Steelheaders Working on Hatchery Reform

By Bob Oleson, Co-President of the Board and volunteer Policy Advocate

The history of hatcheries has been one of continuous education and improvement. Most started with the need to mitigate the intentional destruction of habitats. The thought was that man could produce fish equivalent to what the lost habitat had provided. The plan was to produce fish at the lowest possible cost, not knowing (or ignoring) the resulting effects on the quality of the fish and their genetics.

A lot has been learned and to the extent there has been the will and funding, hatcheries have improved to produce a better product with minimum or no adverse effects on wild populations. The fear is that the current investigation is primarily focused on costs, not quality. We don’t want to see hatcheries and hatchery practices moving backwards for the sake of the dollar. We don’t want to see the investigation ignore the mitigation responsibility that created the need for hatcheries in the first place.

There are several concerns with what we know of the preliminary future vision.

1. How will the state’s volunteer hatcheries fit with the future plans?
2. New technology and emerging science point the way to best practices and hatchery reforms.  Will the future vision be able to incorporate these reforms?
3. We have seen production at some hatcheries having to be destroyed because of disease.  Will the new vision create greater risk for larger populations of fish becoming diseased?  
4. ODFW operates hatcheries owned and financed by the Feds. How will these be affected?
5. Hatchery produced fish that have returned to the hatchery can be used to provide nutrients to streams that have reduced returns due to degraded habitat and/or lost connectivity. How will this important hatchery benefit continue with the new system?
6. Wild broodstock has been shown to produce a better product with less or no negative impact on wild production. Will these programs be able to become more universal under the new plan?

Earlier this summer, it should be reported, a few of us angler advocates attended the introductory meeting on the evolving project to assess and reorganize our state’s hatchery system. The meeting was intended to explain the evaluation and information collection process now occurring via a group of consultants. Their specialized organizations are helping the legislature and ODFW build a blueprint plan which is meant to give our state a more modern and sustainable hatchery system. As always, there could be little devils in the details that are yet to emerge. So far we have not received adequate answers to the questions shown above. Yet in the introductory meeting at ODFW, facilitators from Willamette Partnership spent much of their time effectively explaining the value of this project and emphasizing the importance of obtaining views from a wide range of stake holders. There will be an examination of funding needs and how to balance economic contributions with conservation impacts. Tom VanderPlatt and Bob Rees are already involved in the Hatchery Assessment work group.

Contractors are now studying the various components of the hatchery system. The first third-party assessment is focused on the future need for hatcheries. The second one presents an economic analysis of state hatcheries. And the third assessment deals with hatchery infrastructure alternatives and consolidations. A final report will be compiled and it will assist the 2025 legislature in making decisions. From our perspective there is no question that Oregonians want our waterways well stocked with fish - this will require improved production and other reforms. 

We should encourage our chapter activists to follow these studies and reports. Some additional information is already available on the agency’s website. It is hoped that during the current election cycle many of us will take the time to discuss this important project with local legislative leaders and candidates. We should encourage their involvement and ask for feedback. Legislators know thousands of their constituents buy fishing and hunting licenses, and when issues are important to groups of us they tend to pay attention to our communications and requests. At the state house, ANWS works in a low-key and persistent fashion. Through good relationships we coordinate with numerous public officials and colleagues. Your involvement with both the policy process and your local legislators would be important contributions. However, at this time we can only make limited predictions about the next session and how our interests will be treated. This is partly due to the fact most of the 20 people in top legislative leadership positions will be new faces, and natural resource budgets are expected to be tighter than usual.

A Grant That Will Assist Chapter Programs

By Norm Ritchie, Co-President of the Board

We are sincerely thankful to the Saling Foundation for a grant aimed at helping chapters with their program goals. Carral Saling was a long time member who passed away in 2002. His estate set up a foundation that possibly among other things provides grants to “Maintain and Enhance Oregon’s streams and fisheries”. Our grant is helping our Emerald Empire chapter replace a dilapidated lawn tractor at their volunteer steelhead hatchery. The Columbia River and Tualatin Valley Chapters will receive funds to help pay for their Veterans’ Fishing events next year. There will also be several new Egg to Fry aquarium systems purchased to reduce the waiting list of schools wanting to participate in this education program. Along with other funding sources, we may be able to conduct a Family Fish Camp event in 2025.

Better Late Than Never

By Norm Ritchie, Co-President of the Board

Prior to the pandemic we hosted the Salmon Hawg Open Tournament (SHOT) in Tillamook. It brought anglers and the community together and it generated funds dedicated to the Tillamook County sport fisheries. A couple years ago we used $1,000 from that dedicated fund toward protecting and restoring Nehalem basin estuary habitat along with an advocacy effort toward other funding and support for the project. The effort was a success, but we just learned from the Lower Nehalem Community Trust that we hadn’t ponied up the funds for restoration work! That has been rectified and we are chalking up another success for the NW Steelheaders’ mission. Our thanks and appreciation go out to the Lower Nehalem Community Trust for their efforts and patience.

By Jack Fleming, Operations Manager

Since late March 2024, I have worked for the Association of Northwest Steelheaders as Operations Manager. My responsibilities include maintenance of our membership records and distribution of the master record to our chapters, maintenance of our website, and editing this newsletter - among many other things. Although I don't have much of a background in fishing, I had the pleasure of joining Jeff Hernandez and a few other Steelheaders for a great day on both the Columbia and the Willamette back in June and I look forward to getting out again this fall.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions or suggestions at opsmgr@anws.org!

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 McLoughlin 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

If you have the Fred Meyer app on your phone, it's easier than ever to identify ANWS as your Community Awards recipient! Please see the picture above for instructions.

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

Most 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

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

•  Salem Chapter - Tuesday, September 17 @ 7 pm

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

•  Mid-Valley Chapter - Wednesday, October 2 @ 6 pm

•  Sandy River Chapter - Thursday, October 3 @ 7 pm

•  Columbia River Chapter - Tuesday, October 8 @ 6:30 pm

•  McLoughlin Chapter - Tuesday, October 8 @ 7 pm

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