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Steelhead Find an Unlikely Friend in Beavers

In Washington by Jonathan Stumpf

Beavers deliver conditions steelhead require in their spawning grounds — cold water, longer duration of wetted streambeds, and food-rich rearing habitat. Here’s why beavers are now part of the recovery toolbox for upper Columbia River steelhead.

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Wild, scenic, and fishable

In Oregon by Kyle Smith

Today, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon introduced the River Democracy Act of 2021, which would create new Wild and Scenic River designations for a number of stream segments in Oregon where TU is working to protect and restore habitat, water sources and fishing opportunities. TU supports this legislation, which is based on more than 15,000 recommendations submitted by Oregon residents.

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Science Friday: What happens when you cram the big’uns in with the small’ins?

In Science Friday by steelheaders

We sure do love this beautiful weather! It’s almost the first day of June. Summer is officially within sight.   This week’s Science Friday goes back in time over 20-years to 1997.  We review a study conducted by Brett Harvey and Rodney Nakamoto. We have reviewed some of their work previously, which focused on habitat usage by adult steelhead.  Today …

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Science Friday: Successful habitat restoration on the Washougal River

In Science Friday by steelheaders

Welcome to another Science Friday post from Wild Steelheaders United. In this space we usually review scientific studies that have implications for wild steelhead conservation and management. But we take a slightly different path this week. I was born and raised on the banks of the Washougal River in SW Washington. The poor Washougal has suffered more than most steelhead …

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Can a Wild Coho Salmon Population Recover Following Closure of a Hatchery Program

In California, Idaho, Oregon, Science Friday, Washington by Nick Chambers

Today’s post is the conclusion of our two part guest series on the recovery of Coho in Oregon’s Salmon River. (Click here for last weeks post) Lately we have shared several studies on Pink and Coho salmon, which provide important lessons for salmonid recovery efforts across a range of species and watersheds. Perhaps the most important lesson is that decisions …

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Science Friday: Restoring the River Salmon: The Coho Return

In Oregon, Science Friday by Nick Chambers

Today we are re-publishing an excellent article by Dan Bottom on the remarkable against all odds recovery of Salmon River Coho. This article was originally written for and published by the Reflections program at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology near Otis on Oregon’s Salmon River.   This article was submitted by Dan Bottom, a current Howard L. McKee …

The Salmon Coast

In Washington by Nick Chambers

The Olympic Peninsula is home to some of the last great places for wild salmon and steelhead in the Lower 48. Of course, it’s the wild steelhead that draw many of us to the OP. But it’s also the huge trees and beautiful brawling rivers that make the OP a destination for fish and anglers alike.   While much of …

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Stock Recruit Curves And Wild Steelhead, A Good Match?

In Science Friday by Nick Chambers

In several recent posts we have discussed the concept of density dependence and how it is used in fisheries management. Today we dive in deeper and talk about the stock-recruitment relationship, density dependence, and how the results of such models are applied to managing steelhead.   First, let’s define some terms. Stock refers to, in this context, a population of …