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From the Wild Salmon Center – Nov 25, 2020 Author: Oakley Brooks
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejected the Pebble Limited Partnership’s permit for a mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska.
The Army Corps today denied Pebble Mine a key permit for its mine proposed in the headwaters of two of Bristol Bay’s most important salmon rivers.
That follows a huge outcry this summer against the mine from people across the political spectrum, the release of the Pebble Tapes, and a demand from the Army Corps that Pebble mitigate for damage planned to more than 100 miles of salmon streams and 3,000 acres of wetlands under its proposal.
The Army Corps said today that mitigation plan, submitted last week, did not meet Clean Water Act standards and was not “in the public interest.”
Guido Rahr, CEO of the Wild Salmon Center, said: “Today, we thank the Army Corps for doing the right thing. The agency recognized what Bristol Bay Tribes, fishermen, independent scientists and the EPA have long established: Pebble Mine is too destructive for the Bristol Bay ecosystem. Today’s decision gives the people of Bristol Bay temporary relief from this mine. It’s now time for EPA to use the Clean Water Act to kill this mine once and for all.”
We thank all of our supporters for helping us reach this point! Recharge and stay tuned as we gear up for the final, crucial step: securing Clean Water Act protections for one of the planet’s greatest salmon strongholds.
In this video, Alex Worth ties an effective and beautiful caddis nymph using new Daiichi 1920 colored nymph hooks.
Incorporating simple materials into dubbing loops giving the fly “life-like” movement and durability, Alex explains the reasoning for his techniques and the entomology of these beautiful fall bugs.
October Caddis Pupa Nymph
Hook: Daiichi 1920 Czech Hooks Size 8
Bead: Slotted Tungsten Bead 5/32 Black
Thread: Uni 8/0 Wine
1st Dubbing Loop: Ice Dub Shrimp Pink
STS Trilobal Dub Golden Stone
Senyo’s Fusion Dub Flame
Wing: Ice Dub UV Pearl
Select CDC Dark Grey
Partridge Feather
Collar Dubbing Loop: Hare’s Mask Dark Brown
Ice Dub Peacock Black
Zap A Gap
Reminder – Raffle Tickets Still Available
I have included images of the consolation prize of a dozen beautifully tied Steelhead Flies.
Is your living room or fly tying room in need of some sprucing up? If so, this beautiful wild steelhead pencil illustration might be just what you need. Plus all proceeds from the raffle of Paul Vecsei’s gorgeous wild steelhead piece will go to support the Wild Steelhead Coalition.
With wild steelhead runs in decline across their native range, it is critical that we support the work of great organizations like the WSC, which are fighting tirelessly to increase the return of wild steelhead to the waters of the West Coast. That’s why we’re excited to donate the proceeds from this raffle to fuel WSC’s work to stop a destructive dam from being built on Washington’s Chehalis River, restore the Skagit River’s once-prolific steelhead run, and and fighting gillnets in the Columbia River.
So make sure you get your limited entry raffle ticket today. With only 30 being sold, you have a great chance to add this spectacular Kispiox steelhead to your collection. Plus, as a consolation prize, one lucky winner will get a box of a dozen steelhead flies tied by WSC board member and acclaimed fly tier Josh Mills. But even if you don’t win one of these two great prizes, you will have the good fortune of knowing that you are supporting the Wild Steelhead Coalition’s critical efforts to create a brighter future for wild steelhead and steelhead anglers.
You can learn more about the Wild Steelhead Coalition’s great work and support their efforts here. You can also check out more of Paul Vescei’s fantastic art here as well.
BUY YOUR RAFFLE TICKET HERE
Joe Moll from the McKenzie River Trust, Gordon Grant Research hydrologist for the U.S Forest Service, and Jared Pruch Director of Community Impact at United Way of Lane County discuss and assess the recent fire on the Mckenzie River.
From Native Fish Society
Tuesday, November 17, 2020 will go down in the wild fish history books. A historic Memorandum of Agreement between the states of Oregon and California, Pacific Corps, Yurok and Karuk tribes and Klamath River Renewal Corporation will enable the removal of four dams on the Klamath River to revive abundant wild fish, restore water quality, and meet the cultural and subsistence needs of tribal nations. The process to remove the dams hit a major roadblock last summer when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission added unforseen stipulations to the agreement that threatened to sink the whole endeavor. Thanks to the efforts of tribal nations, neighboring governors, congressional leaders, and conservation partners, the agreement ensures that the largest river restoration project in history will continue to move forward.
Native Fish Society would like to express sincere gratitude to the Yurok and Karuk tribes for their energy and perseverance over the past four decades in advocating for a free-flowing Klamath River. Their dedication to their land, the ecosystem, and people is inspiring for all. We thank the Oregon and California congressional delegations for their commitment to finding a solution that will benefit the fish, river, and people of the Klamath Basin. To all the conservation partners who have been engaged with removing these dams,we are forever grateful for your willingness to bring public support and expertise to the table.
An enormous amount of thanks goes to our state leaders, Oregon Governor Kate Brown and California Governor Gavin Newsom. Despite these challenging and unprecedented times during COVID-19, both leaders were able to come together to find a solution and help support this monumental river restoration. Without their leadership and guidance, this project would not be possible.
Native fish Society has been advocating for Klamath dam removal for years. The organization has focused on public engagement and supporting partnering organizations and tribal nations wherever possible. “The science on dam removal is rock solid – it’s one of the most effective ways to improve the health and resilience of wild fish and rivers,” said NFS Executive Director Mark Sherwood. “This latest agreement puts this proven solution into action on an unprecedented scale.”
Native Fish Society will continue to advocate and support the efforts of all organizations involved. We see a bright future full of opportunity for the Klamath River with abundant wild fish and increased water quality for all. We are excited to see this next chapter begin for the river, for wild fish, and for the communities of the Klamath Basin.
ClICK HERE TO SAY THANKS
From AP News By GILLIAN FLACCUS
November 17, 2020
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An agreement announced Tuesday paves the way for the largest dam demolition in U.S. history, a project that promises to reopen hundreds of miles of waterway along the Oregon-California border to salmon that are critical to tribes but have dwindled to almost nothing in recent years.
If approved, the deal would revive plans to remove four massive hydroelectric dams on the lower Klamath River, creating the foundation for the most ambitious salmon restoration effort in history. The project on California’s second-largest river would be at the vanguard of a trend toward dam demolitions in the U.S. as the structures age and become less economically viable amid growing environmental concerns about the health of native fish.
Previous efforts to address problems in the Klamath Basin have fallen apart amid years of legal sparring that generated distrust among tribes, fishing groups, farmers and environmentalists, and the new agreement could face more legal challenges. Some state and federal lawmakers criticized it as a financially irresponsible overreach by leaders in Oregon and California.
“This dam removal is more than just a concrete project coming down. It’s a new day and a new era,” Yurok Tribe chairman Joseph James said. “To me, this is who we are, to have a free-flowing river just as those who have come before us. … Our way of life will thrive with these dams being out.”
A half-dozen tribes across Oregon and California, fishing groups and environmentalists had hoped to see demolition work begin as soon as 2022. But those plans stalled in July, when U.S. regulators questioned whether the nonprofit entity formed to oversee the project could adequately respond to any cost overruns or accidents.
The new plan makes Oregon and California equal partners in the demolition with the nonprofit entity, called the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, and adds $45 million to the project’s $450 million budget to ease those concerns. Oregon, California and the utility PacifiCorp, which operates the hydroelectric dams and is owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway, will each provide one-third of the additional funds.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must approve the deal. If accepted, it would allow PacifiCorp and Berkshire Hathaway to walk away from aging dams that are more of an albatross than a profit-generator, while addressing regulators’ concerns. Oregon, California and the nonprofit would jointly take over the hydroelectric license from PacifiCorp while the nonprofit will oversee the work.
Buffett said the reworked deal solves a “very complex challenge.”
“I recognize the importance of Klamath dam removal and river restoration for tribal people in the Klamath Basin,” Buffett said in a statement. “We appreciate and respect our tribal partners for their collaboration in forging an agreement that delivers an exceptional outcome for the river, as well as future generations.”
Removed would be the four southernmost dams in a string of six constructed in southern Oregon and far Northern California beginning in 1918.
They were built solely for power generation. They are not used for irrigation and not managed for flood control. The lowest dam on the river, the Iron Gate, has no “fish ladder,” or concrete chutes that fish can pass through.
That’s blocked hundreds of miles of potential fish habitat and spawning grounds, and fish populations have dropped precipitously in recent years. Salmon are at the heart of the culture, beliefs and diet of a half-dozen regional tribes, including the Yurok and Karuk — both parties to the agreement — and they have suffered deeply from that loss.
Coho salmon from the Klamath River are listed as threatened under federal and California law, and their population in the river has fallen anywhere from 52% to 95%. Spring chinook salmon, once the Klamath Basin’s largest run, has dwindled by 98%.
Fall chinook, the last to persist in any significant numbers, have been so meager in the past few years that the Yurok canceled fishing for the first time in the tribe’s memory. In 2017, they bought fish at a grocery store for their annual salmon festival.
“It is bleak, but I want to have hope that with dam removal and with all the prayers that we’ve been sending up all these years, salmon could come back. If we just give them a chance, they will,” said Chook-Chook Hillman, a Karuk tribal member fighting for dam removal. “If you provide a good place for salmon, they’ll always come home.”
PacifiCorp has been operating the dams under an extension of its expired hydroelectric license for years. The license was originally granted before modern environmental laws and renewing it would mean costly renovations to install fish ladders. The utility has said energy generated by the dams no longer makes up a significant part of its portfolio.
In the original deal, PacifiCorp was to transfer its license and contribute $200 million to bow out of the removal project and avoid further costs and liability. An additional $250 million comes from a voter-approved California water bond.
U.S. regulators, however, agreed only on the condition that PacifiCorp remain a co-licensee along with the Klamath River Renewal Corporation — a nonstarter for the utility.
Full Coverage: Dams
Residents have been caught in the middle. As tribes watched salmon dwindle, some homeowners around a huge reservoir created by one of the dams have sued to stop the demolition.
They say their waterfront property values have already fallen by half because of news coverage associated with demolition and they worry about losing a water source for fighting wildfires in an increasingly fire-prone landscape. Many also oppose the use of ratepayer funds for the project.
U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican, said the agreement puts taxpayers in the two states on the hook. Some state lawmakers in Oregon said Gov. Kate Brown violated her constitutional authority by authorizing the deal without legislative or voter approval.
Further upstream, farmers who rely on two other dams are watching carefully. The removal of the lower four dams won’t affect them directly, but they worry it could set a precedent for dam removal on the Klamath.
More than 1,720 dams have been dismantled around the U.S. since 2012, according to American Rivers, and 26 states undertook dam removal projects in 2019 alone. The Klamath River project would be the largest such project by far if it proceeds.
In this video, Jay discusses the anatomy of a bonefish fly and the materials used to tie them.
If you’re new or thinking about tying bonefish flies this video is a great tutorial. Jay discusses hooks, weights, braids, flash, kip-tail, hackle, and common materials used in bonefish flies.
Visit Caddisflyshop.com for all your bonefish tying materials and supplies.
In this video, Jim Sens ties his version of John Barr’s Slump Buster.
Using just a few materials these flies can be tied in a variety of colors, sizes, and weights. Jim creates a collar using a dubbing loop instead of traditional zonker strips giving the fly extra durabiltiy and movement. An awesome fly!
Sen’s Slump Buster:
Hook: Ahrex FW530 Size 8
Bead: Small Matte Black Brass Cone
Weight: Lead Free Wire .020
Thread: Veevus 10/0 Black
Tail: Black Pine Squirrel
Body: Lagartun Pearl Flat Braid
Wing: Dos Tone Jail House Rabbit Strips Pink/Purple/Black
Flashabou
Collar: Black Pine Squirrel
Zap A Gap
Here are some great articles about conservation efforts moving the needle towards more fish in our waters.
From The News Review -GILLIAN FLACCUS The Associated Press
Fishing, environmental groups sue over Umpqua River dam
WINCHESTER — A coalition of environmental and fishing groups are suing a water district in Douglas County over an aging, privately owned dam that they say hinders the passage of struggling salmon populations in the pristine North Umpqua River.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Eugene, asks a judge to order the Winchester Water Control District to build a new fish ladder and make major repairs to Winchester Dam, which dates to 1890 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The dam is one of the oldest in Oregon.
The aging fish ladder on the 130-year-old dam blocks the progress of migrating Oregon Coast coho salmon — a federally protected species — as well as spring and fall chinook, summer and winter steelhead, cutthroat trout and Pacific Lamprey, according to the lawsuit. There’s also no record that the water district has rights to hold and store water behind the dam under state law, the lawsuit said. Keep Reading here…
From the BBC -The rebirth of a historic river – By Alexander Matthews 10th November 2020
For over a century, one of the most important salmon runs in the United States has had to contend with historic dams – and now four of them are set to be taken down.
“My great uncle and my grandma and my great grandparents and, I’m sure, their great grandparents: they were all fishermen. That’s just what they did – they fished and it was out of necessity to support their families. And it’s because that’s what we’ve always done and we’ve never known another life,” says Amy Cordalis, the general counsel of the Yurok, and a member of California’s largest indigenous tribe.
It’s hard to overstate how important this livelihood has been to the Yurok people who have lived for millennia in rural Northern California. And yet this livelihood has been diminishing for decades after the Klamath River – which flows through the tribe’s territory – was dammed for hydroelectricity. But now, after years of painstaking negotiations, the fortunes of the Yurok could be set to change, with the largest dam removal project in US history given the green light. Keep reading this article here…
From The Salem Statesman Journal by Bill Poehler Zach Urness
Turbines at Detroit Dam temporarily turned off to help migrating fish
A win for environmental groups
In August, a U.S. District Court judge granted a summary judgment in a case brought by environmental groups WildEarth Guardians, Native Fish Society and Northwest Environmental Defense Center, finding the Corps is years behind in improving fish passage above the dams, correcting water temperatures and improving water quality.
The original decision ordering those changes was in 2008.
The court ruled that the Corps’ operation of the dams led to the initial Endangered Species Act-listing of Chinook salmon and steelhead, and contributed to their decline. Continue reading here…
Is your living room or fly tying room in need of some sprucing up? If so, this beautiful wild steelhead pencil illustration might be just what you need. Plus all proceeds from the raffle of Paul Vecsei’s gorgeous wild steelhead piece will go to support the Wild Steelhead Coalition.
With wild steelhead runs in decline across their native range, it is critical that we support the work of great organizations like the WSC, which are fighting tirelessly to increase the return of wild steelhead to the waters of the West Coast. That’s why we’re excited to donate the proceeds from this raffle to fuel WSC’s work to stop a destructive dam from being built on Washington’s Chehalis River, restore the Skagit River’s once-prolific steelhead run, and and fighting gillnets in the Columbia River.
So make sure you get your limited entry raffle ticket today. With only 30 being sold, you have a great chance to add this spectacular Kispiox steelhead to your collection. Plus, as a consolation prize, one lucky winner will get a box of a dozen steelhead flies tied by WSC board member and acclaimed fly tier Josh Mills. But even if you don’t win one of these two great prizes, you will have the good fortune of knowing that you are supporting the Wild Steelhead Coalition’s critical efforts to create a brighter future for wild steelhead and steelhead anglers.
You can learn more about the Wild Steelhead Coalition’s great work and support their efforts here. You can also check out more of Paul Vescei’s fantastic art here as well.
BUY YOUR RAFFLE TICKET HERE
From Oregonlive.com By Guest Columnist Lucinda George Simpson and Giulia Good Stefani
Simpson is a descendant of the Chief Joseph Wallowa band of Nimiipuu (or Nez Perce) and a youth group leader on the Nez Perce Reservation in Lapwai, ID. Good Stefani is a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council and lives in Mosier.
For thousands of years, Columbia River Basin salmon fed the Nimiipuu people, the Southern Resident orcas, and a complex network of humans, animals, and plants that stretched from the inland mountains to the coast. Today, the fish are declining, several populations are near extinct and those who have depended on them are feeling the effects.
Yet the federal government, which has spent billions trying to restore salmon runs, is essentially signaling surrender. Even though it recently concluded that removing four dams on the lower Snake River would have the greatest benefit for salmon survival, it is refusing to do so and offering an inadequate solution in its place.
Now, the governors of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana are stepping into the leadership gap, recently announcing an agreement to work together to restore Columbia River Basin salmon and steelhead. Will that four-state promise end 100 years of conflict between salmon and dams in the Columbia Basin? The odds are long, but it is a promising first step toward addressing one of the country’s most complex ecological, economic, and social justice challenges.
Solutions will require leadership from all the sovereign entities—the four states, tribes, and the federal government—and the willingness of all sides and factions to come together, put down past politics and have difficult conversations.
The stakes are clear. One of the most essential elements of our ecosystem is disappearing. Thirteen Columbia Basin salmon populations are listed as in danger of extinction. The salmon suffer from many threats, but the most significant is the many dams that now break up and slow down the natural flow of the Columbia River and its largest tributary, the Snake River. Dams block over half the spawning habitat once available in the basin, and dams change flow patterns, raise river temperatures, and increase predation in ways that harm salmon. The industrialization of the Columbia Basin’s rivers has caused the system to lose its natural balance.
We know from personal experience that our good health, relationships, and abundance all suffer when our relationship with Mother Earth is broken. As we experience the COVID- 19 crisis, the Nimiipuu are at a higher health risk and still under threat because people indigenous to this place no longer have the healthy diet of their ancestors. Many small towns along rivers (like the ones we live in) have suffered economic losses from a lack of salmon. And the cultural impact for the Nimiipuu people of declining salmon and other wildlife and fish is incalculable. We have both advocated, written about, and spoken to government officials about the need to restore salmon and protect future generations from an ecologically uncertain future.
The decline of salmon is not just hurting human health, it’s impacting wildlife, including the endangered orcas. Columbia Basin salmon provide an important source of nutrition to endangered orcas, and scientists have found that the reproductive females especially rely on salmon from the Basin to build up fat and deliver healthy babies. After tragically losing her last newborn, the now famous orca mother Tahlequah had a healthy calf this year. But almost 70 percent of orca pregnancies still end in miscarriage. Without salmon, their families and future are at risk too.
Climate change is only making things more urgent. The four lower Snake River dams frequently cause temperatures in their reservoirs that are too hot for salmon migration. Despite the federal government’s acknowledgment that removing the earthen portions of the lower Snake River dams would most help salmon, its strategy is instead to have the Army Corps of Engineers continue spilling additional water over the dams – an action widely recognized as insufficient. Lower Snake River dam removal is one of the actions we must consider. We understand that is a tough conversation because many communities depend on the electricity and agricultural services that the river, in its current state, provides. But we cannot build the future we need unless we keep all options – and all voices – at the table.
We have a choice. In our relationship to the natural world, so much is broken. In our politics, we are deeply divided. The salmon’s struggle and need to meet our climate goals is a chance to come together as a region with a new appreciation for nature and our joint responsibility to live in balance. By working together, we can support the urgent search for solutions that can rebuild salmon and ensure an abundant future for generations to come.
Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour from Eugene
Join the Upper Willamette Stewardship Network for an evening of short films showcasing our earth’s natural wonders and the amazing stories of those working in conservation, streamed virtually in HD to your home.
The virtual waiting room opens at 6:30 pm with the event beginning at 7 pm. Only one person per household needs to register.
Proceeds from the 2020 Wild & Scenic Film Festival will be used for fire response and post-fire watershed restoration efforts in the Upper Willamette Watershed.
The Upper Willamette Stewardship Network is made up of the following conservation non-profits, working together and with communities to care for land and water in the Upper Willamette: Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council, Middle Fork Willamette Watershed Council, Long Tom Watershed Council, McKenzie River Trust, Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah, and the McKenzie Watershed Council.
Details
Date:November 19
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm PST
Cost:$10
Venue
Virtual Event
Website:
Each fall, Greg and his best friend Rob chase steelhead for two weeks around Oregon swinging flies.
Here they are checking in after a week of fishing….
So far 7 for 9 caught…..Vamos!!!
From Native Fish Society
Win a Rogue Drift Boat from Ray’s River Dories & help the Deschutes River
That’s right, a brand new Ray’s River Dories Rogue drift boat, complete with a Baker Trailer and a pair of Sawyer Lite Oars could be yours for just $100! All proceeds from this raffle will go to support the work of our River Stewards on the Deschutes River to improve water quality and protect habitat for native fish, including bull trout!
Ray’s River Dories has been the high water mark for wooden drift boats since they got started in Portland, OR in 1975. Ray’s is known for its rich history of combining expert craftsmanship with in-depth river knowledge to deliver the finest boats in the Pacific Northwest. Ray’s builds beautiful, legacy-grade boats that are ready to explore.
This 17’x54” Rogue River Drift boat is designed with our big, western, whitewater rivers in mind. It’s a quick handling and highly maneuverable boat that stays dry and safe, even in whitewater, with its high stern and flared sides. This Rogue can comfortably carry three people and overnight camping gear or four people and light gear. This is the perfect boat for an oars person with fly anglers casting both fore and aft. A wood boat is quiet in the water, warm during the winter months, always beautiful to look at, and a pleasure to row.
The boat alone is special, but this raffle gets even better. The drift boat comes ready to rock with a brand new, galvanized Baker Trailer, commonly acknowledged as the finest boat trailers in the Northwest.
To make the boat perfect, our good friends at Sawyer Paddles and Oars included a set of their legendary wood oars. These 9’ Sawyer Lite Oars are made from straight grain Douglas Fir and come standard with rope wrap, rubber stops, and kevlar protected tips. There isn’t anything as sweet as the feeling of this boat, with these oars, drifting down your homewaters.
Don’t miss your chance to own this one of a kind boat and support the revival of abundant wild fish on the Deschutes River.
A huge thank you to our incredibly generous donors: Ray’s River Dories & Sawyer Paddles & Oars. Please support the businesses that support healthy homewaters and abundant native fish!
Details:
How does it work? Native Fish Society is selling 250 raffle tickets for $100 each. We’ll draw the lucky winner on December 1st and they’ll get the drift boat of their dreams!
To buy your tickets call our office at 503-344-4218 or click the here to purchase tickets online.
17′ X 54″ Rogue Drift Boat from Ray’s River Dories
Baker Trailer
Sawyer Paddles & Oars Sawyer Lites
Raffle tickets on sale: October 25 – November 30
Drawing: December 1, 2020
