Chasing Rainbows — with Poison

From FSC affiliate, Trout Headwaters:

What follows is a letter to the editor in response to a recent article in Conservation Magazine titled, Chasing Rainbows by Anders Halverson. “Lured by a utopian vision of nature, fish and game agencies dropped billions of trout into thousands of lakes. Now, they’re determined to undo the damage they caused,” writes Halverson. The article which appeared recently is an adaptation from his recent book An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World, published by Yale University Press. Find photos and resources related to fish-stocking at http://andershalverson.com 

Dear Conservation Magazine,

We found it incredible that Anders Halverson’s detailed article, about rainbow trout introductions and the unintended consequences (Chasing Rainbows), never mentions the true tragedy of this ecological predicament: the rampant poisoning of entire ecosystems to rid them of planted rainbows.

The same flawed logic of single-species management used to plant the rainbows is now being used to remove rainbows, most often with a systemic poison, Rotenone.  Poisoning out non-natives in favor of a preferred native is euphemistically called, native fish restoration.  In fact, in many Western states today rainbows are being simultaneously stocked in some places and poisoned in others.

Unfortunately, Rotenone doesn’t discriminate between non-native fish and native fish.  It doesn’t spare amphibians or insects.  It kills them all and monitoring data show some species never return.  Our company has long espoused the Hippocratic Oath of “first, do no harm” as it applies to ecological restoration.  We need a strong web of organisms on this planet, not just rainbow trout, or cutthroat trout, or yellow-legged frogs.

Protecting and restoring healthy, functioning freshwater streams and wetlands to sustain a high diversity of organisms is a much more effective and economical way of conserving species.  Given half the chance, nature will decide when and where to chase the rainbows.

Read more: http://www.conservationmagazine.org/2011/11/chasing-rainbows/ or learn more about river, stream and lake poisoning at http://www.stopriverkilling.org

[Note: You can check out the original post at THI's blog, http://troutheadwaters.com/clubecoblu/?p=2603.]

Investing in Conservation

“Good Stewardship, Good Business, Good Neighbors”

Those six words mark the beginning of the cover story of the most recent edition of The Land Report and do a pretty good job of summing up our own feelings toward investing in conservation.  You see, investing in such practices as wildlife management, stream restoration, and recreational land use has a plethora of benefits to both people and the natural environment.  These include higher biodiversity, improved water quality, and, of course, higher real estate values, to name just a few.

In this particular story, billionaire T. Boone Pickens tells of many of the conservation efforts he has incorporated into his land investment strategy over the years.  As he puts it, “We always made a profit from the ranch sales.  But what I feel really good about is knowing that we left the land in better shape than we found it.”  Indeed, by incorporating wildlife management programs, Pickens was able to promote larger and healthier populations while also profiting off of the increased recreational values of the land.

Further, Pickens was also astute at determining the highest and best use for his and surrounding properties.  For example, when a colossal reservoir was discovered beneath the surface of his land in Roberts County, Texas, he recognized that rather than using that water to support irrigation-intensive agricultural practices, he decided to sell the water credits to local urban centers and instead allow the land to lie fallow.  In return, he not only profited off the sale of the water credits but also received tax benefits by placing his land into a conservation reserve program, and the land was allowed to return to pristine prairie.

You can read more about T. Boone Pickens and his conservation efforts by clicking here (begins on page 38).  While you’re reading, make sure to check out the stunning photography by friend of Field Sport Concepts, Wyman Meinzer.  And if you’d like a sample of our approach to investing in conservation, you can view a presentation given by FSC principal Bob McKee of McKee Carson by checking out this article from our most recent quarterly newsletter.

Running Colter Ranch

We hope everyone had a relaxing holiday season!  We sure did, but we’re also incredibly excited to get 2012 started.

Now that you’re all caught up on your email and are getting settled back into your daily routine, isn’t it time for another vacation?  Maybe not, but how about a five-minute break?  We’ve got just the ticket!  Our affiliate, Trout Headwaters, is doing some great work at Running Colter Ranch over in Bozeman, Montana and recently released a video documenting their work.  Enjoy!

Fall Reading

Check your email!  In it should be a copy of the latest newsletter from Field Sport Concepts.  It’s got a bunch of great content, including stories about barn restoration (trust us, the barns we restore make the other barns jealous), our efforts to educate the local community about current environmental issues, and our unique approach to converting overgrown golf courses into community amenities.  And that’s just the start!

But, what’s that you say?  You can’t find the newsletter in your inbox?  Never fear!  For those 5 or 6 of you who aren’t yet enjoying our quarterly newsletter, you can check it out by clicking here.  If you enjoy the content (we’re confident you will), you can subscribe by visiting our website.

Thanks to everyone who has been checking out our posts!  If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear from you!

Support Project Healing Waters

In one of our earliest posts, we talked a bit about a great program called Project Healing Waters.  It’s a program that works with wounded and disabled veterans to teach them the basics of fly fishing, fly casting, and rod building.

We recently received an email from them asking for support to help them raise money and gain greater media exposure.  We’ve published it below and ask that you consider helping them out.  It does not require any money, just your votes.

In recognition of the work Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing (PHWFF) does with veterans and its presence on GuideStar, PHWFF has been selected to participate in a weekly voting competition on Toyota USA’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/toyota?sk=app_114219605347571. PHWFF will be up against three other nonprofit organizations and the one with the most votes at the end of the week will receive $10,000.00 plus be featured on NBC’s Sunday Night Football during the Toyota Halftime advertisement.

We need your vote. We need your vote every day from November 2 through November 8. In addition, please encourage your family, friends, co-workers, employees, bosses, colleagues, clients, neighbors, civic, social, patriotic, military and veterans organizations, Social media friends, PLs, volunteers, and anyone else you can think of to vote for PHWFF…not just once, but remember to vote seven times.

I recognize that your time is valuable, however, $10,000.00 and the media exposure PHWFF will get will help purchase fly fishing equipment and supplies and send more deserving veterans on trips is a significant return for a couple minutes of your time each day to log on to http://www.facebook.com/toyota?sk=app_114219605347571 and vote. And, it will be $10,000 less than the nonprofit organization will have to raise to help wounded warriors and diabled veterans as they participate in a constructive rehabilitation and recreational activity.

I thank you in advance for your support.

Marcus Schneck, The Patriot-News

The Working Subdivision

A few weeks back, we posted a story about how agriculture-based communities are the new golf communities.  It looks like we’ve influenced a developer in Illinois to do the same!  (on second thought, he’s probably been working on the project for more than the past few weeks)  You see,  John DeWald & Associates recently broke ground on their newest development, Serosun Farms.  This one is not like traditional subdivisions, though.  As DeWald puts it, “The vision of Serosun Farms is to protect and preserve our land from future development and suburban sprawl.”  Serosun will blend agricultural preservation and sustainable practices (including producing 70-80% of their own energy on site).

Not only will the community have large plot sizes to preserve open space, it will be centered around a 160-acre working, sustainable farm with an on-site farmer’s market and over 400 acres of open space, miles of hiking trails, fishing ponds, playgrounds, a community center, and an equestrian facility.  In fact, the community will have extensive boarding and training facilities and will offer professional care to the residents’ horses.

Perhaps most exciting of all, this innovative community isn’t alone!  According to the Urban Land Institute, there are more than 200 similar projects currently in the works.

The affiliates at Field Sport Concepts have extensive experience with every stage of the development of agriculture-based communities.  In fact, our work at Bundoran Farm was the first working farm to be certified Gold by Audubon International.  We are eager to work with you to develop the next conservation community!

Bundoran Farm is a conservation community characterized by greenbelts, farmbelts, and homesites accessed by common lanes and private drives.

And the Forecast Calls For…

With the release of Apple’s new iPhone today, users will now be able to ask it whether they need a jacket before they leave the house.  But we think there should be an app enabling us to easily view hunting forecasts across the county.  Luckily, those sites do exist!

Covering a range of species, these sites collect data on habitat conditions, climate, the availability of food sources, and the effects of disease, as well as regulations and trophy potential, among many other factors.  They then analyze and interpret the data to provide forecasts on population size and structure in order to help hunters identify the areas with the greatest potential for the upcoming seasons.

Some of the forecasts we particularly like include:

• Outdoor Life National Deer Hunting Forecast
• Pheasants Forever Pheasant Hunting Forecast
• Quail Forever National Quail Hunting Forecast
• Ducks Unlimited Waterfowl Forecast

Happy hunting!

.

The Buffalo Commons

We’ve all heard of the Green Revolution, right?  You know, that wildly successful effort to increase agricultural production to meet the demands of a growing world population?

But how about the Brown Revolution?  Like its green counterpart, the Brown Revolution aims to increase agricultural productivity, but this time as a means of battling climate change.  Unlike the previous version, however, this approach does not hinge on implementing new technology.  Rather, it relies on restoring natural systems.

In South Dakota, a team of revolutionaries is looking to lead the charge by implementing a system of holistic management.  Such a system seeks to mimic the natural herding of wild animals using livestock.  Holistic management has been incredibly effective at promoting greater biodiversity, increased organic matter in the soil, rejuvenation of microorganisms, and the restoration of water cycles.  If successful, the trio hopes to restore entire regions!

We would love to hear your ideas on holistic managements and the various ways this could serve as an opportunity for wildlife enthusiasts!

Also, check out this news clip celebrating Charlottesville, VA’s new certified LEED Platinum Smith Aquatic and Recreation Center.  FSC affiliate, McKee Carson, is proud to have been responsible for the overall site planning, landscape architecture, civil engineering and site plan approvals for this exciting project!

Spawning in Vermont

It’s hard to beat the excitement of feeling your line go taut as you stand there in your waders.  Well, one thing could make it better: knowing that fish you’re playing is wild.  Don’t get us wrong, we appreciate stocked fish as much as the next guy.  But there’s something special about knowing the water we’re fishing is clean enough that it can support natural robust biodiversity.

In this informative, and engaging, post, the author writes of the joys of fishing recovering streams in Vermont.  With the help of conservation groups and concerned farmers, volunteer crews have been planting a series of shade trees and are working to shore up eroding banks.  Where the streams in his area were once populated by old tires, plastic bags, bottles, and other garbage, they are now characterized by growing trout populations, more prolific streamside vegetation, and bigger hatches.

Every day, we are hearing about successful water quality improvement projects around the country.  We would love to hear your stories!

Photo courtesy of Allister Combe

EPA Announces Healthy Watersheds Initiative

For those of you who enjoy fishing, boating, hunting, hiking, and watching wildlife, this post may be of importance to you.  Actually, if you value safe drinking water and are opposed to widespread flooding, you should probably keep reading.

You see, yesterday the U.S. EPA announced the Healthy Watersheds Initiative: A National Framework and Action Plan.  This action plan is especially important because it was formulated with the understanding that our waters and aquatic ecosystems are dynamic and that they must be protected as whole, interconnected systems rather than as separate parts.

Traditionally, water improvement efforts are undertaken piecemeal and therefore fail to address many of the underlying factors.  More specifically, much of EPA’s current water quality protection program has been aimed at remediating individual water bodies and in many cases, specific pollutants.  The Healthy Water’s Initiative, on the other hand, expands the focus to protecting and maintaining high-quality waters, which is significantly more cost-effective than having to restore those waters.

Field Sport Concepts’ affiliate, Trout Headwaters, has long provided clients with knowledgeable solutions for both protecting and remediating threatened aquatic habitats.  Check out our website to learn more!