Smoke signals., June 01, 2009, Page 7, Image 7

JUNE 1,2009
Smoke Signals 7
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Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Kool and the Gang perform at Spirit Mountain Casino's Events Center
on Saturday, May 23.
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British singer Joe Cocker performs at Spirit Mountain Casino's Events
Center on Thursday, May 28.
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Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy greets a member of the United
Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization delegation
during the group's visit to the Tribal campus on Tuesday, May 1 2.
Tribal Council members greeted and shook hands with each visitor
and spoke briefly to the group before they visited the Education
Division and had lunch with the Elders at the Elders' Activity Center.
Below, Fadime Kar shares the contents of a gift bag that was given
to each UNESCO visitor with, from left, Tribal members Dyshani
Eastman, Daysia Duran, Madalyn Volz and Tanlai Butler.
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Pilott project opens YamhillD River tto flsBiimig
By Dean Rhodes I t j n winter steelhead are not critical t
Smoke Signals editor
A pilot project started this year
by the Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife opened a section of the
south fork of the Yamhill River on
May 23 to retention of hatchery
trout for the first time in more than
a decade. ,
A five-mile stretch of the river
just upstream of Willamina was
stocked with approximately 2,000
rainbow trout before the May 23
opening day of trout season, and
will be again two weeks later.
The upper limits of this section
are the Gold Creek Road bridge
where it crosses the Yamhill River,
about two miles downstream of
Fort Hill. The fish were reared
over the past winter at Fish and
Wildlife's Roaring River Hatchery
near Scio and range from 8 to 12.
inches long.
The South Fork Yamhilltrout
fishing season is new and required
special consideration and approval
by the state Fish and Wildlife Com
mission. Trout slocking in Oregon's rivers
was common 20 years ago. How
ever, the practice has almost ceased
Photo courtesy of Natural Resources
A five-mile stretch of the Yamhill River just upstream of Willamina was
stocked with approximately 2,000 rainbow trout before the May 23 opening
day of trout season.
out of concern over possible effects
to threatened salmon and steelhead
populations. Since the late 1990s,
trout stocking has taken place
almost exclusively in lakes and
ponds, where trout do not compete
with salmon and steelhead for food
and cover.
Tom Murtagh, district fish biolo
gist for the department's North Wil
lamette Watershed, grew up fishing
for trout in Oregon's streams and
wanted to give youth the same op
portunity. By carefully planning the timing
of releases so they do not overlap
with the outmigration of steelhead
s molts and by using triploid trout,
which are unable to reproduce,
Murtagh garnered the support of
the federal government and key
stakeholder groups.
Support for the new trout sea
son was possible because Yamhill
winter steelhead are not critical to
the overall recovery of upper Wil
lamette River winter steelhead.
The South Fork Yamhill trout
fishery will be open through Oct.
31 from its confluence with the
North Yamhill near McMinnville,
upstream about 20 miles to Rock
Creek near Grand Ronde.
Only five adipose fin-clipped trout
may be retained daily. All of the
hatchery fish that may be kept have
had their adipose fins removed so
they can be easily identified. All
wild fish with intact adipose fins
must be released unharmed.
There is no size limit on marked
hatchery fish. In addition, fishing is
limited to artificial flies and lures
to protect native fish that would be
prone to injury if they swallowed
baited hooks.
Murtagh said the trout will be
released in multiple locations be
tween Gold Creek Road bridge
and Willamina because that is the
stretch of the South Fork Yamhill
that has the most public access.
Yamhill River Road runs parallel
to much of this section and provides
adequate turnouts and parking at
several locations near the river. O