Elwha, Nisqually rivers designated gene banks to protect wild steelhead

08/15/2016 – John Snyder- NWFN    OLYMPIA –The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) today designated the Nisqually and Elwha rivers as wild steelhead gene banks to help conserve wild steelhead populations. Under that designation, both rivers will be off-limits to releases of steelhead raised in state hatcheries, which can pose risks to native …

Washington Hatcheries allowed to release steelhead into Puget Sound once again.

04/19/2016 – J. W. Snyder – Northwest Fishing News   WDFW hatcheries releasing steelhead under newly approved federal permits   OLYMPIA – State fishery managers have begun releasing more than 500,000 juvenile steelhead from five state fish hatcheries into Puget Sound rivers after receiving word from NOAA-Fisheries that those facilities meet federal environmental standards. For …

WDFW Designates The Last of the Wild Steelhead Gene Bank rivers For The Lower Columbia River

03/16/2016 – John Snyder – NWFN   OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will no longer release hatchery-reared steelhead in the Grays River to help preserve the wild steelhead population near the mouth of the Columbia River. The Chinook River, which flows into the Columbia 15 miles farther downstream, will also …

Christmas trees helping native fish

02/09/2016 – J. W. Snyder – Northwest Fishing News (NWFN)   ROSEBURG, Ore – The holiday season may be over, but Douglas County’s fish are just getting their gifts. December’s used Christmas trees were recently placed in East Fork Rock Creek and Buck Creek to enhance fish habitat. “We put the Christmas trees in streams …