Oregon HGMP scoping comments

In Oregon, Steelhead Files by steelheaders

March 17, 2016   Sent via email to: OregonCoastHatcheryEIS.wcr@noaa.gov     National Marine Fisheries Service Sustainable Fisheries Division 2900 NW Stewart Parkway Roseburg, OR 97471   RE: Oregon Coast Hatchery EIS Scoping Comments   To Whom It May Concern: Trout Unlimited (TU), the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring our nation’s trout and …

Supporting steelhead in the Columbia Basin

In Washington by steelheaders

Since April 1, 2010, anglers over 15, who fish for salmon and steelhead in Washington’s Columbia River basin, have been required to purchase a Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Endorsement (CRSSE). This tag generates on average $1.6 million annually to help improve fishing opportunities throughout the Columbia River Basin.   Recently we made a push for the renewal and extension of the …

Catch and Release is not a Crime

In Washington by Nick Chambers

Occupy Skagit April 30, 2016 Howard Miller Steelhead Park Rockport, WA   Drift boats full of steelhead anglers plying emerald green waters are a common fixture of Northwest Rivers in late winter and spring.   However this is no longer the case in Puget Sound where spring steelhead seasons have been closed for nearly a decade.The Skagit River was arguably …

Proposed Mine Threatens Methow Headwaters

In Washington by Nick Chambers

The Methow River is one of Washington’s most iconic rivers for steelhead fishing and other outdoor pursuits, and it continues to be a Pacific Northwest mecca for anglers, hunters, recreationists, and conservationists alike. But proposed large-scale copper mining on Flagg Mountain, within the headwaters of the Methow River, directly threatens this investment and poses a serious threat to these fish …

Rapid Genetic Change in Hatchery-reared Steelhead

In Oregon, Science Friday, Steelhead Files by steelheaders

Rapid Genetic Change in Hatchery-reared Steelhead By John McMillan Here is another paper hot off the press from Mark Christie, former researcher at Oregon State University in the Michael Blouin genetics lab, and several other authors. They looked into whether and how quickly genetic changes could be detected in the offspring of wild steelhead when they were bred in a …

Washington’s most recent Wild Steelhead Gene Bank

In Newsletter: The Wild Steelheader, Washington by Nick Chambers

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced their most recent Wild Steelhead Gene Bank designation which will be situated on the Grays and Chinook Rivers in the Lower Columbia. It is the final of four gene banks planned for the region.   “Gene banks are an important tool for the recovery of wild fish in the state of Washington. …

The Lost Coast

In California, Steelhead Files by steelheaders

The Lost Coast The name alone is enough to get any steelheader’s pulse racing. Shrouded in myth and the coastal fog which often blankets this region, the Lost Coast of California is one of the cradles of modern steelhead angling. Legendary wild steelhead rivers such as the Eel, Trinity, Mattole, and Van Duzen flow from and through its rugged, scenic …

Oregon’s loss of funding shows we’ve got work ahead of us

In Oregon, Steelhead Files by steelheaders

Loss of funding shows we’ve got work ahead of us  By: Dean Finnerty Oregonians have known for years about the need to clean up our act with regard to water pollution standards along our favorite salmon and steelhead streams in western Oregon.   That reality hit home recently. After the Oregon Board of Forestry ignored its own science and refused to make significant changes to address …

New Steelhead Science and Potential Management Changes

In Science Friday, Steelhead Files, Washington by steelheaders

Surviving Puget Sound: One of the best parts of my job is sharing scientific research with anglers, who seem to have an almost insatiable appetite for understanding steelhead. Sharing information is important not only to help anglers understand steelhead, but also because more informed anglers make better advocates. Wild steelhead will need as many advocates as possible if we are …

“A worse location is unlikely”

In Live Action Alerts by steelheaders

  A proposed Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) export terminal at the mouth of BC’s Skeena River threatens its legendary wild salmon and steelhead runs.   When you’re talking about the finest wild steelhead rivers in North America—heck, in the world—a few names come immediately to mind. The Smith. The Dean. The Rogue. And certainly the Skeena. The Skeena, British Columbia’s …