FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 12, 2018 Contact: Rob Masonis, VP for Western Conservation, Trout Unlimited, rmasonis@tu.org, 206-491-9016 Nick Chambers, Wild Steelhead Initiative Organizer, nchambers@tu.org, 541-908-1329 Trout Unlimited and Wild Steelheaders United applaud decision to re-open Skagit River wild steelhead fishery, call for additional analysis of fishery impact limits to ensure consistency with recovery SEATTLE—Trout Unlimited (TU) and …
What happened to our Columbia River steelhead?
By now, you have probably heard steelhead returns to the Columbia are well below the most recent ten-year average. As a result, places like the Methow River will not be open to steelhead angling this fall. In short, that is a bummer. There has been much speculation about the causes for the decline and potential fear that changes …
Rivers of Resilience – Asotin Creek
Asotin Creek is a tributary that drains into the Snake River near the town of Asotin in eastern Washington. With a drainage area of 250 square miles, Asotin Creek is slightly larger than the Wind River, but also much smaller than the Yakima River watershed. Like the Yakima, the basin is located in a semi-arid environment. Most of the watershed …
Rivers of Resilience – Wind
The Wind River, a tributary to the Columbia River just above Bonneville Dam, is, at only 224 square miles, a substantially smaller drainage than the Yakima. It receives more precipitation and thus is dominated by forests and industrial timberlands. The Wind River has had some habitat restoration but nowhere near the extent of the Yakima, but that is also because …
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 …
Catch and Release is not a Crime
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 …
Washington’s most recent Wild Steelhead Gene Bank
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. …
Comment on Lower Columbia Wild Steelhead Gene Bank
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking comment on its most recent round of Wild Steelhead Gene Bank designations. Wild Steelhead Gene Banks are mandated by WDFW in their 2008 Statewide Steelhead Management Plan. Submit your comments at TeamVancouver@dfw.wa.gov by this Friday, February 5th. Per the Department, stocks selected as Gene Banks must be sufficiently abundant and …
The case for a portfolio of wild-only and hatchery steelhead rivers in Puget Sound
What does “fishing opportunity” mean to steelhead anglers? The answer depends on who you ask. For some, opportunity must include the ability to harvest steelhead. But for the majority of anglers, based on our extensive poll of roughly 650 active steelhead anglers, opportunity is defined as being on the water with the chance to catch and release a steelhead. …