A seemingly innocuous little law passed in 1906 has become highly controversial in recent years. The Antiquities Act, signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt, was a response to an escalating problem of looting of archeological and geologic resources and empowers the president to designate to significant historic, cultural, and scientific features as national monuments. The Antiquities Act has …
Bill that protects Methow River from mining moves forward
A bill that would protect lands in Okanagan County from mining is moving forward after a markup in today’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. The Methow Headwater Protections Act of 2017, S. 566, comes on the heels of a 20 year mineral withdrawal, cementing protections for an area known for it’s agriculture and recreational importance in …
Steelhead 101: Using snorkel surveys to estimate adult steelhead escapement
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 …
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 …
Juvenile steelhead doing what it takes to become a smolt: You grow in summer, I’ll grow in winter
Another Friday, another blog post on the science of steelhead. We love this day of the week! Our topic this week is the growth of juvenile steelhead. Did you know that the growth rate of steelhead can vary depending on the season of the year? This variation in growth rate can be considerable. There are a number of reasons that …
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 – Yakima
It can be hard to maintain faith in the steelhead world. As noted in the recent article by Bill Herzog, it seems like we are losing wild summer runs faster than we can recover them. I would hedge that many, if not most, anglers feel the same. Steelhead are not disappearing for lack of effort though. Frankly, it’s amazing …
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 …
Rules for catch-and-release of steelhead
There is no worse feeling than bringing a steelhead to hand and seeing the gills pumping blood. Such experiences are one of the reasons that anglers have created flies that reduce deep hookings. Still, fishing is a blood sport, and despite our best efforts, we ultimately cannot eliminate the potential for some mortality. While we can’t control where the …
Better buffers mean healthier steelhead
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 …
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