The State of the Wild Steelhead Coalition: Year 3

 “Effective organizations do something” –comment from Steelhead Summit IV

 This year was has been the most exciting and rewarding year that I have been involved with the WSC since its inception. As one the founders, it was exciting to start and see the development of a fledging organization with such talent.  In my two years as the VP of Membership and now the President in the WSC’s third year of existence, I have been very impressed with the current Board’s ability to work together and the willingness to work on many issues and challenges facing wild steelhead. We continue to have a great group of Trustees:   recent changes include saying goodbye to Dennis Dickson, who deserves a special thanks for his Trustee term of service, and the addition of  Rob Masonis, who we welcome as our newest Trustee. Our list of Regional Representatives continues to expand with the addition of Shane Stewart for NW Oregon, and it will soon expand into the Region 1 territory of Eastern Washington to help further the goals of WSC. We have a strong membership which continues to grow with individuals who have volunteered to get involved and help the Board.

 The WSC Board of Directors has worked very hard over the last year. The two year moratorium has certainly captured a lion’s share of visibility, but it is important to note there have been other important achievements made this year. At the Public Fish and Wildlife Commission Hearings in December the WSC and others commented on new rules proposals, but also provided strong points and very compelling testimony stating that the continued harvest of wild steelhead is not acceptable and the wrong direction for steelhead  recovery. After the hearing the WSC scheduled personal meetings with each Commissioner and traveled to share charts, data and facts of Washington’s declining wild steelhead runs. This information will be compiled and formatted into the WSC second white paper titled: “The Washington State Status of Wild Steelhead”. By working through the system, we believe that we played an important role in the Commission’s  February vote to impose a two-year moratorium on the intentional harvest of wild steelhead in state waters. We hope that this “cease fire” will allow opportunity for the WDFW to develop more progressive management plans for wild steelhead. The WSC is also working on  developing ideas for a more conservative management plan for wild steelhead, and this document  will be shared with WDFW. The news of the moratorium also prompted the WSC to be interviewed in articles for regional newspapers as well as an associated press article that was widely distributed.

 With regard to notable WSC achievements in the past year, the news of the moratorium was just the tip of the iceberg. We  organized and hosted two more Steelhead Summits, the first in November 2003 and the second in May 2004, both held at the Bellevue Sheraton Hotel. These summits continue to be well attended by representatives of angling and conservation groups from across the NW and BC, and they have attracted new participants with each passing summit. Many of the ad hoc committees have completed draft position papers and the Summit Steering Committee has completed its draft of the Steelhead Alliance Procedures and Policy.  A fifth summit is tentatively scheduled for November 2004. A special thanks goes out to Summit Coordinator Dave Bailey for his work on planning the summits. We also received a grant from Patagonia to fund the Summit IV to which the WSC is very grateful.

 The WSC has also developed a Hatchery Reform Policy draft which was shared with membership and the Summit Hatchery Reform Committee. And we have been involved reviewing the Hatchery Scientific Review Group (HSRG) hatchery recommendations, and along with many other organizations we recently singed onto a letter to the state and tribal co-management leadership that supports full implementation of the HSRG recommendations for reform. Nate Mantua, our VP of Science and Education, has represented the WSC at recent hatchery reform meetings  and has ensured that the WSC’s input is heard. 

 The WSC continues to have top notch speakers at our monthly general meetings, and they have provided a range of expertise regarding wild steelhead. Speakers in 2003 included:

 ·   January 2003 -Jeff Carter, Snohomish County Surface Water Management and Brian Simonseth, Stillaguamish Implementation Review Committee: Stillaguamish River Restoration projects

·   February 2003 -Jon Honea, Center for Streamside Studies and College of Forest Resources, University of Washington: Effect of Marine-Derived Nutrients on Macroinvertebrate Production in Salmon Spawning Streams

·   March 2003 - Bob Leland and Bob Gibbons, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife steelhead program managers: Steelhead Management by Washington's Department of Fish and Wildlife: where we have been, where we are, and where we are going

• April 2003 - Carl Ostberg, Western Fisheries Research Center, USGS: Genetics, and the evolutionary history and lineages of steelhead and rainbow trout.
• May 2003 - Dave Seiler, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Science Division: WDFW’s salmon and steelhead research programs
• June 2003 - Nick Gayeski, Washington Trout and the Wild Salmon Center: Steelhead Life History and Population Persistence: lessons from Kamchatka
• September 2003 - Curt Kraemer, WDFW Region 4 Freshwater Fisheries Program Manager: "Fishing our way to recovery: Puget Sound's Comprehensive Chinook Fishery Management Plan"
• October 2003 - Chili Feed and Auction Fundraiser: we raised approximately $5000 for the WSC. Many businesses and individuals contributed and we are very grateful for their support – Thank you!
• November 2003 - Pete Van Gytenbeek, Washington’s Fish and Wildlife Commission: making the system work
• December 2003 - Lee Blankenship, Hatchery Scientific Review Group, and Michael Kern, Long Live the Kings: The hatchery reform project
• March 2004 - Dr. David Montgomery, University of Washington: King of Fish: the thousand year run of salmon
• April 2004 - Frank Moore, former owner of the Steamboat Inn on the N. Fk. Umpqua River and long-time Oregon steelhead advocate; Frank was awarded a WSC Honorary Membership at our April Meeting.
• May 2004 – Dan Rawding, WDFW Region 5 Fish Biologist: The Ecosystem Diagnostics and Treatment (EDT) Model

  The WSC Board established two new awards this year to support research work and recognition in conservation towards wild steelhead. The "Conservation Award" is presented to an individual or group that, through their actions and/or accomplishments, have made significant and noteworthy contributions to the protection and propagation of wild steelhead. The "Scholarship Award" is presented to an individual or group that, through their research and scholarship, recognizes the significance of wild steelhead for Northwest culture and/or the scientific importance of wild steelhead in the management of all steelhead for optimal propagation and survival. John Honea at the Center for Water and Watershed Studies and College of Forest Resources at the UW was the first scholarship recipient for his work and research on the effect of marine-derived nutrients in salmonid spawning streams.  A notice will be sent out to membership for nominees for the Conservation Award soon.

 The WSC has also become more politically active, recently  forming a political affairs committee led by Todd Ripley The WSC has worked on important issues opposing the proposed increase commercial by catch of ESA listed steelhead on the Columbia River, the expansion of the Storedahl gravel mine on the East Fork of the Lewis River, supporting slide protection work for the North Fork Stillaguamish and supporting increased protection for in stream flows in our NW rivers. The WSC was also featured in an opinion-editorial piece regarding the importance of establishing in stream protection in the Columbian news paper in Vancouver WA.

 On the lighter side the WSC has been able to print out quality brochures and we also now have WSC hats and t-shirts for a donation to help cover their cost. If you are interested in these items to support our organization please contact Jeff Johnson, VP of Membership. The WSC also had a booth at the Fly Fishing show in Bellevue, WA, a presence at the Sport Fishing Expo in Monroe, WA and Olympic Fly Show in Sequim, WA. where membership materials and brochures where distributed.

 One last note; right now the opposition to the two year moratorium on wild steelhead harvest has chosen to petition the Commission’s February 2004 decision. In all fairness, the Commission has decided to open their decision to further public testimony sometime in August. The WSC Board strongly urges you to support your Commissioners by sending a letter supporting their decision and to participate in the upcoming public testimony. It is important for the Commission and the WDFW to hear your voice and your concerns for the continued downward trends of wild steelhead in Washington. Tell the commissioners  that one thing we can do as sport fishers is not to intentionally harvest wild steelhead.

  With our work, and further increased participation from our membership and supporters, I expect the fourth year of the WSC to be as exciting and more prolific in making positive changes for wild steelhead. If you have not gotten involved please find the time to do so, even if it’s to write a letter in regards to an issue or just providing feedback to your Board. As a reminder I will quote Jack Berryman’s comment from the year before:

“…we must continue to be more than a fishing club. We must keep being a diverse group, base our positions on the best available science and make the fish our top priority.”

  The Wild Steelhead Coalition is truly doing something, in fact a lot of great things, and I am very proud to be associated with such an organization. I am looking forward to the fourth year, how about you?

 Sincerely,

Rich Simms

2003-2004

WSC Board President

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