A new threat is emerging to the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska, home to the world’s largest remaining chunk of intact temperate rain forest.

The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is moving to mark up Senate Bill 881, legislation intended to benefit Sealaska Corp., the regional Alaska Native corporation in the Southeast panhandle. Sealaska has large timber holdings in Southeast Alaska and has clear-cut logged thousands of acres of forest in recent decades. Under the bill, the corporation would get another 80,000 acres of the Tongass as part of its final land selections under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

The Senate bill would not only transfer tens of thousands of acres of prime public lands into private hands for logging. Sealaska would be eligible to select dozens of future economic development sites ranging in size from four to 1,400 acres scattered around Southeast Alaska in some of the best bays, coves and anchorages valued by hunters and fishermen.

Check out the fact sheet on the Sealaska bill.  Consider contacting your senators – especially if he or she is on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Good news emerged recently from the Alaska Board of Fisheries regarding Bristol Bay, home of Alaska’s largest salmon runs. Late last week, the seven-member board sent a letter to the Alaska Legislature asking lawmakers to conduct a comprehensive review of the state’s permitting standards for mines. The board members asked legislators to review all regulations and statutes to see whether they provide adequate environmental safeguards for Bristol Bay, and if not, to enact stricter ones.

Trout Unlimited Alaska, along with a large contingent of fishermen, Alaska Natives, guides, outfitters, lodge owners and other members of the public, had asked for such a review.

“The scale of this mine is unprecedented and the risks it poses to Bristol Bay’s fisheries warrant at the very least a hard look by Alaska lawmakers at the state’s existing permit regulations,” said Tim Bristol, director of Trout Unlimited’s Alaska program.

The fisheries board, whose members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature,  set seasons, bag limits, and other policy aspects of Alaska’s subsistence, commercial, sport, guided sport, and personal use fisheries.

Read more:

A group of high school students in Dillingham, Alaska, has launched an online petition calling on Congress and the Obama Administration to oppose to massive Pebble mine project in Bristol Bay. The group, called Rebels to the Pebble,  is organizing young people to join a grassroots campaign to stop the mine project from going forward. Like many others, including Trout Unlimited, Rebels to the Pebble say the risks to Bristol Bay’s rich salmon fishery are too great.

View the petition.

Brown trout/Chris Anderson

In the winter issue of Trout magazine, David J. Tough wrote asking what he could do to help conserve Colorado’s Big Thompson.  He has observed more fishing pressure between Loveland and Estes Park, Colo.

Two local chapter presidents got in touch to give us the scoop on conservation efforts and concerns on this stretch of the Big Thompson. Thanks to Trigg White, president of the Alpine Anglers Chapter, and Lee Evans, president of the Rocky Mountain Flycasters, for helping answer this question for us.

My chapter, Alpine Anglers in Estes Park, is focused on the greenback cutthroat recovery program in Rocky Mountain National Park. Much of that is in the headwaters of the Big Thompson, but not directly related to the section between Estes Park and Loveland. The only thing we do in the lower stretch is an annual river cleanup, often in partnership with Rocky Mountain Flycasters.

Having said that, I’ll give you my thoughts. The Big Thompson below Estes Park is not viewed as being especially threatened from a conservation perspective and, to my knowledge, is not the object of any significant conservation efforts at the present time.  It’s a case where we should have been there 100 years ago. The river is almost completely channelized by U.S. Highway 34 that goes up the canyon–rarely more than 10 to 20 yards from the river–and the riparian area is already extensively developed by cabins and some commercial resorts for most of the 22 river miles. This is not good, but at present no one is trying to make it any worse because there’s almost no private land left to be developed.

One of our biggest problems here in the West is the diversion of water from the rivers for agricultural and municipal use to the point that fisheries are threatened. Ironically, the Big T is the beneficiary of much of this re-plumbing since it is the conduit for delivery of approximately 250,000 acre feet of water that is diverted annually from the Upper Colorado river on the west slope via the Colorado-Big Thompson project to east slope water users. As a result, both water quantity and quality in the Big T are good, and the river has a healthy population of brown and rainbow trout.

So what to tell someone who wants to  know how to help protect his favorite river?

Here are some thoughts:

1. Be vigilant and engaged. Involvement with TU at the local level is an excellent way to stay on the front line and be aware of what’s happening with the river. We’ve got about 800 TU members in the Fort Collins/Loveland/Estes Park area ready to respond should the need arise. We could use your readers’ help on many fronts to keep that organization strong and prepared.

2. Take proper steps to prevent the spread of invasive species that could damage the fishery and the fishing. The Big T has actually fared pretty well during the whirling disease scourge that hit Colorado rivers. We still have a healthy population of wild rainbows. It would be great to keep it that way.

3. Certainly, step up and help with the annual river cleanup along the Big Thompson. Litter is a huge problem because of the highway.

4. While keeping an eye on his favorite stretch of the Big T, participate with fellow TUers in other projects to protect other nearby rivers and to restore native trout species. For example, the Frazer and Upper Colorado rivers, whose headwaters are just a few miles away, are truly threatened by further diversions. TU needs financial support to continue to work with water interests for a better solution.

We have an ongoing program in Rocky Mountain National Park to protect and restore greenback cutthroat trout.  And a draft (thought not yet final) proposal by the U.S. Forest Service would extend the greenback recovery program by adding almost 45 river miles near Long Draw Reservoir in the headwaters of the Poudre River. These programs need extensive volunteer help. Visit our chapter website to learn  more.

Also, Boulder Flycasters chapter has a program to enhance habitat in sections of Boulder Creek. Visit their website to learn more about those efforts.

Trigg White

President, Alpine Anglers Chapter

Lee Evans adds the following.

Trigg is right when he talks about the amount of building, both commercial and private, that exists between Loveland and Estes Park.  For this reason, we believe we need to protect all public access for use by future generations.  In 1976, a huge, devastating flood scoured the lower canyon on the eve of Colorado Day.  Hundreds of lives were lost and the road and much of the development was also washed away or damaged.  Larimer County decided to take some of the parcels of land that were in the floodplain and hold them as public property in perpetuity.  Land owners were compensated, but many were not in agreement.

Recently, “perpetuity” ran out and the county has decided to put many of these parcels up for sale.  They state reasons of cost of upkeep, etc. Our TU chapter believes we must fight to keep those parcels that have river access in the public domain.  This particular issue seems to be the biggest threat to the river and where we must always be vigilant.  Friends of the Big Thompson River is a coalition of conservation groups that address this issue.

Some of the parcels were made into small parks for use by the public.  For many years, some of these parks remained closed because of budget cuts at the county level.  Rocky Mountain Flycasters has adopted the Narrows Park and we meet a few times a year to mow, clean, etc.  It is possible we might adopt another park, as we discuss our volunteerism after the first of the year.

A couple of years back, the Colorado Department of  Wildlife, with encouragement from our chapter and many others, designated the Big Thompson River from Waltonia upstream to the dam at Olympus Lake in Estes Park as catch-and-release, flies and lures only.  Our chapter installed the signs to that effect, and are probably due to replace and maintain those signs.

The river always fishes good and sometimes is excellent for browns and rainbows.  Many years ago, our chapter built a handicapped fishing area and the ramp and platform are still being used.

Trigg’s numbered suggestions are right on the money.  We appreciate a chance to speak to the issues and are very gratified to find people who want to help conserve this beautiful river.  Our chapter would welcome their membership and willingness to help out.

Thanks,

Lee Evans

President, Rocky Mountain Flycasters

Have you fished the Big Thompson lately? What do you think are the biggest conservation issues on that river?

Share your stories, pictures and suggestions in the comments.

Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican working with Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman to find a bipartisan legislative compromise, also reaffirmed his commitment to passing comprehensive energy and climate legislation, telling a group of renewable energy business leaders “…if the approach is to try to pass some half-assed energy bill and say that is moving the ball down the road, forget it with me.”  The fate of legislation is still very much in limbo, but these are positive signs that the President and legislators are making a push to move legislation this year, despite the looming fall elections.

And in the recently released budget proposal for 2011, the Administration increased funding for energy efficiency and climate change programs at the EPA, the Interior Department, and the Department of Energy, even in the face of budget cuts to other programs at those Agencies.  TU will be looking closely at the budget in the coming weeks with an eye towards both energy and climate programs and ecosystem, fish, and wildlife funding priorities.  As the federal government continues to grapple with the daunting task of transitioning to a cleaner energy future and adjusting ecosystem, fish, and wildlife management priorities to deal with the impacts of climate change,  we’ll be working with agencies like the Department of Interior to be sure that actions like expanding renewable energy development on federal lands are done without compromising valuable fish and wildlife habitat.

To see the 2011 Budget:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/

EPA Budget:  http://www.epa.gov/budget/

DOI Budget:  http://www.doi.gov/budget/

Alaska wild salmon got a huge boost from a national retail chain in January. Target pledged to stop selling farmed salmon in all of its 1,744 stores across the United States and to replace it with wild Alaska salmon. This unprecedented decision by a large U.S. retailer marks the first time that wild Alaska salmon will replace farmed salmon in a major grocery store chain.

With the proposed Pebble mine and other resource development threatening Bristol Bay, Alaska, and its healthy sockeye salmon fishery — the world’s largest –  Target’s commitment to Alaska’s wild salmon is critical and deserves applause. Target’s decision adds value to Alaska’s salmon fisheries and helps protect the things Alaska wild salmon need to stay healthy and productive: clean water and pristine habitat. Learn more at www.savebristolbay.org.

Listen to Trout Unlimited’s Alaska Policy Director, Shoren Brown, discuss Target’s decision on “Good Day with Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert.”  Tune in to Radio America at 8:15am EST on February 13th. Find the station nearest you at www.radioamerica.org

American Basin in Colorado's Alpine Triangle

 Midwinter may be the slow season for chasing trout or hunting big game, but it’s been a busy 2010 so far for TU’s Sportsmen’s Conservation Project (SCP). In January, the nation-wide call by hunters and anglers for more balance in the process used to lease public land for oil and gas development was answered by Sec. of the Interior Ken Salazar. And in Colorado, the SCP launched a backcountry campaign to preserve the jewel of the San Juan Mountains, the Alpine Triangle.

Read bout these development, and more news that may directly affect your favorite place to hunt or fish on our public land in the January/February 2010 edition of Field Notes.

You read about the author of the Fly Fishing Rabbi blog in the winter 2010 issue of Trout, now you can read the questions and answers we didn’t have room for—like where to fish in Israel, and what Rabbi Eisenkramer’s congregation thinks of his blog.

Rabbi Eric Eisenkramer grew up fishing for bass with his dad, armed with a Zebco rod and plenty of night crawlers. But after the St. Louis, Mo. native saw “the movie” in the 1990s, he was captivated by the scenery and grace of fly fishing in coldwater streams. He bought a St. Croix 5-6 weight rod, which he still uses today, and taught himself how to fly fish. In the years since, his love for fly fishing has rivaled only his passion for Judaism. The connection between fly fishing and spirituality is something that has become very clear to Rabbi Eisenkramer, who writes about the subject on his blog, flyfishingrabbi.com, “a blog about fishing, God and religion.”

When did you start fly fishing?

I grew up in St. Louis fishing with my dad. We would go to a local nature preserve where I would cast my night crawlers on my Zebco rod for bass. And then I saw “the movie,” A River Runs Through It, and I was captivated by the Montana scenery and the gracefulness of casting a fly rod. I went out and purchased a St. Croix 5-6 weight rod that has been serving me well to this day, and I began to teach myself how to fly fish, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

So you still have the same rod?

Yeah, I still have the same rod and I like to use it when I can.

When did you start your rabbinical studies?

I was a member of a reform congregation in Saint Louis—reform is a type of Jewish congregation—and then I went to college at Tufts University and I got very interested in Judaism and I was involved in Hillel, which is the on-campus Jewish program. I spent some time in Israel and got very passionate about Judaism and I decided I was ready to become a rabbi. I applied and was accepted into Hebrew Union College, which is the reform movement’s rabbinical school, and I spent one year studying in Jerusalem and four years in New York City and then I was ordained.

What made you start your blog?

Well, I have these two passions. I’m very passionate about Judaism and I love fly fishing, and then one day it occurred to me: Maybe they have something in common. They can both be very spiritual. So I started this blog, flyfishingrabbi.com, in 2006 where I explore the intersections between Judaism, religion and fly fishing and what they have in common.

What intersections have you found?

I love talking about this stuff. I think fly fishing can be a very spiritual and religious experience. In one sense, when I go fly fishing, I leave behind all the cares of every day. I don’t answer my cell phone, I don’t check email. When I’m fishing in a stream, surrounded by all the beauty of nature, I feel a real sense of harmony and of shalom, which is a Hebrew word which means “peace.” In addition, when I’m spending time in the water and I look around and I see the stream and the trees and the rocks, I begin to ask myself, “Where did this come from? How did such a beautiful world come to be?” These are the types of questions that can lead one to a belief in a divine power or a force. You open yourself up to the possibility that there was some sort of divine source to the world.

What’s been the public reaction to your blog? What does your congregation think?

The congregation really likes it. Whenever a clergy member can be seen in a more ordinary light, I think people like that. They like being able to connect to me about fishing, because a lot of people love to go fishing. The response out in the internet world has been very positive. I get emails all the time from people all over the world, both Jews and Christians, who are very interested in fly fishing and its spiritual aspects. I’ve gotten emails from people in Argentina and Israel and Europe and all over the place. It’s really fun to meet other fly fishers that way.

Have you ever met up with a blog reader?

Most of the time it’s just correspondence, but it’s kind of funny. I started getting emails asking, “Can you go fishing in Israel?” I lived there for a year but had never tried to go fishing there, so I started to do some research via the internet and made some connections and it turns out there are a lot of opportunities for fishing in Israel and I was able to discover them through all these people I had met on the internet, so that was fun.

What kind of fishing is there in Israel?

There’s a gentlemen, his name is Italo Labignan, he has a TV show called Canadian Sportfishing and he actually took a trip to Israel and went fishing there. He fished both saltwater and freshwater, he fished the Sea of Galilee and there’s a trout stream, the Dan River in Israel, which feds the Sea of Galilee and he also fished the Mediterranean and the Red Sea for saltwater species.

You write about the connection between fishing and spirituality, so do you also see a link between spirituality and caring for the environment?

Absolutely. In Judaism there’s this idea of tikkun olam, and the words mean “repairing the world.” All people have an obligation to participate in stewardship and caring for our planet. That’s really what TU’s mission is. If you believe that the world has a divine source, you have an obligation to work to protect it and care for it. And when I’m fly fishing, I become acutely aware not only of the divinity in the world because of the places where I am, but also of the need to care for our planet. And it’s clear to me when I go fly fishing I can pick up litter and do all sorts of little things to help the planet in addition to participating in organizations like TU to make a larger difference

Do your blog readers tend to be religious people?

I wouldn’t necessarily call the people who read my blog religious per se. I think that people can see there’s a connection between fly fishing and being outdoors and having some kind of spiritual or religious experience. I have met other clergy members who love to fish, both Christian and Jewish, but there are also just a lot of people out there who realize that fishing is more than just fishing.

Rabbi Eric Eisenkramer is the spiritual leader of Temple Shearith Israel in Ridgefield, Conn. and author of the blog The Fly Fishing Rabbi at flyfishingrabbi.com. He is currently working on a book about fly fishing and spirituality to be published by SkyLight Paths.

]]> http://troutunlimitedblog.com/extended-qa-with-the-fly-fishing-rabbi/feed/ http://troutunlimitedblog.com/a-look-back-at-climate-science-while-legislation-remains-in-a-holding-pattern/ http://troutunlimitedblog.com/a-look-back-at-climate-science-while-legislation-remains-in-a-holding-pattern/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:48:59 +0000 Scott Laeser http://troutunlimitedblog.com/?p=1030

One of the emails often cited as evidence of fraud refers to a “trick” to “hide the decline”. Taken out of context, this raises reasonable questions. But if you look at the full exchange and at the “trick” and “decline” referred to, it’s not nearly as incriminating as it seems. Trick is used here colloquially to refer to a way to solve a problem, not in a deceptive sense. You can even find it in the scientific literature; trick is used in the titles of scientific journal articles in this same sense. The “decline” referred to is in reference to one series of tree ring data from 1960 to 1994, a series of data that has been deemed unreliable in the peer reviewed scientific literature. The words “trick” and “decline” do not refer to global temperature records kept by the institution, only to this specific, now deemed unreliable set of data.

Besides the data on global temperatures from the Climatic Research Unit, both NASA and NOAA have independent sets of data showing the same trend in global temperatures. NASA just announced that 2009 was the second hottest year on record, and that the first ten years of this century were the hottest decade on record. The link above also includes a great discussion of how and why we see year to year variability in temperatures; for example, why 2008 was a bit cooler. It is important to keep in mind that we are looking at trends; the cold December in much of the country, or even a cooler year like 2008, do not portend a sudden shift from climate change increasing temperatures to global cooling.

In addition to the multiple temperature records that show a warming trend, there are many different pieces of anecdotal evidence that demonstrate an upward trend in temperatures. Reductions in arctic sea ice, receding glaciers, changing migration patterns and ranges of plants and animals, and areas of expanding drought all provide additional evidence that the heat content of the earth is increasing and that the climate is changing. Can we point to one specific glacier and say, “that receding glacier is caused by climate change”? No. Nor can I definitively claim that the American robins, which once provided an annual family competition over who could spot the first one each spring, now wintering around my home in Wisconsin instead of migrating farther south are doing so just because of climate change. But these and countless other observations are exactly what scientists have been telling us for years is going to happen because of climate change; not in 10 years or 20 years, but now.

The science of climate change has been discussed in much greater detail by many people more versed in its nuances then myself. For a great summary of common arguments that climate change is a myth, and a set of reasoned responses, see this Wall Street Journal article. I would also encourage you to read more about climate science at EPA’s website or NASA’s website.

Scientific conclusions are not based on rhetoric; they are based on evidence. Citing an argument or a position without evidence is irrelevant in the world of science; it has unfortunately become commonplace in the world of politics and public discourse. And this tendency has led to a heated, partisan debate over an issue that, scientifically speaking, has largely been settled. The scientific evidence demonstrating that climate change is happening, that human activities are playing a significant role, and that the impacts of a changing climate could be very negative for humanity will never be perfect; we will never have 100% agreement among scientists as to the exact causes, the exact impacts, or the proper responses. What we have now are multiple lines of independent evidence and copious amounts of anecdotal evidence that climate change is happening and that we can, and should, do something about it. Should we ever stop asking questions about climate science? Absolutely not. But drawing conclusions without evidence to muddy the debate is an exercise in denial, delay, and distraction.

We are beyond arguing about whether this problem exists; figuring out how to address the issue is where our time and energy should now be directed. Climate change is a complex problem that requires a risk management oriented approach; there are no easy answers, and no one has all the right answers. We will make mistakes, and not everything we try will work just the way it is intended. But think of it this way; if your child or parent had a heart problem, and nine out of ten doctors you went to said “your child or parents’ best chance of survival is to get a new heart,” but one doctor said, “maybe we should just wait and see what happens, and he or she might be ok”, which option would you choose?