Sandy River Winter Steelhead with Marty Sheppard

Marty Sheppard talks with Westfly's Scott Richmond about winter steelheading on the Sandy River. Listen and learn! He has some great tips for anglers fishing for winter steelhead in general and the Sandy in particular.

LINK (via: Westfly)

Your Comments Can Help Save Wild Fish in the Sandy River

An action alert from Native Fish Society

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is currently taking comments from the public on four Hatchery and Genetic Management Plans (HGMPs) which seek to maintain the current hatchery operations (coho, spring Chinook, winter & summer steelhead) on the Sandy River. Please send in your comments to let NMFS and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) know that the science is clear: hatchery fish and wild fish cannot thrive together. With the Sandy River dams removed, and stakeholder groups and the public spending millions on habitat restoration for salmon and steelhead, the time is NOW to manage the Sandy River for wild fish.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Homewaters Require Vigilance

"Anyone who fishes for salmon or steelhead has a responsibility, I believe, right now, to stand up and make their voice heard." - John Larison

Via: Native Fish Society

Research Indicates Wild Fish Conservation Best Served By Minimizing Wild/Hatchery Interactions

An exhaustive look at available data for 89 populations of chinook and coho salmon and steelhead shows that productivity in the wild shrinks in direct proportion with increases in the percentage of hatchery fish that join wild fish on the spawning grounds.

LINK (Via:CBBulletin)

Meanwhile the debate continues.

After more than three decades of hatchery debate, Pacific Rivers Council and the Native Fish Society upped the ante this week by singling out the Sandy River Hatchery.

The groups filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration over the hatchery's impacts on wild fish and delays in reviewing those impacts.

LINK (Via: Oregon Live)

Sandy River Guides Ken Anderson, Jad Donaldson, Jeff Hickman, Tom Larimer, Mia Pringle, Marty Sheppard, Marcy Stone and Cullen Wisenhunt spell it out in this guest editorial.

Sandy River Steelhead Need Your Help

Over the past decade, The City of Portland, PGE, Western Rivers Conservancy and The Freshwater Trust and dozens of other groups have spent over $75 million towards Sandy River habitat restoration for the purpose of recovering wild fish.  Throughout this restoration, the ODFW has made no attempt at reigning in their harmful Sandy hatchery programs, imperiling our wild fish.

In just a few minutes, you can help the cause by sounding off here

Read more about this in its entirety at Whitefish Can't Jump