Join Project Big Wood for the launch of The State of the Big Wood—an annual snapshot of the river we all call home. Built from collaborative data, sweat, and stories gathered across the basin, this isn’t just a report—it’s a yearly river manual for anglers, outfitters, landowners, students, families, and anyone invested in building a better Big Wood River. We’ll screen a short film featuring local characters and open the floor after a keynote by our board president, Kenny Van Zant. $25 Ticket Includes: – Light Appetizers – A pint of Big Woody Lager – A copy of the 2025 State of the Big Wood – Film screening Help us raise $30K to change the future of the Big Wood through data, education, advocacy, and earthworks programs.
What We’re Made Of: Waterworks- Lamson
While some companies, like Smith, or Scott, are considered shining examples of entrepreneurs and brands coming out of the Sun Valley area, Waterworks-Lamson has been in business in the area (and beyond) close to 20 years. Created originally as a way to simply release fly-caught fish better, Waterworks-Lamson is now sold worldwide and has developed many more reels and rods than their original Ketchum Release tool innovated in its namesake town. How It Started The company that would become Lamson, and later Waterworks-Lamson, was started in 1996 by brothers Michael and Ryan Harrison and Michael’s brother-in-law, Mark Farris. The trio had moved to Ketchum in 1989 and were designing bike technology in the world of high-performance cycling, creating and patenting cutting-edge components like frame designs and mountain bike suspension systems. As outdoorsmen who loved skiing, biking, and fishing, Ketchum seemed the perfect place to live and test out bikes and, later, fly-fishing gear. The three men were avid fisherman who found themselves frustrated with the hemostat, the go-to at the time for releasing fly-caught fish, for the harm it caused the fish and the fly. With their product design background, they came up with a solution, an innovative tool that …