WSC News

Recently, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission voted to approve a misguided plan to expand gillnetting on the Columbia River. The Wild Steelhead Coalition strongly opposes this plan and is working with our partners in the fish conservation and angling communities to undo the Commission’s preposterous decision to greenlight an expansion of this destructive commercial fishing practice, which will further endanger ESA-listed salmon and steelhead.

With the Columbia’s wild steelhead and salmon populations struggling and facing increasingly imminent threats, the last thing these declining salmonid stocks need is the expansion of destructive gillnet fisheries on the mainstem lower Columbia River. That's why the WSC sent a letter to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission urging them to reject a misguided proposal to reinstate this destructive practice.

In an effort to protect endangered salmon and steelhead, federal agencies have recently granted permission for Washington, Oregon and Idaho wildlife management agencies and six regional tribes to kill hundreds of California and Stellar sea lions in the lower Columbia River and its tributaries over the next five years.

We are proud to announce that WSC board member Josh Mills was named the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Sigurd F. Olson Award winner for his tireless work to protect American public waters for the future.

There’s no doubt about it: this Washington winter steelhead season was as challenging as any in memory. It followed historic low summer steelhead runs that constrained fisheries on the Columbia River system.

Above the water’s surface, Hood Canal, Washington resembles a sportsperson’s paradise. From camping on the beach to hiking to rugged alpine lakes, to chasing deer and elk in thick timber, to foraging clams and oysters when the tide is out, outdoor opportunities abound in this verdant country. However, when you venture beneath the water’s surface and wade into the gorgeous, raucous rivers that carve up this stunning corner of Washington, you begin to see that something iconic is missing.

With the support of key partners in the fishing community, the WSC has secured a major victory for angler access and steelhead conservation by completing the purchase of an eight-acre parcel of land with 2,000 feet of riverfront on the lower Grande Ronde River in Eastern Washington, which will soon be donated to the Washington Department of Wildlife for permanent protection and continued public use.

The Wild Steelhead Coalition was honored to donate a brand new raft, oars, trail cameras, and spotting scopes to the WDFW Law Enforcement Program on the Olympic Peninsula to support their critical efforts to defend and protect our shared natural resources in that vast, wild landscape.