2023
A N N U A L
R E P O R T
2023 has not been the best year for wild steelhead in the Pacific Northwest with poor runs of summer steelhead to the North Umpqua and the Skeena River to name but a few. But returns proved more favorable than initially projected on the Columbia River, with twice as many wild steelhead passing Bonneville Dam—a total (as of this writing) of almost 41,000 fish. This sliver of good news allowed angling to remain open on major Columbia River tributaries like the Deschutes, Klickitat, John Day, Grande Ronde and Clearwater. But we must remember that this year’s wild steelhead returns represent only 70% of an already low current ten-year average. It’s hardly time to let our guard down. At The Conservation Angler, we’ve been working doggedly in multiple public forums to advocate for state and federal management plans and policies that make wild steelhead matter. In the following pages, we’ve highlighted some of our key accomplishments/activities in 2023, and outlined some of high priority initiatives for 2024.
2023 Accomplishments •
$1,000,000 Secured for Independent Economic, Scientific and Ecologic Evaluation of Oregon Hatcheries
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Better Beaver Management/ Protection in Oregon
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Most Extensive Scientific Literature Review of Hatchery Impacts on Wild Salmonids Published in Peer-Reviewed Journal Fisheries Management and Ecology.
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TCA Petitions to List Olympic Peninsula Wild Steelhead Accepted for Review and a Final Determination is Imminent. Kamchatka Update: KSP Ongoing Despite the Inability of Western and European Anglers to Participate.
2024 Goals •
Expansion of KSP Style Program to North America
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Ongoing Willamette River Hatchery Reforms
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Continued Reform of Hatchery Practices and Funding in the Columbia and Snake Rivers
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Apply a Hydro/Habitat/Hatchery/ Harvest Approach to Deschutes River Basin Recovery Ensure the Third-Party Study Evaluating the Oregon’s Hatchery Program Matches the Scope of the Legislature’s Direction.
Cover photo by John McMillan.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS In the 2023 Oregon Legislative Session $1,000,000 Secured for Independent Scientific and Ecologic Evaluation of Oregon Hatcheries The Oregon Legislature directed the Department of Fish and Wildlife to procure a comprehensive third-party study evaluating the economic costs and benefits, ecological impacts and the climate vulnerability of the State’s hatchery system. TCA championed this study with Legislative allies and to give that hatchery evaluation heft, TCA helped secure $1 million in funding. TCA’s efforts were championed by House Speaker Dan Rayfield, legislative leadership and their staff. Progress on Water Resources and Restructured the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission We supported passage of a number of positive water resourcesrelated bills and we truly dug into the passage of HB 3086 that restructured the Fish and Wildlife Commission. The Commission remains proportionally representative, Commissioner qualifications were broadened, and the new bill preserved the requirement that all commissioners represent the public interest of all Oregonians. Better Beaver Management/Protection Since the Hudson Bay Company heavily trapped beavers in the early 1800s, Oregon’s salmon and steelhead streams have been suffering without nature’s preeminent stream health engineer. It has not been an easy road for beavers, and for quite some time they have been categorized as a predator species in the state of Oregon. This status made them vulnerable to immediate lethal removal if their natural tendencies threatened human-made infrastructure. TCA is very proud of the coalition effort securing passage of HB 3464, which removes beavers from the state predatory animal list. Beavers, Oregon’s State Animal, have now been placed back under management by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, who will provide the first line of management oversight for beavers statewide.
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS Most Extensive Scientific Literature Review of Hatchery Impacts on Wild Salmonids Published in Peer-Reviewed Journal Fisheries Management and Ecology. After four years of scholarly study, a team of international researchers led by TCA’s Science Director John McMillan (and including Brian Morrison, Nick Chambers, Greg Ruggerone, Louis Bernatchez, Jack Stanford, Helen Neville) has published a new review of scientific literature on the potential impacts of hatchery fish on wild salmon, trout, and char populations. Their new paper, “A global synthesis of peer-reviewed research on the effects of hatchery salmonids on wild salmonids,” was published this summer and is openly available in the peer-reviewed journal Fisheries Management and Ecology. The review identified 206 publications from 1970 – 2021 that focused explicitly on anadromous and resident salmonids across North America, Europe, and Asia. Of those, 83% reported hatchery salmonids had some type or level of adverse impact on wild salmonids, while only 3% reported beneficial hatchery effects. The balance of remaining publications were either indeterminate or did not find an adverse or beneficial effect. The results revealed a wide array of adverse genetic impacts on wild stocks, ranging from reduced diversity to altered population structure. Adverse effects were not limited to freshwater, however. There is a substantial body of science indicating that releases of huge numbers of hatchery pink salmon have negatively impacted growth, survival, and age and size of several species of wild salmon and steelhead in the North Pacific. Although beneficial effects were infrequent, they tended to occur when diversity was prioritized and releases were used to provide a short-term boost in abundance – such as the Hood Canal steelhead project in Washington State. Ultimately, the results should not be a surprise- in fact, it is the third large-scale synthesis that has produced the same conclusions. A 1990 publication evaluated 316 salmon/steelhead hatchery programs across North America and another in 2010 evaluated research on salmonids and other fishes in North America – and both produced similar findings. TCA will ensure policy makers and funders understand the implications of this review on future fishery management actions. 3
A global synthesis of peer-reviewed research on the effects of hatchery salmonids on wild salmonids By John R. Macmillan, Brain Morrison, Nick Chambers, Greg Ruggerone, Louis Bernatchez, Jack Sanford, Helen Neville
Read the paper
ACCOMPLISHMENTS TCA Petition to List Olympic Peninsula Wild Steelhead Accepted for Review and a Final Determination is Imminent The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced in February 2023 that it would begin a status review to determine whether imperiled Olympic Peninsula steelhead should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The agency’s February decision came in response to an August 2022 petition filed by The Conservation Angler and Wild Fish Conservancy. Olympic Peninsula steelhead populations have been in serious decline due to harvest and hatchery impacts. Long-term trends show a long decline. These steelhead are already recognized as a candidate species by NMFS and their initial finding (known as the “90-day finding”) under the ESA determined that our jointly filed opinion presented “substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action (a listing as threatened) may be warranted.”
The Hoh River is just one of the rivers where wild steelhead would be protected if Olympic Peninsula Steelhead populations are listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Photo by Guido Rahr
An eventual listing will prompt local, state and tribal cooperation to protect steelhead. And though beloved by many, they are threatened with the risk of extinction from multiple human-caused threats to habitat and from current harvest and hatchery practices. TCA filed the petition because our experts believe it is critical that we change our management of Olympic Peninsula steelhead to halt the long-term decline – and that it is time to rebuild and restore these steelhead – and not let them slip further towards extinction due to continued overfishing and hatchery releases.
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS Kamchatka Update: KSP Ongoing Despite the Inability of Western and European Anglers to Participate. Since 2020, beginning with the COVID pandemic and followed by the on-going Ukraine-Russia war, we have been unable to confidently provide for expedition participation by non-Russian sponsors to our camps on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Over this period, we have supported and funded a multi-month-long presence on Kvachina/ Snotalvayam and Utkholok rivers to continue the world’s longeststanding scientific monitoring program and anti-poaching presence that our KSP sponsors have supported since 1994. It is almost certain that adverse international conditions will again limit our ability to conduct full-scale operations in 2023. TCA will not advise that travel is a safe option in light of the unequivocal Department of State admonition for US citizens to leave Russia due to the military invasion of Ukraine. Over these past four years, TCA has greatly appreciated your ongoing and steadfast support for the KSP and our limited field activities which have been secured to maintain the on-going scientific analysis, anti-poaching presence and protection of 34 years of wild steelhead conservation gains. Despite having to postpone western sponsor participation in KSP field activities in 2023, TCA again funded a months-long scientific/ anti-poaching presence – a barebones field program – but one that still requires an annual expenditure that can exceed $60,000. TCA has secured a substantial portion of these funds from KSP friends and supporters in each of the past four years – and for that we and Kamchatka wild steelhead will be eternally grateful. We recognize that the lengthy delay in resumption of full-scale KSP operations imposes uncertainty about when sponsors might again join future expeditions. In recognition of your loyalty and support, TCA rolled over all 2023 bookings to 2024, and any 2024 bookings over to 2025. The inconveniences of having the trip of a lifetime on hold chafe at all of us. But make no mistake about our resolve – The Kamchatka Steelhead Project is still providing wild steelhead conservation by preventing poaching and allowing Dr. Kirill Kuzishchin and his small team continue the world’s most extensive wild steelhead research program. I hope you all know how much we miss being in Kamchatka – it is heart-breaking – but we will not give up hope.
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A member of KSP’s anti-poaching team recovers an abandoned illegal net. Photo by Dave Moskowitz
It’s hoped that the study of wild steelhead in still-healthy watersheds in Alaska and British Columbia will contribute to maintaining and recovering healthy steelhead populations as has been accomplished on Kamchatka. Photo by John McMillan.
Expansion of KSP Style Program to North America
Key Initiatives for 2024
TCA is very excited to initiate a new program to import the Kamchatka Steelhead Project’s angler-based scientific program to North America – exploring initially in Alaska and British Columbia. TCA is in the process of hiring a new staff member as the Alaska-British Columbia Steelhead Program Director who will develop this program from the ground up to import the essence of the angler-based KSP science program to North American steelhead rivers, where anglers catch steelhead in the company of trained biologists, who capture key data points that will build a knowledgebase on steelhead diversity, abundance, distribution and productivity. The goal will be to establish pilot programs on two wild steelhead rivers for the 2024 season.
Olympic Peninsula Steelhead Petition Implementation NOAA should issue its decision on whether to list Olympic Peninsula steelhead as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). If listed, TCA will be deeply involved in the development of ESA regulatory programs as well as in the review and comment on hatchery and harvest plans that WDFW and the tribes must prepare to comply with the ESA.
Ongoing Willamette River Hatchery Reforms TCA and our partners Willamette River Keeper and Northwest Environmental Defense Center have successfully challenged ODFW’s McKenzie Hatchery Operations that were polluting the McKenzie River. Our legal action will result in less temperature pollution in wild Chinook habitat. We will also finally get to court in our challenge to the production and release of nonnative hatchery summer steelhead in the Willamette River in 2024.
Hatchery Reform in the Columbia and Snake Rivers TCA and our partners will continue fighting for hatchery reform in the Columbia and Snake Basin in 2024. Current and proposed hatchery operations and expansions continue to dull the recovery response to collective measures aimed at wild steelhead and salmon populations. The ongoing reliance on hatcheries to recover depressed salmonids ignores the deep scientific understanding and evidence of the adverse impacts of continued
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The Deschutes River is resilient, but could be loved to death if those who love her are not mindful. She needs an All-Hands Approach on all the threats she faces. Photo by Robert Sheley.
hatchery operations and does not acknowledge the lost opportunity costs of massive investments in a failed recovery measure.
Deschutes River Basin Initiative 2024-2025 The Deschutes River in Oregon is arguably the finest river in the lower 48 for rainbow trout and summer steelhead. But all is not well on the Deschutes as summer steelhead have not been meeting spawning escapement goals and closures and partial closures have become the norm rather than the exception. Despite some arguments to the contrary, there is no silver bullet solution. The Deschutes River deserves a comprehensive all-hands approach so that threats posed by deteriorating habitat conditions, dam presence and operations, hatchery operations and harvest management are ALL addressed by all concerned parties, all the time. Anything less disrespects what the Deschutes means to generations of anglers who have enjoyed her bounty and to those anglers yet to spend their first day on this River. The Conservation Angler will propose a set of actions that address all of the threats facing the Deschutes River. In 2024, we’ll begin tackling these threats and we look forward to working with all of the organizations who share our concern and commitment to protecting and restoring one of the great rivers of the west and its iconic wild trout and steelhead.
Ensure the Third-Party Study Evaluating the Oregon’s Hatchery Program Matches the Scope of the Legislature’s Direction. TCA will be working to ensure ODFW complies with the legislative directive to complete the million-dollar, independent third-party study of its hatchery system from an economic, ecological and climate change vantage by 2025.
Continue Operation of The Osprey Journal TCA will continue to oversee the publication of The Osprey Journal under a cooperative international management committee. The revised Osprey has attracted many new subscribers, creating solid financial footing and the ability to increase its distribution of essential science and policy articles about wild steelhead and salmon.
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Your Support Shows That Wild Steelhead and Salmon Matter.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Pete Soverel - Edmonds, WA (Chair)
Though our reach is broad and our watchdog activities run deep, TCA is a small organization. We run very lean, with four full-time staffers and a very engaged board of directors and scientific advisors, as well as some talented and committed volunteers. Our operating budget – which covers our litigation activities as well as staff salaries – is less than $500,000. It’s not an exaggeration to say that when you support TCA, you get a lot of bang for your conservation buck. Salaries: $321,658 Total 2023 Annual Budget: Litigation Costs: $22,728 $440,936 Travel: $5,785 Osprey Costs: $35,263 KSP: $14,874 Administrative Costs: $37,423 Marketing/Fund-raising costs: $3,205
2024 poses exciting new developments for TCA. The expansion of our proven KSP-model to some of the wildest steelhead watersheds in North America will greatly increase our scientific understanding of the species’ life cycles, filling in crucial blanks to the world’s longest-running steelhead research program. But of course, it will take money. To execute our plan – while maintaining our ongoing policy and legal advocacy work – we’ll need to budget for two additional positions, plus the program costs necessary to develop infrastructures with lodge/outfitter partners. We estimate these expenses to approach an additional $200,000, increasing our annual budget to nearly $700,000. No small ask. But TCA has never been a “color within the lines,” “business-as-usual” kind of organization. We’ve never been afraid to take unpopular positions nor make unconventional requests if that’s what the well-being of the fish requires. TCA would rather make friends than enemies—but we’re not afraid to stand our ground and raise our voice to ensure the future of wild fish populations that have no voice of their own.
Tom Pero - Bothell, WA (Vice Chair) Dan Burns - Vancouver, BC Otis Fugelso - Chapel Hill, NC Peter Herzog - Sanger, CA Karl Konecny - Glide, OR David Moskowitz - Secretary (ex officio) Jonathan Olch - Oakley, UT Jim O’Neill - Bozeman, MT Robert Sheley - Portland, OR Christine Soverel - Mercer Island, WA Adam Tavender - Comox, BC James Van Loan - Idyllwild, OR (emeritus) SCIENTIFIC ADVISORS
Bill Bakke - Portland, OR Kirill Kuzishchin - Moscow, Russian Federation Jim Lichatowich - Scappoose, OR Bill McMillan - Concrete, WA Jack Stanford - Twisp, WA Rick Williams - Boise, ID
We have an established model for getting results, a model built on the best available science, which shows that policies that support wild steelhead productivity have the most promise for one day returning our fish to their former abundance. We hope you’ll choose to support The Conservation Angler as we work to ensure that future generations will experience the thrill of the wild steelhead’s grab of their cast, or the sight of wild fish climbing waterfalls to reach their natal waters. Sincerely yours,
David Moskowitz
Pete Soverel
Executive Director
Board Chairman
CONTRIBUTE
PO Box 13121, Portland, OR 97213 www.theconservationangler.org 8