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The Magnificent Steelhead

October 30, 2012 by adminewa

News Release

Burke Museum, Wild Steelhead Coalition partner to raise awareness of “The Magnificent Steelhead”

Museum exhibit, reception and art sale support wild steelhead in the Pacific Northwest.

SEATTLE – Anglers know it as the “fish of a thousand casts.” Washingtonians know it as their state fish, symbolizing the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. And through November 15th, the steelhead will be celebrated in an exhibit at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum to raise awareness and support for this iconic, and threatened, fish.

Titled “The Magnificent Steelhead,” the display will culminate with a reception and art sale on November 8, with all proceeds benefiting the Wild Steelhead Coalition, an organization dedicated to increasing the return of wild steelhead to the rivers and streams of the Pacific Northwest.

Works in the Burke exhibit include photographs printed on canvas, as well as mixed media pieces from individuals in the angling community, including Andy Anderson, Jeff Bright, Keith Douglas, Brian Huskey, Brian O’Keefe, Jonathan Marquardt, Dave McCoy, Ken Moorish, Tim Pask, Steve Perih, Mike Savlen, and Bob White.

Visitors can also learn more about steelhead, as well as conservation efforts being taken by the Wild Steelhead Coalition to support the species through hatchery reform, scientific research and policy changes on behalf of wild fish.

The event runs from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. and includes hors d’oeuvres from the Steelhead Diner and beverages from Precept Wine.

Burke Museum Exhibit Reception & Sale: A Benefit for the Wild Steelhead Coalition

November 8, 2012 | 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. | Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture

On the UW Campus – 17th Ave NE & NE 45th St

Burke Museum Exhibit Info

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Burke Museum, Emerald Water Anglers, Seattle, steelhead, Washington, Wild Steelhead Coalition

New Drift Boat? Wild Steelhead Coalition Has One For You!

October 5, 2012 by adminewa


If you are of the philanthropic nature, are in the market for a sweet new driftboat, have some extra cash laying around and LOVE steelhead…then this might just be for you.

The legendary Skagit River in northwest Washington is a large, glacier-fed river that winds its way through the Cascade Mountains before emptying into Puget Sound. World-renowned for its steelhead fishing, the Skagit was once home to wild steelhead runs in the tens of thousands, and is the birthplace of many fly-fishing techniques anglers use today. While its runs have diminished over time, the Skagit still boasts wild steelhead that often eclipse the magical 20-pound mark. In an effort to preserve this pristine river and protect its remaining steelhead, Orvis has partnered with the Wild Steelhead Coalition (WSC) and driftboat builder Ross Duncan to bring to you a unique conservation opportunity.

Orvis and the WSC will be auctioning off a one-of-a-kind McKenzie-style driftboat, hand-built by master craftsman Ross Duncan. The 17-foot custom wood driftboat is constructed with BS1088 marine plywood and white oak, and is a hybrid of traditional McKenzie framed boat and stitch-and-glue construction. Secured with System 3 epoxies, 3M 5200 adhesive, and over 300 stainless steel screws, the boat is set up with two fixed-position swivel pedestal seats—fore and aft for fly fishing or side drifting—with an adjustable-position rower’s bench rope seat. The rower’s seat is adjustable plus-or-minus 10 inches, with four different oar lock positions, and the Sawyer Cobra oar locks are set in machined derlin bushings. The bottom of the boat is coated with a high-density poly-urea coating, and the interior and hull are painted with water-based epoxy and polyurethane. The bow and chine batten are protected with 1/8-inch thick stainless steel rub stripes. The boat comes complete with 9-foot MXG Sawyer counterbalanced oars, Lee-Lock side-mount anchor system, and a painted trailer with LED lights.

The retail value of a boat of this quality would be well over $12,000. Bidding will start at $5,000 and all proceeds will go toward WSC habitat restoration and steelhead research projects on the Skagit River. The WSC will deliver the boat free-of-charge anywhere within the states of Washington and Oregon; however, should the winning bid be from elsewhere, the winner will be responsible for shipping costs. Bids can be placed online at http://auctions.orvis.com, and the bidding will close at 11:59 PM ET on October 30, 2012.

Place bids here

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Emerald Water Anglers, Orvis, Skagit River, steelhead, Washington, Wild Steelhead Coalition

Seattle Premier of Connect — The new movie from Confluence Films!

November 8, 2011 by adminewa

Emerald Water Anglers is co hosting with Wild Steelhead Coalition the Seattle premier of Connect, the newest movie from Confluence Films on the 17th. Ridiculous amount of door prizes, buy tickets online here:

http://www.ticketriver.com/event/2399-connect—seattle-premier/

Door prizes to include swag from:

Recycled Waders
Trips from Emerald Water Anglers
Fly Boxes and Gift Certificates from Gig Harbor Fly Shop
Simms Headwater Bags and Hats
Avid Angler
Creekside Fly Shop
Allen Fly Fishing 9/10 Reel
Yellow Dog gift certificates

and more…

ALL proceeds go to Wild Steelhead Coalition, all of them!

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Avid Angler, Confluence Films, Connect movie, Creekside Fly Shop, Emerald Water Anglers, Recylced Waders, Simms, Wild Steelhead Coalition, Yellow Dog

Klickitat River Hatchery Increases

August 11, 2011 by adminewa

From our friends at Wild Steelhead Coalition…

Dear Friends and Supporters of Wild Steelhead,

Some of you may already be aware but the BPA has proposed funding a significant expansion of hatchery facilities on the Klickitat. The programs which alleges to be designed to reduce the impact of non-native fall chinook and coho on ESA listed wild stocks would actually lead to an overall increase in the total number of fish released in the watershed, including continuing to release 4 million fall chinook. Equally disconcerting, they would expand the number of skamania smolt released annually to 130,000 and possibly (likely) initiate a wild broodstock steelhead program with a production goal of 70,000 smolts. They also plan to expand the spring chinook hatchery program by 200,000 smolts taking broodstock from the extremely fragile spring chinook stock. The YKFP with the free money they get from the BPA is completely out of control with pro-hatchery mania and in my opinion this proposal would place the future of wild summer steelhead and spring chinook in the basin in serious peril. Any idea what we might do to stop it?

Here’s a link to the EIS on the proposed changes, none of which result in a net reduction in hatchery releases:

http://efw.bpa.gov/environmental_services/Document_Library/Klickitat_Hatchery_Program/

Thank You,
Jim Schmitz

V.P. Membership
The Wild Steelhead Coalition
www.wildsteelheadcoalition.org

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: BPA, Hatcheries, Klickitat River, salmon, steelhead, Washington, Wild Steelhead Coalition

Elwha Dam/Hatchery News

July 13, 2011 by adminewa

Seattle Times Elwha Op-Ed

Click the link above for the original article in the times, but below is the original text.  Thanks to Will Atlas, Kurt Beardslee and Rich Simms for putting together the article.  They represent Osprey Steelhead News, Wild Fish Conservancy, and Wild Steelhead Coalition, respectively.

WITH removal of the Elwha River dams scheduled to begin this summer, the river can demonstrate a new paradigm for sustainable salmon management based upon wild fish, rather than hatchery production.

The dam removal will open up about 90 miles of protected river for spawning fish. Given the amount and quality of the habitat, biologists predict tens of thousands of wild salmon and steelhead could eventually return to the Elwha River above the dams within our children’s lifetimes. The recovery will reach its full potential only if hatchery fish are removed from the Elwha.

On the Elwha we have an opportunity to restore wild salmon and steelhead to a pristine river unlike any remaining in our state. Before dam construction in 1910, the river supported robust populations of steelhead and five different species of salmon, including some of the largest chinook ever documented.

Given time and conservative harvest management, there is reason to believe that within a few decades we will see those magnificent fish return in similar numbers. Unfortunately, we are poised to squander what would otherwise be a tremendous opportunity.

Each year, Washington state releases hundreds of millions of juvenile salmon and steelhead from hatcheries to supplement sport and commercial fisheries. These releases are known to be harmful to wild stocks: interbreeding with wild fish, altering their genetic makeup and reducing the survival of their offspring; competing for space and resources; introducing disease; attracting predators; encouraging overfishing, to cite just a few deleterious impacts. Countless researchers have confirmed that hatchery programs are incompatible with healthy, abundant wild salmon and steelhead.

The stated goal of the Elwha River dam removal is to restore healthy populations of wild salmon and steelhead to the watershed. Yet despite an overwhelming body of evidence confirming the harmful impacts of hatcheries, state, federal and tribal governments have agreed upon a plan that relies heavily on hatchery supplementation. Faced with the single greatest opportunity to restore wild salmon, they’ve opted for business as usual, perpetuating a failing paradigm of replacing native fish with a man-made alternative.

The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, long advocates for dam removal in the watershed, have built a huge, new hatchery which will be used to plant steelhead, chinook and other salmon species, threatening the future of wild fish in the basin. These fish, bred in captivity, are no longer able to produce self-sustaining numbers of offspring when spawning in the wild. Consequently, large numbers of hatchery fish spawning in a river can greatly reduce the productivity of wild stocks.

A five-year fishing moratorium is scheduled to take effect this year, yet managers have been adamant about continuing to release hatchery steelhead and salmon into the Elwha, despite the fact that none will be caught in sport or commercial fisheries. Instead, these nonnative fish will return to spawn with the few remaining wild fish that have managed to keep a tenuous foothold below the dams.

For decades, hatchery salmon and steelhead have sustained tribal fisheries on the Elwha. Understandably, the tribe fears that without hatcheries they will no longer have opportunities to fish. While we believe strongly that the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe should have the opportunity to fish in accordance with their treaty rights, continuing to release nonnative hatchery fish in the Elwha throughout the recovery period is wrongheaded and counterproductive.

The Elwha River restoration is an opportunity to see the capacity of wild salmon and steelhead to recover without costly, ineffective hatchery intervention.

If we hope to restore the Elwha to its former glory, we must let wild fish recolonize the river naturally. For generations, the river sustained the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe and, unlike many rivers in our region, the wild Elwha remains more than capable of giving life to its people and standing as a singular example of a world-class wild fish-restoration project, one that will ultimately allow wild salmon and steelhead to return to levels unthinkable in the 21st century.

It’s time we get out of the fishes’ way.

Will Atlas is chair of the Federation of Fly Fishers Steelhead Committee; Kurt Beardslee is executive director of the Wild Fish Conservancy; Rich Simms is president of the Wild Steelhead Coalition.

 

 

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Elwha Dam, Osprey Steelhead News, Wild Fish Conservancy, Wild Steelhead Coalition

Want An All Wild Run In The Sol Duc?

June 21, 2011 by adminewa

Take Action By Clicking Here!

Click the link above to take action against the controversial Snider Creek Hatchery on one of the O.P.’s greatest rivers.  Scroll down to send a message to the Snider Creek Hatchery, it only takes a few minutes.  If you have time to make coffee, tie one fly, edit one photo, check one box score, or even read this one blog post then you have time to make a difference for wild steelhead in Washington.  Do it, quick!  Here is the link again:

One Small Step For You, One Giant Leap For Wild Steelhead! Click Here for the link……

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: chrome, Native Fish Society, snider creek, Sol Duc, Wild Steelhead, Wild Steelhead Coalition

Impacts of Hatchery Steelhead on Wild Steelhead in the Skagit Watershed

April 23, 2011 by adminewa

This is a fairly regional topic but a hot one for sure. Wild Steelhead Coalition is hosting an event on May 4th at 6pm where the findings of a biologist from the Seattle City Light will lay out the findings from the joint study they put together for all who can attend. See image below or go to the WSC website for time and directions.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers Tagged With: Adipose, Emerald Water Anglers, hatchery steelhead, Sauk River, Skagit River, Washington, Wild Steelhead, Wild Steelhead Coalition

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206-708-7250

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