A Boy and a River Trip on the Big Blackfoot

July 31, 2026

A father-son rafting trip on Montana’s Blackfoot River ties conservation and stewardship to family values and lifelong memories.

It was 75 degrees in the shade of the pines, and the Big Sky was powder-blue as we threw gear into the 14-foot raft floating in the Blackfoot River.

Anyone who’s done an overnight rafting trip knows that “work now, play later” is the mantra. My hopes were that this would be one of many lessons imparted on my seven-year-old son, Jackson.

My brother Ryan had secured permits for reservation-only, float-in-campsites, and we’d planned a three-day, two-night trip on the Blackfoot River in western Montana. As locals to the area, the river isn’t an exotic destination for us, but one with serious significance and an almost sacred mystique.

It was mid-June, and thanks to spring snow and rain, the river was flowing higher than we’d expected. From the steep boat ramp that slides to the belly of the river, the water was emerald green, slightly off color and dropping, perfect flyfishing conditions. Golden stones and salmon flies fluttered in the air after launching from river-bank willows.

The Blackfoot River flows 130 miles from the Continental Divide to its confluence with the Clark Fork near Missoula. Undammed and rich with wild trout, it’s known as Montana’s “Family River” for its role in local angling, boating, and community life – though the watershed faces mining legacies, development pressure, wildfire, and low streamflows.

The Blackfoot River near a float-in-campsite.

TRCP has long worked with local partners to conserve habitat and protect hunting and fishing access in the Blackfoot Valley. Through the BLM’s Missoula Resource Management Plan, TRCP helped secure Backcountry Conservation Areas that balance habitat protection, access, and recreation across the corridor. TRCP also supports the River Runs Through It Act, a community-driven, 25-years-in-the-making proposal to protect the Upper Blackfoot and Monture Creek while advancing habitat conservation, access, forest restoration, and wildfire reduction.

These efforts complement the ongoing Lolo National Forest Plan Revision, which will set the long-term framework for watershed health, wildlife habitat, recreation, and forest resilience – together supporting the clean water, fish habitat, and access that define the Blackfoot.

My son was well acquainted with this place, he’d camped on the riverbanks, fished, and swam here every year of his seven revolutions around the sun. He knew it was grizzly bear country, and he knew it held trout that would rise to a dry fly.

I think of my boy as a freestone river, at moments: a roaring torrent. At other times he’s an old soul, like a river’s ancient stones, quiet and contemplative. On this trip I’d hoped he’d see there’s something special about sharing a life alongside moving water. Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic and wishfully thinking.

We pushed off and rowed into a whitewater section, immediately dodging rocks and running small waves trains. Water surged over the bow and soaked the crew as I pointed the raft into the current’s V-pattern. My brother got to fishing immediately, a golden-stone pattern with a tungsten jig-head nymph tied below. While I rowed the boat into position and moaned about the weight of all the gear, he cast his rig into pocket water that lined the banks, surely trout would be holding there, avoiding the fast current. He hooked up on a nice brown. The fish dove then leapt into the air parallel to the boat, we all gasped and cheered. He fought the fish well and kept him on through several wave trains, but the rapid section and varying currents caused him to lose the connection, the fish came off as we exited the last drop pool.

An orange-bellied Salmon fly, a Cheeto-sized snack for trout.

Our first night’s camp was only a few miles from the put-in, so we took our time, fished and swam. Fishing was slower than expected, though massive, orange-bellied salmon flies hovered all around us. the Blackfoot is renowned for this hatch and trout love to gorge themselves on the Cheeto-sized snack. Catching a fast-rising trout on a large-foam dry fly, drifted and twitched on the bank is one of my favorite eats. When the fish weren’t taking the fly, we’d sit back and watch as the many species of birds swooped in and nabbed the swarming salmon flies. Western tanagers, swallows, yellow warblers, and goldfinches presented themselves and snatched the stoneflies from the air. To our surprise the seldom heralded American Robin was perhaps the best hunter of the large aerial insect, he’d dart out, hover and inhale the bugs with precision and grace, rarely missing, like a prize fighter effortlessly landing a jab.

As we floated, I thought of how the Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and Blackfeet, tribes must have looked on this river. Norman Maclean, his father and brother Paul fished these holes, some of them the exact spots described in his famous novella, A River Runs Through It.

A quarter mile upstream of our camp we came onto a massive fir tree that had fallen across the river, a large watermaster, (a personal raft-like watercraft with an open bottom), was pinned under the log and being yanked around like a rag doll, abandoned. A sobering image and a reminder that there’s no place for complacency out here and that safety was the number one priority. Another rafter floated past us, chasing both of his oars downstream after another sort of mishap. In passing he told us the sunken boat’s captain was able to crawl out and shimmy the tree trunk to shore, we were relieved to hear he was ok.

As we drifted towards camp you could see mountain tops through the pines. Ryan pointed out a spot.

“You see those mountains back there, Jackson? That’s where your dad killed the mule deer buck you have hanging in your kitchen.”

We pulled into our first campsite; jagged purple Precambrian belt rock climbed from the river bottom and jutted out into an opening like an ancient iron gateway. The camp was small but sandy, with perfect landings for the tent and cook station.

“Work now, play later.” Ryan shouted.

We set up our tents and the cook table, swam, and threw the frisbee around before getting back to fishing. My son gripped his Echo Gecko flyrod like a baseball bat, his left hand on the fighting-butt, two-handed casting like a steelhead fisherman loading a Spey rod. He launched a golden stone fly into the soft water seam just off the main current. A nice sized rainbow trout rose from the depths, vertically took the fly and turned; Jackson set the hook and pinned him.

“Get the net, Daddy!” He shouted.

Father and son enjoy bringing a rainbow trout to hand.

But the net was back at camp, sitting in the raft. After managing two runs from the hot rainbow, he pulled it close to shore but as I reached out, it bolted, jumped, and came off in a silver flash. He was dejected but encouraged that he could do it again.

We chatted with kayakers and rafters that floated by camp and welcomed an old friend who had waded up to our station, fishing with her friend, hooting and hollering the whole way upstream. My brother showed Jackson how to split wood with a hatchet, ignite a Bic lighter, and stack kindling to make fire for us to roast marshmallows.

The next morning, we pushed off and into a slower stretch with little to no rapids but good fishing. The dry fly action was slow, but we managed to catch a couple small westslope cutthroats, reddish pink to tawny-yellow and green, a diminishing spot pattern from tail to nose laid out like black stones scattered on a sandy shoal.

We floated into our camp for the second night, clearly marked by a lone pillar of rock protruding from the water, a bonsai looking juniper perched on top with a goose nest at its base, eggshells still in it. Thick sandbar willows on the bank parted into a small birth that gave way to the campground. We walked in and were surprised it opened into a massively wide and sandy pine flat with scattered ponderosas.

A cutthroat trout from the Blackfoot River.

My son found a petrified shell at the base of a tree, he was proud of it, and we hypothesized it was from an ancient freshwater clam, 15,000 years old, that lived at the bottom of the prehistoric Glacial Lake Missoula.

We watched the half-light of the canyon fade at sunset and the river turned black like the glossy blue-steel on a deer rifle’s barrel. Foam lines carried cream-colored mayflies into the darkness. Before we retired, we loaded the cook station and food into the state sanctioned steel bear box to prevent any wondering bruins from being distracted.

“Work now, play later.” I mumbled.

In the morning, we had seven miles to float to the takeout and hoped we wouldn’t face a strong headwind.

“We’ll push, no fishing, just get down and out,” Ryan said.

Five minutes after we pushed off, and Ryan was fishing. The wind was minimal, and we enjoyed the biggest wave train and rapid section of the float, at these levels the fast-moving water was fun and just big enough for some excitement.

“Good job, Daddy!” Jackson shouted as I rowed the boat through the predicable whitewater.

The last hours of the float were slow fishing again, though Ryan did bring one gorgeous cutthroat to hand. We sat in more silence and enjoyed the red and yellow cliff faces, the distant mountains, and noted the bald eagle, kingfisher, osprey, and mallards. We landed at our take-out and got to work unloading the raft.

“Work now, play later.” We all repeated the mantra.

The half-light of the canyon fades at sunset.

The heat of the truck on the drive home only helped to exacerbate my drowsiness. We recounted the fish we’d caught, the ones we’d lost and made plans for our next adventure together.

I was grateful to spend time with my brother and son on our family river. I’d wanted to give Jackson the playbook for getting after it and the lifestyle that’s possible here. I hoped this trip would be foundational for him and that by rafting through the canyon, he too would strive to steward and conserve this river. Regardless, the young boy soaked it all in, his eyes were wide on several occasions, and he echoed our sentiment.

“This is a special place.”

Stepped-cliffs lining the banks of the Blackfoot river.

The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.

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by: Tristan Henry

posted in: Hunting & Fishing Access

July 29, 2026

Speak Up for Elk Habitat and Forest Management in the Blue Mountains

The Forest Service has opened its comment period on the Blue Mountains Draft Environmental Impact Statement, giving hunters and anglers an opportunity to shape elk security, forest restoration, watershed health, and roadless conservation for decades to come

TAKE ACTION: SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT

The U.S. Forest Service has released its draft plans for the Malheur, Umatilla, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests, and the public comment period is open through September 30. This is a rare chance to shape how some of the best elk country in the West is managed for decades to come.

Below, we break down what’s at stake for elk, water, and roadless areas — then show you how to weigh in before the comment period closes.

The Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington hold one of the country’s largest Rocky Mountain elk herds, and hunting is the most popular activity on these forests. How the plans address forest health, roads, and wildlife will shape whether elk remain distributed on public land where you can hunt them, or drift onto private ground.

The good news: we don’t have to choose between active management, healthy rural economies, clean water and quality wildlife outcomes. The Blue Mountain Forest Plan can deliver all four, and give the Forest Service an opportunity to demonstrate how these multiple use values can work together.

Hunters support increasing the pace and scale of active management in the Blue Mountains. Thinning, prescribed fire, and other restoration work helps reduce wildfire risk, restore resiliency to our forests, stimulate local economies, and create more forage. We are also encouraged that the draft recognizes the importance of continuing to provide wood products to local mills. Eastern Oregon’s remaining mills, logging workforce, and forest-products businesses are essential infrastructure for getting that work done. Without viable local markets and processing capacity, accomplishing needed vegetation management becomes more difficult and expensive.

The final plan should provide a predictable foundation for restoration work that sustains rural mill infrastructure while ensuring that treatments are designed to improve forest health, wildlife habitat, and watershed conditions.

All of this active management only pays off for wildlife if elk feel safe enough to use it. Improving forage does little good if too many open roads in the wrong places keep elk on the move. Historically, the Forest Service has managed habitat and roads together, and the final plans should continue that approach.

The science that tells us how to keep elk on public land was produced right here in the Blue Mountains, at the Forest Service’s own Starkey Experimental Forest. This plan is a chance to put that knowledge to work for hunters, for landowners, and for productive big game habitat.

The draft does not yet include clear, measurable direction to keep elk on public land. Water tells a similar story – the same forests that hold the elk herds also anchors some the regions most important salmon, trout and steelhead habitat. Here’s how to help change that:

TAKE ACTION: SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT

If you hunt or fish in the Blues, encourage the Forest Service to adopt clear, measurable direction for elk security and to manage habitat, trails, and roads together to balance nutritional resources, cover, and human disturbance in a way that keeps elk on public lands and limits conflict on private lands.
Elk security isn’t the only thing on the table in this plan. Read on for what’s at stake for water and backcountry, or scroll back up to comment now .

Healthy Forests Require Healthy Watersheds

The Blue Mountains support spring Chinook salmon, steelhead, bull trout, redband trout, and other fish that depend on cold, clean, connected water. Roads, sediment, stream temperature, riparian vegetation, grazing, and the condition of floodplains and wetlands all influence whether that habitat remains productive.

The final plans should retain strong watershed safeguards while allowing carefully designed restoration that improves riparian vegetation, reconnects floodplains and wetlands, reduces sediment, and increases resilience to wildfire, drought, and warmer water temperatures. Active management and cold-water conservation should reinforce one another. That same balance – restoration paired with conservation of the regions intact backcountry habitat – is at the center of the debate over roadless areas.

Keep 722,000 Acres of Backcountry Intact

Across the three forests, approximately 722,000 acres are managed as inventoried roadless areas. These lands were identified by the Forest Service as largely undeveloped and generally free of constructed roads, where existing policy limits new roadbuilding and certain timber harvest while allowing traditional uses and appropriate restoration work. They provide large blocks of relatively unfragmented habitat, secure country for elk and other big game, cold-water headwaters, and valued backcountry hunting and fishing opportunities.

The draft alternatives take sharply different approaches to these lands. The Forest Service’s preferred alternative assumes that the national Roadless Rule will be rescinded and does not carry forward comparable protections for these lands, while another alternative retains those protections.

TRCP supports retaining core roadless protections while allowing carefully targeted habitat restoration, prescribed fire, fuels reduction, and temporary project access where needed. The goal should be to give land managers the flexibility to improve forest health without sacrificing the intact habitat, clean water, and backcountry character that make these lands so valuable to hunters and anglers.

The draft plan does not yet include clear, measurable direction to keep elk on public land. You can help change that.

Click below to submit your comment. It only takes a few minutes, and every voice counts.

TAKE ACTION: SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT

Talking Points You Can Use:

Pick the points that resonate with you, put them in your own words, and add your personal experience.

Support active management and rural forest infrastructure. I support forest management that reduces wildfire risk, restores forest health, and improves forage conditions for big game. The final plans should also provide a dependable supply of forest products that helps sustain Eastern Oregon’s remaining mills and workforce, because that infrastructure is essential to accomplishing restoration work. Active management should be paired with measurable habitat and watershed protections so that economic and ecological benefits occur together.

Keep elk on public lands. The final plans should include a clear, measurable standard for elk security so that elk stay distributed across public lands where the public can hunt them, rather than concentrating on private property. Open, well-traveled roads are the single biggest factor in where elk spend their time during hunting season. The final plans should include direction on open road density and seasonal access so that habitat investments actually translate into elk on the ground. Improved forage does not help if the road network keeps elk away from it.

Carry forward the locally crafted desired conditions for elk security. The Blue Mountains Intergovernmental Council, made up of county governments, Tribes, and state and federal agencies, developed an agreed-upon desired condition for elk security. The Forest Service should honor collaborative work and build it into the final plans.

Use the Starkey science. Decades of research from the Starkey Experimental Forest, located within these very forests, tell us what elk need to stay on public lands. The final plans should reflect that best available science in an enforceable direction, not set it aside.

Protect cold, clean water and salmon habitat. The Blues hold some of the wests most important headwaters of cold, clean salmon streams in the west. The final plans should include clear and enforceable direction for riparian areas, stream temperature, sediment, floodplain and wetland function, and road-related impacts. Restoration treatments should improve the habitat needed by salmon, steelhead, bull trout, and other native fish.

Retain core roadless protections. Roadless areas provide secure big-game habitat, intact headwaters, and important backcountry hunting and fishing opportunities. The final plans should retain protections against unnecessary permanent roads while allowing targeted restoration and temporary access where appropriate.

Recognize the value of hunting and fishing. Hunting is the most popular recreational activity on these forests and a significant driver of the rural economy. Wild game is a meaningful source of locally harvested food for families across eastern Oregon. The final plans should recognize and sustain that opportunity.”

The Blue Mountains are one of the most productive landscapes in America where hunters and anglers can chase rutting elk or dangle a dry fly over crystal-clear trout streams, and the decisions made in this plan will shape these opportunities for a generation. The Forest Service has the chance to prove that restoration and wildlife go hand in hand. With your voice in the record, we can help make sure it does.

Add your comment today and share this with a hunting or fishing partner who cares about the future of these forests.

TAKE ACTION: SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT

by: Zach Bodhane

posted in: Hunting & Fishing Access

Committees Consider Public Lands Bills That Balance Conservation, Access and Local Economies

Bipartisan bills aim to resolve long-standing land use conflicts while safeguarding fish and wildlife habitat and hunter and angler access.

Earlier this month, the House Natural Resources Committee (HNRC) and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee heard testimony and voted to advance several bills that would conserve fish and wildlife habitat, boost access, and improve rural economies. Although these bills use different public land designations to protect resources or enhance recreation—and, in select cases, transfer federal land to tribes and counties—they share a common thread: each carefully balances a range of local interests and reflects years of collaboration.

Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act

On a bipartisan vote, the HNRC voted to advance the Northern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act (H.R. 2317) led by Congressman Mark Amodei (R- Nev.). This bill represents an important step toward responsible, community-driven land use planning that includes conservation and maintains public access. It includes the sale or transfer of some carefully vetted public land parcels for community use, tribal land transfers, and the resolution of long-standing wilderness study areas and wilderness designations that have broad support. Additionally, the bill would help address the public and private land ownership issues of checkerboarded public land in northern NV, allowing large sections of public and private land to become contiguous and creating access to once-landlocked public lands.

Douglas County Economic Development and Conservation Act

The Senate ENR Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining heard testimony on the Douglas County Economic Development and Conservation Act (S. 4200) introduced by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.). The bill includes many of the provisions of H.R. 2317 specific to Douglas County. Beyond tribal land transfers and other provisions that would ensure public access is maintained or improved; the bill would transfer land to the county for flood prevention and watershed health projects. Similar to H.R. 2317, the Douglas County Economic Development and Conservation Act is the product of many years of locally led collaboration and compromise.

Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection

During the same ENR Subcommittee hearing, the panel heard testimony on the Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act (S. 1791/H.R. 3421) introduced by Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo), Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colo), and Congressman Jeff Hurd (R-Colo). The bill would establish enhanced public land protections through tools like special management areas, wildlife conservation areas, recreation management areas, and wilderness for more than 730,000 acres in the Gunnison River Basin. TRCP applauds the bipartisan support and attention to this region of Colorado given the significance to hunters and anglers. It will be important to take the bill in context with the recently finalized Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests Plan, and ensure that wildlife habitat function and connectivity remain prioritized in balance with other interests.

These bills took another important step forward toward becoming law but still have a long way to go, and there are many other deserving public lands conservation bills still awaiting markup. The clock on the 119^th Congress strikes midnight in January 2027, after which all bills would need to be reintroduced and reconsidered. TRCP remains committed to working with Congress to work on these bills and other important public lands, habitat, and access legislation. 

TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on budget reconciliation as well as emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.

by: Ryan Lockwood

posted in: Hunting & Fishing Access

July 22, 2026

ICAST Summit Revisits Shark Depredation, Celebrates Fisheries Habitat Conservation

At the annual sportfishing trade show, TRCP moderated two panels to inform attendees about important fisheries conservation issues

TRCP hosts a fisheries conservation summit every year at ICAST, the world’s largest sportfishing trade show, presented by the American Sportfishing Association. At last week’s 2026 summit, we were once again fortunate to provide expert panels to speak to a standing-room-only crowd of anglers, state and federal fisheries managers, and conservation partners committed to sound, science-based management. This year, panels again covered issues of top concern for recreational fisheries including working toward better stock assessments, ensuring fish habitat protections, and addressing shark depredation – also a key topic at the summit two years ago.

The Science Behind Shark Depredation

In the saltwater fishing community, there is growing concern over catch lost to sharks. Anglers aren’t just upset about shark bites leading to fewer fish for dinner or losing a lunker for a grip-and-grin photo. They’re also becoming increasingly concerned for the fish themselves, as they are killed while being reeled in or right after being returned to the water. And this can affect all the businesses that support saltwater fishing.

“Folks often don’t want to go fishing or are dramatically changing where and how they fish because they see so many fish getting killed by sharks,” said Chris Macaluso, director of TRCP’s Center for Marine Fisheries.

Photo Credit: Trey Spearman/ MSU Marine Fisheries Ecology Program

On a summit panel focused on the science behind depredation, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust provided an update on its ongoing efforts to extensively examine the impacts of increased shark depredation in the Florida Keys and beyond, to determine possible mitigation methods to help avoid losing more hooked fish to shark attacks. BTT’s research has focused on the Keys and Florida Bay, where the organization has worked with the fishing community to determine which fish species are most commonly depredated, which sharks are the most common culprits, and where depredation most commonly occurs. Preliminary findings indicate that:

Fewer than 25% of sharks were responsible for more than 50% of depredation. The sharks most likely to engage in depredation in the Keys were lemon and bull sharks.
Sportfish species most impacted are snook and redfish, followed by tarpon, bonefish, and permit.
Most depredation occurs in very limited areas. While 40% of the Keys/Florida Bay was experiencing depredation, only 2% of the total area examined was considered a “hotspot.” These hotspots, such as near Flamingo at the northern extent of Florida Bay (at the southern end of the Everglades), are areas where high degrees of biodiversity, fishing effort, predator abundance, and conservation focus all overlap.
Human-caused environmental degradation, such as seagrass die-off and water quality decline, contributes to the problem.
Hand feeding of sharks off Florida contributes to the larger issue, but efforts like the Florida Safe Seas Act are intended to help stop sharks from associating boats with food.

The panel indicated that what we are seeing is a classic example of human-wildlife conflict due to human population growth and habitat loss, just like with problem bears in the West or seals taking more striped bass in New England. BTT panelists asserted that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to understanding and dealing with shark depredation, as each region has its own unique circumstances. So, their data from South Florida won’t necessarily apply elsewhere. And broader messages they emphasized included the necessary consideration for global concerns over shark population declines, despite robust regulations and protections in the U.S.; the need for updated stock assessments; and the importance of improved angler identification of species involved in depredation, as well as better angler understanding of fishing methods that lead to more depredation.

“A huge component of this is education,” said Dr. Aaron Adams, Director of Science and Conservation for the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.

Next steps in his research will focus on the use of electric shark deterrents and necromones (essentially ground-up shark released in the water to warn sharks of potential danger), followed by tracking sharks to measure responses to these deterrents. The BTT panel also acknowledged the importance of the SHARKED Act to establish a task force of fisheries managers and shark experts to identify research priorities and funding opportunities to limit depredation. The act is being considered in the Senate after passing the House of Representatives in early 2025 and would increase research and coordination among state and federal agencies and scientists examining the reasons for increased shark depredation and how to curb the problem.

NFHP Celebrates 20 Years

The National Fish Habitat Partnership works with state and federal agencies, regional conservation partners, boards and commissions, and a host of corporate partners to build and improve fish habitats throughout America’s waterways. As a testament to the importance of this partnership to our own organization, TRCP Senior Government Affairs Manager Ian Nakayama serves alongside a team of natural resource managers, nonprofits, and corporate partners on the NFHP board.

At the summit, a panel comprised of NFHP board members, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff, and state natural resources division staff talked about the importance of collaboration to achieve the partnership’s success. The NFHP is currently engaged in 434 projects in 46 states, covering both marine and freshwater issues. A major current emphasis of the partnership is addressing barriers to fish passage.

The panel acknowledged that a major limiting factor for fish habitat restoration in the U.S. is lack of collaboration between federal, state, Tribal, and other management groups. In acknowledgment of this ongoing concern, NFHP seeks to bring groups together based on shared regions, species of interest, or habitat priorities to utilize connections to assess habitat and determine necessary projects. The panel also recognized the connectivity of fresh and saltwater systems, spanning watersheds from headwaters streams to estuarine marine systems, and how impacts in one part of the system can affect distant waters.

“A lot of times people focus on just what’s in the lake or reservoir and not the big picture,” said Gene Gilliland, BASS Conservation Director and NFHP board member.

The partnership seeks to change that.

Improving Federal Recreational Fisheries Data Collection

Laura Grimm, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere at NOAA, also provided an update on the Trump Administration’s efforts to improve federal recreational fisheries data collection and other fisheries policy priorities. She discussed how an emphasis of the administration is increasing fisherman access and said that to meet its goals will require partnering with the recreational fishing community to utilize the on-the-water ecological knowledge only anglers can provide. This is being demonstrated through the administration’s approach to transitioning South Atlantic red snapper management to state control through pilot programs using NOAA Fisheries Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs) that utilize states’ own data collection efforts to improve data accuracy and allow for state-specific snapper seasons.

“Your success is our success,” said Laura Grimm, Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere at NOAA.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We want to extend our appreciation to both the panelists and attendees of the 2026 summit for convening to discuss these important issues. We also want to thank this year’s sponsors, without whom the summit wouldn’t have been possible:

Bonefish & Tarpon Trust
National Fish Habitat Partnership
American Sportfishing Association
YETI

Banner image of depredated red snapper courtesy David Hay Jones/MSU Marine Fisheries Ecology Program

The TRCP is your resource for all things conservation. In our weekly Roosevelt Report, you’ll receive the latest news on emerging habitat threats, legislation and proposals on the move, public land and waters access solutions we’re spearheading, and opportunities for hunters and anglers to take action. Sign up now.

by: Dan Morgan

posted in: Hunting & Fishing Access

Melanie Thornton joins the TRCP as Senior Director of Western Water

Thornton is a water policy leader with more than a decade of experience advancing bipartisan western water and natural resources policy.

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) is pleased to announce the hiring of Dr. Melanie Thornton as Senior Director of Western Water, bringing more than a decade of bipartisan water policy experience – including a lead role in shaping more than $15 billion in western water funding – to the organization’s conservation team. As the nation’s largest conservation coalition, TRCP will draw on her experience to strengthen its ability to advance bipartisan conservation policy on behalf of hunters and anglers nationwide.

Prior to joining TRCP, Thornton served for seven years as Senior Professional Staff for the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, serving under both Ranking Member Heinrich and Chairman Manchin. Most recently, she led Senator Heinrich’s western water, science, outdoor recreation, and territories portfolio, directing legislative strategy and oversight on issues including Colorado River and Rio Grande management, Bureau of Reclamation programs, drought resilience, and watershed restoration. She played a leading role in negotiating and drafting major western water provisions included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, helping secure more than $15 billion for drought resilience, ecosystem restoration, and water infrastructure across the West.

Before joining the Senate, Thornton worked in federal conservation and natural resources policy and began her career as an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, bringing a scientific perspective to federal policymaking.

“Melanie brings a rare combination of scientific expertise and hands-on legislative experience to some of the most complex water challenges facing the West,” said Madeleine West, TRCP’s vice president of western conservation. “Her work on the Colorado River, the Rio Grande, and major federal investments in drought resilience will be a tremendous asset as we work with partners across the region to find durable, bipartisan solutions for hunters, anglers, and the communities who depend on these water resources.”

Thornton holds a Ph.D. in Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, with a focus on hydrology and water resources management, from Washington State University, and a B.S. in Environmental Geoscience from Texas A&M University. Throughout her career, she has worked to bridge science and policy, building coalitions among federal agencies, states, Tribes, water users, conservation organizations, and local communities to develop durable, practical solutions to complex water challenges.

With this addition, TRCP’s conservation team is well positioned to secure lasting, bipartisan policy outcomes that aim to guarantee all Americans quality places to hunt and fish. 

Learn more about TRCP’s leadership HERE.

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