Nick Streit, owner of Taos Fly Shop, has long been an outspoken advocate for wild things and wild places. And lately, that effort has been re-doubled. Check it out:

My wife gave me a Stimulator for Valentine’s Day this year. No — that isn’t something X-rated. It is a fly for catching trout. I’m eager to take it out on the Rio Grande this spring for a day of big sky, big fish and solitude.

Protecting the Rio Grande Gorge makes this adventure possible. This area of Northern New Mexico is a national treasure and a paradise for fisher-folk. There is something magical about the hushed slip of your fly across the water. My 4-year-old daughter, Taylor, has already experienced it — she caught her first trout there. Thousands of tourists have, too.

Take a look at his letter to the editor about designating the Rio Grande del Norte as a national monument in the Santa Fe New Mexican