp knife about the Yellowstone Ecosystem:  Jack Turner.  He is president of Exum Mountain Guides, climbed the Grant Teton 400 times and has publish two awesome books:  The Abstract Wild and Teewinot: A Year in the Teton Range.   The Abstract Wild is not for the faint of heart. It dives into the real issues of choice and conservation and forces the reader to take a stand.  I guess I did by deciding to fund work here in the Yellowstone ecosystem and press upon everyone the need to come to terms with the slow destruction of the entire ecosystem.  The Railroad Ranch is just one highly visible part of the Yellowstone world that is in trouble.   Every place is challenged by economic development.

A good example we all know is the South Fork where the rainbows are slowly displacing the native cutthroats.  The Trout Unlimited Program of “Bang a Bow”  where anglers are asked to kill (and eat) any rainbows caught on the South Fork.  Few if any do this.  Why? Well we are so catch and release driven that we want to keep as many fish in the river so we can catch them or their kids in the future.  But in the process we will enable the rainbows to eliminate the cut population.   And when we do that then the South Fork becomes a whore house full of the fish man has chosen to catch not those fish who survived thousands of years of drought, heat, ice and storms.

Rainbows have no rights to be here. They are imported, a guest of humans, a killer of native fishes.  So there is no protection for rainbows - no laws, no ESA, no nothing.  Which means that the water is more important than the fish since the water brings life and income to the people who farm and ranch downstream.   They got you on this one Mr Fisherman.   They can do whatever they want and they have for 100 years and you can not stop them.  Not HFF, not TNC, not TU….

Good ecology or money and fun… I think we have be conned to accept money and fun as the basis for the fishing experience.  If you want to know more about your choices now, read Travels in the Greater Yellowstone by Jack Turner and come to your own conclusions.   Your fishing will improve quickly after you do…

I am back on the East Coast getting my son ready for college.  Back in Jackson on Saturday and will find out what is happening there, post it.  Stay tuned.

 Yvon Chouinard has been my inspiration since my first ice and rock climbing days in the 70s. Who was your mentor?

Just watch this ok…

I heard that Tiger Woods bought a house in a new exclusive development South of Jackson.  When Tiger says “in the hole” then we all know what he is talking about.  But there is another Hole out there that is pretty damn spectacular.  “In the hole” to me means Jackson Hole and nothing better describes life here than opening day for Flat Creek and Blacktail Ponds - spring creek fishing at its best.

Flat Creek was busy today. I walked down to the river from the parking lot around 9am.   There were maybe 40 people fishing spaced about 100 feet apart.  Bugs were everywhere. Crane flies and brown drakes were thick and the fish were eating.   I just brought my camera and HD camcorder, no fly rod - and hung out across from a first timer named John from New York.  He caught 2 nice fish in 10 minutes.   I did not see anyone else slaying the fish.  But the water was covered in bugs…

I left and ran up to the Gros Ventre to see what was happening.  We have not had rain in weeks and the bison were moving down to the cottonwoods along the river for shade and water.   They really are beautiful animals and just walked right by me maybe 20 feet away.

Next I drove over to the Blacktail Ponds parking lot.  There were 8 cars in the parking lot - too many anglers to try and fish the short stretch of the spring creek that holds all the fish.  So I headed up past the head of the spring and hit the river a mile up.  The Snake is running around 2500 cfs and pretty low.  Last year the Snake ran around 4,000 cfs all summer.   My favorite  “undiscovered” spring creek was all skinny water but I did find 3 nice fish holding at the tail just before the main part of the river.   They did not eat my hopper.  So I moved into the main part of the river and landed 3 cutbows in 3 casts - small 8″-10″ fish.   I moved up and caught my first brook trout on the Snake.  I was surprised by the cutbows and brookies… never knew they had moved this far up.   I worked up another mile, saw a ton of elk tracks in the sand but no human footprints - my idea of a great day here.

Tiger - eat your heart out as you keep making your millions on man-made golf courses.  I will take a day in this Hole anytime.

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Our ace in the hole

 

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Native fish like the cutthroat trout occupy a very special place in the western United States.  They were here 10,000 years ago, they kept Lewis and Clark alive during their expedition back in 1805 and they are the only Western trout that have rights under US federal law as defined by the endangered species act.  Brown trout don’t, rainbow trout don’t, brook trout don’t - not in the Mountain West.  Why? Well they were put here by people who wanted to have a different kind of fishery - one that suited their taste.  When these non-native fish were all caught out, they just replaced them with more from a hatchery.   A long time ago people crossed the line and stocked the rivers of the West with non-native fish.  There is no point now in asking why they did it but you can ask so what’s next? What are the decisions to be made that give top priority protect to native fish and their habitat and less priority to non-native rivers and streams.

People argue about the economic value of these stocked streams full or rainbows and browns.  Don’t get me wrong.  When a brown trout chases down your streamer on the South Fork, it is a wonderful experience.   But this blog and MVF are not about everybody having a good time.  We have set the bar higher for us, for the ecosystem, for the trout, and for the future.   But back to economic value…  People really have a choice here and unfortunately it is a binary choice - either 1) you are for restoring native populations of trout in Western rivers regardless of the cost and economic impact or 2) you are for wealth extraction from the river, lakes and streams at any cost. Let’s not set our sights to low on either case.

If you choose 2) then economics wins out over biodiversity and all that environment crap and we should go forth fully - stock more rivers more often, grow bigger fish and set new world size and line class records, double or triple the angler visits to the area, drive up real estate prices, boost the local economy and create jobs.  I would not be opposed to stocking rivers like the Henry’s Fork with salmon - big ones…  imagine hooking a 20 lb salmon on a dry fly on a 5 weight!   People would show up in droves to fish. The economic impact would be huge.

If you choose 1) then you are in for a long struggle that requires you to go up against the economic powerhouses in the West - oil/gas, timber, land development, tourism…    Fish have no rights except under the threat of extinction.  A developer can put in 1,000 homes that surround a native cutthroat stream.  All they need is a permit from the county to build.  Some say it is man’s right to take the earth resources for his own personal gain.   I do not believe that any more and I choose to focus our work on protection not restoration.   Does not really matter why.  I just do.

Most enviro/trout groups focus on restoration or the repair from the impacts of 2) more than habitat protection or 1). Why? Restoration is all good business for everybody and an essential part of life in the West. Better flows, fence streambanks to keep out the cows, fight for more instream flows from the irrigators…  Restoration gets people engaged, aware and brings a sense of satisfaction to the community.  I am thankful to groups like HFF and TU that lead the way in restoration.  But there is more to do than just that.

I have come to the conclusion that protection is the #1 priority for me.  That means we choose door #1.  We are running out of native species, habitats and opportunities to protect and preserve a way of life, a habitat that Lewis and Clark found over 200 years ago.  I would rather catch 6-15 inch cuts in a wild river than catch a big 22 inch rainbow on a restored stream.  The cutthroats have been in these rivers for for at least ten thousand years.  They have as much right as we do be live in a safe and protected environment.   Time to take a stand.

So what is your choice? Door #1 or Door 2?

Marine Ventures is supporting the Trout Unlimited study of the impact of irrigation diversion canals on native cutthroat populations on the Gros Ventre River in Grand Teton National Park.  I have been out on the river a few times to get a first hand look at the trout population in the diversion canal about 100 yrs from the main stem of the river.   I can not tell if the fish I caught 2 days ago is a Yellowstone cutthroat or a cutbow.  What do you think?

I think it is a cutbow given the color splotches on its side and the gills.  Any opinions?

There is a great post by René Harrop who has been fishing the Ranch for 5 decades.  You can read it on the TroutHunter blog site.

Rene pretty much tells the story…

Gros Ventre Irrigation Permits (from http://ims2.wrds.uwyo.edu/Website/Irrigated_Lands/viewer.htm)

There is an incredible history of how the West was settled, developed and turned into an economic engine that it is today.  The people who settled in Jackson Hole were true pioneers and coupled with an aggressive federal water rights program, were able to develop the vast ranches that exist today.  They must have been incredible people.

I live above the owner of the water permits above.  I did not realize how connected everything is:  my home, my front yard, my neighbors, my favorite fishing river, my desire to protect the river and ecosystem and the choices we each make to live as we desire.  When the rancher below irrigates his fields in late summer, the lower portion of the Gros Ventre River dries up, fishing stops.  But the vast valley below my house stays green and beautiful.  I guess I am connected to all around me.

Above is a picture at sunset below my house. You can see the flood irrigation technique used by the rancher below.  I have some questions…

I fish the Gros Ventre in the Tetons pretty regularly. Was on the river yesterday and found the fish below the diversion canal gate off the main stem of the river.  Caught 5 cuts all on various hoppers.  I debated whether to carry them up above the diversion canal and put them back in the main river. I needed a bucket or something  to carry them.  Otherwise they will all die in a month or two when the diversion canal is shut off and the diversion ditch dries up.  Maybe I can get some volunteers to help catch and carry them to safety.