The Wild Steelheader. October 31, 2017

October 31, 2017

Lots going on right now in Steelhead Country. Wild Steelheaders United has been working with guides and anglers to discuss and facilitate limited entry guide legislation for Washington's Olympic Peninsula (OP). WSU believes that better guide regulation is needed to keep wild steelhead encounter rates at levels that enable OP wild steelhead to thrive, as well as to prevent over-crowding and equitable treatment of guided and non-guided anglers. We collaborated with the Olympic Peninsula Guides Association (OPGA) to pass a budget proviso during the last state legislative session which directs the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to hold public meetings to gather more input from guides and anglers, and also requires WDFW to hold a meeting to explore the topic of guide legislation in the Klickitat River. Accordingly, the department will hold meetings in coming weeks in Forks, Lyle and other areas. For more information on these meetings, go here. In this issue you'll find more wisdom from the inimitable Bill Herzog; an opportunity to help permanently protect the Methow River headwaters from large-scale mining operations; an update on changes in harvest regulations in Idaho and Washington; and our current thoughts on the Skagit River, one of the few bright spots for wild steelhead recovery among Puget Sound Rivers. Read on and, as always, let us know what you think.         Washington's Methow River is renowned for its scenic beauty, summer run steelhead, and extensive salmon restoration efforts. But the headwaters of this remarkable river system are threatened by proposed large-scale mining for copper. In response to this threat, legislation  has been introduced in Congress that would permanently protect the Methow Headwaters region from mining activities. While Congress considers this legislation, the U.S. Forest Service has proposed a "mineral withdrawal" for 20 years - essentially a moratorium on mining for that period. With the continuing decline of wild steelhead runs, we cannot afford to lose any more productive habitat to mining or other commercial development. Some places, like Alaska's Bristol Bay and the Methow River, are too important for their fish and fishing values to risk the ecological impacts often associated with big mining operations. Please join Wild Steelheaders United in signing on to a letter from the Methow Headwaters Campaign supporting the Methow mineral withdrawal -- today.           Ya Gotta Believe! By Bill Herzog  The world of steelhead conservation can be downright depressing. Maybe steelheaders are more prone to depression since they live for the dreary gloomy days of overcast skies of the Pacific Northwest. But without a doubt, the returns of late are not helping cheer anyone up. There is a bright side, however -- things can and probably will turn around. It will take some work on our part even if that just means controlling our appetite in some instances, but we need to remember that steelhead are damn resilient and if we do our part, I think we can count on the fish to do theirs.             The Case For Managing Skagit River Wild Steelhead  By Nick Chambers  Among Puget Sound rivers, none has experienced as much contention as the Skagit when it comes to steelhead. The Skagit closed in 2010 to late winter and spring steelhead angling, and has since been the focus of an intensive, multi-year effort to re-open this fishery. Meanwhile the debate over the future of a hatchery program has raged on. Wild steelhead numbers in the Skagit have improved enough to justify opening the river for a spring steelhead season again, but a required environmental review for this proposal has languished in the lap of the National Marine Fisheries Service. We continue to advocate for this review to be implemented, and are working through other channels, such as the Puget Sound Advisory Group, on how to structure fisheries in Puget Sound within the constraints of ESA listings, managing for wild versus hatchery fish, and other issues. Wild Steelheaders United recently published an article in The Osprey discussing the status of the Skagit, and why this river should be managed for wild steelhead. Check it out!         Arguing over crumbs in Idaho By Michael Gibson  Earlier this month Idaho reopened harvest of hatchery steelhead in the Clearwater, Salmon, and Snake Rivers. The increase in fishing pressure this is expected to bring raises concern given this year's low return of Columbia River wild steelhead to Idaho. These low returns are part of a bigger problem with survival trends of Snake River wild steelhead that needs to be addressed. Nonetheless, Idaho's decision to take a less conservative approach to this season's steelhead angling is disappointing. Washington also re-opened portions of the Snake river to hatchery steelhead harvest. However, this action is not expected to have as much impact on wild steelhead as Idaho's decision.