The state agency that oversees Harriman state park may be “reorganized”, which puts a lot of uncertainty in the park. According to the press release from the Henry’s Fork Foundation:

Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter has proposed the elimination of general funding for the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation (IDPR) as part of the 2010 state budget. The elimination of IDPR potentially means the loss of public access to state parks and facilities all over Idaho, including the world-famous Harriman State Park in Fremont County.

…According to State sources, the Governor has recommended that responsibility for park maintenance be transferred to the Idaho Department of Lands, with a goal of continuing to operate state parks.

This may be a rational reorganization of the management team that operates the Idaho state parks. These are tough times economically, which reduces state income, and rational organizations adapt to live in their means.

But then again, bureaucrats are making these decisions. Bureaucrats tend to base decisions to protect the bureaucracy, not little things like reason, wild trout, angler access,  and preserving nature for future generations.

Damn straight that anyone who visits that slice of heaven known as “The Ranch” has the right to be concerned.

Its time to break out that hope.

The angler survey was conducted by the Henry’s Fork Caldera Project, funded by the Henry’s Fork Foundation. I was one of the surveyed anglers, answering about 15 questions as I returned to the north access parking area.

The report is summarized in a slideshow, which is embedded below. The report shows that 57% of the anglers were unsuccessful at catching a fish the day they were surveyed. However, the anglers expressed that Aesthetics, Fish Habitat, and ability to fish to rising fish were the the most important to them. Actual numbers of fish caught was the lowest rated importance.

When asked if they desired to keep the Ranch as a wild trout fishery, 88% agreed or strongly agreed. Likewise, 76% disagreed or strongly disagreed with any idea to stock trout on the Ranch.

My personal view, I’ve been fishing Henry’s Fork for the past 15 years. I do wish the catching was a little better in the Ranch, but agree with the majority of other anglers, don’t stock.  There are plenty of areas on Henry’s Fork to catch stocked trout. Keep the Ranch wild.  The area that I disagree with the majority? Getting skunked that day A beautiful, parr-marked, wild rainbow caught on a BWO sparkle dun.

Last night, the Henry’s Fork Foundation hosted a reception in San Francisco, overlooking the bay. The evening was informative, entertaining, and delicious – part celebration of the 25 years of conservation and part fund-raiser.

The Henry’s Fork Foundation was founded 25 years ago, in response to plans to harvest hydro-electric power from the Mesa Falls section of the river. Now, the 50 miles of river between the Island Park dam and Ashton Reservoir are protected from future dams. Their mission is to protect the fish and the water-shed for future generations to enjoy.

They fund scientific research, take action to preserve habitat and access, and general stewardship of the water-shed. Several recent projects are

• Channel restoration of Henry’s Lake Outlet
• Negotiation with the irrigation authorities to keep minimum winter flows out of Island Park dam (crucial for the first year survival of wild trout)
• Fish ladders to allow passage where the trout should pass, and screens to prevent fish from going where they shouldn’t (irrigation canals at diversion dams).
• Habitat restoration, installation and maintenance of  riparian fencing
• Securing access to the river, recently they purchased the land at the Stone Bridge access.
• Research into the migration habits of trout in the system through tracking.

Entertainment came, in part, from a slide show by Val Atkinson sharing his images of Henry’s Fork. He also donated a print for the auction.

Many people and organizations donated goods and services for the donation. My personal favorite, which will be personally enjoyed, came from Quivira Vineyards, in the Dry Creek valley of Sonoma county. If you see this wine, buy a bottle. You will be supporting steelhead restoration in addition to enjoying a fine wine.

You may be thinking, why a reception for the Henry’s Fork in San Francisco?  Isn’t Island Park the polar opposite of San Francisco in any conceivable measure?  Well, a couple hundred people, and their checkbooks, attended the event.  Speaking for the attendees, thanks to the foundation for reaching out and letting us enjoy the river that we love for an extra evening.

Henry’s Fork Foundation has performed many trout migration/mobility studies using radio telemetry in the upper portion of the river. A new telemetry study is underway in the lower portion (below the Chester diversion dam).  This study is concentrating on brown trout.

Twenty-four brown trout, ranging between 14 and 24 inches were caught with electro-fishing and instrumented with radio transmitters. The location of each trout is tracked periodically and made available as Google earth placemarks. They tracked the locations often during spawning season, and will continue tracking through 2009.

Watching the video below shows the surgery where they implant the radio tracker and transmitter. Ouch. Adding all of this hardware has to affect the behavior of the fish, but from my experience, flawed information is much better than no information.

My take-aways:

• What an outstanding resource we have in river-keeper organizations like Henry’s Fork Foundation.
• Thanks to Jack, Mike, Girls, Wallace, Fish Lips and Emery for sponsoring fish.
• Donate to Henry’s Fork Foundation, the money is put to good use.
• 151.102, watch out, I know where you live