12
Wednesday, September 1, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
STEELHEAD: Numerous
problems contributing
to declining numbers
fishery to urge that it be
shut down for a year. The
Associated Press reported
that <a coalition of conser-
vation and fishing groups
sent a letter to the Oregon,
Washington, and Idaho
agencies that manage fish
and wildlife requesting an
immediate closure of recre-
ational steelhead fisheries
on the Columbia River, the
Lower Snake River, and their
tributaries.=
Erickson, who guides for
The Fly Fisher9s Place in
Sisters, said that a shutdown
would have some impact on
the local business.
<We pursue steelhead in
addition to trout on multi-day
trips,= he said.
That amounts to 10 to 15
trips in a year.
<It does affect us a little
Continued from page 1
bit,= he said.
this year is the lowest ever
Erickson said he agrees
recorded. As of this week,
with guides who are joining
just over 29,000 steelhead
conservation organizations
passed Bonneville Dam since
in advocating closing the
July 1 4 that9s less than half
fishery.
the average of the past five
<I think that9s good; I
years.=
think that9s noble,= he said.
Steelhead trout hatch
<It9s guides walking the walk,
in freshwater rivers and
talking the talk.=
streams, migrate to the ocean,
However, he noted, simply
and return to fresh water to
shutting recreational fishing
spawn.
for a year won9t fix what is
Sisters-based fly-
becoming a chronic
fishing guide Steve
problem.
Erickson says that
<It9s the low-
the declining num-
hanging fruit,= he
bers represent an
said. <It9s the least
economic threat to
impactful solution
fishing guides, but
possible.=
even more danger-
Erickson identi-
ously, a serious
fies an interlinked
threat to the ecology
set of conditions
of the region.
that contribute to
<It9s pretty dire,=
steelhead decline,
he said, noting
including habi-
that the record low
tat degradation;
comes on the heels
offshore netting;
of years of decline
gill-netting on the
in the 10-year mov-
Columbia River;
ing average on
seal predation; and
returns. <The bar9s
water-temperature
been going down for
management.
the past five or six
<There
are
years.=
numerous problems
PHOTO COURTESY STEVE ERICKSON that point toward the
The conditions
A
precipitous
drop
in
steelhead
numbers is of grave epicenter.=
have led even those
concern
to
fishing
guides
like
Steve
Erickson (right) of
who make part of
The Oregon
Sisters.
their living on the
Department of Fish
Sisters
Dental
WE ARE HERE
FOR YOU!
Trevor Frideres, D . M . D .
Greg Everson, D . M . D .
and Wildlife lists several keys
to recovery of populations for
salmon and steelhead:
" Protect and restore criti-
cal estuary and tributary
habitat.
" Continue to set sport and
commercial fishing seasons
that emphasize the harvest of
hatchery fish with minimum
impact on wild populations.
" Propose ways in which
the Columbia River hydro-
power system can be better
managed to protect juvenile
and adult fish, and reduce
negative impacts on down-
stream habitat.
" Minimize the number
of <straying= hatchery fish
that spawn in the wild and,
where appropriate, establish
wild fish sanctuaries in cer-
tain watersheds by excluding
hatchery fish.
" Reduce competition with
non-native and hatchery fish
in the estuary, and predation
by pikeminnow, Caspian
terns, and marine mammals.
Such a significant decline
in numbers poses a prob-
lem even if states undertake
actions like closing fisheries.
<You9re not going to
have this magical rebound
where you have a great year,
because you arithmetically
can9t,= Erickson said. <You
don9t have enough population
to reproduce.=
The guide worries not only
about business and about this
particular fishery, but the cas-
cading effect on the whole
ecology of the region, which
is profoundly interconnected.
He believes that long-term
solutions have to come from
<a level above local, state,
and maybe even regional
influences.=
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