Six locations chosen for sporting assets and need for long-term protection
Washington, D.C. — Trout Unlimited and Field and Stream magazine today announced the six fishing and hunting destinations around the country that have been named Best Wild Places for 2011. The project can be viewed online at the magazine's website.
This is the second year in a row TU and the world's most influential hunting and fishing publication have teamed up to shine much-needed light on some of the country's best places to fish and hunt, and to encourage sportsmen and women to learn about the conservation needs of each destination.
"This project is very important, and not just to TU and Field and Stream," said Kirk Deeter, who visited two of this year's destinations and will author content for both places on the Field and Stream website. "This is a project that seeks to involve the everyday hunter and angler in the conservation process, and I think, in order to be the complete hunters or the complete anglers we all want to be, we have to take part in the effort to protect the places that offer such great opportunity to us. These are places anyone can visit. These lands belong to all of us, and it's up to us to make sure they're here for our kids and our grandkids."
"When we started, I thought that with 50 people involved, we'd be banging heads more than we did," said working group member Howard Hammond, an off-road vehicle enthusiast and president of the Northern Nevada Recreation Coalition. "But the whole process really went well." Hammond added that ensuring access to some of the more popular places in the proposed wilderness made many stakeholders in the process willing to accept the more restrictive travel rules that govern all wilderness areas in the nation. "Going in, we didn't want to see any roads closed to motorized vehicles out there," he said. "We pushed hard to keep a road in the middle of the two WSAs open, and that's what we got. Everyone was willing to work with us to do that.
This year's list of Best Wild Places includes:
The White River in northwest Colorado. This area offers great public fishing and hunting, but it faces threats from poorly conceived oil and natural gas drilling. TU supports responsible energy development in the region, and hopes to work with industry to ensure drilling is done in a way that protects trophy herds of elk and mule deer, as well as a high-quality trout fishery in the White River.
The north woods of Maine. This area is home to the largest swath of intact brook trout habitat in the nation and serves as a laboratory for brook trout restoration efforts all along the Eastern Seaboard. Brook trout habitat throughout its native range has been severely diminished thanks to development, non=native trout introduction, air and water pollution and, most recently, natural gas development. Maine remains the last brook trout stronghold in the country. This quality habitat needs to be protected for future generations, and to ensure the perpetuation of brook trout in their native range.
South Lake Tahoe, California. This scenic destination high in the Sierra-Nevada is home to some of the last intact populations of wild Lahontan cutthroat trout. By protecting headwater streams home to these native fish, TU hopes to keep Lahontan cutthroats healthy within a portion of their native range and protect the ability of anglers to pursue them in their native waters.
Tongass National Forest, Alaska. The country's largest national forest is home to some of the world's most prolific salmon and steelhead runs, as well as some of the best hunting for Sitka black-tail deer and brown and black bear. TU is working with diverse stakeholders in this coastal temperate rainforest ranging from the U.S. Forest Service to commercial fishermen and business owners to protect the highest-value salmon and trout producing watersheds from logging, mining, road-building and other forms of development that can harm fish. Tongass salmon and trout pump an estimated $1 billion into the regional economy annually and employ one in 10 southeast Alaskans every year. TU considers salmon and trout habitat conservation and restoration strategy for creating and maintaining jobs in the region.
Dolores River, Colorado. This special river drainage in southwest Colorado is a high-functioning fishery and likely has the best habitat available for elk in the state of Colorado. TU hopes to keep the upper Dolores just like it is for future generations, and that means identifying some high-quality habitat for permanent protection and working with landowners to install conservation easements in order to keep private land along the river intact and functioning part of the river's ecosystem.
"We are very grateful that Field and Stream has agreed to help us with this project," said Chris Hunt, TU's director of communications. "The magazine and its staff remain steadfastly committed to conservation, and they understand the collaborative efforts that TU is making all over the country to keep wild places intact and available for all Americans who fish and hunt."