As part of HFF’s 40th Anniversary edition of the Summer Seminar Series, Dr. Rob Van Kirk sat down with founders Mick Mickelson and Mike Lawson in mid-June to ask about the 1980s and what prompted the formation of the Henry’s Fork Foundation in 1984.
Mike recalls floating senior Senator Jim McClure and his wife down the river to show them the beautiful resource that would be hurt if the multiple proposed hydro developments dewatered Mesa Falls. Mick also added that a $750k Forest Service appropriation to build the LogJam parking lot and restroom may have occurred shortly after Mrs. McClure needed to use the facilities during the visit, but none existed! Then there was the time Mike Lawson, a man from a town of 600 people, had to testify in front of Congress! As he’ll tell you, he felt like a fish out of water to say the least.
Plus, hydropower including Fall River Rural Electric and PacfiCorp, and Aquatic Resource Coordinator Matt Hively join the conversation to talk about how the sometimes challenging relationship between fish and hydro has developed and improved over the years.
This, and many other great stories from the early days, made this a wonderful event on a sunny day in Harriman. If you missed it, you can watch the video by clicking below.
I know my last blog post left you on the edge of your seat. Today I’m going to answer the question that has doubtlessly been on everyone’s minds: did I catch a fish? Let me tell you, it was getting down to the wire. I’d been out many times with the incredibly patient Claude, to no avail. Not even a bite. Claude’s patience was really commendable as I stubbornly, astoundingly refused to improve.
As my time here at the foundation wraps up, I have been doing a lot of reflection. As such, I have concluded that the amount you can learn in one summer internship is unrivaled. It can range from scientific technical skills to office interpersonal skills, and anywhere in between. Some things are self-explanatory, and some are learned through trial and error. This range is what makes internships so valuable. I’ve compiled a list of the
Putting in the hours. Credit: Estelle Edwards Fish are omnipresent. Whether Claude’s talking about his latest catch, an angler is asking me what fly to use (I don’t know), or I’m taking Utah suckers out of gillnets, I am drowning in fish… but I have never caught one. I have yet to be blessed with a bite on a Parachute Adams, Zebra Midge, or Montreal Whore, but thanks to fishing-adjacent research experiences, I’ve gotten a
I grew up fishing on the North Carolina coast. From flounder and speckled trout (not actually in the trout family) deep in the creeks to Spanish mackerel and bull redfish right off the beach, all the way out to what feels like the middle of the ocean trolling for king mackerel and cobia, I loved the wide variety of fish. One sunny July morning a few summers back, my dad and I headed offshore in
