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#21
The Gravel Bar / Ambler Road Project in Alaska
Last post by Woolly Bugger - October 30, 2025, 10:34:39 AMIn defiance of Alaska hunters, fishers, outdoor recreationists and 88 Tribal governments that have passed resolutions opposing construction of the controversial Ambler Road, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum today reissued the rights-of-way and Clean Water Act permit needed for the project in a significant step toward bulldozing the industrial road across our national public lands.
The 211-mile road would be built for the benefit of private industry to access the Ambler Mining District, while cutting across some of Alaska's wildest landscapes and part of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. The road project would harm salmon streams and local communities' subsistence resources while also threatening caribou migration patterns.
The Wilderness Society released the following statement from Alaska Senior Manager Matt Jackson in response to Burgum's actions:
" Thousands of Alaskans and dozens of Tribes in the region have been crystal clear about saying 'NO' to the Ambler Road in the interest of protecting this wild Alaska landscape – the Brooks Range, the Koyokon and Kobuk rivers, and the thousands of tributaries the road would cross – for future generations.
"Our grandchildren deserve the same freedom to hunt for caribou, fish for salmon, and experience wilderness that we've received. We don't want this road, and we oppose these rights of way."
https://www.wilderness.org/articles/press-release/wilderness-society-condemns-unprecedented-approval-ambler-road-project
Alaskan Tribes and Activists Are Ready to Resist Ambler Road, Again
The proposed route would slash through pristine Indigenous land
Vent, who is Koyukon Athabascan and Iñupiaq, was raised by her great-grandmother and her aunties in Huslia, a village of 300 in the vast, wild country south of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. No roads traversed the spruce forest and boggy tundra. Rivers scrawled in great loops from the base of the mountains, writing their history across the flats in oxbow lakes and sloughs that gleamed with light. Huslia lay along one of the largest waterways, the Koyukuk. For generations, it and the region's other major rivers had served as highways connecting the Alaska Native communities scattered in this trackless landscape to one another and to the fish camps and hunting places and berry-picking grounds where residents like Vent harvested much of their food.
Over a decade ago, Vent joined an auntie at a public meeting in Huslia's community hall, where villagers had gathered to discuss a state proposal for a new road. Maps detailed a route that, if built, would begin northeast of Huslia from the Dalton Highway, the only major road in northern Alaska, and run more than 200 miles west, nearly to the Inupiat village of Kobuk, one of several on the Kobuk River. The so-called Ambler Access Project—led mostly by the state's economic development arm, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA—would allow foreign companies to develop copper mines near Kobuk. Trucks would travel the new road up to 168 times per day, carrying ore concentrate. Once they reached the Dalton Highway, they would transport the ore south to Fairbanks, where trains would carry it to a port in south-central Alaska—a total journey of about 800 miles.
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https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-1-spring/feature/ambler-road-alaskan-tribes-and-activists-are-ready-resist-again
The 211-mile road would be built for the benefit of private industry to access the Ambler Mining District, while cutting across some of Alaska's wildest landscapes and part of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. The road project would harm salmon streams and local communities' subsistence resources while also threatening caribou migration patterns.
The Wilderness Society released the following statement from Alaska Senior Manager Matt Jackson in response to Burgum's actions:
" Thousands of Alaskans and dozens of Tribes in the region have been crystal clear about saying 'NO' to the Ambler Road in the interest of protecting this wild Alaska landscape – the Brooks Range, the Koyokon and Kobuk rivers, and the thousands of tributaries the road would cross – for future generations.
"Our grandchildren deserve the same freedom to hunt for caribou, fish for salmon, and experience wilderness that we've received. We don't want this road, and we oppose these rights of way."
https://www.wilderness.org/articles/press-release/wilderness-society-condemns-unprecedented-approval-ambler-road-project
Alaskan Tribes and Activists Are Ready to Resist Ambler Road, Again
The proposed route would slash through pristine Indigenous land
Vent, who is Koyukon Athabascan and Iñupiaq, was raised by her great-grandmother and her aunties in Huslia, a village of 300 in the vast, wild country south of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska. No roads traversed the spruce forest and boggy tundra. Rivers scrawled in great loops from the base of the mountains, writing their history across the flats in oxbow lakes and sloughs that gleamed with light. Huslia lay along one of the largest waterways, the Koyukuk. For generations, it and the region's other major rivers had served as highways connecting the Alaska Native communities scattered in this trackless landscape to one another and to the fish camps and hunting places and berry-picking grounds where residents like Vent harvested much of their food.
Over a decade ago, Vent joined an auntie at a public meeting in Huslia's community hall, where villagers had gathered to discuss a state proposal for a new road. Maps detailed a route that, if built, would begin northeast of Huslia from the Dalton Highway, the only major road in northern Alaska, and run more than 200 miles west, nearly to the Inupiat village of Kobuk, one of several on the Kobuk River. The so-called Ambler Access Project—led mostly by the state's economic development arm, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA—would allow foreign companies to develop copper mines near Kobuk. Trucks would travel the new road up to 168 times per day, carrying ore concentrate. Once they reached the Dalton Highway, they would transport the ore south to Fairbanks, where trains would carry it to a port in south-central Alaska—a total journey of about 800 miles.
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https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-1-spring/feature/ambler-road-alaskan-tribes-and-activists-are-ready-resist-again
#22
The Gravel Bar / Re: Unlimited bear news
Last post by Woolly Bugger - October 30, 2025, 09:18:47 AM #23
The Gravel Bar / Re: Unlimited Nuclear Disaster...
Last post by Woolly Bugger - October 30, 2025, 08:58:47 AMTrump directs Pentagon to test nuclear weapons for first time since 1992
The president said he wanted testing to occur "on an equal basis" with Russia and China. The Kremlin condemned the move, and there was no indication of when tests might take place.
President Donald Trump on Thursday morning said he directed the Pentagon to begin testing nuclear weapons "on an equal basis" with Russia and China, an apparent attempt to flex the United States' military might ahead of a high-stakes trade meeting here with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
Trump's announcement on Truth Social signaled a reversal of decades of United States nuclear policy that could have far-reaching consequences for relations with U.S. adversaries, though his post included very few details about what the tests would entail. The last nuclear weapon test in the United States was held in 1992, before President George H.W. Bush implemented a moratorium on such exercises at the conclusion of the Cold War.
https://wapo.st/47JNyNX
Subject: Oppose Any Resumption of Nuclear Testing—Protect Our Future
Dear [Representative/Senator Name],
I am writing to express my unequivocal opposition to any effort to resume nuclear weapons testing in the United States. Such a move would be reckless, unnecessary, and deeply damaging to our national interest.
We have made extraordinary advances in nuclear stewardship without explosive testing. Through subcritical experiments, inertial confinement fusion, and advanced AI-driven simulations, our arsenal remains secure and reliable. There is no scientific or strategic justification for returning to full-scale detonations.
Resuming tests would:
[] Jeopardize public health and the environment, risking radioactive contamination of air, water, and soil.
[] Undermine global nonproliferation efforts, encouraging other nations to restart their own testing programs.
[] Trigger widespread public backlash, eroding trust in government and fueling domestic and international protest.
[] Destabilize our economy, through increased defense spending, potential sanctions, and reputational harm to communities near test sites.
The United States signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996. While it remains unratified, we have upheld its principles for over three decades. To abandon that commitment now would be a betrayal of global leadership and scientific integrity.
I urge you to take a firm stand: publicly oppose any resumption of nuclear testing, support legislation that reinforces our testing moratorium, and advocate for full ratification of the CTBT.
This is not a partisan issue—it is a matter of environmental stewardship, national security, and moral responsibility. I expect your leadership on this issue, and I will be watching closely.
Sincerely,
The president said he wanted testing to occur "on an equal basis" with Russia and China. The Kremlin condemned the move, and there was no indication of when tests might take place.
President Donald Trump on Thursday morning said he directed the Pentagon to begin testing nuclear weapons "on an equal basis" with Russia and China, an apparent attempt to flex the United States' military might ahead of a high-stakes trade meeting here with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
Trump's announcement on Truth Social signaled a reversal of decades of United States nuclear policy that could have far-reaching consequences for relations with U.S. adversaries, though his post included very few details about what the tests would entail. The last nuclear weapon test in the United States was held in 1992, before President George H.W. Bush implemented a moratorium on such exercises at the conclusion of the Cold War.
https://wapo.st/47JNyNX
Subject: Oppose Any Resumption of Nuclear Testing—Protect Our Future
Dear [Representative/Senator Name],
I am writing to express my unequivocal opposition to any effort to resume nuclear weapons testing in the United States. Such a move would be reckless, unnecessary, and deeply damaging to our national interest.
We have made extraordinary advances in nuclear stewardship without explosive testing. Through subcritical experiments, inertial confinement fusion, and advanced AI-driven simulations, our arsenal remains secure and reliable. There is no scientific or strategic justification for returning to full-scale detonations.
Resuming tests would:
[] Jeopardize public health and the environment, risking radioactive contamination of air, water, and soil.
[] Undermine global nonproliferation efforts, encouraging other nations to restart their own testing programs.
[] Trigger widespread public backlash, eroding trust in government and fueling domestic and international protest.
[] Destabilize our economy, through increased defense spending, potential sanctions, and reputational harm to communities near test sites.
The United States signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996. While it remains unratified, we have upheld its principles for over three decades. To abandon that commitment now would be a betrayal of global leadership and scientific integrity.
I urge you to take a firm stand: publicly oppose any resumption of nuclear testing, support legislation that reinforces our testing moratorium, and advocate for full ratification of the CTBT.
This is not a partisan issue—it is a matter of environmental stewardship, national security, and moral responsibility. I expect your leadership on this issue, and I will be watching closely.
Sincerely,
#24
The Gravel Bar / Re: Unliminited Knots
Last post by Woolly Bugger - October 29, 2025, 20:51:02 PMGetting ready to chase Albies at Harkers, but you never know when you'll be chasing after some toothy bluefish. The requires a wire bite tippet. So, here's the knots that I use for connecting the leader to the wire and he wire to the fly.
#25
The Gravel Bar / Re: Song of the day
Last post by Woolly Bugger - October 29, 2025, 11:11:03 AM #26
The Gravel Bar / Re: Unlimited Fly Fishing News...
Last post by Woolly Bugger - October 29, 2025, 08:15:26 AMReflections on a family's 4 decades in the wilderness of Maine's Rangeley Lakes region
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In the summer of 1985, my wife and I followed Route 16 across the New Hampshire border into Maine. Not long afterward, we passed over the little bridge that spans the Magalloway River. I stopped to watch water spray off an angler's backcast, the drops sparkling like tiny prisms when the sun emerged from a bank of clouds.
Shortly after that, we turned off the macadam, catching glimpses of the wind-swept surface of Aziscohos Lake through breaks in the stands of spruce and balsam growing tightly along the dirt-and-grit logging road.
I recall stopping once for a snowshoe hare and another time for a grouse with her parade of squealers scrambling behind her. Twenty minutes later, Trish and I pulled into Bosebuck Mountain Camps, a traditional Maine sporting lodge at the head of the westernmost lake in the Rangeley Lakes Region.
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/10/29/outdoors/family-4-decades-rangeley-lakes-region-wilderness-joam40zk0w/
Guests are not allowed to view images in posts, please Register or Login
In the summer of 1985, my wife and I followed Route 16 across the New Hampshire border into Maine. Not long afterward, we passed over the little bridge that spans the Magalloway River. I stopped to watch water spray off an angler's backcast, the drops sparkling like tiny prisms when the sun emerged from a bank of clouds.
Shortly after that, we turned off the macadam, catching glimpses of the wind-swept surface of Aziscohos Lake through breaks in the stands of spruce and balsam growing tightly along the dirt-and-grit logging road.
I recall stopping once for a snowshoe hare and another time for a grouse with her parade of squealers scrambling behind her. Twenty minutes later, Trish and I pulled into Bosebuck Mountain Camps, a traditional Maine sporting lodge at the head of the westernmost lake in the Rangeley Lakes Region.
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/10/29/outdoors/family-4-decades-rangeley-lakes-region-wilderness-joam40zk0w/
#28
The Gravel Bar / Smith River Access Project in ...
Last post by Woolly Bugger - October 28, 2025, 17:05:09 PMDuke Energy Foundation gives $10,000 to Rockingham County for Smith River access project
The Rockingham County Tourism Development Authority received a $10,000 award from the Duke Energy Foundation to support construction of a public river access and takeout on the Smith River in Eden, county officials said at the Jan. 21 Board of Commissioners meeting.
The funding will go toward construction of what county presenters described as the first public river access and takeout in North Carolina above the spray dam in Eden. Rockingham County staff and Tourism Development Authority representatives said the project aims to improve safety and accessibility for paddlers, especially those unfamiliar with portaging around the spray dam.
"Hank Henning, local government and community relations manager with Duke Energy, said, "your constituents are our customers," noting Duke Energy's interest in supporting outdoor recreation and community partnerships.
County and TDA officials said the site will use an easement on North Carolina Department of Transportation property near the Highway 14 bridge. The TDA representatives said the grant will help pay for the initial construction of a public takeout and related safety improvements; they thanked NCDOT for cooperating on the easement.
#29
The Gravel Bar / Salmon Restoration on the Peno...
Last post by Woolly Bugger - October 26, 2025, 12:59:49 PMSalmon Restoration on the Penobscot River, a 22-minute film produced by Sunlight Media Collective, is now available for viewing.
This film shares the story of an inspiring collaboration between the Penobscot Nation's Department of Natural Resources, scientists at the State of Maine's Department of Marine Resources and others who worked together on the "Salmon for Maine's Rivers" project to help bring Atlantic Salmon back home to Penobscot Nation's waters.
This short film shows the release of adult egg-bearing salmon into the river and follows the team of scientists who tracked and studied these fish. Penobscot Nation citizens share their perspectives on the importance of Atlantic Salmon to their Tribe and describe their efforts to restore this native species, which is endangered in the United States and found only in a few rivers in Maine in concerningly small numbers. Historical threats to Atlantic salmon include dams, over-fishing and pollution. Although pollution and fishing issues have been greatly diminished for many decades, delay, injury, mortality, and poor passage efficiency at hydroelectric dams still plague restoration efforts.
"Multiple studies and over 100 years of restoration efforts in the Penobscot River, efforts that include the internationally renowned Penobscot River Restoration Project, have clearly demonstrated that free-flowing rivers provide the best opportunity for Atlantic salmon recovery," said Sunlight Media Collective.
https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/salmon-restoration-penobscot-river-film-collaborative-between-penobscot-nation-and-maine
#30
The Gravel Bar / Re: Where the Appalachian broo...
Last post by trout-r-us - October 26, 2025, 08:24:00 AM😢