Conserving the "Blue Lines" We Love

 

As many, if not most of you have no doubt seen, the theme of the September, ‘24 issue of “Trout” magazine, the official publication of Trout Unlimited, is entitled, “Blue Lines.” On a couple of different forums, including Facebook and the TU Community Forum, I have commented, “Welcome to the Backcountry, TU. What took you so long?” For me, trout fishing has always been about those “blue lines” that illustrate the small rivers, brooks, creeks, and streams on topographic maps that I have fished since I was ten years old. I’m not a curmudgeon, (Well, maybe I am now that I’m in my 70s, but that’s a different topic.) it’s just how I have always considered fishing. For the purposes of the magazine, and the commentary, we’re talking about waterways that are, shall we say, less than navigable. Often times they’re named after their predominant feature, such as Fall Creek, or Big Brook, or their source, like Porcupine Creek, Big Diamond Creek, or Johnson Springcreek. Some have numbers, which can indicate either the order in which the mapmaker placed them after running out of other names, or more often, the length of that particular blue line, like 9 Mile, 18 Mile, or 20 Mile. I got my first trout on a blue line called “6-Mile Creek” outside of Brooktondale, New York. Without giving it much thought, it has always been the type of stream I fish.

I have to admit to a certain amount of trepidation about TU (or any other organization) publicizing these so-called ‘blue lines.’ Just yesterday I was listening to an audiobook by the late John Gierach commenting on the influx of new anglers brought about by the COVID pandemic and how it might affect some of his favorite Colorado fishing streams in his book, “All The Time in The World.” This is something which I have witnessed myself, however, I am at least somewhat consoled by the report from the Minnesota DNR that fishing license sales have returned to their pre-pandemic levels, and I am no longer having to pick up litter and other debris at every place I go to cast a line. Like Gierach, I enjoy the solitude of fishing solo, or with my wife or granddaughter. During and for a time after the pandemic, you couldn’t go much of anywhere without having to elbow your way in to the water.

I am a Trout Unlimited member because, despite the organization’s “wokeness,” its various tentacles are doing good things not just in my home waters of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, but nationwide as well. It is their primary emphasis, and as long as it is so, I will continue to support them. But my strongest allegiance is to Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, (BHA) the Missoula based nonprofit that advocates for and fights to protect our public lands and waters. BHA sells a bumper sticker that proudly states, “Use the quads God gave you!” Sometimes I use my bike, sometimes I hike, and many times a combination of both. There are two particular streams, that I consider to be “home waters.” (One of them is one of the places where Trout Unlimited has been doing good work as mentioned above.) From the first time I journeyed into Chequamegon Country, I have had an affinity for the Marengo River. I’m not going to give you the name of the other stream, but slowly, as time, weather, and my physical condition permit, I am using those quads to fish as much of it as possible, from its headwaters to where it empties into a larger stream flowing into Lake Superior.

These “blue lines” may not experience the fishing pressure that their larger counterparts do, but there are other threats. Several years ago, our own Department of Natural Resources had an internal conflict between Forestry and Fisheries over the trees along a highly rated stream that flows into Lake Superior, to the point where the US Fish and Wildlife Service withheld funds that account for a significant portion of the agency’s budget. Externally, there is the never-ending battle between development, whether it be for mining, drilling, or recreation, and their effects on our public lands and waters. “Common logic” is that Democrats are better for the environment and that Republicans are better for business, but in many cases those distinctions are no longer accurate. Politicians and bureaucrats of both parties are beholding to special interest groups, to the detriment of the lands and waters that are our unique American heritage. I find it ironic and disappointing that the voices on the right that are so keen on selling off our public lands are members of the same political party as the president who established them in the first place just over a hundred years ago, Theodore Roosevelt. As Roosevelt, and his first Chief of the US Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot, were keenly aware, our seemingly boundless natural resources are not as boundless as they seem.

In this election year, I would encourage voters to look beyond the “R” and “D” in front of the candidate’s name and take a look at the things that are truly important. Too many voters today focus on a single issue, conservative or liberal, whatever it may be. Their focus needs to be wider. A recent survey indicated that as many as ten million hunters and gunowners don’t vote in federal elections, and that number is likely low if you were to add in anglers. Yet, I have no doubt that these would be the people who would scream the loudest when they can no longer access their favorite hunting or fishing spot due to bureaucratic actions directed by whichever party is in charge.

One of my favorite sayings is, “In order to participate, you first have to show up.” If we are going to manage and protect our favorite “blue lines,” we need to show up. We need to show up in the field. We need to show up at hearings. We need to show up in the voting booth. We need to be informed, and we need to participate, not just with hook and line, but at every level. Make it happen, not just for ourselves but for the generations of anglers, hunters, and sportspeople yet to come.