A new battle cry for a grassroots movement to improve steelhead management without new regulations. By Bill Herzog Last fall on Oregon’s upper Deschutes, some of the most influential minds on wild steelhead gathered in Maupin for a “Steelhead Summit.” Maupin, center-punched into the heart of Oregon, is a tiny desert town famous for two things: trout and …
Bill honoring Frank and Jeanne Moore reintroduced
Senator’s Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley reintroduced legislation today that would protect one of the country’s best remaining populations of wild steelhead. The “Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area” bill will safeguard more than 100,000 acres of habitat on the famed North Umpqua. “Trout Unlimited applauds the determined leadership of Oregon Senators’ Ron Wyden and …
Steelheaders should stand up for small streams
By John McMillan When we steelhead anglers think of steelhead water, we think of big, muscular rivers like the Skagit, Umpqua and Eel. We don’t usually think of small streams we can step across or even streams that go dry in the summer. We should. [Write your legislator today and tell them to protect clean …
Oregon’s and California’s Smith River protected from foreign mining interests
20 year mineral withdrawal approved by Interior Photos by Ken Moorish Washington D.C. — Oregon and California’s Smith River got welcome news as the Department of the Interior approved a 20-year mineral withdrawal, protecting the river from proposed strip mining. In recent years, foreign mining companies have sought to strip mine for nickel in the area, putting at risk …
The advantage of avalanches
Here in this timbered, steep, up and down country of Idaho, the forces at work are not merely wind and water. Here, the tumble of rocks and cracking of large trees has been important to shaping river habitat for centuries. Avalanches are not just territory for the backcountry skier. They’re good for steelhead too. Think of them like door-to-river …
Frank Moore Bill advances in Senate
Portland, OR (July 13, 2016) – A bill that would protect more than 100,000 acres in Douglas County, Oregon took another step forward today as it passed through a mark-up in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The Frank Moore Wild Steelhead Sanctuary Designation Act (S. 1448) would permanently safeguard an area that contains some of the …
You have to start small to think big
By Sam Davidson In 2006, the Pajaro River on California’s central coast came out of obscurity to make national headlines—for the wrong reason: it was named the most endangered river in America. Historically, the Pajaro was one of the most productive steelhead streams in this region. Old-timers in Watsonville and other local communities recall chromers stacked like cordwood in …
What happened to my summer runs?
Editors note: This is the first in a multi-part series looking at both the decline and recovery of wild steelhead runs. By Bill Herzog Here I am, as far into the corner of eastern Washington as you can get, waist deep in the mighty Snake River, two hander whooshing around me every few minutes. I’m immersed, literally …
A Better Way
Tim Frahm, Central Coast Steelhead Coordinator for Trout Unlimited, admires the newly restored Carmel River above the site of the old San Clemente Dam at the celebration event on June 6. By Sam Davidson There have no doubt been many parties on the Carmel River, one of the best steelhead streams on California’s south-central coast, over the years. This scenic …