Articles

Stopping Dams in Patagonia

by Colin K. Breck - Tuesday, Jun 4th, 2013

Confluence of the Baker and Neff Rivers in Patagonia, scheduled to be flooded as a reservoir if dam construction goes forward (photo: James Q. Martin.

With debates raging across the United States about whether or not to remove dams that were built at a staggering rate on countless American rivers over the last 50-60 years, dams that are now widely recognized as responsible for severe habitat and ecosystem destruction and are largely considered more economically costly than beneficial, it is hard to imagine that the residents of perhaps the most pristine and intact natural ecosystem on the planet are facing a heated debate about whether to construct dams on the rivers which are the lifeblood of their region. In Patagonia however, on the shores of the Baker and Pascua Rivers, that is exactly what is happening.

There is little debate amongst the people of Patagonia on whether the dams should be built. In fact, almost 75% of Patagonians are opposed to the construction of these dams. Unfortunately, as a result of the fact that a former Chilean dictator sold off Patagonia's water rights to multinational corporations before being deposed, the citizens of Patagonia have no formal say in whether hydroelectric construction will take place.

OmniSpool Offers Easy, Streamlined Fly Line Maintenance and Storage

by Ben Kryzinski - Monday, Jun 3rd, 2013

Omnicare Switchbox spools.

There is a wide range of opinions on how to care for your fly lines. Most line manufacturers however, recommend a mixture of soap and water cleansing, abrasive cloth treatment and the use of fly line dressings. How often you should be caring for your fly lines also depends on who you consult. Some folks will recommend a daily cleaning (prior to or after fishing your fly line), while others recommend every 3-5 uses or more. Whatever the case, if you're like many anglers, you're not caring for your fly line often enough.

If you're like me, it's not that you don't care about your fly line, it's just that you don't feel like dealing with the hassle: rigging up a setup to allow you to spool line off your reel without turning it into a rat's nest, finding a way to clean and dress all the fly line without it taking forever and making a big mess, and so on. If that sounds like you, a relatively new product dubbed the Omnicare Switchbox is looking to change your mind about fly line maintenance.

Cicada Sightings Increasing Across Eastern US

by Ben Kryzinski - Sunday, Jun 2nd, 2013

Magicicadas seen in various life stages.

Just about to emerge from this season's first heat wave, much of the Eastern United States saw soaring air temperatures this week, which in turn led to significant increases in soil temperatures. As a result, emergences of the periodical cicada (or magicada) which emerges when soil temperatures stabilize at 64 degrees, are being more commonly seen across much of the east coast.

The web site magicicada.org allows individuals to report sightings of these long-awaited bugs and plots the 500 most recent of these sightings on a map. In constrast to previous weeks, virtually all of the currently plotted sightings are from user reports over the last few days. Sightings are numerous throughout northern and central Virginia, central Pennsylvania and southern Connecticut, with particularly high numbers of sightings around Washington D.C., northern New Jersey and New York City.

EPA Extends Pebble Mine Comment Period

by Chad Shmukler - Friday, May 31st, 2013

Submit your comment to the EPA for a chance to win a trip to do this.

The EPA has extended the public comment period regarding whether large-scale open-pit mining should take place in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The EPA had been scheduled to close today the currently open comment period that began shortly after the release of its updated risk assessment regarding mining in the Bristol Bay region, but has now extended that comment period an additional month, through June 30th, 2013. The updated EPA risk assessment, released late last month, paints a grim picture for the wild salmon of Bristol Bay should an accident -- common in mining operations -- occur during mining activity. Even without a mining accident, the assessment indicates that construction of a mine at the site of the Pebble deposit would destroy almost 30 miles of salmon streams and rivers as well as almost 5,000 acres of wetland habitat.

The foreign corporate entity that is currently exploring mining the Pebble deposit, the Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP), recently released a statement providing information on the number of jobs that would be created if a mine were to go forward. The statement was sharply criticized by organizations such as Trout Unlimited. Trout Unlimited Alaska Director Tim Bristol noted, "Pebble consistently claims they don’t have a mine plan so it’s hard to comment on a study that makes up job creation numbers based on a phantom mine. If Pebble wants to engage in this debate, they need to admit they have a plan and share it with the public.”

10 Important Lessons Learned About Fisheries Management

by Colin K. Breck - Thursday, May 30th, 2013

Earlier this month, over 600 people that know a bit about the world of fishing and fisheries management gathered in Washington, DC at the Managing Our Nation's Fisheries conference to address the current state and future of the United State's domestic fisheries.

The third installment of the Managing Our Nation's Fisheries conference stated a goal of "focus[ing] on how concepts, policies, and practice of fishery sustainability can be advanced to a higher level." According to organizers, the conference planned to address topics of interest to "members of the public, fishery participants, environmental advocates, fishery scientists and managers, policymakers, legislators, and journalists."