OUR TOWN
TROUT CONSERVATION in the
Teanaway Watershed
Story by Kyle Wilkinson | Photos by Zahn Schultz | Design by Anthony Cole
The water is 44 degrees when the Trout Unlimited volunteers step into the headwaters of the Teanaway River on a sunny and unseasonably chilly weekday morning. The creek is barely wide enough for three people to walk side by side. There’s a slight dusting of fresh snow on the ground illuminated by the morning sun. Water laps against a pair of worn-out waders as the men walk over slippery rocks downstream. They’re looking for PIT-tagged Westslope Cutthroat trout in a conservation effort to protect cold water fish species in today’s changing climate. PIT tagging is a method for collecting data on trout migration, according to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. The Yakima River Headwaters Trout Unlimited Chapter has been working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), among other government agencies and organizations, to establish population estimates and habitat rehabilitation efforts for Westslope Cutthroat trout in small streams in the Kittitas Valley. Trout Unlimited members have spearheaded conservation efforts in the Teanaway Watershed out of concern for low numbers of fish in the system. The Teanaway Watershed is a system of small creeks and bodies of water that spill into the Teanaway River, which flows south out of the Wenatchee Mountains and drains into the Yakima River.
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FALL 2019 | ISSUE ONE