Menhaden surface school-Credit David Mangum-800
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Flying for the Future of the Lolo
TRCP’s Montana field manager shares a bird’s-eye view of the Lolo National Forest with diverse stakeholders
As our small group boarded the single-prop, six-seater plane at the Missoula airport, wildfire smoke hung low over the airfield casting a hazy veil across the valley. Still, we hoped for a clear view of the Lolo National Forest.
This was the first of two morning aerial tours organized by TRCP in partnership with EcoFlight, a nonprofit based in Aspen, Colorado. EcoFlight’s mission is to use small aircraft to provide a powerful aerial perspective of public lands, watersheds, and places communities value across the West. On this flight, our focus was the Lolo National Forest, which is currently undergoing a land-use management plan revision. The decisions made in this process will ripple across western Montana, affecting hunters, anglers, and everyone who values, recreates, and makes their living on this incredible swath of public land.
As we rolled onto one of MSO’s massive runways, our headsets crackled to life and conversations began. I was struck by the diversity of perspectives onboard. We had county commissioners, a wildlife biologist, two foresters, and an employee from a foundation that has been heavily involved in wildlife highway crossings in Montana and the West. Each person brought valuable insight to the discussion, and I felt fortunate that such a thoughtful group had been assembled.
Once airborne, we excitedly pointed out familiar landmarks and places we’ve hunted, fished, logged, and camped. We saw areas used for cattle grazing, recreation, and big game winter range. From above, it was easy to recognize the many uses and interests the Forest supports, along with the thousands of local jobs the forest supports. We also talked about the growing pressures facing the Lolo, including increased recreation, rapid development in the wildland-urban interface, and the fragmentation of critical winter habitat for wildlife.
Our flight path followed the Clark Fork River to Sixmile Creek, a key wildlife crossing site along I-90. From there, we flew over Fish Creek, the Petty-Sawmill commercial timber project, and the backcountry areas of Cache Creek, Burdette Creek, and Garden Point. As we traced Lolo Creek back to the Bitterroot Valley, we saw examples of multi-use management including logging, fire scars, mining activity, and popular trailheads used for berry picking and fall hunting. Near the town of Lolo, we observed a well-known wildlife corridor between the Sapphire and Bitterroot Mountains. Finally, we ended our flight over Marshall and Woody Mountains, where recreation and wildlife habitat overlapped, each contributing to the broader landscape.
From the air, it was clear just how ecologically vital and culturally significant these landscapes are. We saw big game winter range, managed forests, and coldwater fisheries that anchor Montana’s outdoor and stewardship traditions. We agreed that the revised forest plan must strike a balance: conserve habitat connectivity and public access while also supporting sustainable forest management. A wildlife underpass at Sixmile could reduce vehicle collisions and conserve a known migration route that links the Glacier-Crown of the Continent ecosystem in the north with the Selway, the Frank Church, and the Greater Yellowstone to the south. The aerial perspective made it clear how interconnected these areas are and how thoughtful planning can conserve them for generations to come.
Looking ahead, the Forest Service is expected to release the Draft Environmental Impact Statement in fall 2025, outlining proposed alternatives for the Lolo land-use management plan revision. Once released, the DEIS will kick off a formal public comment period, giving hunters, anglers, and all public land users a chance to weigh in on the future of this important landscape.
Stay tuned. We’ll share updates as soon as the comment period opens.
If you’re a hunter, angler, or anyone who values Montana’s public lands, this revision will shape how the Lolo is managed for decades to come. Let’s ensure the plan revision reflects the values we hold dear: thriving wildlife habitat and connectivity across the landscape, clean and cold water, and sustainable uses that support hunting, fishing, and our local economies.
Learn more about the Lolo National Forest HERE.
In the Arena: Brian Grossenbacher
TRCP’s “In the Arena” series highlights the individual voices of hunters and anglers who, as Theodore Roosevelt so famously said, strive valiantly in the worthy cause of conservation.
Brian Grossenbacher
Hometown: Cedar City, UT
Occupation: Photographer
Conservation credentials: Traveling across America, and the world, Brian Grossenbacher has become one of the foremost hunting and fishing photographers in the business. His generous spirit results in passionate support of conservation organizations and issues where his talent for visual storytelling helps educate hunters and anglers.
Brian Grossenbacher, fly fishing guide turned professional photographer, has shot commercial campaigns for Yeti, Orvis, Simms, Costa, and Mossy Oak. He recently surpassed the 300th magazine cover milestone and regularly contributes to Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, Gray’s Sporting Journal, Anglers Journal, Covey Rise, Shooting Sportsman, and many other publications. Grossenbacher also provided the photographs to the book Trout written by Tom Rosenbauer, as well as The Orvis Guide to Upland Hunting written by Reid Bryant. His skill with a camera and commitment to conservation makes him an invaluable member of the outdoor community.
Here is his story.
TRCP: How were you introduced to hunting, fishing, and the outdoors? Who introduced you?
Brian Grossenbacher: My father and both grandfathers took me fishing every opportunity they had starting at an early age. My proudest childhood moment was catching a four-pound northern pike on my 5th birthday.
TRCP: Tell us about one of your most memorable outdoor adventures.
Brian Grossenbacher: I was fortunate enough to be on one of the exploratory trips to visit the Tsimane Tribe in Bolivia to fish for golden dorado. It took us four days to get there, and we landed on a dirt airstrip that wasn’t meant to be seen from the air.
We hired the Tsimane people to take us upriver in their dugout canoes, and ate what we caught, including 12 monkeys that were gutted, shorn, and slow cooked over the fire. There were jaguar tracks in our camp every morning and numerous cayman that kept a close eye when we rinsed off in the river at night. We didn’t have a satellite phone, just a handshake promise from the pilot that he would pick us up in two weeks.
The fishing was outstanding. The largest dorado we landed was 28 pounds, but there were plenty in the 10–15-pound class. Looking back on that trip, it is amazing that there were no injuries…a broken bone out there would have been a big deal. The Tsimane people were excellent hunters with handmade bows and carefully crafted arrows. One night, I watched two young men string up their bows and walk down to the river and within minutes they each had a fish that they fileted and roasted over the coals of our fire. In the amount of time it would take someone to microwave a bag of popcorn, these guys shot and killed two fish (at night without lights) and ate them without a second thought to their next-level predatory skills.
TRCP: If you could hunt or fish anywhere, where would it be and why?
Brian Grossenbacher: There are some isolated sections of the Clark Fork River in Montana that still feel very wild and remind me of fishing the Yellowstone River when I started guiding in the early 90’s.
TRCP: How does conservation help enhance your outdoor life?
Brian Grossenbacher: As a fly fishing guide and then photographer, I have been blessed to make my living in beautiful places, many of which have been protected through thoughtful acts of conservation. Unfortunately, many of the rivers that do not have conservation measures or proper setbacks have been affected by development with homes and manicured lawns built right down to the water’s edge impacting the valuable habitat the rivers used to provide.
TRCP: What are the major conservation challenges where you live?
Brian Grossenbacher: For the last three years, I have lived in southern Utah where water and drought are major concerns. The Colorado River system is overtaxed providing water for over 40 million people from numerous Tribal Nations, Arizona, Colorado, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and two states in Mexico.
Water levels at Lake Powell are critically low and some models suggest that we could see dead pool levels as early as December 2026. Dead Pool is the elevation where the water is so low it can no longer pass through the dam’s infrastructure to the downstream Colorado River. The potential for reaching dead pool threatens the water supply and power for millions of people in the western US and Mexico, not to mention the renowned recreation of the Grand Canyon. That being said, local conservation can go a long way to helping this problem. The residents of Washington County, Utah’s hottest and driest region, historically used 302 gallons daily, twice as much water as the average American, although they have reduced this consumption in recent years. Ironically, Washington County continues to consider the construction of a 140-mile pipeline from Lake Powell. This project is estimated to cost $2.4 billion and would pump 28 billion gallons of water 2,000 feet uphill across 140 miles of desert to provide 160,000 residents in southwest Utah with more water.
TRCP: Why is it important to you to be involved in conservation?
Brian Grossenbacher: Why is it important to clean your gun or to sight in your bow or practice your cast? Conservation needs to be as important as maintaining our gear, sharpening our skills, and planning our trips. Simply put, if we lose the resource or access to it, then everything else is fluff. We as individuals must start taking personal responsibility for conservation. I don’t expect my neighbor to maintain my gear, so why would I expect them to protect my favorite river? It’s not enough to buy a license and assume you’ve done your part. Having a place to hunt or fish or hike and camp is a privilege not a right, and we need to do everything possible to protect that for the future.
TRCP: Why should conservation matter to the next generation of hunters and anglers?
Brian Grossenbacher: A lot can happen in a lifetime. We are only seven generations removed from the Lewis and Clark expedition and a time the entire western United States was wild. Today there are a lot of places you can’t throw a frisbee without hitting a strip mall or Starbucks.
Virtually everyone my age has a story about how they used to hunt or fish in a spot before the shopping center or neighborhood was built. If I have learned one thing, it’s that habitat destruction happens fast, and if the land is open and developable, someone will take it.
Roosevelt was three generations removed from Lewis and Clark and already the writing was on the wall. Without adequate conservation, our natural resources would quickly be in peril. Today those lands that he made into national forests and parks are starting to look like islands and habitat loss is widening the gap daily. If you want the opportunity to hunt and fish, then it is your responsibility to help conserve the very resources that offer that privilege. Otherwise, they will disappear or be sold to the highest bidder.
Photo credits: Brian Grossenbacher
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Collaboration on the Prairie
Across the prairies, partnerships are proving that production and habitat can go hand in hand.
The new Cornell Lab of Ornithology video highlights how ranchers and conservation partners, like the Nature Conservancy and the North American Grouse Partnership, are working together to sustain rural communities and conserve iconic species like the lesser prairie-chicken.
At TRCP, we believe voluntary, incentive-based conservation, through tools like Farm Bill programs, is one of the most effective ways to ensure thriving landscapes, safeguard working lands, improve fish and wildlife habitat, and expand hunting and fishing opportunities. This story is a reminder that collaboration is the path forward for wildlife, water, and rural economies.
It’s time for Congress to make the Farm Bill a priority.
The Farm Bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation that Congress considers, supporting agriculture producers and helping to ensure families have food on the table. Within this bill are also vital conservation programs that strengthen habitat, improve water quality, and promote more sustainable landscapes – providing a lifeline for fish and wildlife.
It has been seven years since most Farm Bill programs were updated, and we are now nearly two years past the initial expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill. Congress has managed to limp these programs along by extending them for one year (twice), but once again, key Farm Bill programs expired on September 30, 2025.
Now is the time to act.
Top photo: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Can the Gulf Menhaden Fishery Reduce Redfish Bycatch?
TRCP breaks down the final results of a 2024 Gulf menhaden bycatch study, which reveals multiple ways to protect redfish and other sportfish
Louisiana’s Gulf menhaden fishery is the second largest fishery in the country, with harvests of nearly 1 billion pounds of these critical forage fish annually. And this comes at a cost. As TRCP recently reported, state-funded research shows that the two companies that harvest Gulf menhaden, also known as “pogies,” are catching and killing nearly 150 million non-target fish each year as bycatch, including 30,000 redfish and hundreds of thousands of other pogy predators like spotted seatrout (speckled trout), black drum, and jack crevalle, as well as 25-million-plus sand seatrout, commonly called white trout.
For Louisiana, this matters because redfish (Louisiana’s only saltwater gamefish, also known as red drum) and other sportfish aren’t just any fish — they’re a cornerstone of the state’s $3.7 billion recreational fishing economy. They bring in anglers, fuel guide services, and support local businesses. When redfish are lost as bycatch – especially breeding-size fish – Louisiana loses twice: in terms of the fish themselves and again in terms of lost economic opportunity.
Environmental research company LGL Ecological Research Associates conducted a two-part study during the 2024 pogy fishing season to examine: 1) What species (including red drum) are caught as bycatch in Louisiana’s menhaden reduction fishery, and 2) What happens to released bycatch—i.e. how many fish survive after being caught and released.
TRCP reported on the preliminary results of this work back in July, but now that we have the final results, the public and Louisiana decisionmakers have the data they’ve needed for years to determine how this industrial fishery truly impacts redfish populations in Sportsman’s Paradise, and which bycatch mitigation measures could be effective moving forward to help sustain healthy sportfish populations.
Key Study Findings
Here are some key takeaways of the full report:
- Total bycatch (i.e. non‐target species) for the fishery was estimated at 3.59 percent by weight – that’s within state limits but represents about 146 million fish unintentionally caught by the menhaden fishery in a single fishing season. This includes 86 total non-target species.
- “Retained bycatch,” which enters a vessel’s hold to be processed with the pogies, made up approximately 82 percent of the bycatch by weight. Top species in retained bycatch were Atlantic croaker, sand seatrout, spot, white shrimp, hardhead catfish, and gafftopsail catfish.
- For released bycatch, there were two main components: “rollover bycatch” (fish too large to enter a suction hose inside the purse net, which were then rolled out into the water at the end of the set) and “chute bycatch” (fish that passed into the hose but were then blocked by an excluder device and diverted into the water via a chute).
- Half of all sets made in 2024 were in less than 15 feet of water.
- Redfish bycatch was more likely to occur in sets made in 0-22 feet of water depth (76 percent of all sets made); deeper than that and redfish bycatch was reduced.
- Croaker, sand seatrout, spot, and white shrimp made up 84 percent of all retained bycatch. An estimated 240,000 speckled trout also were caught as retained bycatch, with an average size of 10 inches.
- Recreational speckled trout regulations prohibit harvesting any fish under 13 inches in Louisiana.
- Many different types of bycatch excluder devices were used between the 32 vessels operating in the fishery, with some much more effective than others at reducing the number of non-target fish sucked into the hose and destined for the chute or the hold.
Redfish bycatch was more likely to occur in net sets made in less than 22 feet of water depth.
Regarding redfish specifically:
- Nearly 45,000 redfish were caught as rollover and chute bycatch, and after survival experiments, nearly 22,000 breeding-size redfish were estimated to die during the season as a result of being caught.
- While 84 percent of redfish remaining in the net as rollover bycatch were estimated to survive, only 2 percent of redfish sucked into the hose and diverted to the chute survived.
- Another approximately 8,300 smaller redfish were caught as retained bycatch, likely all juveniles, all of which died as they ended up in the hold.
- Total redfish mortality (released + retained) was estimated at over 30,000 individuals for the season.
- The average redfish size in rollover bycatch was 37 inches, in chute bycatch 35 inches.
- That means these were nearly all fully mature fish. Recreational redfish regulations prohibit harvesting any fish over 27 inches to protect as many spawning-size redfish as possible.
- In the late summer through fall months, the likelihood of redfish bycatch increased noticeably, with consistently higher bycatch observed along central and eastern Louisiana, with redfish bycatch peaking from August through October.
- A full 45 to 50 percent of female redfish caught as bycatch in September and October were spawning (i.e., egg-laden and ready to reproduce).
In the late summer and fall, the likelihood of redfish bycatch increased noticeably.
Implications for Decisionmakers – And Louisiana’s Redfish Population
Here’s why Louisiana decisionmakers and anglers should care, and what could be done to reduce the menhaden fishery’s impacts on redfish populations:
- Bycatch excluder device design is important. This study underscores that the design of bycatch excluder devices—most importantly, hose cages that prevent larger, non-target fish in the net from experiencing trauma due to entering the suction hose—strongly influences how many mature redfish end up in the more dangerous chute component versus being excluded/rolled over the net while never leaving the water. Of course, handling after capture and before release also affects survival.
- Potential mitigation measure: Require standardized bycatch excluder devices that maximize rollover release and minimize chute mortality.
- Released bycatch mortality is non‐trivial. Even though many redfish caught as bycatch are released, for chute‐released individuals survival is extremely low (about 2 percent). For rollover, survival is far better. But because both methods are used, total mortality from released plus retained bycatch is sizable (approximately 30,000 redfish in 2024 alone). That’s a meaningful number, especially considering this happens each year.
- Potential mitigation measure: Address redfish retention and harvest by the menhaden fishery via current commercial regulations (redfish commercial harvest has technically been prohibited in the state for nearly 40 years).
- Where and when the fishery operates matters. The study showed that bycatch levels aren’t uniform: amounts vary greatly by time of year, by location, by vessel/plant, etc. for different species. This suggests there is potential to reduce harm to species like redfish by reducing pogy boat efforts in certain areas and at specific times.
- Potential mitigation measure: Explore locational/seasonal restrictions in hotspots where redfish bycatch has been shown to be highest, such as during the August to October redfish spawning season in central and eastern Louisiana, particularly in shallower, near-shore waters.
- Additional oversight can help. Louisiana already has some pogy regulations to address bycatch—no more than 5 percent of catch by weight for species other than menhaden and herring-like species, and buffer zones to reduce bycatch in shallow water—but clearly more could be done to evaluate ecosystem impacts moving forward.
- Potential mitigation measure: Continue monitoring bycatch in future fishing seasons (observer coverage and/or electronic monitoring) and update enforcement quality.
Bottom Line
- This study shows that bycatch (both retained and released) in Louisiana’s pogy fishery is a significant fraction of total catch, at more than 146 million fish annually.
- Redfish are one of the primary species caught as bycatch, and while many are released, survival depends heavily on how they are released (rollover vs. chute).
- Of those fish, many that are retained with menhaden in the hold haven’t ever spawned and never will, and many that are caught in the chute and eventually die are mature, and possibly actively spawning.
- Speckled trout caught by the fishery mainly end up in the hold, with over 240,000 mostly juvenile individuals retained annually by the fishery.
While recreational fishing accounts for most of the redfish harvest in Louisiana, bycatch from the industrial menhaden fishery still kills tens of thousands of redfish each year, along with millions of other fish including speckled trout, white trout, Atlantic croaker, and cownose rays. Unlike recreational harvest, these deaths produce no economic return for Louisiana – they’re simply waste. In addition, the industry is clearly commercially harvesting species that are either illegal to harvest commercially or are under regulations that don’t seem to apply to the menhaden fishery’s activities.
The science is clear: with better bycatch reduction gear and data-based locational/seasonal catch considerations, much of this loss could be avoided. By addressing menhaden bycatch from multiple possible angles, Louisiana can protect the sportfish central to its culture and economy, reduce unnecessary waste, and ensure our coastal ecosystems provide abundance for future generations of anglers.
More information about the ecological and recreational importance of Gulf menhaden is available on TRCP’s Forage Fish Recovery Page.
Banner image courtesy Pat Ford Photography
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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