New life emerges as Elwha dams come down

A WILD steelhead sighting on the Elwha above the old Elwha dam site. 

Scientists last week discovered the first wild, adult male steelhead — at least 35 inches long — arriving to spawn in the Little River, a tributary upstream from the old Elwha Dam site, where the river now flows free.

LINK (via: The Seattle Times)

If it was not for the efforts of the Wild Steelhead Coalition, the Conservation Angler and the Federation of Fly Fishers Steelhead Committee that wild fish would be getting busy with Chambers Creek hatchery stock.

Good news regarding Elwha River wild steelhead!

Non-native hatchery steelhead will not be released into the Elwha River and its tributaries this year, say four conservation groups that earlier this month filed suit against federal agencies and officials of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (in their official capacities) for releases of hatchery fish into the Elwha.  The groups announced today that they have reached an agreement with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (LEKT), where the four groups agreed not to seek a preliminary injunction against the LEKT’s release of hatchery-raised “Chambers Creek” steelhead, and the LEKT agreed not to release those fish this year.  Normally, the fish would have likely been released sometime in April.

LINK (Via: The Wild Steelhead Coalition)

The agreement does not apply to possible releases in future years so the fight may not yet be over. For now score one for wild steelhead and the groups that led the charge against this short sighted strategy.

Federal Science Panel Releases Review of the Elwha Hatchery Programs

Care to guess what they determined?

From Osprey Steelhead News:

Last week the Hatchery Scientific Review Group (HSRG), an independent federal science review panel released a long awaited review of the Elwha Hatchery programs. Not surprisingly the HSRG came to many of the same conclusions as we did in choosing to join the Wild Fish Conservancy, Wild Steelhead Coalition and Conservation Angler in a lawsuit against the Elwha hatchery program.

Specifically, the current hatchery emphasis in the plan is unnecessary and counterproductive to the aim of recovering robust wild populations in the Elwha River and that an inadequate monitoring program will limit the ability to adaptively manage hatchery programs and determine the degree to which they are aiding or hindering recovery. Furthermore, no specific recovery goals or thresholds have been established that would lead to a reduction in the degree of hatchery supplementation in the Elwha and many of the hatchery fish being released into the Elwha are not marked with an adipose fin clip.

A few quotes from the document:

"The main concern the HSRG has with the Elwha Plan is the potential for unintended negative consequences of excessive and prolonged hatchery influence."

"Prolonged hatchery influence may lead to loss of fitness of natural populations, potentially resulting in reduced or delayed restoration and loss of long‐term sustainable harvest opportunities."

"Inadequate program monitoring may lead to management decisions that reduce or delay recovery, rather than promoting it, and prevent managers from identifying and testing alternatives that could be more effective."

"The continued production of Chambers Creek steelhead stock during the early phases of recovery therefore appears inconsistent with the priorities and goals the managers have presented."

Download a copy of the HSRG report

1st Washington wild steelhead management zone established

Wild Sol Duc Chrome

In a victory for wild steelhead advocates, Washington State has established it's first Wild Steelhead Management Area in the Sol Duc River. The WSMA is a direct result of the department's decision to end the Snider Creek hatchery program which was influenced by 400 public comments generated though the collective efforts of advocacy groups and media outlets, including this site. To those of you who took the time to submit a comment favoring ending the Snider Creek program, take pride in knowing that you helped make a difference for wild steelhead in Washington State.

Thanks to the Native Fish Society, Wild Steelhead Coalition, Osprey Steelhead News, John McMillan and Dick Burge who were on the leading edge of this effort.

NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
February 8, 2012
Contact: Ron Warren, (360) 249-1201
 
Sol Duc wild steelhead management zone
established; Snider Creek program to end
 
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has announced it will end a hatchery steelhead program at Snider Creek next year to establish a wild steelhead management zone in the Sol Duc River.
 
After next spring, no hatchery steelhead will be released into the Sol Duc River, which will be the first wild steelhead management zone formally established in the state under the department’s Statewide Steelhead Management Plan, said Ron Warren, regional fish program manager for WDFW. Snider Creek is a tributary to the Sol Duc River in Clallam County.
 
Wild management zones, also known as wild stock gene banks, are designed to preserve key populations of wild fish by minimizing interactions with hatchery-produced fish, said Warren. Research has shown that hatchery fish are often less genetically diverse and can impact wild stocks through interbreeding or competition for food or habitat.
 
WDFW is also looking to identify other streams that could be candidates for wild management zones, said Warren. That effort includes working with an advisory group to identify specific streams in the Puget Sound region.
 
“Establishing wild management zones is part of a broad effort aimed at modifying our hatchery programs to be compatible with conservation and recovery of naturally spawning salmon and steelhead populations,” Warren said. “Shifting hatchery steelhead production away from the Sol Duc River – where we have one of the largest wild steelhead populations in the state – is an important step in that effort.”
 
Changes designed to support naturally spawning salmon and steelhead populations are driven by plans and policies adopted by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, such as the Statewide Steelhead Management Plan and the Hatchery and Fishery Reform policy, Warren said.
 
The Statewide Steelhead Management Plan is available on the department’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/fisheries/steelhead/, while the commission’s hatchery and fishery reform policy is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/policies/c3619.html.
 
While the hatchery program will no longer take place at Snider Creek, WDFW is working with stakeholders to re-establish a similar effort in the Bogachiel or Calawah rivers, where the department already releases hatchery steelhead, said Warren.
 
The program will end next spring, when 25,000 winter steelhead smolts are released into the Sol Duc River, Warren said. Last year, WDFW also discontinued its summer steelhead program on the Sol Duc River, after releasing 20,000 smolts.
 
Before making that decision, WDFW conducted three public meetings and reviewed about 400 public comments on the future of the Snider Creek program.
 
While fewer and fewer hatchery steelhead will be returning to the Sol Duc River in the coming years, anglers will continue to have opportunities to fish for salmon and other game fish, as well as retain one wild steelhead per license year on the river, said Warren. 
 
The Snider Creek program was created in 1986 as a joint project with the Olympic Peninsula Guides’ Association to increase fishing opportunities for steelhead on the Sol Duc River. The program is unlike most other hatchery efforts in that it produces offspring from wild steelhead rather than hatchery fish.

Pool 32 Magazine

The latest issue of Pool 32 Mag is live.

In addition to the great destination photography and artist profiles of AD Maddox and Mike Savlen, this issue leads off with a piece by Wild Steelhead Coalition trustee Bob Margolis titled, "Yes We Can." Backed by the inspiring photography of Jeff Bright, Bob's spells out what's at stake in the fight for wild steelhead.

LINK

Coming to a dinner plate near you

A nylon wall of death, more commonly known as a gill net, snared this wild 37 pound steelhead.

If you care to help preserve fish like this, please hit the Wild Steelhead Coalition link on the right sidebar and learn the steps you can take to preserve wild steelhead.