Timely & Accurate Fish Counts on Oregon’s North Umpqua River

In Newsletter: The Wild Steelheader, Oregon by Nick Chambers

Knowing exactly how many salmon and steelhead comprise a particular run is crucial for proper fisheries management.  Throughout wild steelhead range, agencies struggle with tight budgets and frequently, monitoring returning adults falls to the bottom of the priority list. Since the 1950’s the fish ladder and viewing window at Winchester Dam near Roseburg, Oregon on the famed North Umpqua river …

Frank Moore Steelhead Sanctuary

In Oregon by Nick Chambers

The story of Frank and Jeanne Moore has gained deserved attention in the past few years- from Frank’s service on the beaches of Normandy during WWII to his enduring love for both his wife and the North Umpqua River, to Jeanne’s stewardship as a botanist in the Umpqua basin. If you’re lucky enough to have fished the North Umpqua, you’ve …

Stand Up For Clean Water

In Live Action Alerts by Nick Chambers

When anglers think of steelhead water, we tend to think of big, muscular rivers like the Skagit, Umpqua and Eel. We don’t usually think of tributary streams small enough to step across, or even that go dry at times.   We should. Such streams are very important for steelhead, particularly for spawning and rearing. In California, for example, 64 percent of …

Steelhead 101: Using snorkel surveys to estimate adult steelhead escapement

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

Another week, another post on how scientists and fisheries managers measure steelhead escapement. Last week, we described redd counts and why they are an important tool. This week, we review snorkel surveys.   Snorkel surveys entail divers swimming in the river and visually counting adult steelhead. Like redd counts, snorkel surveys do not cover an entire river, but rather break …

Better buffers mean healthier steelhead

In Oregon by Shauna Sherard

    Last week, the Oregon Board of Forestry met to consider stream buffers as they revise a rule that would determine how close timber can be harvested when next to a stream or river. The riparian rule as it’s called, stands to impact thousands of miles of water in Oregon and as such, important populations of steelhead. Increased buffers improve shade, recruit large …