It’s BWO weather, and I clearly need to get out.
Damnit.
The Underground’s been awash in not-so-great environmental news lately, and while I normally try to sneak a little of the green stuff in around the fishing posts and outright entertainment - much like adding a little sugar to make the cough syrup go down a little easier - the tsunami of environmental news hasn’t made that possible.
CalTrout says coldwater species are in trouble, the Klamath Dam Removal agreement raises more eyebrows than hopes (Friends of the River thinks it kinda stinks; Klamblog’s not in love, and the Eureka Times-Standard thinks it won’t happen).
Then there’s PG&E’s oddly chilling attempts to alter the region’s weather patterns for fun and profit.
And Moldy Chum’s post about the Bush administration trying to give away as much public land as possible before they’re finally run out of town (Administration opens Bristol Bay headwaters to drilling, mining).
And then there are a couple local stories I didn’t even have the heart to hammer the Undergrounders with, including Fish & Game’s attempts to continue ignoring salmon & steelhead protections on the Scott and Shasta Rivers (they’ve been allowing some grievous things to happen there, and plan to continue doing so, and this promises to be one hell of a fight).
And yes, I spent the better part of an hour on the phone last night, talking to one of fly fishing’s better known writers about what he feels is a devious, extractive-industry plan to do away with steelhead protection on some of BC’s best rivers (this one’s headed our way soon, and yes, it’s going to be a barn burner).
I could go on, but those who know me well realize too much of this stuff turns me toward the dark side - that restless, irritated, apocalyptic state where I start making calls and writing letters that probably aren’t nearly as constructive as they are cathartic.
In truth, the enviro stuff is important to fly fishers - it’s likely our fisheries are facing more threats now than ever - but too much Mad Max in one sitting simply isn’t healthy, and yes, too many environmental posts send the Underground’s traffic numbers plummeting.
I once thought the solution was a separate, fly fishing-oriented “enviro” site, but couldn’t round up any real support among those I approached with the idea, and the idea died quietly.
Maybe if I swore less.
And yes, we all want to have a little fun too, which is why I’m just saying “the hell with everybody else” and heading out in the rain to look for some BWOs, who pretty much exist just to exist, largely untroubled by thoughts of the impending clean water apocalypse or those assholes at BLM or that sleazy group of smiling, well-funded predators at Nestle.
See you on the river (where there is no news), Tom Chandler.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
If it makes you feel better, some of us are on “the inside”, and are trying our damnedest to keep this stuff from happening.
Always the pessimist, day to day operations more closely resemble efforts minimize the effects, not preventing them altogether.
Gee Tom, are you trying to make us feel suicidal?
Homicidal?
Tom—
Re: environmentalism, conservationism and politics – Something I’ve never really understood is the association between sportsmen and the Republican Party. I don’t want to ruffle any feathers, but many of the people I know who are avid hunters and anglers are very much Republican. In fact, the person that really got me into fly fishing is/was a staunch McCain supporter. And despite their love for the outdoors, they’ve supported an administration who has trampled all over endangered species and protected lands. I know this probably doesn’t apply to all Republicans, but I wonder if other personal priorities (gun control – though that ties back, more or less, to sporting which ties back to conservationsim – right-to-life, marriage/gay rights, “smaller government,” etc.) take precedent? I know my No. 1 top political priority is the environment, so I will always support candidates with a strong environmental record – which probably means I will vote Democratic or Green for the foreseeable future. It just always astonishes me that the party of my outdoor-loving friends and the environment aren’t better bedfellows.
Meanwhile, we here in Missouri are clutching to our guns …
I, for one- like the enviro stuff as much or more than anything else on the Underground…
But I’m Weird…
Tom,
I hope you don’t mind *too* much, but can I side-step the issue entriely and ask what the furry orange line running through the rings above the BWO in your photo is? Is it a furled leader?
Back on topic, I do like the enviro side, and you have fired me up enough to sign up to several petitions (from back here in the UK, but as someone who looks forward one day to visiting with rod). But I think you’re right, the balance is important. If only because some of us are logging on to the site each day looking for a happier window of life-by-a-river in order to forget the bloodbath of life in a London Bank… If I want to stare down the barrel at the end of the world, I have a floor to ceiling window to do it from. (They’ve sensibly locked them shut to stop us jumping).
Suffice to say, I enjoy the escapism, but I also value the education.
James