As a steelheader, you may already know the incredible story of Snake River salmon and steelhead, and the precarious position those populations are in now. Today, we have a chance to help Snake River steelhead and salmon. TAKE ACTION TODAY: TU has setup a website with all the information you need to get a handle on Snake River issues and …
Wild Steelheaders United applauds Sen. Wyden and Gov. Brown’s opposition to FERC approval of Jordan Cove Energy Project
Yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted 2-1 to approve the highly controversial Jordan Cove Energy Project. The project would include an export terminal in Coos Bay, OR and a 230-mile-long pipeline from Malin, OR to the export facility on the southern Oregon coast. The pipeline’s route will cross a number of iconic salmon and steelhead watersheds, including the Coquille, …
Meetings on Lower Snake Dams available via teleconference
If you are interested in weighing in on the recently released draft environmental impact statement regarding the Lower Snake and Columbia River dams, you can do so via telephone: –Days: March 18, 19, 25, 26, 31–Times: 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT–Toll-free: 844-721-7241–International: 409-207-6955–Access Code: 5998146# You may also provide comments online by April 13. Trout Unlimited will provide more information on …
Cold water refuges in the Columbia River- what are they and why are they important?
After months of winter steelheading, and with spring a few days away, wet-wading and sunshine are starting to sound pretty appealing. But warmer temperatures also bring some complications for summer steelhead in the Columbia basin. Tributaries like Herman Creek, Eagle Creek, Little White Salmon, and the Deschutes River deliver cold water to the Columbia even when air temps climb. Summer …
Senator Ron Wyden’s Office Receives More Than 15,000 Nominations for Wild and Scenic Rivers in Oregon
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden today announced he has received more than 15,000 nominations for more than 4,000 miles of rivers and streams in Oregon that enthusiasts believe deserve to be added to the national Wild and Scenic Rivers designation list. TU and Wild Steelheaders United have strongly supported Senator Wyden’s leadership on this legislative effort. Wild and Scenic River designation …
Science Friday- Just how much diversity can one creek support? Asotin Creek provides an example
If only it was as simple as an adipose fin. The presence of an adipose fin is universally recognized as the mark. An individual with an adipose fin is, with a few exceptions, considered a wild steelhead. On the other hand, those marked, clipped, or ad-intact fish, they are the hatchery ones. Although it is but a small mark, the …
Of chukar and steelhead in the Snake River country
By Michael Gibson Nothing clears the mind like a good chukar hike. So, when the boss called for a work/chukar retreat in lower Snake River Country, I got excited. Late-season chukar in some of the best, and most rugged, chukar country the planet has to offer. About now, you are probably wondering, what’s this got to do with fish? We’ll get to that. Our new North Idaho …
Commission denies petition to prohibit wild steelhead harvest in SW Oregon
By Kyle Smith, Oregon Field Coordinator Over 50 wild steelhead advocates turned out last Friday for a meeting of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in support of a petition that would have enacted emergency rules to prohibit harvest of wild steelhead in the southwest corner of the state. After almost five hours of public testimony, with the majority in …
ODFW Commission to vote on harvest of wild steelhead in Southwest Zone
By Kyle Smith For almost all steelhead waters up and down the West Coast, harvest of wild steelhead is not permitted. This policy is longstanding for many rivers and is based on a combination of factors (primarily the depletion of many wild stocks). And the prohibition of sport harvest of wild steelhead in Washington, Idaho, California, and much of Oregon …
Science Friday- What Have We Lost?
Imagine going back in time 100 years to the Columbia River. What do you think the steelhead looked like then? How long were they? How much did they weigh? In the early 1900s scientists working with the federal Bureau of Fisheries visited the Columbia River, which was considered the center of steelhead abundance for the Lower 48 – and frankly, …