For this edition of Science Friday, we continue to define terms used in studies that evaluate hatchery steelhead (and often other species of salmon and trout). Last week we defined fitness and discussed how it is measured and why it is important to understanding the biology of steelhead. This week we take another step into the deeper end of the …
Big WIN for sportsmen on the Elliott State Forest
On Tuesday, May 10, sportsmen and women won a huge victory when the Oregon State Land Board voted unanimously to keep the Elliott State Forest in public hands. The 80,000 acre Elliott is a popular area of public lands with high habitat and sporting values for salmon, steelhead and trout, deer, elk and other game species. The land board …
What does the Antiquities Act have to do with steelhead?
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 …
Steelhead 101: Defining types of steelhead hatcheries
Every steelhead angler is probably somewhat familiar with hatcheries. As we discussed last week, deciphering the jargon associated with hatcheries is important, but can also be difficult. This week’s terminology is more common-place, and many of you may be familiar with it already. But, just in case, let’s look at the terms used to broadly classify hatchery programs: segregated and …
Steelhead 101: Defining native, wild, hatchery and natural-origin
In recent posts we covered the basics of defining escapement and run size, and the ways these are measured by resource managers. Today, we turn our focus to the complex terminology used for describing and comparing hatchery and wild steelhead. Steelhead are typically referred to as either being “wild” or “hatchery,” but they may also be defined as being “native” …
Steelhead 101: Estimating steelhead run size
Recently we have described the various methods used by biologists and resource managers to estimate steelhead escapement, which is the number of fish that escape and survive fisheries (all forms of angling) to actually spawn in a watershed. Run size is the total number of steelhead that return to a watershed each year. In order to estimate run size …
Steelhead 101: Using weirs to estimate adult steelhead escapement
Recently we have described how scientists use redd counts and snorkel surveys to estimate steelhead escapement. This week we focus on weirs, a totally different way of counting steelhead. Rather than sending out surveyors to sample stretches of stream where they count redds or fish, the operation of a weir is much simpler. A weir basically blocks the river and …
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 …
Wild Rivers, Wild Steelhead
What are the keys to successful wild steelhead conservation? What can you do to help this cause? How do steelhead differ from other salmonids in their sexual behavior? For answers to these and many other questions about wild steelhead, as well as some of the best steelhead stories ever told, please join Wild Steelheaders United for an evening of science, …