PRESERVING THE BEST RAINBOW HABITAT IN THE EAST
Phil Chase, Port Jervis, N.Y.

Phil Chase has dedicated himself entirely to saving the Delaware River and its trout population. As a teacher, he brought students to meetings affecting the Delaware to instill awareness. As a Times Herald-Record columnist, he urged his readers to take action on the river's behalf. He has been the Federation of Flyfishers Man of the Year and the Tri-County Sportsman of the Year. "Now I can step back and let educated people take action," says the 77-year-old Chase. Step back is a relative phrase—Chase is a director of Friends of the Upper Delaware River, which works to improve what he calls the best rainbow trout fishery in the East.

A CRUSADER FOR THE CLACKAMAS
Cole Gardiner, Clackamas, Ore.

For almost 20 years, retired teacher Cole Gardiner has been tirelessly lining the lower Clackamas River with as many as 10,000 trees per season. The river's lower portion had suffered from stream-bank erosion and warming water temperatures. So in 1990 Gardiner used money from government grants and private groups to plant conifers, western red cedar, hemlock, bitter cherry, and big leaf maple. Their shade cools the river, and their roots release water in times of drought, Gardiner says. Early reports are showing an improvement in the river's population of trout, steelhead, and salmon.

SAVING TROUT IN THE GOLDEN STATE
Howard Kern, Westlake Village, Calif.

Freeze-dried food first drove Howard Kern to fish on backpacking trips with his father. "That stuff wasn't too good in the '70s and I thought, 'There's a lake full of fresh fish to eat,'" Kern says. He is now making sure those fish are there for future generations. Kern spends up to 40 hours per month as the volunteer coordinator for the Golden Trout Restoration Project. Besides organizing projects and raising funds, he helps maintain cattle-exclusion fences and repair stream banks. A former Boy Scout and avid flyfisherman, Kern helped the Scouts create a flyfishing merit badge in 2002.