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est. 2000

An organization dedicated to increasing the return of wild 
steelhead to the waters of the Pacific Northwest

Vice President of Conservation, Dick Burge

Dick grew up in San Jose, California, and spent every moment he could sneaking away (yes-even cutting lots of highschool classes) to the lakes, creeks and rivers in Santa Clara Valley to chase trout, salmon and steelhead (and waterski a bit).  He and his dad were also avid bass and ocean salmon fishermen.  His favorite river was the San Lorenzo, near Santa Cruz, where he caught his first steelhead and silver salmon.

This love of fishing coaxed Dick to San Jose State for two years where he began studies in biology and hoped to learn how to better manage rainbow trout and other salmonids.  After two years, he transferred to Humboldt State and received a degree in Fisheries in l964.   In graduate school, Dick became side tracked, and began working with shellfish.  That direction stayed with him throughout his working career. In California, Dick managed the abalone program and conducted the first background studies at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Reactor site.  He was a diving biologist and also worked on lobster, sea urchins and Pismo clams.

The move to Washington in 1980 was a big relief from the politics of California where every rule and law was made (usually wrong) by the state legislature.  Besides a better job, three things attracted Dick and his family to Washington—steelheading, crabbing, and horseback riding. Dick headed the Point Whitney Shellfish Laboratory for 15 years, directing a staff of biologists to manage the shellfish in Puget sound.  In 1996, following the Federal Court Rafeedie Shellfish decision (analagous to the Boldt decision) he was appointed the policy director of the shellfish program and spent most of his time negotiating management plans with the Puget Sound Tribes and developing department policy. He retired in 2000 to actively enjoy his hobbies and to study other species, chiefly salmonids.  Besides fishing, Dick has enjoyed rafting, hiking, telemark skiing, hunting, and backcountry horse packing.  Some of Dicks service activities have included board member of the Quilcene School Board, Littleleague fastpitch coach, Lions Club, VP of the Greywolf Flyclub, TU Rainbow Chapter board member, member of the WC-TU Statewide Salmon and Steelhead Committee, and a member of the Washington Department of Fisheries Steelhead Advisory Committee.

The Burge Family also own a small Christmas tree farm near Quilcene which has helped support their three kids through college.

“Wild steelhead are far too important and valuable to our culture to continue their harvest.  Many runs are depleted or near extinction and need much more protection than they are receiving today.  And we shouldn’t be risking the few healthy runs by allowing the killing of even one wild fish.  WSC’s  campaign for catch and release was a great beginning to alert the F&W Commission and other conservation groups of the declining state of wild steelhead.  Now we must do even more in the fields of modeling and management, enforcement, hatchery reform, habitat restoration and education if we are to recover this majestic fish to all our state waters.”