Outdoors
The BDN outdoors section brings readers into the woods, waters and wild places of Maine. It features stories on hunting, fishing, wildlife, conservation and recreation, told by people who live these experiences. This section emphasizes hands-on knowledge, field reports, issues, trends and the traditions that define life outside in Maine. Read more Outdoors stories here.
Ted Turner, the media mogul, philanthropist and conservationist who built CNN and was once the nation’s largest private landowner, is being remembered by a Maine outdoors writer for his work protecting trout habitat in the western United States. Turner died Wednesday at 87.
Paul Guernsey, a Maine author and former editor of Fly Rod & Reel magazine, said Turner’s environmental efforts were significant enough that the publication once honored him with its Angler of the Year award. The magazine, published in Rockport by Down East, ceased publication in 2017.
“RIP, Mr. Turner. You did a lot for the environment,” Guernsey wrote.
The magazine recognized Turner for efforts to restore Westslope cutthroat trout habitat on his Montana ranches, though the decision generated controversy.
According to Guernsey, the restoration effort involved using rotenone to remove non-native brown and rainbow trout from a stretch of Cherry Creek that flowed through Turner’s property. The stream was then restocked with native cutthroat trout, a species that had suffered from habitat loss and degradation.
Some anglers opposed the move because they enjoyed fishing for the non-native trout. Montana’s stream access law added another layer to the controversy because the public could legally fish the creek as long as anglers did not trespass on private land surrounding it.
Fly Rod & Reel later received a flood of letters criticizing the award decision, Guernsey said.
Turner, whose vast land holdings and conservation work drew national attention, was known for restoring wildlife habitat across large stretches of the West, including habitat for bison and native trout, as well as promoting sustainable land management.
Guernsey said Turner inspired a character in his recent fly-fishing novel.
His novel, “Rolling Back the River,” published in February, is set in Maine and Argentina. One of the book’s characters — billionaire J.T. Allman — was based loosely on Turner.