Keith Hyde’s Mission: Bring New Faces to Fishing

April 23, 2020

Keith Hyde’s Mission: Bring New Faces to Fishing

Hyde’s perspective on life and his passion for fishing changed after a long fight with stage four squamous cell cancer, which is a form of throat cancer. As a survivor, he began to more deeply consider his role in the world and the legacy he wants to leave behind. “I started thinking to myself, like, Why me? With this low survivability rate? I'm no one. I'm no one special. I'm no different than any other person. So why did God choose me to survive? I have no idea. But I felt like there has to be some reason.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “I truly believe now that the reason is to promote the outdoors, to take people fishing, to enhance fisheries to provide opportunities for people to fish down the road. So now that's what I tried to do. That's kind of my deal. And I try to drag as many people along with me as I can.”

May 28, 2020

Tempering Heat Pollution in the Lower Snake River

Recently, there has been a lot of press about Oregon and Washington governors using their authority under the Clean Water Act to require dam operators to reduce the heat they are introducing into the Snake and Columbia Rivers. Heat pollution causes substantial stress and even death for endangered salmon and steelhead. This is an important development in the ongoing effort to protect salmon and steelhead in these rivers… but what does it mean to reduce “heat pollution” and how does that protect salmon, steelhead and our ability to fish? Heat is explicitly identified as a pollutant under the Clean Water Act, making entities that heat waterways responsible for mitigating the temperature changes they cause. As anglers, we know that temperature changes have huge impacts on fish. Here in Oregon, our water quality standards have set a water temperature threshold of 68 degrees Fahrenheit for salmon and steelhead streams—the warmest water salmon and steelhead can survive in.

June 17, 2020

Northwest Steelheaders Stands in Solidarity

We recognize that ending racial discrimination in the U.S. begins with having discussions about it within our communities. Sixty years ago, our organization was built on the foundation of an active angling community, and we have thrived by fostering this community since. All of our programs are made possible by the strength of our community, by the thousands of hours our members volunteer each year. Through awareness, empathy, and compassion, we have the power to direct this strength toward making our community more inclusive and representative.

June 24, 2020

Renewable Energy and Barging Industries Have Changed

The lower Snake River dams were built based on two predominant assumptions: (1) dams are the most viable form of producing renewable energy and (2) dams facilitate barge transport, which is the best way to ship goods to market. We must determine whether these assumptions are still true today in order to promote a dialogue about crafting solutions to replace the lower Snake River dams.

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.

July 7, 2020

Harnessing the Power of Community for the Common Good

As president of the Columbia River Chapter for 6 years, my members have never ceased to amaze me. Every event, community project, fish along—you name it—starts with an idea from one chapter member. From there, other members start adding their two cents and a tangible plan starts to form. A few phone calls are made to friends, family, and acquaintances and suddenly there’s a network made up of skilled individuals geared towards achieving one goal. All of the pieces fall into place and volunteers show up excited and ready to help accomplish the project.

July 17, 2020

Kids Art Contest Winners Announced

Northwest Steelheaders hosted a kids art contest to engage students in thinking about salmon conservation while they're stuck at home this summer. The theme of the contest was "Crossing Boundaries into New Waters," which is our organization's theme for 2020. We sought artwork portraying our mission to dive headlong into new waters for salmon and steelhead conservation, and the pieces were judged based on their concept, composition, color, and expression. The competition was open to students in Oregon and Washington. "True Determination" by Audrey F. won the grand prize and first place in the grades 4-5 group, which includes a $100 check and a fishing trip for her and a parent/guardian with a Steelheaders volunteer.

November 11, 2020

Steelheaders Take Veterans Fishing Across 130miles of the Columbia River

Since 2012, the Columbia River Chapter’s biggest and most anticipated event of the year has been the Annual Veteran’s Fishing Event, hosted in partnership with The Fallen Outdoors. The Columbia River Chapter strives to get veterans on the water to fish and foster new friendships, and in spite of the curveball(s) 2020 threw our way, we were determined to continue that work this year. After everything veterans have done for us, it’s the least we could do for them.