Second Annual National Fish Habitat Award Winners Announced

From the National Fish Habitat Board.

A group of the nation’s leading authorities on aquatic conservation, the National Fish Habitat Board, will honor two exceptional organizations and two individual champions in aquatic resource conservation at the Second Annual National Fish Habitat Awards ceremony today at the Jim Range National Casting Call hosted by the American Fly Fishing Trade Association.

From nominations submitted by the hundreds of organizations that comprise the National Fish Habitat Partners Coalition, the awardees demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to fish habitat conservation, science and education. They are leading by example to help resolve the nation’s most significant fisheries problems.

For 2009, the selection committee added an additional award category, Extraordinary Action category in support of fish habitat, bringing the total number of awards to four. Also, in honor of the recently passed Jim Range, who tragically lost his battle with cancer, the selection committee has re-named the Exceptional Vision Award in Jim’s honor. The award will now be the Jim Range Conservation Vision Award. “Renaming the Award in honor of Jim, is just a small token to honor all that he has done in Washington to support fish and wildlife conservation. The Board found it fitting to rename the award and there is no better venue to honor Jim than Casting Call.” said Kelly Hepler, National Fish Habitat Board Chairman. “Jim was a true pioneer for conservation and was a true visionary when it came to fish and wildlife related issues.”

The winner of the 2009 Jim Range Conservation Vision Award is Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard.

Airing Tonight - Frontline's Poisoned Waters

More than three decades after the Clean Water Act, iconic American waterways like the Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound are in perilous condition and facing new sources of contamination.

With polluted runoff still flowing in from industry, agriculture and massive suburban development, scientists note that many new pollutants and toxins from modern everyday life are already being found in the drinking water of millions of people across the country and pose a threat to fish, wildlife and, potentially, human health.

In FRONTLINE’s Poisoned Waters, airing Tuesday, April 21, 2009, from 9 to 11 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Hedrick Smith examines the growing hazards to human health and the ecosystem.

Red Gold Event: Portland's Baghdad Theater, Thurs. April 16th

 

THURSDAY, APRIL 16th. Doors open at 5:30, film starts at6:30. Admission is$3. Hosted by guest speakersLisa Sedlar,President of New Seasons Markets, Guido Rahr, president of Wild Salmon Center and MacGregor Walker commercial fishermen andpresident ofWest Coast Wild Salmon, a Q&A will follow the film.FREE BRISTOL BAY SALMONwill be served!!

Directions and more info

Quality Waters Update

Tom Ethier, Director of Fish and Wildlife, Ministry of Environment has posted an update on the Skeena Quality Waters Strategy on Way Uptream.

It has now been five months since we asked the public to provide comments on the draft Angling Management Plans as part of the Skeena Quality Waters Strategy. As each Working Group prepares to meet again this spring to revise the draft plans, I would like to provide an update on the process.

LINK (Via: Way Upstream)

America's Most Endangered Rivers 2009 Edition

American Rivers has released their annual report on America's 10 most endangered rivers. 

LINK

Recreational Genocide

The Karuk tribe has been lobbying the California Fiah and Game Department to limit suction dredge mining on the Klamath claiming hobbyist miners are damaging important spawning habitat. Recently a recreational gold mining club challenged the Karuk's tribe right to harvest salmon on the Klamath.

Leaf Hillman, Vice-Chairman for the Tribe, told Native American Times in an interview that the recent attacks upon their ancestral fishing grounds are, “Nothing more than Recreational Genocide.”

LINK (Via: Native American Times)

Klamath fish are worth more than gold!

Every summer, recreational suction dredge miners descend upon the Klamath and its tributaries in search of gold. Their gas-powered dredges disturb the river bottom, damage critical spawning habitat for salmon and other fish, release large plumes of sediment into the water, and are the source of fuel and oil spills directly into the river. Suction dredge mining harms aquatic life and fisheries and impacts anglers and other river users. 

LINK  (Via: Klamath Riverkeeper)

CSPA Joins Karuk Tribe in Lawsuit Against Suction Dredge Mining

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) has joined in a lawsuit by the Karuk Tribe of the Klamath River and a coalition of environmental and fishing groups against the California Department of Fish and Game's use of General Fund money to support suction dredge mining. The suit is asking for an injunction until California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review is completed and other mitigations take place.

LINK (Via: The Klamath Bucket Brigade)