NW Steelheaders Supports Lethal Take of Sea Lions

November 6, 2019

NW Steelheaders Supports Lethal Take of Sea Lions

In concert with the Northwest Steelheaders’ efforts to increase salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest for the benefit of people and ecosystems, the association has issued a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) supporting the June 13, 2019 Sea Lion Removal Application submitted by the Oregon, Washington, Departments of Fish and Wildlife, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation; and the Willamette Committee.

November 13, 2019

Winter Steelhead Extinction Risk in Willamette River Plummets with Sea Lion Removal

When the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) modeled “Extinction Risk” of winter steelhead in the Willamette River in 2017, it was a whopping 90%. Following the removal of just 33 California sea lions preying on steelhead at Willamette Falls, ODFW estimates that the year-end extinction risk will fall to between 10-15%. Before the permitted removal began, about 25% of the steelhead population was consumed by sea lions. Predation on winter steelhead dropped to 9% this year. Just 512 winter steelhead spawned above Willamette Falls in 2017, rising to 3,118 in 2018.

June 30, 2020

Migration Through the Eyes of a Salmon

When I turned one year old, my parr marks began to disappear, alerting me to the fact that my first great journey would soon begin. I knew it was time to go to the ocean. Under natural conditions, it would be an arduous journey: over 450 miles of river fraught with predators, rapids, strong currents, and changing salinity that culminates in a rapid biological adaptation to the ocean. Unfortunately, man-made obstacles such as agricultural runoff, heat pollution, stagnant water and dams further complicated my voyage.

March 17, 2021

Why Should We Remove the Lower Snake River Dams? Your Questions Answered

At one point, 50% of salmon returning to the Columbia River Basin spawned in the Snake River or its tributaries. Today, only 1% of these salmon return to their spawning grounds as adults to reproduce. Each interaction a juvenile salmon has with a dam reduces their chance of returning to the Columbia River as an adult by 10%. Snake River salmon have to pass eight dams during migration: four on the lower Snake River and four on the mainstem Columbia River, bringing their chance of returning as adults to just 20%. Removing the lower Snake River dams will remove half of the major obstacles blocking fish migration to and from their spawning grounds.