Chris Wood, President and CEO of Trout Unlimited, shares about his relationship with Shannon Wheeler, the Vice Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe, and how Chris walks away a little wiser, and a little more passionate, about the need to recover Snake River salmon and steelhead every time he hears him speak on the issue.
Anglers, hunters and outdoor recreation companies to Biden administration: The dams must come out
This month, Trout Unlimited joined dozens of fish and wildlife groups and major outdoor recreation companies in calling on the Biden administration to develop a comprehensive solution to the collapse of salmon and steelhead populations that includes removing the four dams on the lower Snake River and investing billions of dollars in a reimagining of infrastructure in the Northwest.
For the First Time in My Life
For the first time in my life, I won’t be skating flies over glassy tailouts for summer steelhead this year on my beloved North Umpqua River. That’s because the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has closed this legendary fishery until December due to extreme low flows and dangerously high water temps.
Guaranteed: they will come back
Wild Snake River salmon and steelhead are on the brink of extinction, but we can bring these incredible fish back to abundance. Tackling the most ambitious river restoration project in history with the goal of redeveloping and reinvigorating the Northwest economy is not a challenge, it is an opportunity.
Lower Snake River dam removal is a golden key, if not a silver bullet
Questioning whether dam removal alone could recover Snake River salmon and steelhead misses the point. The question we need to answer is this: Can we recover abundant, healthy, and fishable and harvestable Snake River salmon and steelhead with the four lower Snake River dams in place?
The Snake River basin is a climate-change refuge for migrating salmon and steelhead
The equation is simple. It’s hot. It’s going to get hotter, which is why it is so urgent to increase access for salmon and steelhead to the thousands of square miles of the most climate-resilient, high-elevation habitat in the Snake River basin by removing the lower four Snake River dams.
Science Friday: How do steelhead survive in intermittent streams?
It’s the first Friday in October — officially, “Septober” for us steelheaders. Unfortunately, steelhead runs across much of the West Coast have been down this year, and now there is another blob of warm water in the North Pacific. Things don’t look good right now, but wild steelhead have withstood these types of conditions before. As long as we …
Not too hot, not too cold, the ocean must be just right
Two weeks ago we were on the Dean. This week we go even further north, to Auke Bay near Juneau, Alaska, for our next Science Friday post. The greater Juneau are is home to several rivers that host wild steelhead runs. Auke Creek is perhaps the most important of these feeder streams, as scientists at the Auke Bay Marine …
Science Friday: Do these lipids make me look fat?
For most anglers who have encountered both winter and summer steelhead, it’s abundantly clear there are differences between the two races of fish. For one, they enter freshwater at different times of the year, although there is some overlap. In addition, there are physical differences. Summer steelhead tend to be more fusiform — sleeker and more firm bodied …