We got off to a late start this year with the Valles Caldera National Preserve fly fishing clinics, primarily because of the uncertainty surrounding new administrative ground rules. We need a couple of volunteers to help with two clinics, one scheduled for beginner adults on July 23 and the second for kids and adults on August 20. You don't have to volunteer for both. These clinics will be abbreviated from what we did last year, focusing on a 50-minute introduction to fly fishing using our handout, followed by 50-minutes of casting practice. We will start at 8:30 am, and drive to the San Antonio cabin area ... Read More
July 13, 2016
The next general meeting will be held on Tuesday September 13. Jerry Burton will give a presentation on small lakes and ponds winter fly fishing. In other words, where to go in the winter when when you just need to get out and wet a fly ... Read More
July 1, 2016
Ron Loehman, Conservation Chairman The 1.3 miles of the Rio Guadalupe from Porter's Landing to Llano Loco Spring is designated as a Special Trout Water by the NM Game and Fish Department (NMG&FD). These regulations restrict anglers to single barbless hooks on artificial flies or lures and require any fish caught to be released unharmed. Over the years, the signs posting these regulations have deteriorated or been knocked down so that many anglers seem not to know that they apply to the Guadalupe. Mike Maes (NM Trout Membership Chairman) recently observed this situation, which prompted an offer from us to the ... Read More
July 1, 2016
Jerry Burton, Ron Loehman, and Art Vollmer of Trout Unlimited met with the SFNF Supervisor, Maria Garcia, her Deputy, Joe Norell, and Alan Setzer, the acting ranger on the Jemez District at the SFNF offices in Santa Fe on May 24. The FS requested the meeting to address our objections to the New Mexico Meadow Jumping Mouse (NMMJM) decision and to try to convince us to withdraw those objections. We discussed the jumping mouse issue with them for more than three hours and hammered out the agreement. The New Mexico Trout Board accepted the agreement by email vote. In my ... Read More
May 27, 2016
Our annual member BBQ will be held on Saturday, June 4 in conjunction with a work project on the Rio Cebolla. We have worked with Santa Fe National Forest staff to identify a three-part project that will provide important benefits to the Rio Cebolla.
- Planting willow cuttings along the Cebolla inside one of the areas fenced off as NM Meadow Jumping Mouse habitat.
- Building vehicle barriers to protect stream banks that are eroding sediment into the Cebolla.
- Removing campfire rings inside the newly-constructed vehicle barriers that are too close to the stream and are an additional source of stream pollution. We will ... Read More
May 27, 2016
The East Fork of the Jemez, Jaramillo Creek, the Rio San Antonio, and the Rito do los Indios are open to fishing year round, as long as they are not frozen. Vehicle access requires a Backcountry Vehicle Permit, and 35 permits will be issued daily on a first-come basis at the Valles Caldera visitor center until 30 September. The free permits are for general access to the backcountry and there is no special quota for anglers. There is no additional cost for the Vehicle Access Permit beyond the general entry fee for the Preserve. A valid New Mexico fishing license ... Read More
May 1, 2016
Our next conservation project will be on June 4, 2016 at a site still to be decided along the Rio Guadalupe/Rio Cebolla corridor. Forest Service staff need to do some more field work to decide the best project for that date. The project will also include our annual conservation barbecue ... Read More
May 1, 2016
The Forest Service has issued the final Environmental Assessment (EA) of its plan to protect NM Meadow Jumping Mouse (MJM) habitat along mountain meadow streams in the Jemez Mountains. The final plan bans non-consumptive recreation (as well as grazing) from MJM habitat for at least 10 years. Background In 2014, the Meadow Jumping Mouse was listed as an endangered species. Its endangered status is attributable to destruction of its mountain meadow stream habitat by years of excessive cattle grazing on Forest Service grazing allotments. Even though there is no evidence for damage to MJM habitat from non-consumptive recreation, such as ... Read More
May 1, 2016