December 2, 2020

Eugene Register-Guard: Jump Starting Salmon Recovery

Chris Hager is the executive director of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders. He was also appointed by Gov. Brown to serve on the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Advisory Committee and volunteers with the local chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. He recently published an opinion piece in the Eugene Register-Guard combatting misinformation about the impact sportfishing harvest have on wild endangered salmon populations. It was originally published on December 1, 2020 and is copied below for reference.
December 9, 2020

Fish Eggs to Fry Goes Virtual

Our program has received overwhelming support from educators, ODFW staff, and volunteers from Northwest Steelheaders, the Oregon affiliate partner of NWF. Together, we delivered 11,400 Chinook salmon eggs to 29 schools and partners for a total of 38 aquariums across the Portland-Metro region. However, with the transition to online learning this year, our new virtual resources have expanded the Fish Eggs to Fry program’s reach far beyond the state of Oregon. Now, students don’t even have to leave the house to experience the magic of the salmon life cycle!
February 22, 2021

Daily Astorian Opinion: Sea Change

Chris Hager is the executive director of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders. He was also appointed by Gov. Brown to serve on the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Advisory Committee and volunteers with the local chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. He recently com/opinion/letters/letter-sea-published an opinion piece in the Daily Astorian on February 20, 2021 highlighting the need for the recreational angling community to engage in Representative Simpson's historic effort to restore Snake River salmon and steelhead.
February 22, 2021

Statesman Journal Opinion: Take Dam Proposal Seriously

Jack Glass has been guiding fishing trips in the Columbia Basin since 1983 with his company, Team Hookup Guide Service. He is a long-time advocate for salmon and steelhead recovery with over 40 years of experience on the water and more than 20 years advocating to free the lower Snake River. He published an opinion piece in the Statesman Journal on February 19, 2020 highlighting the need for the recreational angling community to engage in Representative Simpson's historic effort to restore Snake River salmon and steelhead.
April 13, 2021

Coeur d’Alene Press Opinion: Support Simpson Proposal

Kevin Brown is an Association of Northwest Steelheaders member who recently published an opinion piece in the Coeur d'Alene/Post Falls Press on April 9, 2021 The piece emphasizes the need for the recreational angling community to engage in Representative Simpson's effort to restore Snake River salmon and steelhead populations.
June 23, 2021

Norm Ritchie Opinion: Time for Tough Conversations

Norm Ritchie is an Association of Northwest Steelheaders board member living in Rockaway Beach, Oregon. He recently published an opinion piece in the Astorian on May 22, 2021 highlighting the need for our legislators to come together and have hard conversations in order to find a solution to save wild salmon and steelhead populations from extinction.
June 23, 2021

Chris Hager Opinion: Remove the Snake River Dams

Chris Hager is the executive director of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders. He was also appointed by Gov. Brown to serve on the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Advisory Committee and volunteers with the local chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. He recently published a letter to the editor in The Columbian on June 20, 2021 highlighting the need for lower Snake River dam removal in order to save wild salmon and steelhead populations from extinction
July 6, 2021

Steelheaders Secure Key Salmon Protections during Oregon’s 2021 Legislative Session

The 2021 Oregon legislative session has officially ended and overall, we were largely successful in securing the key bills and amendments we wanted. We negotiated an amendment legally tying the Columbia River Endorsement fee to a requirement that ODFW keep non-tribal commercial gill nets off the lower Columbia River and publish an annual accounting of what ODFW used the endorsement funding for. Also, after three long years, Board members Tim Lenihan and Bob Oleson got our bill to enhance fishing access for veteran’s angling programs signed into law. We also secured amendments to require weirs on private property are constructed from natural materials and ensured that material from ditch maintenance cannot be dumped into undisturbed wetlands, strengthen the Conservation and Recreation Fund, secure funding for stream restoration and fish screening, and expand the wildlife inspection station program.