Sometimes it’s the Trout That Have to be Killed

The nation's pre-eminent trout defender, Trout Unlimited president Charles Gauvin, scolds anglers who oppose the project: "If we fight this, what will we say to Walleyes Unlimited when they complain about some coho salmon recovery program in Oregon? Let's grow up….If the science is good, what business have we to be complaining about efforts to save a native species?"

The effort to save this native species will be a test for anglers, and, while they're doing well on this one, there will be many more. "I have no illusions about the speed…with which an ecological conscience can become functional," Aldo Leopold said 56 years ago. "It has required 19 centuries to define decent man-to-man conduct and the process is only half done; it may take as long to evolve a code of decency for man-to-land conduct."

Ted Williams is a contributor to Writers on the Range, an op-ed service of High Country News. He writes about restoring native ecosystems from Grafton, Mass.