On Friday, December 6, 2019, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider a proposal for the release of all wild steelhead in southwest Oregon during the 2020 season, and we need your support!
Implementing catch and release regulations for wild steelhead in Oregon’s Southwest Zone would be the most cost-effective, equitable, and easy to implement management action to protect these important world-class populations from over harvest.
Here’s what you can do to ensure that wild steelhead populations flourish, not just survive, in southwest Oregon:
- Sign the petition now!
- Share the petition with your friends, families, networks, and communities.
- Show up! We want to pack the house with wild fish advocates at the ODFW Commission meeting at 8am on December 6 at ODFW headquarters in Salem.
Across their native range, there are twelve rivers in the lower 48 states and Canada where sport anglers can still legally harvest wild steelhead. All twelve of these rivers are in Oregon, and ten of those rivers are in the Southwest Zone.
Sport fishing is the lifeblood of southwest Oregon during the winter months. Unfortunately, history has demonstrated that agencies often permit harvest of wild populations to the point of critical conservation concern, and then close fishing all together to try and rebuild a struggling run. Given the dramatic decline of wild steelhead across the Northwest, we argue it is in the best interest to take a precautionary approach to protect these iconic wild fish before populations collapse while still providing fishing opportunity.
Please join us in advocating for these iconic fish by signing the petition today!
For abundant wild fish,
Jennifer Fairbrother
Conservation Director
Our mailing address is:
Native Fish Society
813 7th St.
Suite 200A
Oregon City, OR 97045
