Find what moves you

Return to the Outdoors is a Web site recently launched by The Conservation Alliance and Timex, a Conservation Alliance member company. Their goal - inspire people to get out, enjoy and protect wild places. The Web site features videos about people who identify with special places, and how those places inspire them to be involved in conservation. Check out this fly fishing related video of Yvon Chouinard in Argentina. Visit The Cleanest Line for a more detailed post about this subject. Find what moves you.

Photo by Henry Barber

Let em flow

I spend a fair amount of time in Southern California and have always heard talk of how steelhead once thrived in the ocean flowing coastal rivers of SoCal. The talk is pretty similar to the atlantic salmon stories I've heard in New England. Unfortunately we all no that dams, development, farming practices, poor planning and habitat loss have caused once plentiful species to dwindle or die out. So when Malinda Chouinard forwarded an email from Matt Stoecker I thought it was worth sharing. Here was proof once again of the tenacity of Mother Nature in the face of a formidable opponent - us. Let the following message and pictures serve as a reminder that there is always hope and that we must be part of the solution to environmental crisis.

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them"
- Albert Einstein

Original email from Matt Stoecker (Stoecker Ecological)
March 31, 2008

Hello all,
I wanted to share an amazing experience I had a couple days ago with you. On a small creek near Santa Barbara I had the rare opportunity to spend some time swimming with and documenting the seldom seen southern steelhead. Attached are some of the photos taken. The two adults back from their adventures at sea are in the 26-30 inch range and the small "juvenile" steelhead are possibly ready to head downstream to start their ocean odyssey.

Unfortunately these fish were prevented from being able to migrate upstream to adequate spawning habitat due to a large road crossing barrier that prevents passage. Fortunately, if all goes as planned this barrier will be removed this summer after seven years of studies, designs, permits, landowner agreements, and fundraising from many individuals.

Right now, all over California's watersheds there are thousands of steelhead and salmon stuck below migration barriers us humans have built, many of which are obsolete, poorly planned, and safety hazards in need of replacement or removal so these amazing fish can swim home and our rivers can run free.

Let em flow,
Matt

Photos by Matt Stoecker

Footprint Chronicles

The Way Upstream community has been vocal in its appreciation for the transparency that this blog provides with regard to gear for fishing. It has given the community a voice that didn't really exist before. Well Patagonia has taken things a few footsteps further by becoming the first major apparel manufacturer to track and expose the social and environmental impact of building specific products through The Footprint Chronicles, an interactive website that reveals to consumers the good and the bad involved in manufacturing outdoor clothing such as Synchilla fleece vests and rain shells. In a bold move that might make most companies nervous, Patagonia is determined to be candid and forthright about its impact on the environment and created the site to encourage dialog with its customers who are concerned about the environment.

"Our customers are scientists, activists, professors, doctors and more – they have the collective experience and knowledge we’re looking for," said Casey Sheahan (Patagonia CEO). "We’re highlighting exactly what happens in the manufacturing process and asking customers for their suggestions and help in efforts to find solutions to our less sustainable practices. It’s a unique dialogue to engage in – but one that will ultimately allow us to cause less harm to the planet."

According to Jill Dumain, Patagonia’s director of environmental programs, the research involved in developing the Chronicles has proved to actually drive major business decisions at Patagonia. The Chronicles revealed that transportation makes up only about 1 percent of our overall energy use,” said Dumain. “Had we listened to the current media buzz touting transportation as the largest factor in energy consumption, we might have greatly misplaced our efforts by making strides to geographically shorten our supply chain – which would have massively impacted our business financially, logistically and perhaps even effected product quality – and we would only have reduced our energy savings by 1 percent. Instead, we are focusing our energy on areas where we can truly make a difference – right in the heart of the manufacturing process."

The launch of The Footprint Chronicles puts into practice a prototype that hopes to inspire other companies to increase their transparency, and at the very least, raise awareness.

The Footprint Chronicles includes more than 35 filmed interviews and slideshows of factory workers, farmers, owners, designers and third-party auditors to provide an unprecedented level of transparency both internally and externally - from the factories and manufacturing partners that create its products, to the end of the product’s lifespan.

Press release excerpt by Jenn Rapp

Factory photo by Steve Swartzendruber
Footprint photo by Tim Borski

Where should I park?

TROUT UNLIMITED announced that its new television program "On the Rise" will begin airing on the Outdoor Channel this spring. Hosted by Telluride, Colorado fly fishing guide, Frank Smethurst, the show will feature some of the best fly fishing around the country. Traveling in an Airstream trailer painted in trout patterns, Frank travels to rivers and streams where TU has made a difference and takes the viewer on a fish-filled journey across America. Those of you who see the current AEG Film Tour will get a glimpse of this project.

Filming continues on the east coast this spring. If you have a suggestion of where Frank should park his trailer alongside a river and cast a few flies, please fill out the online form (click here).

Photo courtesy of Jerry Darkes

No Upwelling

From the Associated Press
March 4, 2008

GRANTS PASS, ORE. -- Scientists examining the sudden and widespread collapse of West Coast salmon returns are pointing to the unusual changes in weather patterns that caused the bottom to fall out of the ocean food web in 2005.

NOAA Fisheries Service oceanographer Bill Peterson said the juvenile salmon that left their native rivers and entered the Pacific Ocean in 2005 found little food being transported by the California Current, which flows from the northern Pacific south along the West Coast.

The reason was that the jet stream had shifted to the south, delaying the spring onset of winds out of the north that create a condition known as upwelling, which kickstarts the ocean food web by stirring the water from bottom to top, the agency said.

If there is no upwelling, there is no phytoplankton growth, no zooplankton growth, and basically you have no food chain that develops, because it all depends on the upwelling," Peterson said.
"We are not dismissing other potential causes for this year's low salmon returns," NOAA Fisheries Service Northwest Science Center Director Usha Varanasi said in a statement. "But the widespread pattern of low returns along the West Coast for (both coho and chinook) salmon indicates an environmental anomaly occurred in the California Current in 2005."

Read the complete article by Jeff Barnard (AP Environmental Writer) - click here

Drawings by Noah Stracqualursi
Flickr illustration by El Pescador

Jigsaw puzzle

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission released a peer reviewed stock assessment for striped bass for the fishing year 2006. The bottom line of the assessment was that striped bass are not being over fished, although the spawning stock biomass – the total weight of all spawning age fish – has declined each of the last four years, and fishing mortality is at the “target” fishing mortality rate – the maximum rate at which striped bass should be killed by fishermen. In summary, it was decided that no action needed to be taken on striped bass management this year and that the situation would be reviewed again next year.

This information appears designed to reassure the public that all is well with striped bass, but Stripers Forever believes an in depth review is warranted. Their concerns with the stock assessment center on the fluctuations that these statistics have had over the last five or six years, and what they perceive to be the determination by fishery managers to put a positive spin on striped bass stocks in spite of some serious negative indications. To read the complete article click here.

Illustration by El Pescador

Dirty Gold

Just in time for Valentine's Day, jewelry retailers are stepping up a campaign that aims to discourage the mining and sale of "dirty gold." A group of jewelry retailers has signed the "Bristol Bay Protection Pledge," which seeks to halt the huge Pebble Mine planned for Alaska's salmon spawning headwaters. Click here to read the LA Times article by staff writer Margot Roosevelt (free registration required). Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Photo by Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times

World Trout

The mission of World Trout is to identify individuals and groups that protect native fish, tell their story and support their conservation efforts. Since its inception in January, 2005 (through March 31, 2007), anglers purchased 41,612 World Trout t-shirts and raised $208,060. World Trout supporters have also been seeking out grassroots groups to donate funds and volunteer their time. Patagonia plans to continue the World Trout efforts which help provide funding for groups who protect fish and enhance natural habitats. Help support grassroots groups in your local areas (fresh and saltwater) by volunteering your time and/or providing financial support. In the case of World Trout, simply buying a limited edition, organic cotton t-shirt can help protect species at home and around the world. Click on the bold text to learn more. Visit a Patagonia Dealer or Patagonia Retail Store near you.

Click here to watch a short video on artist and World Trout co-founder James Prosek.

Teach your children well

First-of-its-kind global study shows "a real and fundamental shift" away from nature
Arlington, VA — February 4, 2008 — New Nature Conservancy-funded research shows that across the U.S. and in other developed nations, people are spending far less time outdoors than ever before. The study will be published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers say this study — the most comprehensive look yet at nature recreation — is a "grim confirmation" of a long-held theory that people, especially children, are spending less time in the great outdoors.

The research builds on earlier studies that showed visits to American national parks were declining, and it illustrates that the problem isn’t limited to parks — and isn’t just found in the U.S. "As a scientist and a conservationist, I find these results almost terrifying," said Oliver Pergams, assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago and lead author of the study. "We are seeing a fundamental shift away from people's interest in nature, not just in the US but in other countries, too. The consequences of this could be deep and far-ranging for health, for human well-being, and for the future of the planet."

To read the complete article click here.



Way Upstream Productions 2008

Good illustration

Matt Boutet sent me an email recently about a story that Dave Sherwood had just written on an open pit mine project that was forced to close. Matt wrote: "I just heard from Dave, his latest project down in Costa Rica was a story on a recently closed open pit gold mine down there. With all the buzz around the Pebble Mine up in AK and the Felt Soul film coming out, it seems like this is a good illustration of what could happen up there if the project gets the green light."

I sent Dave an email asking him for a short overview on this Bellavista story and he wrote back: "Open-pit gold mines are rarely without their problems. But when landslides ripped across the face of the Bellavista open-pit gold mine in Miramar, Costa Rica, mine officials were shocked. The disaster left 350 unemployed and a potential environmental disaster hanging in the balance. Costa Rica's Gulf of Nicoya, a prime fishing ground for snook, red snapper, corvina and sharks is threatened. Miners blamed God. Activists, townspeople and environmentalists believe it may have been something more. "

To read Dave's story on the Bellavista Mine click here.

Photos by Ronald Reyes and Dave Sherwood

NPR covers Rock Snot

Way Upstream posted twice about invasive species issues in 2007 (Invasive Algae and Aquatic Hitchhikers) . National Public Radio covered the "Rock Snot" story recently which has given the invasive species problem more needed national exposure. Click here to read the Morning Edition story from 12/31/07. Click here to listen to the NPR broadcast. The broadcast is about 4 minutes long. Be sure to wait a few seconds after the 12 second intro for the broadcast to start. Listen and share your thoughts.A rock snot bloom (Didymosphenia geminata- "Didymo") can cover a stream from bank to bank and reach for miles. Twenty years ago, the algae was found only in isolated mountain streams in western Canada. But a more aggressive version has spread to streams in the western United States and to the East Coast.

Things are about to change

The face of fly-fishing is changing. AEG Media is launching the 2008 film tour this winter with the kick off event at Patagonia Headquarters in Ventura, CA. Members of AEG Media: Chris Owens, Thad Robison, Justin Crump and Brian Jill, known as the “AEG Fish Bums”, founded the film tour in 2006. Last year, the 2007 film tour screened to over 5,000 attendees. Several venues sold out with over 500 seat capacities and pre-show lines were compared to block buster movie premiers. That film tour far exceeded any expectations. This year AEG is increasing the number of venues and plans to boost the number of attendees to over 50,000.

What can you expect to see at the Fly Fishing Film Tour?
Films shot in extreme, exotic and distant locations; epic scenery, cutting edge music, conservation pieces that are as entertaining to watch, as they are important; and of course fish on the end of the tippet.

If you fly fish you are going to be blown away, if you don’t fly fish you are going to be inspired. Online ticket sales begin January 1st 2008. For more information (locations, dates, times and more) log onto the Fly Fishing Film Tour website.

Aquatic Hitchhikers

I had lunch with a fisheries biologist recently. The main topic of conversation was aquatic hitchhikers. A big portion of the discussion was about felt soles on wading boots. I find myself in a fair number of these discussions now. The reason - there is a problem. Invasive species (Didymo, New Zealand Mudsnails, Whirling Disease and others) are spreading quite fast. How much is by fly fisherman and felt? It's complex. Even if you use rubber soled wading boots you can transport organisms (laces, gravel guards, boot linnings). With that said, it does appear as though felt can add a lot of disease transporting capability.The biologist explained the various gear soaking solutions, timelines and such required for safe disinfection. The practice of disinfection is routine for biologists but I suspect not for a large number of fisher folk. How close is this issue to you? Do you know the disinfection procedures? Do you practice gear disinfection?Let me know your thoughts on the issue of aquatic hitchhikers and felt.

Photo courtesy of Moldy Chum

Good luck bidders

1% For The Planet has created an online auction in an effort to have some fun, introduce member companies and the public to each other, fund growth and to help you get some holiday shopping out of the way while giving back to the planet.
One Percent for the Planet is a product of shared, deep appreciation and concern for the great outdoors. 1%FTP was founded by Yvon Chouinard of Patagaonia and Craig Matthews of Blue Ribbon Flies. Launched in 2002, 1%FTP is a non-profit organization that represents a large and ever growing community of businesses worldwide, who donate 1% of their annual sales to various non-profits worldwide, benefiting the natural environment. To date, their network consists of 767 member companies and over 1,500 environmental organizations.
Way Upstream encourages you to visit their auction page. You’ll find all the items, including some true rarities, a click away on the left hand side of their auction page in a categorized list. The auction is live through December 5th. Good luck bidders!

Help Reform the 1872 Mining Law

I was alerted to this call to action by Travis Rummel of Felt Soul Media. Check out his post on The Wire. My request - Make your voice heard on the issue of mining law reform. Time is short (10/31). Click on this link for more information - I CAN HELP. My thoughts - Watersheds are directly affected by mining. Keep in mind that all the material that comes out of pits like the ones shown has to go somewhere. What does the mining industry track record for resource protection look like? What is the real economic benefit picture? Are pits in the earth due to extraction "needs" really the best thing for the planet? For us? We're talking long term impacts on a mother nature level. Ain't no gettin' the mountain back....or the river. I ask - Do something unusual, call your Representative and tell them to vote for HR2262, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 or you can find your Representative's contact information and send them an email HERE. My opinion - The Mining Law Act of 1872 is arguably the worst case of corporate welfare in our nation's history. If it's after hours you can still call your reps D.C. office and leave a message, TELL THEM TO VOTE YES ON HR2262.

Top - The Bingham Canyon mine as seen from 10,500 feet. Note: there used to be mountains there. Photo by Ben Knight

Bottom - The Grasberg Mine in Indonesia is the current #1 open pit mine for total mineralization value in the world. The Pebble deposit looks to be larger in total value and will soon surpass Grasberg in total mineralization value. Pretty $cary.

1% For The Planet

October 15th (Blog Action Day) is a day for all bloggers to come together to write about an important topic. This years topic is the environment. I though it might be a good time to post a little piece on a tribe of individuals and organizations that participate in a special effort. That effort is called 1% For The Planet. 1% For The Planet is an alliance of businesses committed to leveraging their resources to create a healthier planet. Members recognize their responsibility to and dependence on a healthy environment and donate at least 1% of their annual sales to environmental organizations worldwide. 1% For The Planet was launched in 2001 by Yvon Chouinard, environmental activist and founder of Patagonia, Inc., and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies. The list of members is impressive. Take a moment and click on the links to learn more or to get involved with 1% For The Planet.

Red Gold

Bristol Bay Alaska is home to the last great wild salmon fishery in the world. Multinational mining company Northern Dynasty plans to build the largest open pit mine in North America at the headwaters of the resource. Check out this 3 minute trailer for Felt Soul Media's upcoming film - Red Gold. It does a good job of framing the debate. Let me know your reaction.

Birth

My birthday was the other day (9/23) and I remembered that I had written a short journal entry a few years ago that I thought was worth a post. On Oct. 6, 2003 El Pescador penned this, "It was a blustery, rainy afternoon due to residual hurricane effects. The sea was rough like the weather but the fish were there. One clue was the 100 sea gulls lined up along the shoreline where the river meets the ocean. I caught 10 nice stripers in an hour and a half. The experience really connected me to my birth. The setting was a balance between turbulent and serene. I was half submerged in saltwater and my other half was above the sea, exposed. It was just mother nature and me. I was reborn."

Local waterway

I got this story from Andy Mitchell in Patagonia Dealer Services (Reno, NV) and it struck me as a great example of a vital ingredient in maintaining the health of the activity we call fishing. I read articles about fishing participation being down. Many in the industry ask, how can we foster new participation? My view, it’s right here in this story. We need to make sure that our local spots are healthy. These local spots are where all of us, including the budding 14 yr. old angler got and/or get hooked on fishing. The local waters are where we bust out for an evening stint to test a new pattern, line, rod or reel. It’s where we polish our techniques. It’s where we observe the things that teach us lessons, like how a heron or egret patiently “fishes” or how stoneflies crawl out onto rocky platforms to shuck their exoskeleton for wings. I applaud those that invest effort in making their local waters viable ecosystems and I applaud those that work with the novice angler. It’s not all about the 185lb tarpon or the searing run of a Christmas Island bone. It’s really about the "BEHEMOTH" that lives under your local waterway bridge. That’s where we get “obsessed”.
Here’s Andy’s story:

“Hi Steve-- I wanted to fill you in on the epic trout that has been sighted here about the Reno DC lately. I haven't done much all summer accept study for a graduate school test and plan an internship with Save Our Wild Salmon. To ward off the stress and desk fluff that can accumulate with a lifestyle like that I took to "experiencing fitness" during lunch by running a quick 4-mile loop along the Truckee River. I can't cross a bridge without peaking over to spot fish. There is one footbridge about a half mile east of here that spans the Truckee right above where a tributary enters and it is usually pretty easy to spot trout wiggling around in the current. Last month I looked over the edge and saw a BEHEMOTH calmly pointing upstream swishing his mighty tail to the rhythm. I almost swallowed my jogging do-rag. I thought for a second it might actually be a carp but I climbed up on the railing of the bridge to get a better look. When he banked hard left I a saw the silver/pink glint-- a monster ‘Bow.

I spread the word-- people confirmed the sighting, some called me a liar, others claimed they saw different and bigger fish-- but spotting that big daddy became bit of an obsession, so much so that I finally got the camera out and made my way down there daily to try to spot him. So here is a picture of the bridgewhere the mythic beast of the Truckee lives. I’ll let you know if anyone gets him on the line.”


Contribution by Andy Mitchell
Photos by Greg Ponte and Andy Mitchell

Free to roam

It’s only fitting that the previous post highlighting James Prosek be followed up by a piece on the other founding member of World Trout – Yvon Chouinard. These pictures and the following words found their way upstream to El Pescador from Casey Sheahan (Patagonia CEO). Click on the colored text (links) to read more about YC and a variety of salmon articles. Casey wrote:

“Rare to see YC holding a fish out of water for even a second but this 26 pound Zolotaya River chromer required closer inspection. This Russian beauty had been caught on the nearby Rynda two summers ago and blue-tagged to identify it as a product of Rynda waters--proof of salmo salar's wandering capabilities, and what happens to salmon when allowed to swim freely, spawn repeatedly without estuary nets and net pen farming.”

Contribution by Casey Sheahan and El Jefe

Photos by Bruce McNae