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Alaska Stewardship in Action
TRCP, BHA, the Forest Service, and the Kenai Watershed Forum team up to help conserve the Russian River
At the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, we believe the most impactful conservation wins occur through collaboration and recent work on Alaska’s Russian River this past May perfectly personifies that sentiment.
This spring, as TRCP’s senior Alaska program manager, I volunteered with the Alaska Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Kenai Watershed Forum for the annual Russian River Stewardship Project. Being out in the field to help conserve crucial salmon habitat reminded me just how essential this work is to maintaining Alaska’s remarkable fisheries for anglers and local communities alike.
Each year, this effort brings together volunteers to maintain one of Alaska’s most cherished salmon fisheries. The project focuses on installing temporary fencing along the river to guide anglers to designated access points—a simple but effective way to prevent bank erosion and safeguard fish habitat.
The Russian River is one of the most popular and heavily used fisheries in the state. Each summer, the Russian draws thousands of anglers from across Alaska and beyond hoping to experience the thrill of sockeye fishing in a stunning wild setting. Its clear waters, strong salmon returns, and relatively easy access from the road system make it a treasured public resource—not only for anglers but also for local economies and outdoor recreation traditions. Conserving the river’s ecological health is essential to keeping these opportunities alive for future generations.
At the heart of this fishery are the sockeye salmon, whose migration drives fishing opportunities and the broader ecological cycle. These salmon nourish bears, eagles, and countless other species, and when they spawn and die, their bodies deliver vital marine nutrients deep into inland ecosystems. Ensuring healthy salmon runs means maintaining the health of the forest, the river, and all the life they support—including ours.
With clear skies above and snow still clinging to the distant peaks, ten volunteers suited up in waders, gloves, and hit the trail. Spirits were high, and the sense of community was strong.
Once at the river, the crew worked together to drive posts and stretch fencing along popular access points. While the task was physical, it was also rewarding—each stake in the ground was a small but meaningful investment in the health of the river. By guiding foot traffic away from vulnerable banks, fencing helps reduce sediment runoff, which can degrade spawning habitat and impact salmon survival.
Of course, no day on the Russian is complete without pausing to take in the scenery of water rushing through a lush green corridor framed by rugged alpine slopes. It was a beautiful reminder of what’s at stake and why this kind of stewardship matters.
This work fits squarely within TRCP’s mission in Alaska—to maintain public access and wild places and support the habitat that sustains fish and wildlife populations. Whether we’re weighing in on federal policy or rolling up our sleeves for on-the-ground projects like this one, TRCP is committed to ensuring Alaska remains a place where salmon run strong, hunting and fishing traditions thrive, and conservation is driven by people who care deeply for the land.
Thank you to our partners at BHA, the U.S Forest Service, and the Kenai Watershed Forum for leading this effort, and to the volunteers who made the time to show up and do the work. Your hands-on conservation helps ensure that places like the Russian River remain healthy, accessible, and fishable for generations to come.
We’re proud to support this project and look forward to continuing our work together in the years ahead.
Learn more about TRCP’s work in Alaska HERE.
TRCP Applauds America’s Longleaf 2024 Report: A Win for Hunters, Anglers, and Wildlife
2024 report highlights gains from Longleaf Pine restoration, boosting biodiversity, habitat resilience, and opportunities for hunting and fishing.
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) commends America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative (ALRI) on the successful release of its 2024 Range-wide Accomplishment Report, showcasing transformative progress for America’s iconic longleaf pine ecosystem. The report is a testament to 15 years of collaborative dedication across the historic longleaf range.
Once covering more than 90 million acres across the Southeast, the longleaf pine ecosystem continues to rebound thanks to strategic collaboration across federal, state, NGO, Tribal, and private partners. When longleaf pine forests are healthy and fully restored, they rank among the most biologically diverse forest ecosystems on Earth. These landscapes provide vital habitat for species like bobwhite quail, wild turkey, white-tailed deer, and the Florida black bear. Longleaf pine ecosystems are also uniquely resilient, better able to withstand and recover from threats such as habitat loss, invasive pests, disease, and wildfire compared to other southern pine forests. Their restoration is a key strategy for safeguarding biodiversity and providing lasting benefits for fish and wildlife, hunters and anglers, private landowners, and the communities that rely on them.
ALRI’s 2024 Range-wide Accomplishment Report illustrates how purposeful ecological work directly improves wildlife, communities, economies, and even national security. These accomplishments resonate deeply with TRCP’s mission to guarantee all Americans quality places to hunt and fish through commonsense, science backed conservation efforts.
Some of the key 2024 highlights include:
- 2.7 million acres of longleaf pine trees gained through planting and forest management: Since ALRI began tracking in 2010, partners have restored more than 2 million acres of longleaf pine, bringing these fire-adapted forests back into vibrant landscapes.
- Over 20 million acres treated with prescribed fire: Prescribed burns have impacted over 21 million acres since 2010, including a record-breaking 2.3 million acres in 2024, the fourth consecutive burn year on record.
- More than 100,000 acres of new longleaf planted: Within 2024 alone, 100,260 acres were newly planted, showcasing an ongoing investment in longleaf restoration. Longleaf pine forests provide essential habitat for game species like wild turkey, white-tailed deer, and bobwhite quail.
- Nearly 50,000 acres safeguarded via easements and acquisitions: An estimated 49,337 acres were secured through conservation easements and acquisitions, fortifying these forests for future generations.
- Measurable benefits to air, water, economy, and wildlife: Restored longleaf stands bolster clean water supplies, support climate resilient forest, open up economic opportunities through timber and understory harvesting, and provide critical habitat, including aiding in the recovery of the red-cockaded woodpecker, now formally down listed from endangered to threatened.
- Supporting military readiness: The Department of Defense protected approximately 50,000 acres around Fort Stewart, establishing 11,000 longleaf acres and applying burns across 400,000 acres of existing longleaf habitat, helping preserve buffer zones critical for military training.
Why These Achievements Matter to Hunters and Anglers
For hunters and anglers, healthy habitat means better days afield and on the water. Thriving longleaf pine ecosystems provide essential habitat for species that hunters and anglers value, while also safeguarding the clean water that supports robust fish populations. At TRCP, we work to ensure conservation efforts benefit fish, wildlife, and the sporting traditions we cherish. The 2024 ALRI accomplishments directly advance that mission by restoring and enhancing habitat that improves hunting and fishing opportunities across the Southeast. Here are a few highlights from the report:
- Scalable impact – Restoring over 2 million acres demonstrates what effective, collaborative conservation can achieve and mirrors our efforts in public lands, freshwater, marine fisheries, and grassland systems.
- Fire management – Prescribed fire maintains ecosystem health, wildfire resilience, and recreation. TRCP supports policies that fund and scale safe burns across all public lands, and advocate for authorized planned burns that enhance forest and grasslands health on private lands.
- Public and private synergy – ALRI’s model integrates federal and state agency leadership with engagement from industry, NGO’s, local foresters, and private landowners. These partnerships are essential to all TRCP-supported programs from access initiatives to habitat incentives.
- Conservation that matters – Longleaf restoration isn’t simply about the trees, it’s also about clean water, wildlife corridors, economic returns from sustainable timber and tourism, and protecting access to lands. TRCP’s advocacy amplifies these real-world benefits when conservation dollars are in play.
- Military-community alignment – Ensuring military training lands remain viable without encroachment for wildfire risk is an underappreciated pillar of national preparedness. By supporting programs like the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program, TRCP not only supports biodiversity but also critical national security infrastructure.
The 2024 ALRI Accomplishment Report demonstrates what’s possible when diverse partners come together around a common goal: healthier longleaf pine forests that benefit hunters, anglers, public access, and local communities alike. These efforts improve habitat for the fish and wildlife we love to pursue, while supporting clean water, public access, and the economies that depend on it. This kind of collaborative, science-driven conservation is essential to sustaining our sporting traditions for generations to come.
You can read the full report HERE.
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Senate Budget Reconciliation Proposal Includes Mandatory Federal Land Sales in Idaho
What’s at stake for hunters and anglers?
As an Idaho sportsman, I rely on the millions of acres of federal public lands in this state to hunt and fish. I hunt elk and mule deer in the Salmon-Challis National Forest and cast to rising trout in waters that flow through BLM land in the Upper Snake Field Office. That’s why it is devastating looking at the map of the potential public lands for sale in Idaho under the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s budget reconciliation proposal.
TRCP joins hunters, anglers, and conservationists in thanking Senators Risch and Crapo of Idaho for opposing public land sales in budget reconciliation legislation.
The proposal includes land disposal for both the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service across 11 western states, mandating that at least 2 million acres, and up to 3 million acres, be sold.
Not only are the numbers staggering in size, but the acreage represents the loss of invaluable habitat and hunter and angler access. These acres are loved by me and many others.
(On the maps below National Forest acres are shaded gray, and BLM acres are shaded orange.)
Yellowstone Cutthroat Streams and Big Game Winter Range in Eastern Idaho
These acres include the flanks of Bear Creek, a tributary of Palisades Reservoir in eastern Idaho. The mountains above the stream where I’ve caught dozens of Yellowstone cutthroat are summer range to elk, moose, and deer. More than one thousand people apply for the November deer hunt, seeking the mule deer buck of a lifetime in that fantastic area. This land would be available for sale and could be nominated by anyone who is interested in buying them.
And downstream on the South Fork of the Snake River, a world-famous fishery, there are multiple riverside Bureau of Land Management plots also slated for sale. I can close my eyes and see winter range turned to trophy houses.
Prime Mule Deer Habitat in Western Idaho
East of Boise, mule deer and elk winter range for the state’s largest mule deer herds are being considered for sale. Not only are the flanks of Lucky Peak Reservoir, prime mule deer and elk winter range, up for grabs, but also the summer range for those same herds around Sheep Mountain.
Westslope Cutthroat and Bull Trout Waters in Northern Idaho
In north Idaho, the loss of National Forest lands around the North Fork of the Clearwater River could impact river access on one of the best fisheries in the Lower 48 for Westslope cutthroat and bull trout. Hunters would also lose access to elk, deer, turkeys, and forest grouse hunting.
Sadly, I could go on.
It is time, today, to look at the maps that show the loss of public land in your area, your honey hole for deer, a creek for wild trout. It is up for grabs if this proposal passes Congress and is signed into law.
While we appreciate the desire to address federal land management challenges and respond to local community needs, any public land disposal must be considered within transparent, public channels and funding from sales should be reinvested back into habitat and access.
Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and other outdoor recreation pursuits are deeply ingrained in Idaho’s cultural heritage and provide a significant driver for rural economies. Every year, the outdoor recreation industry generates $1.2 trillion in national economic output, including Idaho’s outdoor recreation economy which generates $7.8 billion in consumer spending and supports 78,000 jobs.
Loss of access to valuable public land would impact hunters, anglers, and other recreationists who rely on public lands for their traditions, and could adversely affect outdoor businesses, guides and outfitters, local retailers, lodging companies, and many others who rely on outdoor recreation for their livelihoods.
Spread the Word – We need to keep the pressure up. Contact Senators James Risch and Mike Crapo through our easy-to-use action alert. TRCP thanks Senators Risch and Crapo for opposing public land sales. Please ask your friends and family to take action and contact their elected officials. Public lands belong to all Americans so it’s important that we all take action regardless of which state we live in. Share this blog post and elevate the action alerts of organizations you support who are working on this issue!
Senate Budget Reconciliation Proposal Includes Mandatory Federal Land Sales in Wyoming
What’s at stake for hunters and anglers?
The inclusion of mandatory public land sales in the proposed Senate budget reconciliation bill has Wyomingites on edge, and with good reason. At least 2 million acres, and up to 3 million acres, an area larger than Yellowstone National Park, would be mandated to be sold across the West within five years under this proposal—with the first nominations being made within 60 days of the bill’s passage. If you’re a fan of hunting mule deer in the Wyoming Range or enjoy wetting a line for native cutthroat trout along the North Fork Shoshone, take note, these special places, and many others, are at risk of being sold.
Below is a breakdown of select places we hunt and fish in Wyoming that are included in the land sale proposal.
Yellowstone Mule Deer and Elk Migrations in the North Fork Shoshone River
Visitors to Yellowstone National Park entering from Cody follow the winding North Fork of the Shoshone River as it cuts through the rugged Absaroka Mountains. This river valley is a critical migration route for thousands of elk and deer out of the Yellowstone high country as they move to winter range lower in the drainage. Grizzlies and bighorn sheep are frequently seen in the corridor, and its waters are popular for angling and whitewater rafting.
The North Fork’s stunning vistas and proximity to Yellowstone and Cody make it a desirable candidate for private developers. I’ve been fortunate to personally experience this incredible drainage, floating its waters in search of cutthroat trout, and hiking its steep ridges to glass for migrating mule deer bucks. We cannot lose this special place.
Elk Country in the Mount Leidy Highlands and Togwotee Pass near Jackson
Another iconic landscape that would be vulnerable for sale through this ill-advised proposal is the prime elk country just east of Grand Teton National Park. The Mount Leidy Highlands are an assortment of forested hillsides, wildflower-filled meadows, and mountain peaks where I found my first success hunting bull elk. This unbroken landscape also facilitates the seasonal movements of the Upper Wind River mule deer migration corridor which was recently identified by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission under the Migration Corridor Executive Order.
The Mount Leidy Highlands extend north towards Togwotee Pass, a popular area for snowmobiling and Nordic skiing in winter. These attributes, along with the area’s location close to Jackson and Dubois, make it highly likely to be nominated for sale and privatization, especially from out-of-state buyers who want their little slice of Jackson Hole.
Wyoming Range—The Mule Deer Factory
The Wyoming Range is well known to hunters for its fantastic mule deer hunting. The region’s snowy peaks and high alpine meadows support rich tall forb plant communities that grow big mule deer, along with robust elk herds that provide abundant antlered and late season cow elk hunting opportunities. Privatization of these landscapes could fragment the migrations and seasonal habitats of the Wyoming Range mule deer herd–hampering its ability to recover from harsh winters like the one we had in 2022-2023.
Crucial Mule Deer and Elk Range and Greater Sage-Grouse Core in the Bighorn Basin
Wyoming’s Bighorn basin is a rugged and beautiful landscape beloved by sportsmen and sportswomen. Much of the area provides core habitat for greater sage grouse, while the slopes at the base of the Bighorn Mountains are crucial winter range for mule deer and elk. These landscapes are particularly special to me as they’re where my dog Ollie learned to be a great bird hunting partner on chukar and Huns.
Wyoming’s public land is NOT FOR SALE—Take Action NOW!
Wyomingites are united in our support for keeping public lands, waters, and wildlife in public hands. This is not a political issue; it’s about ensuring that these wild and working lands remain intact for future generations. Please take action now and urge decision makers to oppose this misguided effort to sell our shared legacy through a budget reconciliation bill.
How you can help:
Contact Senators Lummis and Barrasso and urge them to oppose the sale of our public lands. You can use our easy tool, but we also encourage you to call them directly or make a visit to one of their regional offices!
Contact Representative Hageman. Should the sale of public lands remain in the Senate version of the Reconciliation bill, it will need to be considered again by the House of Representatives. Representative Hageman needs to know that Wyomingites overwhelmingly support public lands, and we oppose the mandated sale of our legacy through a budget reconciliation bill.
Contact local elected representatives, including the Governor, your county commissioners, and state legislators. Urge them to oppose the sale of public lands and contact our congressional delegation. Find your legislator here.
Spread the Word – We need to keep the pressure up. Please ask your friends and family to take action and contact their elected officials. Public lands belong to all Americans so it’s important that we all take action regardless of which state we live in. Share this blog post and elevate the action alerts of organizations you support who are working on this issue!
HOW YOU CAN HELP
TRCP has partnered with Afuera Coffee Co. to further our commitment to conservation. $4 from each bag is donated to the TRCP, to help continue our efforts of safeguarding critical habitats, productive hunting grounds, and favorite fishing holes for future generations.
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