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 …
Washington State Suction Dredge Mining Reform Updates
Update from Dean Finnerty, Northwest Director on Outreach from Summer, 2018: Thank you to dozens of supporters for your interest and willingness to engage and help protect fish life, water quality and make meaningful changes to rules and regulations for motorized suction dredge prospecting in Washington’s rivers and streams. If you want to be part of this team, the best way to do so is to …
Can a Wild Coho Salmon Population Recover Following Closure of a Hatchery Program
Today’s post is the conclusion of our two part guest series on the recovery of Coho in Oregon’s Salmon River. (Click here for last weeks post) Lately we have shared several studies on Pink and Coho salmon, which provide important lessons for salmonid recovery efforts across a range of species and watersheds. Perhaps the most important lesson is that decisions …
The Elwha Files: My oh my, what have we found
By John McMillan Should we invest in dam removal? It’s a question that many communities, businesses and policy-makers are facing these days — partly because of aging infrastructure and financial liabilities, and partly because of legal obligations to protect water quality and recover declining salmon and steelhead populations. To that, I say: let the fish tell us what works. One …
The Last Steelhead
Longtime angling author, steelhead aficionado, TROUT Magazine contributor and musician Chris Santella has created a novel way to publicize the plight of wild steelhead. Santella’s new rock opera, The Last Steelhead, looks at the factors contributing to the decline of wild steelhead runs and “the attitudes surrounding our behaviors and policies that seem to be standing in the …
The Life Cycle of Wild Steelhead
Well, it is steelhead season. No doubt. “Septober” is officially underway. To celebrate the changing season we are re-posing the question that every serious steelhead angler should be able to answer in the affirmative: Do you really know a steelhead? Think about it, we spend thousands of hours pursuing steelhead, but how much of that time is …
WSU leading the charge on sonar
Occasionally, we get asked what Wild Steelheaders United is really doing to improve wild steelhead populations across their range. We could start by mentioning that our habitat restoration and fish passage improvement projects are delivering big results in some of the last best wild steelhead strongholds in North America. In the past year alone, our work along California’s fabled …
The Salmon Coast
The Olympic Peninsula is home to some of the last great places for wild salmon and steelhead in the Lower 48. Of course, it’s the wild steelhead that draw many of us to the OP. But it’s also the huge trees and beautiful brawling rivers that make the OP a destination for fish and anglers alike. While much of …
Skagit to Open to Steelhead Fishing Once Again
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 12, 2018 Contact: Rob Masonis, VP for Western Conservation, Trout Unlimited, rmasonis@tu.org, 206-491-9016 Nick Chambers, Wild Steelhead Initiative Organizer, nchambers@tu.org, 541-908-1329 Trout Unlimited and Wild Steelheaders United applaud decision to re-open Skagit River wild steelhead fishery, call for additional analysis of fishery impact limits to ensure consistency with recovery SEATTLE—Trout Unlimited (TU) and …
Upcoming Public Meetings for Skagit Catch and Release Fishery
One of the few real success stories in steelhead conservation over the past decade is the comeback of wild steelhead in the Skagit River system. As we have been saying for several years, the rebound of this population has been substantial enough to consider re-opening the Skagit for a spring steelhead season. Wild Steelheaders United and other angling advocates have …