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 …
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, …
Carving a path through the debate over upper Willamette steelhead
Carving a path through the debate over upper Willamette steelhead There are no easy decisions in the world of steelhead conservation and management, but some issues are more difficult than others, such as hatcheries. Although the science on hatcheries is solid and critical to guiding management of wild steelhead, there is a role for hatcheries, as long as …
Science Friday: What happens when you cram the big’uns in with the small’ins?
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 …
Throwback Thursday- Voluntary Beatdown Part I
This post is part of our Throwback Thursday series and originally appeared on the now deceased blog “Voluntary Beatdown.” Author Jason Koertge can be found on Instagram at @bacon_to_fry. Thanks to Jason for letting WSU revive your epic work as one of the best fishing experience writers we’ve had the pleasure of reading. RIP VB. take any …
Businesses We Love: Royal Treatment Fly Fishing
Located just outside Portland and a stone’s throw from the Willamette River in West Linn, OR, Royal Treatment Fly Shop offers a comprehensive inventory of fly fishing equipment from top brands, and serves as a community center for conservation-minded anglers from across the Portland metro area. Named after a steelhead fly that owner Joel La Follette dreamed up on the …
Science Friday: Revisiting the Carmel River Steelhead Mitigation Program
Written by Natalie Stauffer-Olsen, PhD, TU Staff Scientist Every now and then we publish something that prompts a reaction from the authors of a report we analyze or others in the science world. This happened with our recent post on the Carmel River that focused on some biological and ecological aspects explored in the paper “Size-conditional smolting and the …
Throwback Thursday- A Friendly Reminder: Hatchery Steelhead Are Tasty
With summer just around the corner, the Wild Steelheaders crew is feeling a bit nostalgic. Winter rods are packed up and summer steelhead are a ways away, and we’ve been finding ourselves daydreaming of tiny flies, drylines, baseball games, cherry pie, and some of the internet’s most prolific fishy blog posts. In the spirit of days gone by, we’re kicking …
TU’s Chris Wood Speaking at Idaho’s Energy, Salmon, Agriculture, and Community Conference
On Tuesday, April 23rd, the Andrus Center for Public Policy will host government representatives, fish advocates, grain growers, energy executives and other stakeholders at its annual environmental conference at Idaho’s Boise State University. The theme of the 2019 Andrus conference is Energy, Salmon, Agriculture and Community: Can We Come Together? Trout Unlimited and Wild Steelheaders United salute the …
In Support of a Hatchery Steelhead Program in the Upper Willamette
By Dean Finnerty, Wild Steelhead Initiative Director Trout Unlimited’s Wild Steelhead Initiative is all about increasing populations of wild steelhead across their native range. Why should we care so much about wild steelhead? There are several reasons, among them the fact that wild steelhead cost nothing to produce, they can be more aggressive towards the gear anglers use to …