By Ryan Lockwood, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
So you’re a seasoned fly angler. You’ve fished dozens of states and landed everything from brookies to browns to bass in fresh water, and perhaps even redfish and stripers in the salt. But there’s probably one fish you’ve never cast for—the rare, yellow-gold Apache trout, which can only be found in upper elevations of the White Mountains of eastern Arizona.
“People come from all over the place to fish for the trout,” says Garret Fleming, guide and owner of AZ White Mountains Angling. “I get people from Maine, from New York, from Washington, everywhere to come fish for them.”
Another fish now added to your bucket list? It will be worth it. Apache trout are small and hard to catch, but an adventure taking you from Arizona’s rugged, sun-blasted deserts to the shady solitude where this fish reigns supreme is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And it wouldn’t be possible if not for ongoing efforts to protect the public lands and waters in the Colorado River Basin that offer Apache trout their only stronghold.
The Importance of Basin Lands and Waters
Across the nation, recreationists place unrivaled value on America’s public lands and waters. For obvious reasons, anglers and paddlers focus on diverse reaches of streams and rivers, while hunters and hikers favor mountain forests and sage-covered hills. From a conservation perspective, on a scale as massive as the Colorado River Basin, these two elements—land and water—are inseparably linked and equally important. What happens to a landscape affects the waters flowing through it, and the fate of even the smallest stream impacts not only local water quality and habitats but also numerous interests downstream.
Water flowing through many of the headwater streams from Wyoming to Arizona ultimately reaches the Colorado River, which drains the second-largest basin by square mileage in the Lower 48 (only the Mississippi River Basin is larger). Indeed, much of the West is dominated by the Colorado River Basin, which spans seven states and supplies water to 40 million people, serving as the backbone of local economies made up of ranchers, farmers, charter businesses, fly shops, the hospitality industry, and others.
With connected waterways running through Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, the watershed offers more than 43,000 miles of named streams. That includes the clear creeks winding through Arizona’s White Mountains that offer sanctuary for the recently delisted Apache trout. What benefits this rare and highly sought species also benefit the bigger waters downstream, as well as the surrounding lands and communities.
“These trout have created a lot of economic opportunities for me for guiding, being able to sustain a business,” said Fleming.
Headwater health ties directly to the health of National Forests and Bureau of Land Management lands in the West, which make up the lion’s share of America’s 640 million acres of national public lands. These acres provide unmatched hunting and fishing opportunities, with many of the best trout streams, like those in the White Mountains, originating on federal lands. They also provide intact habitat necessary for the long-term survival of many game species.
Besides supplying water for so many residents, visitors, agriculture, and industry, the Colorado River and the thousands of smaller creeks and streams that feed into the flow are vital to support fish and wildlife populations. Without healthy waterways, fishing opportunities will decline. And without projects designed to capture and retain precipitation in headwaters, the risks of intense drought and catastrophic wildfire continue to increase.
Seeking Solutions
Recent projections of the Colorado River Basin’s dwindling water supply indicate that there is not enough water to sustain either local communities or viable habitat. A dismal snowpack this winter—Colorado’s snowpack is now officially considered the worst in recorded history—combined with already compromised storage levels in Lakes Powell and Mead and continued long-term heat and drought, only adds to the challenges.
Government officials already recognize that immediate action in the Colorado River Basin will ensure better outcomes for generations. Virtually all stakeholders acknowledge that urgent collaboration between federal, state, and Tribal governments is critical for managing the river.
But in February, another deadline passed for necessary collaboration among Colorado River Basin states, Tribal Nations, and federal partners to agree on a long-term management framework. Now, states are beginning to seek their own solutions. A three-state Lower Basin deal between Arizona, California, and Nevada is being negotiated that could achieve total water savings of 1.25-million-acre-feet, and Arizona legislators will also soon be considering whether to dedicate $30 million to support a Colorado River Protection Fund.
How Hunters and Anglers Can Help
In addition to supporting these current efforts by engaging lawmakers, anglers and hunters can support organizations that advocate for hunter and angler conservation interests, such as the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. The organization has been at the forefront of recent efforts to protect public land access and water supplies. You can also voice support for federal programs that provide the twin benefits of water savings and habitat improvement, such as the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program and the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s EQIP WaterSMART Initiative. The projects funded by these programs are essential to building drought resilience in a hotter, drier West, to safeguard the health of terrestrial and aquatic habitats.
We all have a vested interest in conserving our public lands and waters. If we don’t make our voices heard, what will remain for the next generation of hunters and anglers? Likely not the Apache trout.
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Learn more about Colorado River Basin conservation HERE
Learn more about public lands access efforts HERE
