Yesterday, he wrote on the TU Blog about a letter to the editor regarding the bias of Trout magazine for western stories. I've always felt this too though I have no facts to support it. My belief could be based solely upon a deep seated envy of western waters, vistas and trout.
I know that TU has a bias for coldwater fisheries because that's their charters (it will never be a bass organization) but do they really have a bias for western waters?
While I'd love your comments below, be sure to voice your opinion over on the TU Blog.
It's Tupac vs. Biggie all over again :o
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DeleteT.U is a western organiztion... soooo whats the wierdness in that? also, and I do not mean to offend, but most trout fishermen could care less about brooke trout fishing in vermont.. most organizations follow the money, and in trout fishing that money is outwest. I personaly have always been annoyed with T.U's involvment with salmon species.. its called trout unlimited.. stick with steelhead and its trout relatives-
ReplyDeleteTU was actually formed in Michigan on the banks of the Au Sable. That said, I also at times feel they focus too much on the west, as if the stocker fisheries of the east are beyond help. Just my two cents.
DeleteI don't know where the money comes from though I likely think when anyone who has money to give dreams of trout they dream the west. Those who live there have a passion for home waters. Those who live out east love to vacation there.
DeleteI also think the conservation issues are easier out west. In the east all the land is privately owned and in very small chunks. In the west there's tons of public land and land usually is owned in large chunks. There are fewer stakeholders to manage though they're no less easy to deal with than those in the east.
But there are plenty of home waters in the east that folks fish if they're not able to travel or when they're home. These work-a-day waters are precious and the issues they face important. And TU needs to be there too.
And I couldn't disagree more about Salmon; they're a critical part of the mission.
" I personaly have always been annoyed with T.U's involvment with salmon species.. its called trout unlimited.. stick with steelhead and its trout relatives"
DeleteBiologically, this makes no sense. Rainbow "trout" and steelhead are Pacific salmon. They're more closely related to each other than either are to brook "trout", which of course are char.
I hope not to offend anyone here, but personally, I gave up on TU a few years ago when they decided that they were not going to get "involved" by taking a stance on privatization of fly fishing after they made their last stance on landowner rights and river rights, all around the time of the Donny Beaver Little J episodes came to fruition. The groups decision to take no action speaks volumes to me about where things could potentially be headed.
ReplyDeletePrivatization of fisheries should not be a goal nor a secondary initiative for a conservation group. A groups strength and ability to preserve what it's mission statement is all about, in this case "To conserve, protect and restore North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds", is sought out by numbers. What good is it to conserve protect and restore our fisheries if only those who can afford to utilize them are reaping the benefits.
This just doesn't sit well with me, I would think a conservation group such as TU would have a strong stance against such a thing as most of it's membership is drawn from the average middle class folk as you and I . I don't know, sorry to hijack the thread, but I often wonder about some of the conservation groups out there.
The good news is they reversed themselves pretty quickly on that decision. The uproar from the membership was loud an clear. Why bother restoring fisheries if we can't actually fish them?
DeleteShows you how much I keep tabs on that front. Thanks for the update, but the fact still perplexes me why they would have taken that stance in the first place. (I kinda know why but I won't go there). At any rate, keep the great posts coming, I enjoy them.
DeleteI think it's a combination of lawyers and special interests; like anything in life.
DeleteGlad you enjoy things around here. Thanks for stopping by.
I love reading blogs from all over the country about bass and bluegills, etc. but I'm interested in trout because they are the predominant species where I live. That means I like mostly my Western trout featured in any magazine and less so Eastern trout...Though not totally. My solution is divide the country in half (like it isn't already) and publish a TU West and a TU East. I wouldn't think it cost that much more and there would be less fighting that TU isn't paying enough attention.
ReplyDeleteAs Kirk pointed out, the magazine isn't a lopsided as one would think. I believe that eastern folks, myself included, just have an inferiority complex.
DeleteThis is an interesting point. I see 'bias' or surges of varied focuses year to year: all about Pennsylvania, all about Montana, Northern California, Wyoming, back to Pennsylvania or Maryland, Maine. I find it all fascinating and I always learn if the piece is more than a Triple AAA travel brochure with map. I live in the West and I tire of Montana. But, I live in Oregon where fishing, overall, sucks more often than not. I tire more of 'bumism' vs. the ordinary fly fisher. That wears me out.
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