From Native Fish Society
Next week, ODFW Commissioners will be making a monumental decision on the future of wild winter steelhead regulations in southern Oregon. Commissioners will decide to either adopt fishing regulations that will require the catch and release of all wild winter steelhead. or allow the continued kill of these fish for the foreseeable future.
We need your help. Even if you have commented, testified, and shared your voice earlier this year, we ask that you do so again one final time. It is critical that we all stand up and speak out for the catch and release regulations that are necessary to sustainably manage steelhead populations in the Rogue and south coast rivers. Here are four ways you can help that will ensure ODFW Commissioners know you support catch and release regulations for wild winter steelhead in southern Oregon!
Testify virtually to the ODFW commission on December 16th. We need as many advocates at this meeting raising their voices in support of catch and release regulations as possible! It will only take a few minutes out of your day, but will have a lasting impact on our wild steelhead.
In addition to testifying, or if you cannot make it to verbally testify, you can send a personal message asking for catch and release regulations for wild winter steelhead in the Rogue South Coast Conservation Management Plan. Send this email to commissioners at the following address: ODFW.Commission@odfw.oregon.gov
If you are short on time, feel free to follow this link to the Action Alert posted on our website. This takes less than 30 seconds, and the more people we reach, the better!
The last thing you can do is spread the word! Ask two or three people to join you to testify, send in comments, or both! The more people we have, the better. It’s going to take a true groundswell to help commissioners make the right decision.
Wild Steelhead of southern Oregon need your help. These fish are struggling throughout their native range. We as advocates must step up and encourage fisheries managers to use a precautionary approach to best assure that we have abundant, wild steelhead returning to southern Oregon’s rivers for decades to come.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me today!
For the Wild,
Kirk Blaine
Southern Oregon Regional Coordinator
