By Dean Finnerty My son really wanted this fish. He’d put in a lot of hours standing in the cold, winter flows of an Oregon coastal stream, plying its waters day after day, waiting for that tug. While he had caught steelhead before, when this tug finally came, on the other end was a fish…
By Dean Finnerty Editor’s note: Steelhead management requires balancing of competing consumer demands, statutory requirements, science and politics. Hatchery steelhead weaken wild stocks, but help keep our fishing heritage alive. Where habitat conditions are favorable, we should manage for wild steelhead; where they aren’t, as in the upper Willamette between Dexter Dam and the Calapooia…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sam Davidson sdavidson@tu.org, 831-235-2542 Rep. Jared Huffman and Sen. Kamala Harris champion legislation that will better protect and restore habitat and water quality in steelhead and salmon strongholds (April 10, 2019) HEALDSBURG, Calif—Trout Unlimited (TU) today praised the reintroduction of legislation from California Senator Kamala Harris and Representative Jared Huffman (an…
April 10, 2019 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Corey Fisher cfisher@tu.org / (406) 546-2979 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday a group of Senators from both sides of the aisle introduced legislation to fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act comes on the heels of Congress approving permanent authorization…
Winter steelhead season is winding down, if not over in some rivers in the Pacific Northwest. Time for anglers to regroup and prepare for summer runs. First, a bit of cautious optimism. More steelhead are predicted to return to the Columbia River basin this year than in the past two years. Last year the upriver…
The legendary Frank Moore, center, with TU’s vice president for Western Conservation Rob Masonis (l) and Dean Finnerty, NW Region director for TU’s Sportsmen’s Conservation Project. Few Oregonians have had a more profound, positive influence on so many people in the Beaver State than Frank and Jeanne Moore. This remarkable couple, whose decades-long efforts to…
Just over 10 years ago we launched a new Deschutes Education program along the wild and scenic Crooked River, with student field trips connected to our conservation goals and projects. Over the past years, we have worked with students from 9 distinct communities, and provided field trips to 4 local watersheds. Students have supported and…