Alaska’s Rivers and West Texas’ Deserts

Unspoiled Alaskan rivers like the Sandy River have an incredible abundance of animals, birds and marine life. Out here on the end of the Alaska Peninsula, the migratory keystone species – salmon –  predators and abundant prey are seen in constant interaction. Texas’ deserts, where wildlife diversity and populations  are severely depleted, provide observers with no living example of the harmony of a seemingly chaotic ‘unmanaged’ ecosystem.  Forty years of fly-fishing for salmon, 25 of those on the Sandy, gave our family the examples and the insights that guide Circle Ranch’s restoration efforts in the deserts of far-West Texas. Our practices, based on the lessons of the Sandy River, fundamentally differ from the industrial agricultural methods promoted by universities and government agencies.