Conservation Activities

Sweetwater Travel's commitment to healthy rivers, wild fish, local communities, and responsible fly fishing operations.

At Sweetwater Travel Company, the land, wildlife, rivers, and fish come first. The health of a fishery matters more than the success of any single lodge or trip. That belief shapes how Sweetwater runs small catch-and-release operations, hires locally where possible, and works to leave each watershed better than it was found.

Healthy fisheries also support local economies. When residents see that clean water and wild fish can create jobs, guiding opportunities, and long-term prosperity, they have a stronger reason to protect those resources from poaching, pollution, and short-sighted use.

How Sweetwater Approaches Conservation

Conservation work can be as large as helping set aside a watershed for a taimen preserve, or as practical as donating trips for auction to organizations such as Trout Unlimited, the Cottonwood Resource Council, and the Montana Land Reliance. The scale changes from place to place, but the purpose stays the same: support the watersheds that support the fishing.

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The Taimen Conservation Fund

With support from the Mongolian government, the World Bank, the Global Environmental Facility, and Sweetwater Travel, the Taimen Conservation Fund was formed to help preserve taimen through habitat improvement, community development, and scientific projects. Its long-term objective is simple and serious: preserve taimen for future generations.

The fund's first project was rebuilding the Dayan Derkh Buddhist monastery in Hovsgol Province. In nomadic Mongolian culture, temples and monasteries often served as meeting points and cultural anchors for communities on the move. Rebuilding the monastery helped reconnect conservation work with local history, culture, and community life in the Eg-Ur watershed.