There are few places anywhere in this world and very few in the lower 48 that have self-sustaining populations of steelhead. One of them is the Umpqua system, and despite the decline nationwide, there are still people who want to harvest them. Their thinking is that meeting native escapement goals is a credible reason why it should be permitted. It is important that we all try and preserve this native run of winter steelhead and make sure they will be around for generations to come. Please help Scott Howell, Matt Klara, Frank Moore and the rest of us steelheaders that want to keep this gem for generations to come.
Currently, the retention of native steelhead is prohibited on the Umpqua, but there are many locals that are fighting to overturn that law. Please sign the petition to support the current regulations that require the release of all native steelhead on the Umpqua system. I am proud to be 1083 on the petition.
4 comments:
signed
Hey guys... wild fish are safe on the Umpqua for the next five years thanks to folks like Frank Moore. Earlier this fall, the ODFW commission already passed a no-kill regulation on wild fish. The real problem facing Umpqua fish is habitat. The BLM and timber industry want to cut riparian protections in half on all of Western Oregon BLM land. The entire Umpqua watershed and spawning tribs are pretty much BLM owned. See for yourself: http://oregonflyfishingblog.com/2008/11/21/oregon-fly-fishing-blog-joins-trout-unlimited-and-other-conservation-groups-in-opposition-to-the-wopr/
If you want to protect wild fish on the Umpqua, contact Oregon's Governor Ted Kulongoski and tell him the BLM's Western Oregon plan is a disaster.
1094 for me Mike!
Anything a fellow Canadian Chrome hunter can do to help the cause!
Thanks for the update Matt and the information on how we can help riparian habitat. We are aware of the current regulations but also aware of the threat in the future for yet another rule change. If we saw a boom in the native populations with the current regulations, we could also see a push to bring back the retention. Five years is a lot of time to make sure we have enough opposition for such a battle. Tighlines!
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