Hatch Magazine

1 week ago | hatchmag.com | Chris Hunt

During a late-night meeting of the House Natural Resources Committee May 6, as congressional members were negotiating the inclusions in the federal budget bill, two Western lawmakers put forth an amendment that could have lasting impacts on America’s public lands and how they’re managed going forward. U.S. Reps.

1 week ago | hatchmag.com | Dawn Attride

Hundreds of climate workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were fired for the second time after the Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision on an initial dismissal. This move brings the total toll of fired federal employees up to about 16,000 — jeopardizing vital work at NOAA, including marine pollution research, weather forecasting for hurricanes and tornadoes and decisions for local fisheries that help guard against overfishing.

2 weeks ago | hatchmag.com | Chris Hunt

Growing up on the fringes of the Deep South, in the East Texas piney woods region, there was always a tricky summer ballet we had to perform. It was a careful balance between wandering down to the local pond — where we’d sneak through the woods after carefully climbing through a barbed-wire fence erected to keep us out — to chase bass and bream on sticky summer days and handling the “chores” that came with living on three-quarters of a pine-tree pocked acre.

2 weeks ago | hatchmag.com | Chris Hunt

I spent a beautiful spring week on Montana’s Bighorn River, one of those western gems that gets fished aggressively come summer. And, on a glorious April day when the mercury tickled 80 degrees, the river saw its share of anglers. The good news? The ‘Horn is one of those rivers that just keeps on delivering big fish, no matter how many boats and how many anglers find their way to its chilled waters below Yellowtail Dam.

3 weeks ago | hatchmag.com | Chris Hunt

I had an interesting discussion with an old friend not too long ago — he was planning a fishing trip with his long-time fishing buddy, who’s gracefully aging and is now into his 80s. “He’s getting up there, and I’m getting up there, too,” my friend, who’s now into his 60s, said. “His eyesight is failing, and I’m losing my hearing. It’s getting comical when we’re on the water together. For now, we can laugh about it, but it’s starting to get a little annoying.”Tell me about it. I’m damn near deaf.