Looking down over Winchester Dam and the spring flows of the North Umpqua River, Umpqua Community College’s Danny Lang Event Center was packed with river lovers, conservationists, and anglers of all stripes last Tuesday, at a banquet dinner honoring Frank and Jeanne Moore and the recent creation of the Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area on Steamboat Creek, major summer steelhead spawning tributary of the North Umpqua River.
Wild Steelheader’s own Dean Finnerty, who was mentored by Frank during his time as a guide on the North’s legendary flywater section, gave remarks and highlighted the exemplary role models the Moores are, both through their conservation efforts and also through their 75-year marriage and enduring love for each other. Following his remarks, Finnerty handed the microphone over to Senator Ron Wyden, who presented Frank and Jeanne with a signed copy of the legislation that created the Steelhead Special Management Area in their name. Pacific Rivers also named Senator Wyden as their Conservation Hero of the Year and presented him with an award that included a handblown glass salmon sculpture from Joe Rossano as part of the “School” project currently on display at the Bellevue Art Museum.
You can read more about the evening’s festivities in the Roseburg News Review and learn more about Frank and Jeanne in the below video.