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It’s time for the lower Snake River dams to go

In Columbia River, Idaho, Oregon, Snake River, Steelhead Files, Washington by steelheaders

“It is our collective opinion, based on overwhelming scientific evidence, that restoration of a free-flowing lower Snake River is essential to recovering wild Pacific salmon and steelhead in the basin.”

So reads a remarkable letter recently sent to the governors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana by 10 of the finest and most-respected salmon and steelhead scientists in the world.

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Our failure to remember affects salmon and steelhead conservation

In Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon, Steelhead Files, Washington by Kyle Smith

We’ve all heard stories from our grandparents of unbelievable abundance and sizes in their fishing forays — the salmon so numerous it boggled the mind, and those Lahontan cutthroat trout so big you couldn’t wrap your arms around them. Yet even with these anecdotes it’s still hard to internalize just how different our experience of today is from way back when. That’s just human nature: memory is hard to maintain, especially across generations.

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Marty and Mia Sheppard Support the John Day Steelhead Project

In Columbia River, Oregon, Steelhead Files by Jenny Weis

Last week, Wild Steelheaders United launched the John Day Steelhead Project, a crowdfunding effort during the month of May with the goal of raising $10,000 to help researchers at Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State University, and partners install acoustic tags on John Day steelhead to track their migration upriver. You can learn all about the research, as …

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The Science Behind John Day Steelhead Migration

In Columbia River, Oregon, Snake River, Steelhead Files by Kyle Smith

On Monday, we launched the John Day Steelhead Project raising funds for a study being conducted by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, and a number of other partners. We’ve been impressed with the response to the crowdfunding campaign, with friends of Wild Steelheaders United coming together to fund $3400 towards our $10,000 …

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A Steelheaders Quarantine Reading List

In Meet the team, Steelhead Etiquette, Steelhead Files by Kyle Smith

Stuck-at-home? Here are 16 Steelhead Book Recommendations for the Quarantined Steelheader With many of us spending more time at home and indoors than we’re used to, the team at Wild Steelheaders United thought we’d share some of our favorite reads to keep the fire for conservation and fishing alive while we’re all hunkered down. John McMillan, Wild Steelhead Initiative Science Director  Steelhead Fly Fishing …

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Sea lion strategy helping Willamette winter steelhead

In Oregon, Steelhead Files by Kyle Smith

By Dean Finnerty In these hard times, it’s uplifting to see a little good news like this morning’s article in The Statesman Journal detailing Willamette winter steelhead returns. Willamette River wild winter steelhead numbers—once as many as 20,000 fish—fell to just over 800 individual fish a few seasons ago. It appeared this once robust run was about to go the …