Summer of Fun

By Jeff Hernandez, Tualatin Valley President

What's more fun than volunteering and helping others catch fish? Volunteer work is one of the hallmark traits of the Northwest Steelheaders. And this summer, much like other Summers of the past, the Steelheaders showed up. Here are a couple events worth highlighting:

Fishing at Huddleston Pond

Scott Schroeder, member of the Northwest Steelheaders rallied a team of volunteers from the Steelheaders as well as ODFW to put on a great event. He worked with a coordinator from Sherwood Middle School to bring out 140 kids fishing at Huddleston Pond. ODFW provided most of the rods and reels, while the Steelheaders helped rig them up and show the kids how to fish.

Here was the response after the event, "The kids and the parents send a huge thank you. We had 18 kids who had never fished before, 9 kids caught their very first fish ever and 21 kids caught their biggest trout ever. So many memories and learning moments happened over those two days. From the bottom of my heart, Thank you, Mr. Simpson."

Thanks to all who helped out to make this event a huge success!

Northwest Steelheaders Volunteer at I'm Hooked Inc.'s Free Fishing Weekend at Hagg Lake

Recently, the Northwest Steelheaders teamed up with I'm Hooked Inc. to host a free fishing weekend at Hagg Lake, offering a memorable experience for families and young anglers. I'm Hooked Inc., a non-profit focused on introducing youth to fishing and outdoor recreation, organized the event to provide accessible and educational experiences in nature.

The Northwest Steelheaders, known for our conservation work with salmon and steelhead, played a key role in the event's success. We helped coordinate over 25 boats and volunteer boat captains, who generously offered their time and vessels to take participants out on the lake for a hands-on fishing experience. With the guidance of experienced captains, many attendees had the thrill of catching trout, some for the first time. We served somewhere around 300 to 400 people per day on the boats. 

In addition to managing the boats, Steelheaders volunteers also assisted onshore, helping participants with fishing techniques, setting up rods and fish cleaning. 

The weekend was a huge success. Most boats brought back numerous fish on each trip, and some even landed several trophy trout weighing in around 5-6 lbs. 

This partnership not only provided a great day outdoors but also strengthened community ties and fostered a love for environmental stewardship among participants. The collaboration between the Northwest Steelheaders and I'm Hooked Inc. is expected to continue, promising more opportunities for future generations to connect with nature and learn about conservation.

Pictured: Bill Kremers, Harold Fisher, George Larson and Ron Pockrus

Some of us Old Codgers Went to Prison Recently...

By George Larson, Mid Valley Membership Representative

Some of us old codgers went to prison recently…for a two day fishing event!  We set up our portable fishing pond inside, which took about 2 hours.

Our host Cheryl Lenex provided a courtesy tour for us to see the dining hall, the visitation room, some of the cells and the activities room, plus get a feel for how incarcerated we were (many locked doors). There are many murals painted on room walls that are artistically excellent providing scenes of Oregon History, mountains, forests, a steam train, and fish.

By using the local creek water and warm water Bluegill fish, pond conditions were easy keeping the fish active and healthy. Short bamboo poles were used with line and hooks. This was a catch-and-release event. The fish were released into the creek after the event. From what we could tell, everyone involved had a great time at this first ever fishing event and there was some talk about doing this annually. Bob Weiler took Ron’s place for the pond retrieval on Monday.

We even got to tour the Koi Pond and Japanese Garden.

Afterwards, we received a great Thank You card signed by the whole crew at the prison!

Bob Rees, Norm Ritchie, Ken Johnson (L to R) heading to the senate offices after visiting the house side. The senators were “in district” but we had good meetings with Wyden and Merkley staffers.

President’s Message for July 2024

By Norm Ritchie, Co-President of the Board

I just got back from Washington DC with VP of Conservation, Bob Rees and Director, Ken Johnson. The National Wildlife Federation paid for much of the trip, allowing us to represent Oregon at the NWF annual meeting and to call on our legislatures’ offices to express our concerns.

Bob is a seasoned pro on federal lobbying as well as salmon and steelhead fishing. He has provided legislative aids with several salmon fishing experiences, giving them a first-hand experience of both the economic and cultural importance of our sport fisheries. This wasn’t my first rodeo either, but I must tip my hat to Bob and his skills. Ken’s presence was invaluable given as a constituent and his experience in Val Hoyle’s district and his ability to eloquently express that story with the Emerald Empire Chapter’s hatchery and the affects of the Army Corps of Engineers’ management failures in the district.

I think we had a positive impact with protecting federal hatchery funding, Snake River Dam breaching, significant new funding for ODFW through the Renew America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA), and funding for protecting/restoring riparian habitats for fish, wildlife, and the water we drink through the Farm Bill. Our meetings were coordinated by an NWF lobbying staffer that took us around the capital and was there to help out, but with Bob there, we really didn’t need much help.

The four days we spent working with other affiliates was productive and illuminating. While I have attended these meetings continuously for over 10 years, it was a first for Ken. “It was a great week. I am feeling a lot better about our affiliation with NWF and more motivated.” Ken’s observations are
similar to Mark Hutchenson’s after last year’s meeting and by those who have proceeded them over the years. I only wish I could do a better job of telling the story of our affiliation with NWF so it wouldn’t be such a surprise to any of our members that we are stronger and more effective because of this affiliation.

Along with our relationship with NWF itself, we are able to work with our neighboring affiliates on issues important to all of us. A couple weeks ago the California, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii affiliates had a meeting with NWF’s Ocean team, discussing several issues but mostly excessive commercial bycatch wasting our fishing resources. Last week I worked with Hawaii, N.Carolina, and others on protecting sharks and their place in a healthy ecosystem. At the same time Ken worked on forestry issues (remember, salmon are a forest product too).

Being an NWF affiliate is not just a benefit but also a responsibility. The nation’s largest conservation organization needs strong state affiliates to continue to also be the nation’s most effective conservation organization. Having a dedicated board is essential to doing our part. The board met in a “special meeting” at the end of July to affirm our direction and establish candidates for elections in September. We have some new faces – a bit younger with new ideas and energy.  Look for more on this in future newsletters.

Lori Chavez-Deremer helped prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from walking away from their hatchery mitigation responsibility and keeping an eye on the Corps’ future budget to keep it that way.

Val Hoyle also helped prevent the Army Corps of Engineers from walking away from their hatchery mitigation responsibility. She appears more open to Snake River dam breaching to recover Columbia basin salmon and steelhead than her predecessor.

Salmon and Steelhead Need Cool Water

By Norm Ritchie, Co-President of the Board

The four lower Snake River Dams have wide, shallow reservoirs that are heating the Snake and Columbia to dangerous levels.

Our once-abundant anadromous fish populations in the Columbia-Snake River Basin are struggling to survive today primarily due to multiple harms caused by the federal dams and their reservoirs. The federal hydro-system creates conditions that harm and kill both juvenile and adult fish, including by elevating water temperatures in large, stagnant reservoirs in the summer months. These cold-water fish begin to suffer harmful effects when water temperatures exceed 68° Fahrenheit. Prolonged exposure to 72°F is fatal

On the lower Snake River, the Ice Harbor Dam reservoir registered the highest water temperature of 71.96°F on July 25. This July, the Ice Harbor Dam reservoir has reached 22 consecutive days above 68°F and 19 consecutive days above 70°F. Both Lower Monumental and Little Goose reservoirs have registered 24 days above 68°F. 

 As temperatures continue to climb there are plans being made to collect migrating adult salmon and transporting them around the hot water reservoirs, hopefully to avoid the massive die-offs from recent years. But the Snake River hot water will still pollute the Columbia, adding to the temperature problems there.

NW Steelheaders has been fighting to remove the lower Snake River dams since suing to prevent the Lower Granite dam in 1970. Though our position in the Save Our wild Salmon coalition (SOS), we are a sponsor of the hot water report that is tracking temperatures and the damage it is causing. With the ability to replace all services these dams currently provide (including electricity, irrigation, and transportation) it is time for them to go. For more details see the SOS Blog.

2024 NW Steelheaders Hall of Fame Set for Saturday, November 9th

Mark your calendars now! The Hall of Fame will be at the Gray Gables this year. The address, 3009 Chestnut St Portland, OR 97267, is just off McLaughlin Blvd (Hwy 99E) in Milwaukie. They are known for providing a great banquet.

Early bird discounted registration is available - learn more and register here!

Fred Meyers to Donate to NW Steelheaders – The Rest is Up to You!

By Norm Ritchie, Co-President of the Board

We are thrilled to announce that we have received our first check from Fred Meyers. Thank you to all who have signed up so far!

NW Steelheaders has enjoyed a good relationship with Fred Meyers for years having received grants for specific achievements from the Meyer Memorial Trust, but that does not help cover our overhead expenses. The Fred Meyer Community Rewards Program can help with that, but it requires your help.

Fred Meyer customers with an awards card or an awards account using their phone number enjoy  fuel discounts and grocery discounts not otherwise available. Linking your awards membership to  the Steelheaders does not reduce your customer awards in any way or cost you anything. Fred Meyers will simply donate quarterly to the Steelheaders based on the spending of the awards  members linked to the Steelheaders.

Please, PLEASE, take just a few minutes one time to add Steelheaders to your account:

1. Go to https://www.fredmeyer.com/i/community/community-rewards

2. select “2. Search for your organization here.”

3. It will take you to your log in page.

4. Once logged in it will take you to the Community Awards page where you can select your awards organization.

5. Simply type “Steelheaders” and select.

If you shop at Fred Meyers, but don’t have an awards membership, you can sign up and save some money, while helping the Steelheaders:

1. Rather than signing in, select “Create Account” from the Sign In drop down menu and follow instructions.

2. Use whatever phone number you would use at the store checkout to receive your awards as your “Alt ID”.

3. Once your profile is set up select Community Rewards to type and select Steelheaders.

Thank you for your support.

Chapter Meetings

A few chapters have resumed Monthly Chapter Meetings in-person, and we hope to get everyone meeting as soon as possible! To get more detailed meeting information please visit our Events Calendar. If you're having trouble finding a meeting you can attend, please reach out to us at office@anws.org and we'll help you out. As always, Chapter Meetings are free and open to the public. If you're new to Northwest Steelheaders, attending a meeting is a great first step to getting more involved with your local fishing community. 

Upcoming Meetings

•  Mid-Valley Chapter - Tuesday, August 7 @ 6 pm

•  Columbia River Chapter - Tuesday, August 13 @ 6:30 pm

•  McLoughlin Chapter - Tuesday, August 13 @ 7 pm

•  Sandy River Chapter - Thursday, September 5 @ 7 pm

•  Tualatin Valley Chapter - Thursday, September 12 @ 7 pm

•  Salem Chapter - Tuesday, September 17 @ 7 pm

•  Emerald Empire Chapter - Tuesday, September 24 @ 6:30 pm

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