Salmon Creek Grange hosts a monthly Family Fun Night from 6 to 9 p.m on the first Friday of every month at 1900 N.E Everyone is welcome to play games and enjoy light snacks Subscribe Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our user agreement this is the Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for April 8 The data discussed in this report was collected between Monday The majority of steelhead angler effort on the Upper Salmon River last week was observed upstream of the East Fork Salmon River in location code 19 Angler effort between the Lemhi River and the East Fork while few anglers were observed downstream of Salmon Cooler temperatures last week led to better fishing conditions and catch rates improved in all areas upstream of Salmon The best catch rates were once again found upstream of the East Fork in location code 19 where interviewed anglers averaged 3 hours per steelhead caught Anglers interviewed downstream of the East Fork in location code 18 averaged 11 hours per steelhead caught and anglers interviewed downstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 17 averaged 13 hours per steelhead No anglers interviewed downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16 reported catching a steelhead and anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 14 hours per steelhead caught River conditions were good in all areas last week as lower temperatures allowed flows to decrease and the visibility to improve Water temperatures throughout most of the week were in the low to mid-40s before they started to increase again on Sunday The forecast for this upcoming weekend is calling for warmer temperatures with a chance of precipitation which will likely lead to less favorable river conditions downstream of the East Fork The number of detections at the PIT tag array upstream of Salmon, ID near Elevenmile continued to decline last week. The figure below is updated through April 7, 2025. Directions for querying this data were included in the March 11 steelhead fishing report which can be found by clicking here Buy Licenses Hunt Planner Hunter Ed Fishing Planner IFWF Hunt Report Report Wildlife Crime Volunteer! Report Roadkill Access to trusted news and information is urgently needed right now - and when you support WXXI’s public media mission today WXXI offers Rochester and the Finger Lakes solid trusted reporting built on a mission that uses the resources and independence of public media to serve the public good Become a monthly sustainer or increase your current sustaining gift now and your gift will be matched every month for a full year Support the facts and the truth right at the source by making a commitment to public media today your generous support for the essential coverage of WXXI is critical When Jim Maurer was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease about sixteen years ago "Physical activity is a priority," he said It has to be the first thing you think about." Genesee Land Trust recently installed an accessible observation deck at Salmon Creek Nature Preserve so birders of all abilities can enjoy their hobby.  Maurer agreed to test how well he could navigate the quarter-mile path from the parking lot to the birding platform.  Land Trust executive director Lorna Wright and a couple of her colleagues joined him on the trail which snakes through part of the 25 acres which were a cornfield before the Land Trust bought the parcel from a local farmer a few years ago it's wide-open grassland filled with native meadow plants like aster and golden rod "Which is unusual in our area and really important for grassland birds to be able to have a place to nest and call home," Wright said.  Maurer used a three-wheeled walker to travel the path he noticed the uneven surface caused by tire tracks left by the construction equipment that was used to build the platform this summer This is the kind of feedback Wright wants to hear.  that's something we have that's really top priority but we want people to get there," she said.  After walking at a pretty good pace for about a hundred yards He uses a folding chair to sit for a few minutes There is a bench around the midpoint of the trail but he thinks there should be more resting spots.  one here and one there would be good," he said Genesee Land Trust's commitment to making its lands available to people with a wide range of abilities is partly the result of their partnership with Rochester Accessible Adventures (RAA) a nonprofit that was founded in 2015 when a group of community members came together to find solutions to a recurring problem: People with disabilities did not have the same access to health and wellness activities as their peers.  A review of the Land Trust's entire operation is underway with this in mind but also things like our website and our programming," Wright added "We're working through a list of many things to continue to work on We know we're just starting the journey."  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention roughly 26% of people in the United States are living with a disability This includes individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and people with physical challenges associated with aging.  local governments and businesses to ensure that these groups can enjoy recreation spaces alongside their friends and family members.  "When we step outside of a program kind of mindset we really look at who's already providing those kinds of experiences and how can they be supported in bringing everybody in," said RAA executive director Anita O'Brien.  Nine years ago, the organization scored its first victory after encouraging Erie Canal Boat Company in Fairport to provide accessible bikes and kayaks. Today, adaptable boat launches and inclusive recreation opportunities can be found along the Canalway from Buffalo to Albany RAA also recently worked with Genesee Valley Audubon Society on a strategic inclusion plan and with Region 8 of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the amenities on its properties across eight Finger Lakes and Central New York counties.  But beyond the programs and infrastructure RAA challenges its partners to adopt an inclusive mindset and ask themselves if people with disabilities feel seen and welcomed when they visit their website or location Do they hire employees with disabilities and include them in the decisions and planning?  "I definitely felt a shift in the past five or six years of people's willingness to embrace this idea and even see around the barriers," O'Brien said.  Back on the trail at Salmon Creek Nature Preserve Jim Maurer was within sight of the accessible birding platform where he found some sturdy benches and a bird's eye view in every direction.  but Maurer enjoyed a few peaceful moments in nature he thought it took too long to reach this spot A four-wheeled walker with a seat that can be used to stop and rest at any point would have gotten him here faster And I'm believing you when you say it's downhill going back," he laughed.  O'Brien said Rochester Accessible Adventures would like to make an all-terrain motorized wheelchair available for people to use to reach spots like this She thinks local recreation planners should consider investing in them And for people who don't drive or don't have access to a vehicle RAA stresses the need for recreation sites to be on public transportation routes.  'People aren't asking for transportation out to Salmon Creek Nature Preserve' " "Well of course they're not because until recently This story was produced by WXXI's Inclusion Desk More New York State News Dear Reader,Unfortunately our comment platform isn\'t available at the moment due to issues with our paywall and authentication vendor Three excavators fought 16-foot surf to finally drag what was left of the rusted fishing boat out of the sand once and for all The Verna A II was not the last fishing vessel to run aground on the Sonoma Coast. Read our Sonoma Magazine story about the 2024 wreck and removal of the 58-foot Aleutian Storm fishing boat here. In the nine years since the Verna A II ran ashore south of Salmon Creek on the Sonoma Coast the beached vessel has become part of the landscape its decaying hull disappearing and reemerging out from the sand and surf three excavators fought 16-foot surf to finally drag what was left of the rusted fishing boat out of the sand once and for all the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Greater Farrallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries was finally made possible with funding from the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law through the NOAA Marine Debris Program there’s a lot of jurisdictions that can be involved,” said Eliza Booth of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation “It’s a lot of work coordinating permits and making sure budgets are in place a vessel retrieval and ocean cleanup company had a narrow window when the tides and winds were low enough to complete the job the last rusted remains of the Verna A II sat high on the beach waiting to be dismantled and shuttled off for recycling Excavators and skid loaders made their way back and forth from the beach to the parking lot and crews combed the sand for stray debris which started Monday is expected to run through Friday You can reach “In Your Corner” Columnist Marisa Endicott at 707-521-5470 or marisa.endicott@pressdemocrat.com On X (formerly Twitter) @InYourCornerTPD and Facebook @InYourCornerTPD You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience See these majestic and iconic fish up close and personal at one of Seattle’s most biodiverse parks Come see the Salmon returning to Pipers Creek and learn from a volunteer Salmon Steward Salmon Stewards is a partnership between Seattle Parks and Recreation and Seattle Public Utilities with support from the Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project Salmon Steward Volunteers are at Carkeek Park to answer your questions and show you around every Saturday and Sunday from November 2 until Dec 1st 11am – 2pm.  And don’t miss Salmon Celebration at Carkeek Park on Saturday Organizations will host educational booths and take part in lots of fun Salmon viewing Follow us on Facebook to learn more about our programs SPR Environmental Education | Seattle WA | Facebook Seattle Parks and Recreation promotes healthy people Image Details A Long and Winding Journey Toward the Upper Salmon RiverU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Reach Milestone in a Decades Long Project for Chinook SalmonJan 15, 2025 Written By Lena Chang On October 21 Aaron Colter took a nearly 300-mile round trip drive across central and southeastern Idaho to pick up an unusual and precious cargo – 50,000 Chinook salmon eggs.  Colter is the Hatchery Production Manager and Aquaculturist for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe’s Fish & Wildlife Department He transported the eggs from Idaho Fish and Game Assistant Hatchery Manager Sylvia Hamilton at Sawtooth Fish Hatchery on the Salmon River to the Tribes’ recently renovated Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery facility near Fort Hall this was a familiar drive that he had taken many times he took his turns a little slower and had a few more nerves knowing those small but mighty eggs were relying on him for a safe journey and that the transfer was the culmination of decades of effort The 50,000 eggs will initiate a Chinook trial to rear Chinook salmon at Crystal Springs ultimately to be released into the Yankee Fork of the upper Salmon River For the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes Fish & Wildlife Department having salmon eggs in hand along with a place to raise them is a significant milestone The Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery was purchased by Bonneville Power Administration for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes nearly 30 years ago the Tribes entered into a fish accord with Bonneville Power and other federal agencies that addressed the government’s responsibilities to the Tribes to mitigate for the effects of dams on fish and wildlife Operation of the Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery would be conducted by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.  there were numerous scientific studies and regulatory approvals to obtain in addition to troubleshooting unanticipated issues with water chemistry between rearing and release locations the Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery Chinook trials are up and running and rearing salmon to release into the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River Image DetailsRemnants and dredge spoils remain along the Yankee Fork from the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge, which operated from 1940 to 1952. Image Details“There's a fish deficit in the Salmon River basin for Chinook salmon a culturally significant species to the Tribes We are protected by a treaty right that allows us to hunt and fish these salmon and if there's no fish to hunt And so it was really important for the Tribes to pursue their own fish hatchery creating our own bank of fish to where we can provide harvest opportunities for Tribal members so we can keep practicing our treaty right we hope to bring salmon back to places that are significant to our Tribe[s] where we haven't been able to harvest for a long time and keep providing harvest opportunities for Tribal members,” said Colter.  The goal of the Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery program is to enhance the Yankee Fork Chinook salmon population that was impacted by historical mining and the construction of dams the Tribes worked to protect and enhance over five miles of the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River to promote fish habitat Once the young salmon at Crystal Springs reach the right size and age they will be released into the Yankee Fork in spring of 2025 to acclimate and imprint on the site so that they will return there as adults Fish and Wildlife Office’s Lower Snake River Compensation Plan Office has been working closely with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes to bring salmon back to culturally significant areas where they used to run more abundantly an independent scientific review panel identified an average shortfall of 16,445 adult Chinook salmon for the Lower Snake office’s program in the Salmon River.  “We've been around for 40 years trying to mitigate for the four Lower Snake dams but in some cases we haven't been successful In one case we're not successful is bringing salmon back to the homelands of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes…and where they fish and hunt this partnership is really where we provide the resources to have the professionals with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes work directly [with] the resource and bring those salmon back to their homelands hopefully in great enough numbers that folks can interact and reap the benefits of those fish coming back,” said Wiese “We want to make fish for the future; that's the whole goal of this program.” Image DetailsAaron Colter and Nate Wiese stand above newly constructed ponds at Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery IdahoThe long-time partnership between the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and Idaho Fish and Game was what made the transfer of the 50,000 eggs possible.  higher numbers of salmon return to Sawtooth Fish Hatchery resulting in a surplus of eggs from the adult females each of which can carry approximately 4,200 eggs The hatchery can house more eggs than they can raise they work to find partners who can rear them Chinook salmon are a federally listed species so the pool of potential recipients is limited Colter and the Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery were ready to take on the 50,000 – a win-win for all involved From the Lower Snake River office's perspective a rearing program at Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery benefits everyone This is a part of a larger effort to increase Chinook salmon numbers in the Salmon River part of the mitigation for losses of spring Chinook salmon associated with the construction and operation of the four Lower Snake River dams With building of the dams blocking the way for salmon the Service and others made a commitment to ensure salmon would still be there and still strive to meet that promise.  Image DetailsGetting over the final hurdles to get the hatchery online took an army of effort.  The Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery is an ideal site clean water – an essential element for rearing salmon – that springs naturally from artesian wells in the ground the grounds at Crystal Springs had overgrown and the hatchery building was dilapidated and needed to be restored.  to repairing and restoring the old hatchery building and even removing remnants of a long since passed resident porcupine experts from the Service and the Tribes and others – including folks from Service hatcheries outside the region such as Willow Beach and Mora National Fish Hatcheries – worked together to bring the Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery to life Numerous people also helped with regulatory compliance and critical administrative functions.  Wiese and Colter have been working closely together in this final stretch of a decades-long effort.  “Aaron's been here for every inch of dirt that's moved kind of building the hatchery from the ground up,” said Wiese.  “It took an army to get this going,” said Colter “We worked together to get the right equipment out here to really make stuff move There are people within the Tribes’ department that have been working on this for 30 years and they didn't get to see this come to life the eggs Colter transported in October 2024 are now in the fry stage swimming and eating at Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery until they are released into the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River this spring The Tribes and Bonneville Power also continue to pursue a new facility at another Tribally owned parcel know as Waterwheel Hatchery located on the Portneuf River on the Fort Hall Reservation.  Image DetailsChinook salmon fryWatch interviews with Aaron Colter Hatchery Production Manager and Aquaculturist for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe’s Fish & Wildlife Department Fish and Wildlife Office’s Lower Snake River Compensation Plan Office about the years of work and partnership it took to get to this point plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people Severely dry conditions during the winter of 2013-2014 blocked some species of salmon and steelhead trout from accessing their breeding grounds wiping out the populations of individual tributaries and even entire watersheds Will Boucher/California Sea Grant, via Flickr altered the ranges of three fishes — Chinook salmon and steelhead trout — in California’s northern waterways.  In a new study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences biologists found that the unusually dry winter of 2013-2014 caused some salmon and steelhead to temporarily disappear from individual tributaries and even entire watersheds along the northern California coast “California is at the southern end of the range for several species of salmon and trout from colonization and engineered control of western rivers to climate change these populations have been decimated,” said study lead author Stephanie Carlson Leopold Chair in Wildlife Biology at the University of California “Our findings provide a glimpse into how an individual extreme event can trigger the widespread and sudden collapse of multiple populations and species and potentially result in longer term range shifts.” During California’s historic multi-year drought of 2012-2016 the 2013-2014 winter was remarkable for having both very little rain and an extremely late start to the rainy season By the time the first large rainstorms arrived in late January and early February 2014 many streams and rivers in Northern California were very low preventing salmon and steelhead from completing their annual voyages upriver to spawn.    The study examined how the drought affected Chinook salmon all part of the genus known as “salmonids,” in 13 coastal watersheds ranging from Marin to Humboldt counties While all three fish species were impacted Chinook salmon were able to cope by shifting their breeding activities downstream fish monitoring data from the summer of 2014 revealed that steelhead trout had been eliminated from a number of individual tributaries and coho salmon disappeared entirely from three coastal watersheds the timing of elevated river flows was mismatched with the arrival of the fish for breeding and we saw different impacts for different species in different places,” Carlson said “The most extreme cases were coho salmon that spawn in coastal rivers that have so-called intermittent estuaries where a sandbar forms across the mouth of the estuary during the dry season There were three systems in Mendocino where the sandbar never opened the whole year and coho salmon were lost from the entire watershed.” all three species have fully recovered their original ranges This is due to both lifecycle diversity within fish populations and Salmon and steelhead can vary in how many years they spend at sea before returning home to breed; because of this some fish from the impacted rivers were still growing at sea during the 2013-2014 season and were able to return the following year to help repopulate those rivers “This complexity within populations is really important for buffering them against annual variation in climate “This underscores the importance of diversity within populations and the need to prioritize recovering life history diversity in imperiled populations to restore resilience.” were surveying salmon at two different field sites along the California coast Rhoades made the puzzling observation that juvenile steelhead trout were missing from one of her study sites in the South Fork of the Eel River Woelfle-Hazard found that coho salmon were also missing from his study sites in the Salmon Creek Watershed in Sonoma County.  Carlson began reaching out to colleagues to see if salmonid species were missing from other watersheds. She soon connected with Mariska Obedzinski, a California Sea Grant Extension Specialist and graduate student in environmental science whose team had observed similar troubling patterns in the Russian River system.  I started to understand that this was potentially a pretty widespread event,” Carlson said but also some observations of adults that had spawned at unusual times or in unusual places We pretty quickly came to the realization that something happened that limited the ability of adults to access their breeding grounds.” Through conference presentations and word of mouth Carlson continued to connect with other scientists who had documented the mysterious missing cohort of salmonid species The final paper combines datasets from Carlson’s group at UC Berkeley the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) California Sea Grant and the Mattole Salmon Group Carlson said that the large-scale analysis was facilitated because all of the organizations had adopted the CDFW’s standardized protocols for collecting fish survey data “Partnerships like this between resource managers and academia are so important for salmon recovery,” said Obedzinski “Without these statewide long-term monitoring efforts we would never be able to understand the impacts of these hydroclimatic events on salmon populations.” This type of detailed monitoring data will also be key to understanding how salmon and steelhead adapt to a warming world and what will allow them to persist in the face of increasingly variable climate conditions “It is particularly important to understand the behavioral and life history mechanisms that allow some salmonids to persist at the southern edge of their range because these allow them to survive and adapt to conditions that will advance further north under climate change,” said study senior author Mary Power a Professor of the Graduate School at UC Berkeley “These traits could be keys to salmon survival over much of their range on a warmer Earth.” Additional co-authors of the study include Kasey Pregler of UC Berkeley; Sean Gallagher of CDFW; Nathan Queener of the Mattole Salmon Group; and Sally Thompson of the University of Western Australia This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (CZP EAR-1331940 the Eel River Critical Zone Observatory and Solano County Water Authority Media Note: Download photos, video and interviews involving CDFW’s salmon work in the North Yuba River Salmon are swimming again in the North Yuba River for the first time in close to a century The fish are part of an innovative pilot project to study the feasibility of returning spring-run Chinook salmon to their historical spawning and rearing habitat in the mountains of Sierra County National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries and the U.S injected spring-run Chinook salmon eggs over a 12-mile stretch of gravel riverbed of the North Yuba River along Highway 49 just east of Downieville The fertilized eggs arrived in coolers from CDFW’s Feather River Fish Hatchery operations in Oroville Using a proven technique used by other agencies but never before attempted by CDFW fisheries scientists created dozens of man-made salmon redds using a hydraulic injection system to clear the intended nests of silt Scientists then carefully deposited the eggs up to a foot and a half deep within the gravel to mimic the actions of spawning adult salmon The intent is for the salmon to emerge from the gravel and grow as wild salmon would Four months after hydraulic egg injection occurred in the North Yuba River salmon have begun to hatch and have turned up in a rotary screw trap installed several miles downstream of the egg injection sites to collect out-migrating juveniles The first young fish were seen in the trap on Feb The young fish are being trucked downstream of Englebright Lake and released into the lower Yuba River to continue their migration to the Pacific Ocean “The North Yuba represents a really unique location for us Between the mainstem and its tributaries there is somewhere around 40 to 50 miles of habitat that is ideal for spring-run Chinook salmon for holding Fisheries Environmental Program Manager for CDFW’s North Central Region “If we can develop this pilot effort into a full reintroduction program we would be able to more than double the amount of available salmon habitat in the Yuba River watershed And that’s a huge win for spring-run Chinook salmon.” Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon are a state and federally listed threatened species They’ve been locked out of the North Yuba River’s cool clear waters since the construction of Englebright Dam in 1941 and the subsequent construction of New Bullard’s Bar Dam in the early 1960s The North Yuba’s cool waters are perhaps the most high-quality and climate-resistant habitat in the Central Valley for this species once the most abundant of all of California’s various salmon runs have a unique life history that makes them especially vulnerable to warming conditions on the Central Valley floor the fish typically return to freshwater in the spring seek out cold water habitat upstream as far as they can go and hold over the summer months before spawning in the fall Many tributaries that historically supported spring-run Chinook salmon now have dams and other barriers and the salmon trapped below dams must now survive the Central Valley’s scorching summer heat can spend up to a year in freshwater before out-migrating to the ocean All the eggs and resulting salmon in the North Yuba River pilot project have been DNA tagged for identification a practice known as “parentage-based tagging.” Every individual salmon in the North Yuba River can be identified and linked genetically to the exact set of parents that produced it during spawning at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in September “This is habitat that salmon haven’t been into for a long time so we have very little data to understand how salmon will respond,” Purdy said “By injecting these eggs into multiple locations in the North Yuba River we’re going to be able to look at how long it take for eggs to hatch and turn into yolk sac fry when and where do they rear as juvenile salmon in this new habitat So there are a number of different things that we’re going to be able to learn from this.” The reintroduction of endangered winter-run Chinook salmon to the McCloud River above Shasta Reservoir and removal of dams on the Klamath and Eel rivers are three other major salmon initiatives there are no plans to remove dams on the Yuba River as they still serve critical water supply and flood protection functions ongoing reintroduction of spring-run Chinook salmon to the North Yuba River would require a trucking component as occurs now with winter-run Chinook on the McCloud River and as takes place in the Pacific Northwest NOAA Fisheries and the Yuba Water Agency calls for improved fish passage past the U.S Army Corps of Engineers’ Daguerre Point Dam lower in the watershed which would significantly improve passage for all migratory fish species in the lower river and open up an additional 12 miles of healthy holding and spawning habitat for both green and white sturgeon Salmon Creek Flyfishers meet monthly at 6 p.m. on the last Thursday of every month at American Legion, 14011 N.E. 20th Ave., Vancouver. The next meeting is 6 to 8 p.m. April 24. Join the group to learn about tying flies and fishing. April’s speaker is Marc Williamson from Fall River Flyfishing. For more details, email salmoncreekflyclub@gmail.com this is the Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for March 4 The data discussed in this report was collected between Wednesday The first thing I wanted to mention in this week’s report is that the Deadwater ice jam opened up on Monday the shore ice and few remaining ice bridges downstream of Deadwater should clear out quickly IDFG creel personnel began interviewing anglers between Corn Creek and Challis Angler effort downstream of Deadwater in location codes 14 and 15 was low mostly due to the muddy river conditions that area experienced prior to the ice jam opening up Angler effort upstream of Deadwater in location codes 16 and 17 was relatively high for this time of year The highest effort levels were observed on Saturday as many boat anglers got out on the water to take advantage of the warm weather Average catch rates last week varied considerably between areas Anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location codes 14 and 15 were dealing with muddy water that made the fishing difficult Anglers interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork Salmon River in location code 14 did not report catching a steelhead and anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged 41 hours per steelhead caught Anglers interviewed downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16 averaged 19 hours per steelhead caught and anglers interviewed downstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 17 also averaged 19 hours per steelhead caught Few interviews were obtained from anglers fishing upstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 18 and no anglers reported catching a steelhead from that area River conditions were mixed last week due to the last of the ice jams that were still in place the river below Deadwater had poor visibility all of last week water temperatures are also rapidly increasing in this area (see figure below) River conditions from upstream of Deadwater to the Pahsimeroi River were more favorable for fishing last week The river was cloudy most days in this area with between 2-4 feet of visibility Water temperatures in this area were also getting up into the upper 30s or low 40s in the afternoons the river still had some ice jams remaining in place last week which caused reduced visibility as they were receding so we expect river conditions above Challis to also improve considerably moving into this coming weekend The last thing we wanted to mention in this week’s report is the status of boat ramps IDFG Screen Shop employees opened up all boat ramps between Carmen Creek and North Fork on Monday all the boat ramps from Salmon upstream to Watts Bridge are also usable The man was arrested with a concealed knife in his possession A Cotati man who threatened online to bring a knife to his son’s school was arrested hours later with a concealed blade in his possession, authorities said. The threat prompted an evacuation Monday at the Occidental campus was taken into custody that afternoon after deputies stopped his car in Penngrove according to Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office He faces charges of making criminal threats resisting an officer and attempting to possess a weapon on school grounds Clark remains in the Sonoma County jail on $250,000 bail He is scheduled to appear Wednesday in Sonoma County Superior Court Clark repeatedly posted online about his son and warned law enforcement to take notice he wrote that he planned to see his child the next day and urged someone to “tell the sheriff.” Days earlier he claimed he would stop eating until he saw his son again posting that he would go to the school armed with a 4-inch tactical blade Monday and responded to Harmony Elementary School and Salmon Creek Middle School in Occidental School officials locked down the site and later evacuated students all of the roughly 220 students had been reunited with their families superintendent of the Harmony Union School District Morgan said a lockdown drill conducted just weeks earlier helped staff and students respond smoothly with counseling and mental health support available saying a Sheriff's Office investigator had not responded and that he was heading to the school himself Deputies stopped him about 30 minutes later in Penngrove arresting him before he could reach the campus Court records show Clark has a history of legal issues A loved one attempted to get a domestic violence restraining order against him in 2018 his partner filed in Sonoma County court to dissolve their relationship and seek custody and support their children You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com this is the Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for April 15 Steelhead angler effort remained high last week upstream of the East Fork Salmon River in location code 19 while continuing to decline in all other areas Catch rates in location code 19 also remained excellent with interviewed anglers averaging 4 hours per steelhead caught Anglers interviewed downstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 17 averaged 11 hours per steelhead caught but most of the catch occurred earlier in the week before poor river conditions started to set in on Thursday Anglers interviewed between the Pahsimeroi River and the East Fork Salmon River and no anglers reported catching a steelhead downstream of the Lemhi River in location codes 15 and 16.  River conditions were good across all areas at the start of last week but warmer temperatures midweek resulted in increased flow and poor visibility in all areas downstream of the East Fork by the weekend clear river conditions were only observed upstream of Valley Creek near the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery while river conditions below Valley Creek were cloudy but still fishable Water temperatures ranged from 40° F near Stanley to 50° F downstream of North Fork The number of detections at the PIT tag array upstream of Salmon, ID near Elevenmile continued to drop last week. The figure below is updated through April 13, 2025. Directions for querying this data were included in the March 11 steelhead fishing report which can be found by clicking here As of Thursday, April 10, the Pahsimeroi Hatchery has trapped 2,955 adipose-clipped steelhead, and the Sawtooth Fish Hatchery has trapped 3,285 adipose-clipped steelhead. For up-to-date return numbers to either of these hatcheries, anglers are encouraged to check the IDFG Steelhead Hatchery Returns webpage.  and the Upper Salmon River has started to thaw we’ve also seen an increase in the number of calls from anglers asking about the status of the Deadwater ice jam so we thought now would be a good time to issue a brief update.  The ice jam likely reached its maximum extent last week when it made it approximately two miles upstream of the Tower Creek boat ramp but it has opened up to the Red Rock access site Given that the 10-day weather forecast is calling for above average temperatures our best guess is that the ice jam will fully open within one to two weeks from now Once the Deadwater ice jam does fully open we will issue another article to the IDFG website.  All boat ramps between Deadwater and Tower Creek are currently unusable due to the ice jam We are planning on opening IDFG boat ramps within this area in early March The last thing we wanted to mention is that our spring steelhead creel will begin next week and that the first Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing report for spring 2025 will be issued the week of March 3rd If anyone has questions or would like additional information then please call the IDFG Salmon Regional Office at (208) 756-2271.  This is the Upper Salmon River steelhead fishing update for the week of November 18 through November 24 Inconsistent weather and river conditions made fishing more challenging on some days last week but many anglers still managed to catch steelhead Angler effort was similar to the previous week with most bank anglers observed downstream of North Fork while boat anglers were primarily spread out between Spring Creek and Salmon Average catch rates took a step back in a couple areas and improved in others Anglers interviewed downstream of the Middle Fork Salmon River in location code 14 averaged 17 hours per steelhead caught and anglers interviewed downstream of North Fork in location code 15 averaged nine hours per steelhead caught Anglers interviewed downstream of the Lemhi River in location code 16 averaged 20 hours per steelhead caught and anglers interviewed downstream of the Pahsimeroi River in location code 17 averaged 19 hours per steelhead caught river conditions were inconsistent last week as multiple weather systems moved through bringing both cold and then warm temperatures to the area Water temperatures started off the week in the mid-30s they had increased back into the low-40s (figure below) River flows also increased over the weekend before starting to go back down the last two days (figure below) The river’s visibility was impacted by the increased flows the river was still very fishable with 2-3 feet of visibility around Salmon the Salmon River is flowing at 1,080 cfs through the town of Salmon ID which is 85 percent of average for today’s date Be one of the first to try our new activity feed The Middle Fork of the Salmon River Trail is a 100-mile-long backpacker's dream that comes complete with muscle-soothing waters and the occasional glass of wine with your four-course dinner It was my last night on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River Trail a 100-miler along Idaho’s Salmon River I was enjoying the solitude on an exquisite jewel of a white-sand beach My heart was aching that I didn’t schedule a few more days to sit by the river’s edge and listen to what it had to say I swiveled my head in its direction and spied a tiny The oarsman noticed me just as he touched shore I wonder if you’d mind company tonight?” My hunting buddies are a mile up the river I told them that if anyone was on this stretch of beach I’d just hike back up and we’d make camp at their raft I hesitated long enough to let my disappointment show I nearly jumped out of my skin as his prearranged signal reverberated among the canyon walls and echoed between my ears This evening was taking on a life of its own when the night had grown so dark that I could barely see halfway across the river a great homemade spectacle of a raft right out of the movie Waterworld swept around the bend and glided to shore Idaho’s Salmon River is the longest un-dammed river in the U.S [Photo by: Ron Watts via Getty Images]I didn’t really know what to expect hiking this 100-mile trail The Middle Fork of the Salmon River in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness (MFSRFCRNRW It is superbly wild yet smattered with small ranches It’s as fine a trail as I’ve traveled but utterly devoid of hikers I enjoyed days of undisturbed privacy but nights of unanticipated-and not entirely unwelcome-socializing The Salmon River Trail itself lies at the heart of the largest designated wilderness area in the Lower 48 but it’s easily accessed by air service which I took advantage of at the hike’s end To push this gigantic 2.4-million-acre wilderness through Congress Church and his allies had to incorporate a few things you wouldn’t expect in a primitive area These included 24 gravel airstrips used by hunters and forest-service workers since the 1920s They also grandfathered in a few historic ranches that continue to operate on private land within the reserve The River of No Return Wilderness Bill was finally passed in 1979 one year after President Jimmy Carter rafted the Salmon River Trail’s Middle Fork with Interior Secretary Cecil Andrus Congress renamed the wilderness in his honor About the victory he’d wrangled against stiff opposition “The winners are the people of Idaho who will enjoy the finest wilderness in the West the crown jewel of the National Wilderness System.” High among the spoils of this triumph is a collection of the finest hot springs this side of Hades This fact didn’t mean much to me when I initially planned my hike As the non-motorized trails administrator for the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation to christen my journey properly by accompanying me to one of his favorite soaks Three miles of trail and two thigh-deep crossings of Bear Valley Creek brought us to a rivulet that steamed as it dropped from pool to pool just before the tiny stream’s warmth was lost to the frigid creek watching a brilliant Milky Way burn through the blackening sky while steeping in Earth’s exquisite brew “if you walk just right you can probably repeat this experience most every night down the canyon.” we searched the map for tiny blue circles indicating hot springs Tomorrow night I’d rest in the blue circle labeled Sheepeater Never mind the roughly 28 trail miles separating here and there then Leo accompanied me to where Bear Valley Creek and Marsh Creek converge to form the Middle Fork of the Salmon River Trail Leo had to leave to return to “the office”—in his case to construct yurts for winter campers high in the mountains above Boise “Poor me,” he sighed at the thought of heading back to the daily grind “Build ’em snug,” I teased “because I’ll be back with a pair of skis.” Then I spun around and strode the splendid trail At 6,500 feet the hillsides were thick with Douglas and alpine fir Soon the woods opened to reveal autumn-tinged aspen groves dotting the rocky hillsides like gold flecks in a miner’s pan past four horseback riders with handlebar mustaches and cowboy chaps past two footsore hunters humping bloody sacks of elk meat out of their deep-hills camp past abandoned log cabins hinting of mining dreams gone sour down the otherwise empty Salmon River Trail I reached Sheepeater Hot Springs and its riverside campsites letting its numbing waters cool my flaming knees A search through warm mudflats led me to a 103°F pool into which I slowly eased with a reclining “ahhh”—the ideal closing to a high-paced day I love motion but my body wasn’t in tune with the kind of pace I’d kept that day Thousands of people raft the Class III to IV whitewater on the Salmon River Trail each year [Photo by: Karl Weatherly via Getty Images]The morning sun was still well below the skyline when I struck off the next day Gentle valley walls rose some 5,000 forested feet to ridgelines and the cool air of the shadowy canyon made for perfect hiking weather A few miles downstream an armada paddled by Three kayaks and a support raft looked uncannily like PT boats surrounding an aircraft carrier I met the paddlers at the Indian Creek Forest Service guard station Because Sheepeater is such a sprawling site we’d seen nothing of each other but our distant tents In another couple of miles one of the kayakers paddled toward me as I cruised down the riverside trailway “Care to join us at camp tonight?” I replied that I wasn’t sure how far I wanted to hike that day When I’m in motion I sometimes just like to let the end of the day tell me when to stop rather than fixing on a particular destination “It’s called Sunflower Hot Springs I’ll give you a ride across if you want.” “I’ll signal if I feel like stopping.” I really wasn’t in the mood for the company of strangers Observing a few boaters as I hiked didn’t bother me—after all the total count of humans I’d seen each day had been lower than I could expect on almost any trail within striking distance of a major city I’d seen no signs at all of fellow backpackers I saw the rafters’ tents beside a steaming waterfall I was standing in the trail under the grip of temptation when the kayaker spotted me and waved and moments later I found myself sitting in a cliff-top pool of hot water with a cup of wine in my hand My new friends were two couples in their 30s from Salt Lake City and another in their 60s from Cody We were sharing wine when our chef exclaimed “We’ve forgotten the beans for the burritos!” How often can a backpacker come to the culinary rescue of a rafting party “Let’s see,” I ruminated out loud “I’ll share my beans if you share your fried tortillas The changing landscape played no small role in my sky-high spirits and pine in turn opened up to no trees at all except around springs and tributaries Sages of various sorts bloomed bright yellow the metamorphosis into high-country desert was fascinating My spirit felt free and unconfined as it roamed across the landscape faster and farther than even my rejuvenated legs could travel a rafter’s camp where my paddling friends and I had talked about sharing another evening After an hour I realized that I just couldn’t wait any longer with flowing down the trail like a piece of driftwood caught in the river’s current I could take it no more and struck off until dusk caught up with me at a sandy beach or so I thought until I noticed a light in the trees just downriver I wandered over and found a couple of tent cabins and a small log building with smoke trailing from the chimney Two elk skins covered in salt lay stretched on the ground Antlers clung to skulls balanced on a hitching post And so it happens that on my final night in the largest wilderness area in the Lower 48 My mind replays the day’s events-the mountain sheep I witnessed prancing across stupefyingly sheer cliffs the golden eagle that perched above me as I rested on the trail the bear scat so full of seeds that I located the bush and ate the berries he’d left behind I reflect on the red petroglyphs I spotted on the walls of a riverside cave renowned for the bows and snowshoes they made from the horns of bighorn sheep I guess this canyon always has been settled contentment seeps into my trail-weary muscles September is postcard-perfect in the Middle Fork canyon. Early spring can be equally benign because the valley melts free of snow long before the surrounding high country. If access roads are blocked by snow, consider flying to Indian Creek and hiking downstream. Avoid riverside and creek-crossing travel from mid-May to the end of June. Hot weather triggers rapid snowmelt in the high country and swollen streams down low. Some sections of the Middle Fork trail can become submerged. Mid-July through September provides good high-country hiking. July and early August at canyon bottom can be unbearably hot, unless you’re in a boat. By late August, low water and a new school year combine to drastically reduce boat traffic. As September progresses into October you run an increasing chance of being trapped by snow anywhere in the wilderness. There are specific rules when adventuring within the river corridor, a zone described as a quarter-mile on each side of the river’s center, The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is crisscrossed by an extensive trail network. The trail along the Middle Fork is in excellent condition the entire distance, but some remote trails in the wilderness are in disrepair from fallen trees. Unless you stick to the river’s edge, expect significant elevation gains and losses. Some high ridgelines allow superb off-trail hiking. The Middle Fork of the Salmon River Trail is a great hike, but it’s just one of many. Why not try one of the following? The 30-mile thru-hike was the ideal trip for putting our backpacking and hiking candidates through the wringer. Flash flood warning until 12:45 Tuesday morning for portions of Genesee, Livingston and Wyoming counties RadarAccessible observation deck now open near Hiltonby WHAM — People of all abilities can now enjoy access to nature at a space just outside the village of Hilton Salmon Creek Nature Preserve on Bennett Road now has an elevated observation deck with a ramp meant for visitors to enjoy birding and other sights and sounds of nature "Everybody needs nature, and nature needs everyone to care as well," said Lorna Wright, executive director of Genesee Land Trust "Giving this opportunity for everyone to have a chance to get out and experience the wind blowing through the trees and seeing the wonders that nature provides is just really so important for our mental our physical health but also for the health of our planet because when people can see it and care about it then they will continue to care about it into the future." Genesee Land Trust said future plans at the site include smoothing the trail adding signage and building an accessible fishing platform CDFW releases 270,000 fall-run Chinook salmon into Fall Creek the first yearling hatchery salmon release following historic dam removal Media Note: Download photos, video and interviews involving CDFW’s salmon work in the Klamath Basin The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has seen the first returns of threatened coho salmon to the upper Klamath River Basin in more than 60 years following historic dam removal completed last month Not since the construction of the former Iron Gate Dam in the early 1960s has CDFW documented coho salmon occupying their historic habitat in the upper watershed seven coho salmon entered CDFW’s new Fall Creek Fish Hatchery in Siskiyou County a formerly inaccessible Klamath River tributary about 7.5 miles upstream of the former Iron Gate Dam location “To see coho successfully returning this quickly to this new habitat post-dam removal is exciting,” said Eric Jones a Senior Environmental Scientist who oversees CDFW’s north state hatchery operations “We’ve already seen the Chinook make it back and now we’re seeing the coho make it back.” Of the seven coho salmon that entered the Fall Creek Fish Hatchery last week identifying them as being of hatchery origin The other five were natural origin fish as all hatchery raised coho salmon in the Klamath Basin have their adipose fins removed for identification prior to release The returning coho are being kept at the Fall Creek Hatchery pending genetic testing at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center laboratory in Santa Cruz Geneticists will determine which of the seven coho are the least related genetically and direct the spawning of those pairs to maximize genetic diversity Coho salmon in the Klamath Basin are listed as a threatened species under both state and federal endangered species acts Coho salmon typically return to freshwater to spawn in the late fall and winter later than the more numerous fall-run Chinook salmon CDFW’s Fall Creek Fish Hatchery has an annual production goal of raising 75,000 coho salmon to help restore populations in the upper Klamath River Basin post-dam removal Also pertaining to CDFW’s salmon work in the Klamath Basin: ** CDFW last week released approximately 270,000 yearling the last Klamath Basin hatchery release of the year and the first release following dam removal and allowed to swim freely out of the hatchery into Fall Creek without handling “We’re releasing various life histories so that gives the fish a chance to out-migrate at different times of the year mimicking what we would see in the river naturally,” said Crystal Robinson Senior Environmental Scientist and CDFW’s Klamath Watershed Program Supervisor Hatchery salmon released as yearlings in the fall show some of the highest rates of return as adults which is attributed to their larger size at release and optimal fall river conditions with cool temperatures and strong flows state-of-the-art facility in its first year of operation began spawning returning fall-run Chinook salmon in late October the hatchery has spawned 100 fish and collected 277,393 eggs The hatchery has an ambitious annual production goal of 3.25 million fall-run Chinook salmon Tribes and non-governmental organizations are monitoring salmon throughout the Klamath Basin including the 420 miles of newly accessible habitat following dam removal CDFW is particularly focused on newly accessible tributaries within the former reservoir footprints a video fish counting weir installed on Jenny Creek has recorded 310 adult Chinook salmon and one Pacific lamprey entering the tributary from the Klamath River CDFW field crews are surveying regularly for salmon nests The salmon work taking place in the Klamath Basin reflects all six priorities of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future released in January 2024 Those priorities are removing barriers and modernizing infrastructure for salmon migration; restoring and expanding habitat for spawning and rearing; protecting water flows and water quality at the right times to benefit salmon; modernizing salmon hatcheries; transforming technology and management systems for climate adaptability; and strengthening partnerships CDFW’s post-dam removal management strategy, as detailed in the recently released Klamath River Anadromous Fishery Reintroduction and Monitoring Plan is to mostly allow these ocean-going fish species to naturally repopulate the 420 miles of newly accessible habitat as they are now doing An official website of the United States government Latest Earthquakes Klamath salmon populations enter a whole new world post dam removal Following the removal of four hydroelectric dams in 2024 – the largest such project in US history – the Klamath River flowed unimpeded below the Keno Dam for the first time in 102 years and miles of historical spawning grounds became freely accessible to migrating salmon and steelhead trout the freshly accessible habitat raises new questions for resource managers about how to optimize waterflows in the changing river basin to support both fish and people.  Balancing water needs for people and fish is critical in the Klamath Basin water allocation and flow control still occur at dams and other diversion sites in the upper regions of the Klamath With knowledge of how and when fish use the river water managers can identify when to continue flushing flows to support fish survival or reduce flow and reallocate the water elsewhere with minimal impact to fish populations WFRC is working to assess the connection between varying controlled river flows and the survival of juvenile Chinook salmon as they voyage to the ocean in a process known as outmigration The five-year long study investigates how juvenile Chinook use habitat under different water flow management regimes before and after dam removal.  scientists have released about 800 juvenile Chinook below the Iron Gate Dam annually scientists track their movement using a combination of acoustic transmitters implanted in fish and strategically placed acoustic receivers throughout the river High-resolution models are then used to triangulate fish positions and determine when and how long young Chinook of varying sizes and ages occupy different parts of the riverscape and how this is changing after dam removal scientists are interested to know if newly hatched fish migrate more slowly and use riverbanks and riverside habitats more than juvenile fish that already lived in the river for a year and whether changes to flows affect access to those habitats They are also interested in the movement of larger juvenile Chinook under different flow rates relative to the duration they stay in areas of the river where the parasite low water flows have increased the likelihood that Ceratonova shasta infect juvenile Chinook and lower their survival WFRC scientists have been monitoring adult coho and Chinook salmon movement as the fish approach and pass Keno Dam Keno Dam was recently taken over by the Bureau of Reclamation from PacifiCorp after the lower hydroelectric dams were removed it was not until the four lower dams were removed last year that salmon could reach Keno Dam and potentially use the fish ladder to reach additional habitat in the Upper Klamath Basin WFRC scientists deployed acoustic and video cameras to monitor returning coho and fall-run Chinook salmon as they approached and moved up the fish ladder much like the fish finders used by fishermen capture fish movement while video cameras provide visual confirmation Data from these cameras are currently being analyzed to determine how the salmon performed As we adjust to a new normal in the Klamath River Basin with the four lower river dams removed our research at WFRC will continue to play an important role informing actions related to water and ecosystem management.  These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics You can install and RSS reader browser extension or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added they may look strange because they are simply XML code An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site Klamath Falls Field Station (KFFS) News Northwest-Pacific Islands Region News Western Fisheries Research Center News — It doesn't look like baseball season outside but some local athletes got a taste of spring training Monday Jon Schwind of Hilton a former player and coach in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization hosted his seventh annual Challenger/Miracle League Spring Training event at Salmon Creek Country Club The event gave people of all abilities the chance to work on their batting base running and fielding as they look ahead to the upcoming season "The smiles are everything," said Erik Schwind "Just watching the kids hit a home run touch all four bases and just the smiles on their face." CLICK HERE to learn more about Challenger Miracle Field Copious early rainfall and efforts aimed at restoring local salmon and steelhead trout habitat have made such scenes possible KENWOOD — A female Chinook salmon swam steadily against the current in a shallow section of Sonoma Creek as several male fish splashed about behind her another female rolled onto her side and smacked the gravel and rocks with her tail doing her part to dig a “redd” or nest as the current flushed away silt and sediment that can be harmful to egg development in the headwaters of Sonoma Creek within Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is an uncommon sight for most local residents hundreds of Chinook have traveled up the watershed from San Pablo Bay and been spotted in numerous tributaries that drain Sonoma Valley and its surrounding elevations Heavy rains in November and December have created ideal stream flows that have allowed spawning salmon to make their way into the region’s headwaters research program manager of the Sonoma Ecology Center which monitors the health of the Sonoma Creek watershed The copious early rainfall and conservation efforts aimed at protecting and restoring local salmon and steelhead trout habitat have made such scenes possible The efforts include removing fish barriers and protecting spawning grounds from excessive sedimentation caused by human activities with commercial and sport seasons canceled now for two straight years after sharp declines in the wake of the last drought Shifts in ocean conditions accelerated by climate change and habitat loss from dams historic logging and agriculture are all to blame But Lee said the biggest problem hindering the return of salmon and steelhead — an oceangoing rainbow trout — in the Sonoma Creek watershed is simply not having enough water to sustain young fish during the dry season “The lack of abundant enough dry-season stream flow is the single most important factor limiting the success of (Chinook) and steelhead in this watershed,” Lee said The Chinook in Sonoma Creek are a fall-run species which means adults returning from the ocean require earlier pulses of runoff in the rain season to make their way up the watershed to spawning grounds those rains do not come and there often is not enough left over in the watershed from the previous spring and winter to aid the big fish — measuring at least two feet long and topping 20 pounds — up into the headwaters was once a more vibrant stream corridor that supported large runs of steelhead the Chinook and steelhead runs in the creek are small the coho runs gone though they are hanging on in other streams in western Sonoma County which manages the Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is a principle player in restoring spawning habitat in the upper watershed considered a bellwether species and indicator of the health of their environment The efforts include restoring seasonal wetlands and slowing water in places to provide habitat diversity including holding and rearing pools for fish while also reducing flooding and increasing groundwater infiltration critical to sustain dry-season flows; improving water quality by restoring native streambank plants and trees — and the shade they offer — to reduce water temperature and filter out contaminants such as pathogens and fine sediment that can clog the small gravel beds fish need to reproduce also are a problem as they can block fish migration one of several main tributaries of Sonoma Creek a habitat restoration project has addressed several barriers that hindered both steelhead and salmon runs That effort was spearheaded by Sonoma Land Trust in 2012 Sonoma Valley stewardship program manager for the lands trust said the work involved purchasing a 3.5-acre property and removing a bridge and two other fish barriers The work opened up a 2.3-mile segment of cold-water habitat for salmon and steelhead The recent appearance of Chinook in Stuart Creek where we realized that by setting the stage for nature to function adding that he hopes steelhead also will find their way up Stuart Creek this winter “The steelhead are slightly smaller bodied fish and classically adapted for that type of water,” he said “I’m keeping an eye out after every rainfall we have The unfortunate thing is steelhead are doing worse than Chinook They haven’t received the same attention.” Lee said the last time Sonoma Creek and its tributaries experienced a significant Chinook run was in late October 2021 following a downpour that drenched the North Bay and brought some relief after two years of punishing drought The salmon were able to get up into the steeper reaches of Sonoma Creek in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park salmon were spotted as far up as Bear Creek But because of the nature of that rainstorm which fell on parched land that soaked up much of the deluge before it became runoff Chinook were not seen in many of the watershed’s other streams The back-to-back storms this fall were so heavy that soil was quickly saturated leading to earlier and more plentiful runoff that feeds into smaller creeks and boosts their flows “When the fish are coming up the creek and they’re sensing flow coming from different places they’re more likely to go charge up that way instead of just this way because that’s where the flow comes from,” he said And slight variations in storm windows can alter the picture a storm brought several inches of rain to the region over a 24-hour period the Sonoma Creek watershed had not yet been saturated with rainfall and much of the water was soaked into the landscape where there’s not a lot of soaking into the ground due to paved surfaces “They were in these areas right in the downtown part of Sonoma and they were looking at all these fish and they were trapped and dying,” Lee said “People get worked up about and really want to see the fish rescued The majority of the people don't really understand that salmon come up The upper reaches of the Sonoma Creek and its tributaries this winter are likely to see a number of Chinook carcasses which produce algae and bacteria that are a vital food source for aquatic insects and other scavengers Salmon and steelhead imprint upon the place they hatch whether it be a far-flung riffle in a clear-running stream or one of the state’s many hatcheries established to offset the losses from dams and support commercial and recreational fisheries Lee said he believes most of the adult Chinook in Sonoma Creek this year are “hatchery strays” that originated from several large breeding facilities in the Sacramento River system But Roney added there’s a chance that some of the Chinook descendants of the run in late October 2021 are actually returning to their breeding ground because of low water levels in the Sacramento Valley state fisheries staff elected to load hatchery bred fish onto trucks and drive them closer to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to boost their chances of making it to the ocean Some were even offloaded in the San Francisco Bay Those fish swam out into the ocean where they lived for three after which their biology started leading them “back home to spawn.” It’s possible some of those returning Chinook when they got to spots where they were dropped off “All of a sudden they get to the where they were dropped and there there's no spawning grounds because they're in the middle of the bay and they're like fish might head toward high-flow streams because they don’t “really have a homing watershed to get to,” he said “That’s one other reasons why we're having such a major run this year.” It’s also possible that some are wild-born fish doing what their predecessors have done for millennia “There is a chance that some of the ones that we're seeing up here were ones that spawned here in 2021 and are now of the right age to be coming back here in 2024,” Lee said “The problem is we don't have any data to support it.” Such evidence requires tagging and monitoring and is quite expensive a Sugarloaf Ridge State Park event and education assistant witnessed spawning Chinook not far from the park’s 25-foot Canyon Trail waterfall who is a member of the Mishewal-Wappo Tribe has longed for the return of salmon to the local region The headwaters of Sonoma Creek is in an area known as “Wilikos” to members of Harp’s tribe she and others in her tribe held a water ceremony at Bear Creek It was the week before the rainstorm hit and tribal members went down into the creek “This is my second time getting to see salmon up here and it’s a really magical experience,” Harp said adding that she has been part of “salmon prayer journeys” in other tribal regions “It's really exciting to see it happening here in my traditional territory because I've seen it happening in other people's tribal territories,” Harp said This year’s run in Sonoma Creek once again gave Harp and others at the Sonoma Ecology Center the chance to show visiting children how salmon spawn “I just hope it keeps happening,” she said You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com About 220 students were evacuated from a west Sonoma County school campus Monday after a student’s father made a threat A student’s father was arrested Monday after making a social media threat that prompted the evacuation of 220 students from a west Sonoma County school campus Authorities took the man into custody around 3:30 p.m in the 200 block of West Railroad Avenue in Penngrove according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Officials did not immediately release his name or specify the nature of the threat “would have impacted the safety of those here at school,” said Matthew Morgan superintendent and principal of Harmony Union School District at Harmony Elementary and Salmon Creek Middle schools in Occidental a spokesperson for the Sonoma County Office of Education School officials later decided to evacuate students and transport them to a reunification site the school district had notified families that students would be sent home in a “controlled release,” Morgan said Most were reunited with their families by about 12:30 p.m. Morgan said families would be notified if school would reopen Tuesday The district had conducted a lockdown drill just weeks earlier which Morgan said helped students and staff respond effectively “We do that work to help our kids be able to be resilient in situations like this That they know what to and feel confident in what next steps would be,” he said Morgan called it unfortunate that schools must prepare for such situations California Highway Patrol and the Sonoma County Office of Education for their coordination during the crisis Staff Writer Colin Atagi contributed reporting so it’s time to start thinking about your first fishing trip Idaho Department of Fish and Game will stock 950 rainbow trout in the 10 to 12-inch range at two area fishing holes March 24-28.        Hayden Creek Pond will receive 650 trout.  Anglers will find ample bank fishing space and a dock for anglers with limited mobility Kids Creek Pond and a number of benches make this a convenient place for families to enjoy the outdoors.      Stocking dates and numbers of fish are tentative and may change due to weather conditions or staff constraints.    Anglers can find more detailed information on these and other fishing destinations including maps, facilities, fish species present, stocking records, and fishing rules by visiting Idaho’s Fishing Planner.  Fishing for stocked rainbow trout, particularly in community ponds, is a great way to introduce new anglers to the sport by using simple set-ups like worm/marshmallow combinations or commercial baits like Power Bait or Crave, either near the bottom or below a bobber. Fish and Game’s Learn to Fish webpage offers diagrams for basic bait rigs and more Most of Idaho’s waters are open to fishing year-round, but some may have slightly different rules. Be sure to review a 2025-2027 Idaho Fishing Seasons and Rules Booklet special regulations and bag limits.  Booklets are available at Idaho Fish and Game offices HOPE Dementia Support Group is a weekly support group for those caring for individuals living with all types of dementia which means that steelhead fishing will soon start to pick up on the Upper Salmon River Based on the number of phone calls we’ve already received there is more excitement around this year’s steelhead run then we’ve had in quite a few years so we thought now would be a good time to update anglers on how the steelhead return to the Upper Salmon River is shaping up.  Based on PIT-tag estimates at Bonneville Dam the number of adipose-clipped steelhead returning to Upper Salmon River will be the most since Fall 2015 (see figure below) The run is almost complete at Bonneville Dam for the Pahsimeroi and Sawtooth hatchery groups and we’re currently estimating that 5,959 Pahsimeroi and 14,797 Sawtooth adipose-clipped steelhead have passed Bonneville Dam so far There’s also an estimated 1,922 adipose-clipped B-run steelhead from the Yankee Fork Salmon River there are an estimated 22,678 adipose-clipped steelhead currently headed towards the Upper Salmon River How many of these steelhead make it up here will depend on how well they survive (or convert) between Bonneville and Lower Granite dams approximately 82% of USR adipose-clipped steelhead estimated at Bonneville Dam make it upstream of Lower Granite Dam so hopefully we will see a similar rate this year.  Another aspect of this year’s steelhead run that should excite anglers is that the average size will be larger This year’s run consists of ~80% two-ocean steelhead and 20% one-ocean steelhead we observed a significant increase in the average size of steelhead The last thing we wanted to mention about this year’s steelhead return is the run timing passage timing at Lower Granite Dam is similar to last year which should translate into an average fall on the USR as far as run timing goes For those that do not have much experience fishing the USR during an average year we typically start to hear of some steelhead being caught by mid to late September and the fishery really starts to kick-in by mid-October it’s the weather that limits the fishery more than anything If temperatures remain above freezing and the river stays ice free through November then the fishing typically keeps improving as more steelhead arrive to the USR It’s a gamble to wait too long though and risk the weather turning so we always recommend that anglers at least get their first trip in before mid-November If you are an angler that likes to fish downstream of Panther Creek then we want to make you aware of some significant changes that took place this summer along the river several gulches blew out between Owl Creek and Colson Creek during a large thunderstorm but the blowout at Skull Gulch (~1.1 miles downstream of Owl Creek) created a new rapid in an area that was never difficult to float before (pictures below) We recommend that anglers scout this rapid before floating downstream of Owl Creek it will likely continue to change as river flows fluctuate throughout the fall.  Creel personnel will start interviewing anglers this coming weekend so hopefully we will have more information next week if you have questions or would like additional information then please give the Salmon Regional Office a call at (208) 756-2271.  Why are people in the Pacific Northwest so obsessed with salmon See the magic for yourself at Seattle’s Carkeek Park are witnessing a record-breaking chum salmon return this fall presenting a rare opportunity within city limits to easily spot dozens of salmon digging up gravel for their egg nests and valiantly forcing their way upstream volunteers counted over 1,500 live chum salmon in a single day That’s more than has ever been counted over an entire spawning season since the salmon program began in 1987 volunteers have counted an average of 416 chum each season visitors might have been able to see six or eight spawning pairs along the entire 2,000 feet of Pipers Creek accessible to the fish on a good day the salmon program director at the Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project you could see that number of spawning pairs at a single viewpoint along the trail Watch carefully and you might see a salmon beat its way through shallow water or jump up a small waterfall or witness a male fish bite another male fish fighting for the right to spawn with a female “It’s better than the zoo,” said Katie Wells a 33 year-old scientific publications coordinator who was visiting the salmon bonanza Sunday “It’s real and natural.” The numbers of live fish have already started to dip slightly so the best time to see them is in the next few days But live fish will likely still be coming into the creek through the beginning of December though soon their numbers will dwindle and the number of smelly dead fish will outnumber live ones some of whom cheered for the fish that succeeded up little waterfalls “This is the bounty of nature,” said Esther Neeser who urged people to come “see the struggle of life.” The eggs and salmon fry originate from the Grover’s Creek hatchery They are raised at the imprint pond at Carkeek Park After growing big in the ocean, dodging sea lions, orcas and fishers, the chum salmon return to Pipers Creek, spawning for 10 days before dying. Their rotting carcasses feed raccoons, coyotes, herons and ducks, Koon said. In the words of a Washington Department of Natural Resources social media post Female chum can be recognized by a black stripe along their body with “dog teeth” and a hump on their back Older chum start to turn white as they stop producing scales toward the end of their life If you see a female chum beating its tail at a lower frequency and on its side the fish may be digging a “redd,” or an egg nest Look for a male fish next to her doing a subtle “shimmy,” which either encourages the female to lay eggs or means the male is releasing its milt to fertilize the eggs The survival rates of the salmon’s eggs are low at Carkeek Park; though with this many fish laying eggs Due to the nonporous nature of the watershed the stream’s depth often increases and decreases rapidly before and after rain leading the eggs often to be washed out or buried in silt Before the salmon were reintroduced to the park in 1980s the last pair of coho salmon were spotted in 1927 by local homesteader Walt Venema but the salmon program has ultimately stuck to raising chum since the river conditions are not good enough to raise coho which spend their first year in freshwater streams Strong runs of chum salmon have been observed across mid- and south Puget Sound The boom has led to sightings of the southern resident orcas who hunt them and fisheries experts say that while it’s too early to say whether the runs are overperforming forecasts the boom could be attributed to good ocean conditions The hardest part about witnessing the historic run at its peak won’t be finding the fish Visitors are encouraged to carpool since the park has seen full lots and illegal parking visitors can also street park in the neighborhood and take one of the trails down to Pipers Creek This Saturday is also sure to be busy since a salmon celebration with music and activities is scheduled between 11 a.m Salmon stewards will be stationed at the park during those hours on Black Friday and on weekends through Dec The volunteer program is run by the city of Seattle and the Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project The most important thing for visitors to do is stay on the trail public education program specialist with Seattle Parks and Recreation Going into the riverbed risks eroding the bank The water also has a “fair amount of bacterial pollutants” and isn’t healthy for humans or dogs Parish-Andrews recommended trying to find the fish by listening for their splashes Visitors should also wear shoes they can get muddy If you have extra time or effort, you may also be able to spot some coho salmon, which have accidentally made it into the creek. The males have a deep red color across their body. There are also a series of beaver dams near the mouth of the creek that the fish have managed to navigate around The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser Internet Explorer lacks support for the features of this website please use a modern browser such as Chrome A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States NOAA Fisheries and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are implementing a collaborative process called SHaRP (Salmon Habitat Restoration Priorities) to identify priority actions for restoring California’s salmon and steelhead habitat Across the West Coast region, 28 populations of salmon and steelhead are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act Habitat loss and degradation are primary factors in their decline nearly 90 percent of wetlands—crucial habitat for salmon—have been lost due to habitat destruction spurred by a booming population and economic development NOAA Fisheries works with state and local partners in California to rebuild populations of salmon and steelhead through habitat restoration Our work helps to undo damage done to coastal wetlands and streams We restore habitat that these fish use for feeding we reconnect marshes and floodplains to tidal waters and improve fish passage in streams by removing dams or replacing undersized culverts Existing state and federal recovery plans have identified numerous short and long-term actions needed to rebuild populations of salmon and steelhead (collectively known as salmonids) in California These non-regulatory documents serve as road maps for species recovery—each plan outlines the path and tasks required to restore and secure self-sustaining wild populations Recovery plans in California for salmonids are relatively broad in scope because they address recovery needs throughout a species’ range They also identify numerous recovery actions that may take decades to complete.  such as a single site or a portion of a waterway It also typically has a shorter planning horizon of up to 10 years While recovery plans focus on a single species habitat restoration projects are often designed to benefit multiple species at the same time.  The vast extent of habitat restoration that is needed and the broad scope of recovery plans can often lead to dispersed unconnected habitat restoration projects that are spread out across the landscape Each individual project helps improve conditions at a local scale but this project-by-project approach may miss the larger benefits that come from comprehensive the restoration actions may not be focused in locations that are most important for salmonid recovery SHaRP (Salmon Habitat Restoration Priorities) is a collaborative consensus-based process to determine the most pressing habitat restoration actions needed to recover salmonids in a focus area (such as one or more streams or rivers) SHaRP builds on the broader restoration actions described in recovery plans by identifying specific locations within those streams and rivers where habitat restoration actions can best improve conditions for salmon and steelhead The result is a targeted strategy that has the level of detail practitioners need to prioritize and implement meaningful habitat restoration projects.  SHaRP reflects a “protect the best” approach It focuses on restoring healthier parts of the river where habitat is not completely degraded and salmon and steelhead are doing relatively well experts anticipate that more salmonids will spawn in the restored parts NOAA Fisheries and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) developed the SHaRP process and both agencies play a key role in its implementation across the state; contributing expert knowledge about salmon and steelhead and effective restoration approaches.  The success of SHaRP depends on community and tribal participation Creating these highly-specific restoration strategies requires deep The people who live and work in the region and who have spent time studying or observing a particular area have key insights in identifying the most pressing problems facing salmon and steelhead habitat the best forms of habitat restoration to address those problems and specific locations where this restoration should happen.  The SHaRP process includes the following steps these strategies form the overall SHaRP strategy for the identified streams and rivers: Each application of SHaRP may be different and extent of previous planning efforts varies across the state each process will be guided by the same set of seven SHaRP “pillars” described below: SHaRP plans are being developed and implemented in the following areas:  South Fork Eel River Lower Eel River and Mainstem South Fork Eel River Lagunitas Creek the Idaho Fish and Game Commission set the spring Chinook seasons to open on April 26 in the Clearwater The set seasons and bag limits are as follows. (Note: These are partial spring Chinook seasons and rules; the full seasons and rules will be published prior to the season opener on the Chinook fishing webpage) The following areas open to fishing for Chinook salmon on April 26 Areas will be closed by Closure Order signed by the Director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game or Aug Idaho Fish and Game’s new electronic salmon and steelhead permits are available at all vendors or through the Go Outdoors Idaho mobile app you're ineligible for e-tagging so ask for it when you buy from a license vendor E-tagging allows salmon or steelhead anglers to validate their permits electronically Anglers can use the app while out of cell service E-tagging also allows anglers to buy an electronic salmon or steelhead permit and start fishing immediately instead of waiting for a paper tag to arrive in the mail For a full, in-depth look at Idaho’s new e-tagging system, how it works and frequently asked questions (FAQs), visit Fish and Game’s E-tagging webpage or listen to Episode #36 of Idaho Fish and Game's official podcast, the Hook and Bulletin Print SOMES BAR salmon have gathered in clear pools in the Salmon River as they have returned to their spawning grounds a tributary of the Klamath River near the California-Oregon border is one of the last remaining strongholds of a type of salmon that is increasingly at risk of extinction: spring-run Chinook The salmon population here has sharply declined in the last decade. But the recent removal of four dams on the Klamath is bringing new hope among biologists, environmental activists and Indigenous leaders that the fish could begin to recover. Workers use heavy equipment to remove remnants of Copco No. 1 Dam along the Klamath River on Aug. 14. “Dam removal couldn’t come at a better time,” said Toz Soto, the Karuk Tribe’s fisheries program manager. “We really need to build this population back before we lose it completely.” Biologists expect that with the dams now removed and the Klamath flowing freely, all types of native fish will benefit, including fall-run and spring-run Chinook as well as coho salmon, steelhead trout and Pacific lampreys. The dismantling of the dams will allow salmon to swim upstream and spawn along more than 400 miles of the Klamath and its tributaries, reaching cold spring-fed waters that have been inaccessible for more than a century. Aggressive and impactful reporting on climate change Spring-run Chinook were once abundant along the river they arrive holding large quantities of fat which enables them to spend months maturing in freshwater and to venture farther upstream into the riffles and rapids of mountain streams They spawn in late September and early October Their high fat content traditionally made the fish a delicious and valuable food source for the Native people who caught them But they were largely wiped out when dams were erected and blocked access to many of their original habitats Scientists expect that the diminished population of spring-run Chinook will make their recovery more difficult and time-consuming than for other types of salmon and that restoring them to their historical habitats in the upper Klamath River will likely require human intervention there are two areas where spring-run Chinook return annually in the Klamath’s lower tributaries: one in the Trinity River and in the undammed Salmon River and the creeks that feed it Soto stood on a roadside scanning the gently flowing Salmon River He pointed to a dark shape in the water that was drifting at a spot where the rocky bottom descended into a deep pool Karuna Greenberg stands by the Salmon River, where Chinook salmon have recently returned to spawn. Also standing by the river was Karuna Greenberg, restoration director of the nonprofit Salmon River Restoration Council. Each summer in July, Greenberg helps organize an annual snorkel survey in which dozens of volunteers swim along the river and count the number of spring-run Chinook salmon, as well as summer steelhead. From 1990 until 2016, the surveys found an average of more than 700 salmon annually, with some years bringing more than twice that . But in the last decade, the numbers have fallen. This year, the survey found just 115 salmon — the fourth-lowest count to date. “It’s been pretty depressing over the last several years,” Greenberg said. California declared the Klamath population of spring-run Chinook threatened in 2022. Greenberg’s group and the Karuk Tribe have also petitioned the federal government to protect the fish under the Endangered Species Act. The Salmon River, left, flows into the Klamath River in Northern California. “Dam removal is probably the No. 1 most important thing that could happen to help spring Chinook,” she said. “So I’m just really, really hoping that it’s not too little, too late, and it definitely offers up a lot of hope and a lot of possibility.” Greenberg stood beside a cascading creek that is fed by water from mountain meadows. She said she feels excited about the extensive habitats the salmon will now be able to access in the Klamath, including cold headwater streams that should provide productive spawning areas. “There’s whole watersheds that are opened up to them now, and that could really help to buoy the whole population and make it more of a Klamath River population, and not just this little, tiny Salmon River population trying to hold on,” she said. Climate & Environment inspiring hope among Indigenous activists who pushed for rewilding to help save salmon salmon have suffered declines in rivers throughout Northern California as they have faced successive droughts intensified by climate change such as the large amounts of water diverted to supply farms and cities Most years, fishing crews fan out in boats along the California coast to catch fall-run Chinook, the most numerous variety. But because of low population numbers, the state has banned commercial and recreational salmon fishing for the last two years Members of the Karuk and Yurok tribes have continued small-scale subsistence fishing State wildlife officials say the removal of dams on the Klamath should give a significant boost to salmon in the coming years Indigenous leaders and activists have celebrated the demolition of dams as a major victory that came in response to years of protests A Karuk Tribe survey team member attempt nets juvenile salmon while snorkeling in Wooley Creek The utility PacifiCorp agreed to take down the aging dams — which were used for power generation not water storage — after determining it would be less expensive than bringing them up to current environmental standards The $500-million project’s budget includes funds from California and from surcharges paid by PacifiCorp customers The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s plan for reestablishing wild self-sustaining salmon populations in the Klamath calls for monitoring fall-run Chinook and coho salmon as fish gradually move into areas upriver over three or four generations during the next 12 to 15 years said the idea is that “if we can mostly stay out of the way these fish populations will heal themselves The plan calls for initially supplementing populations of fall-run Chinook and coho salmon by raising them at the newly built Fall Creek Fish Hatchery located on one of the tributary creeks fish can now access upstream from where Iron Gate Dam once stood Native activists fought for years to build support for taking down dams on the Klamath River in Northern California. Now, they hope removing the dams will help save their salmon. Soto said this approach is necessary because, while a small number of spring-run salmon may make it far upstream, there wouldn’t be enough to jump-start the population. Soto is optimistic about restoration plans, which the tribes have helped to develop along with state and federal agencies. “It’s going to take time. It’s going to take multiple generations,” he said. Soto watched as a group of men wearing wetsuits, masks and snorkels swam in Wooley Creek, a tributary of the Salmon River, searching in the clear water for juvenile Chinook and coho salmon. Members of a Karuk Tribe fisheries team conduct a survey of juvenile salmon in Wooley Creek. Using a seine, the Karuk Tribe fisheries team formed a circle and pulled up their catch. At first, they found only steelhead trout. But after a few tries, the net came up filled with small wriggling salmon. Emptying the fish into a bucket, the team went to work. They inserted tracking tags in the small coho salmon, and clipped tiny pieces from Chinook salmon fins, placing them in envelopes for genetic testing. The tests will provide data that can support efforts to rebuild salmon populations. The creek provides a rare cold-water refuge for salmon, which is especially important as climate change brings warmer water temperatures, Soto said, and other creeks will now become similar refuges. “We just tripled the amount of habitat. So that’s pretty exciting,” Soto said. Reservoirs have been drained as the nation’s largest dam removal effort advances on the Klamath River and an effort to restore the watershed is taking root The dismantling of four dams, which began in June 2023 and has involved hundreds of workers, is the largest dam removal effort in U.S. history. In August, workers carved channels in the remnants of two dams allowing water to flow freely along more than 40 miles of the Klamath for the first time in more than a century The nonprofit Klamath River Renewal Corp. announced Wednesday that dam removal work is now finished. But other efforts to restore the watershed to a more natural state will continue for several years. Crews have been scattering millions of seeds of native plants to restore vegetation on 2,200 acres of reservoir bottomlands that were underwater for generations. “Having that free-flowing river, and all of the restoration that’s going to come along with that, is just going to be hugely beneficial to salmon in California,” Greenberg said. “There are not that many rivers that are going to be able to sustain salmon through time with climate change, and I think that this really gives us a fighting chance.” Salmon are central to the cultures and fishing traditions of Native tribes along the river. Cooking and eating salmon is a vital part of their ceremonies. And Indigenous leaders say they hope the eventual recovery of salmon will help people strengthen their ancestral connection to the river. “All these years we’ve been trying to maintain our culture, religion and all these things, and trying to restore what has been lost,” said Leaf Hillman, an elder and ceremonial leader of the Karuk Tribe. “The only major ceremony that we haven’t restored is the spring salmon ceremony.” It’s a ceremony held to ensure the continuance of spring-run Chinook. But when dams were still in place, he said, that seemed impossible. “Now, people are thinking about that ceremony that a lot of us have wanted to bring back for a very long time,” Hillman said. The potential return of those special fish, he said, is bringing hope that one day the Karuk people might be able to consider holding that ceremony once again. Ian James is a reporter who focuses on water and climate change in California and the West. Before joining the Los Angeles Times in 2021, he was an environment reporter at the Arizona Republic and the Desert Sun. He previously worked for the Associated Press as a correspondent in the Caribbean and as bureau chief in Venezuela. Follow him on Bluesky @ianjames.bsky.social and on X @ByIanJames. California Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Walleye are moving upstream and being caught more frequently by anglers Walleye are spreading at an alarming rate upstream in the Snake and Salmon rivers and now occupy critical rearing and migratory areas of juvenile salmon and steelhead Idaho Fish and Game has asked – and continues to ask – anglers to harvest any walleye they catch in Idaho salmon and steelhead rivers and report the location and size of the fish to help Fish and Game better understand how this species is spreading Anyone who catches a walleye in rivers is asked to kill it, take a photo and contact Idaho Fish and Game Biologist Marika Dobos at the Lewiston Regional Office by email at marika.dobos@idfg.idaho.gov anglers reported catching 19 walleye in the Snake and Salmon rivers and so far in 2024 we have received over 60 verified reports of walleye that were caught The increase is likely due to increasing abundances of walleye and our efforts to reach out to anglers about walleye These walleye were caught in Snake River upstream to Hells Canyon Dam and in the Salmon River upstream to Riggins Size of walleye reported by anglers ranged from 13 to 30 inches in total length but most were 16 to 18 inches Long stretches of these rivers are difficult to access so fishing effort can be low so we know there are many more walleye out there.  This increase in walleye abundance is concerning to fisheries manager because an additional non-native predator adds to the list of factors that influence salmon and steelhead survival Idaho Fish and Game biologists joined with leaders from several other state and tribal entities to discuss how to manage walleye where salmon and steelhead occur There are many challenges when considering walleye management strategies but the goal of this group is to determine how big of a problem these fish are going to be especially with other predators in the system and to reduce walleye predation on salmon and steelhead populations where possible.  One of the best tools we have as managers that could slow the expansion of walleye are anglers Thousands of anglers fish the Snake and Salmon rivers every year and if they killed every walleye they caught it could slow their expansion Most anglers encounter walleye while fishing for smallmouth bass with worms Steelhead anglers have also started reporting catching walleye while backtrolling plugs so chances are you might encounter them with anything resembling a small fish Some hot spots are right off sandy beaches Most have been caught at or near the bottom at varying depths.  and report any of those fish to a regional Fish and Game office.  Here are more articles about walleye in Idaho:  Walleye aren't bad fish, just the wrong fish for Idaho | Idaho Fish and Game Walleye are spreading into Idaho | Idaho Fish and Game Data shows increasing numbers of walleye at Lower Granite Dam near Lewiston | Idaho Fish and Game The February wreck of the Aleutian Storm off Salmon Creek devastated the Sonoma Coast's close-knit commercial fishing community — and intensified levels of frustration with first responders The Aleutian Storm lies stranded on south Salmon Creek Beach just north of Bodega Bay after running aground late Friday night Horseback riders with Horse N Around Trail Rides pass by the Aleutian Storm that lays stranded on south Salmon Creek Beach after the vessel ran aground late Friday night Waves crash on the Aleutian Storm as excavators work to free the fishing vessel on South Salmon Creek Beach north of Bodega Bay Efforts to refloat the vessel failed after a haul line broke flanked by California State Parks personnel watch waves crash on the fishing vessel after an attempt to dislodge the boat failed along South Salmon Creek Beach north of Bodega Bay Personnel from a salvage crew wait to offload equipment from the Aleutian Storm the seas became too rough to continue working on the beached vessel at south Salmon Creek State Beach Waves crash in to the side of the Aleutian Storm After crews offloaded a pump and fuel hoses tilts heavy to starboard as the first in a line of Pacific storms moves in to the region In one of the several attempts to salvage the Aleutian Storm personnel from Parker Diving of Sausalito climb up and into the vessel on Salmon Creek State Beach south State Parks and salvage crews watch as an excavator is used to push sand in order to pull the Aleutian Storm out of the surf the seas became to rough to continue working on the beached vessel at south Salmon Creek State Beach Waves crash over the remaining hull of the Aleutian Storm along the shore of south Salmon Creek State Beach Debris from the Aleutian Storm separated from the hull along the shore of south Salmon Creek State Beach Personnel from Parker Diving of Sausalito salvage what is left from the Aleutian Storm fishing vessel on Salmon Creek State Beach south Personnel from Parker Diving of Sausalito use cutting torches to help with the salvage of the Aleutian Storm fishing vessel on Salmon Creek State Beach south Pieces of foam debris from the Aleutian Storm wreckage are scattered along Salmon Creek State Beach near Bodega Bay What's left of the Aleutian Storm fishing boat is framed through rope from the grounded vessel during a special Coastwalk California cleanup on south Salmon Creek Beach at Bodega Dunes State Park A thunderstorm bears down on volunteers with Coastwalk California as they resort to ground level work picking up bits of Styrofoam from the Aleutian Storm fishing vessel that was beached in February at Salmon Creek Beach south It was nearing midnight and too dark for captain Chris Fox to see the land or determine how far offshore he was The engine and all other onboard systems were still working but Fox knew he could hold the 57-ton fishing vessel only so long before the waves drove it ashore in total jeopardy yet,” he recalled two and a half weeks later—after his $1.2 million vessel had been lost to winter storms wind and waves south of Salmon Creek along Sonoma Coast State Park which wasn’t immediately forthcoming—not in the way he had hoped to come get me right then and there,” Fox says We needed to get towed out into slightly deeper water.” Fox has been enmeshed in a grief-infused swirl of phone calls desperate attempts to try to save the vessel before it became dug in on land Fox said he watched what might have been a several-hundred-thousand-dollar recovery swell into likely millions of dollars in salvage efforts—costs for which he is liable The February loss of the Aleutian Storm is the latest controversy surrounding the Coast Guard’s local response to grounded vessels While the details of each emergency are unique they are viewed with similar frustration and pain by some who believe more could—and should— have been done to save them from breaking apart on land the Aleutian Storm’s fate reflects the perils of the Dungeness crab season and commercial fishing in general It’s a grueling profession that demands crews leave port for days at a time to haul in as much as they can harvest within the parameters of fishery regulations and the capacity of their vessels to hold and chill their catch Fox would not confirm reports that his boat landed near shore in the first place because he dozed off while en route from northern crabbing grounds to Bodega Harbor to refuel But he conceded that restrictions limiting commercial crabbing boats to half their permitted crab traps this past season—an effort to reduce the risk of marine animal entanglement—made the hours of work seem longer than usual He said he and his crew of three had been out fishing for two and a half days before his vessel ran too close to shore “You push yourself and you push yourself,” veteran fisherman Dick Ogg president of the Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Marketing Association a fishing vessel named the Seastar ran aground near Point Reyes National Seashore after its captain apparently fell overboard and drowned the disabled American Challenger ran aground on the Marin coast some in the close-knit commercial fishing community believe it was the Coast Guard’s inaction during the first minutes and hours of a crisis and beyond that led to the loss Coast Guard officials counter that each response is tailored to the circumstances Personnel need time to assess the situation before deciding who to send and critics like veteran Fort Bragg fisherman Chris Iversen sense déjà vu in the pattern of lost vessels—each briefly in a position for a possible save only to later run aground Iversen believes resources and equipment dispatched to clean up the aftermath would better serve everyone if they were directed to help boats in jeopardy in the first place “The Coast Guard mission statement says that they’re there to ‘mitigate the consequences of marine casualties and disastrous events,’” Iversen said minimizing the loss of life and property.” 9 when captain Chris Fox made his distress call from the Aleutian Storm over Channel 16 the federally designated radio frequency for maritime emergencies The fishing vessel was off the coast south of Salmon Creek Coast Guard’s Bodega Bay Station at Doran Beach Fox said the Coast Guard watch standers who answered his call went through a long list of questions: What were the names of those on board Were the GPS coordinates Fox provided correct If the Aleutian Storm was where he said it was He said friends on other crabbing boats heard his appeal for help Some called the Coast Guard to ask them to repeat coordinates for the troubled vessel thinking they might be near enough to help It was part of a period of confusing communication across the radio during which it was clear multiple agencies at multiple levels were being consulted Fox said he was pleading for the motor lifeboat which he believes should have taken only 20 minutes or so to arrive from the station at Doran Beach That the Aleutian Storm was in trouble “is my fault,” Fox said “but you would think they would have a plan to respond.” Commander Danielle Shupe was the search and rescue coordinator for the agency’s San Francisco Sector that night “If there was a way that the Coast Guard could have safely assisted the Aleutian Storm at that time Shupe explained that decisions about how to respond to a distress call are based on deliberate measured discussions under the Coast Guard’s Operational Risk Management guidelines balancing potential gains like preserving life and property against risks to agency personnel and assets “Our priority is to save life and protect life but we also have a priority of protecting property and the environment and the economy,” balanced against “the risk that we’re asking of our boat crews and copter crews,” she said “which is an extremely dangerous position for the vessel and crew to be in,” said Shupe Each option available that night—delivering a rescue swimmer by air approaching from land through breaking surf or having Fox and crew abandon ship—raised tremendous risk There also was the remote location to consider where a tugboat could have been mobilized more quickly The Coast Guard did approve dispatch of the motor lifeboat from Doran Beach notifying Station Bodega Bay to launch the vessel at 11:34 p.m. 21 minutes after Fox’s distress call came in according to petty officer Hunter Schnabel A Eurocopter MH65 Dolphin was sent from San Francisco at the same time Fox said the aircraft arrived well ahead of the lifeboat and there was talk of an attempted airlift that prospect “seemed even more dangerous than what we were in already,” he said The Coast Guard helicopter crew also raised concerns about rigging on the vessel that could interfere with a rescue attempt Officials said it quickly became clear that a close approach was not safe Shupe said the depth of the water surrounding Fox’s boat the vessel’s proximity to shore amid shifting tides potentially unseen rocks or other obstructions and the fishing vessel’s draft factored in the decision not to approach The lifeboat’s crew that night determined they had to stay at least 700 feet away from the Aleutian Storm or risk bottoming out in the shallow water “Towing of disabled vessels is something that we do almost daily from the sub-units of sector San Francisco and so that is not anything unusual,” said Shupe “But I would say the circumstances of this particular case were unusual due to the environmental conditions due to the vessel’s location in the surf zone.” Petty officer Schnabel noted that the 3-inch towline that is standard gear on the 47-foot lifeboats while rated for 150 tons of maximum tow capacity “They’re not designed to do the things that a tugboat does,” Schnabel said Fox repeatedly tried to back off the sandbar and refloat his boat the waves took over and pushed it into shore at what he estimated to be about 12:30 a.m. Additional Coast Guard personnel who drove to the scene arriving well in advance of the motor lifeboat The Coast Guard said the fishermen were reported safely ashore at 1:20 a.m. The window for saving the Aleutian Storm that night had closed “We basically just hopped off the boat onto the sand,” leaving the vessel in “perfect condition,” said Fox phone calls and questions from authorities about his plan to get the vessel off the coastline the Aleutian Storm was not yet fully wedged into the sand and Fox thought there was still a chance a tugboat might be able to tow it back to open water and Fox was well insured: He had every chance of rebuilding Fox’s confidence that he could refloat the vessel and its good structural condition convinced the Coast Guard to allow him the next day to make the attempt the Coast Guard was part of a unified command structure that included California State Parks the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response the Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management 50 or more members of the fishing community from ports throughout the northern half of the state converged on the beach to help who had towed another fishing vessel into shore from 9 1/2 miles out just four or five days earlier regardless of who it is or what the situation Fox had called a tugboat that already was in the region but it had to stay so far offshore—maybe a quarter-mile away Ogg said—that a tow was only feasible if the tugboat had a very strong What was available on the tugboat did not fit that description We’re not specialized with this type of stuff there would have been no help with anything.” Taking advantage of high tide Sunday morning a rescue swimmer and State Parks lifeguards ran the towline out to the tug while fishermen on shore gripped a separate set of lines and lent their collective strength to straightening the boat so it could more smoothly slide off the sand In what one volunteer described as a “really humbling” display of courage Fox and his crew remained on the 58-foot vessel as crashing waves battered and tilted the vessel sharply toward the surf the Coast Guard and other agencies monitored the situation for safety and possible fuel spills was to prevent an unknown quantity of diesel still on board from getting into the water The Coast Guard did not intervene in the rescue attempt The effort was considered a salvage operation and therefore the purview of the vessel owner Coast Guard involvement in the work of tugboats would be prohibited as “interference with commerce.” The agency did not have immediate access to appropriate recovery equipment either But “it’s always our desire to allow the party to try,” as long as it can be done safely “It’s personal property,” said Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary superintendent Maria Brown to try to move the Aleutian Storm off the sand Given high waves predicted in advance of a winter storm later that week the unified command federalized the incident the next day taking the operation out of Fox’s hands and making the Coast Guard lead agency Fox and his crew left the vessel for the last time Monday afternoon in the bucket of an excavator parked on the beach had spent the previous two and a half days making sandcastles on the beach Fox said watching his kids play on the beach and hearing them cry sad to leave the beach and their sandcastles as the family walked away was “the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.” a few unsuccessful efforts were made to haul the Aleutian Storm higher up on the beach to try to prevent it from breaking apart in the surf But a shattered cabin window allowed in so much water that the structure soon was destroyed its debris littered across a long stretch of coast salvage crews used heavy equipment to begin dismantling the remainder of the Aleutian Storm and collect debris that had been scattered on the beach Officials said they had made good progress despite battling active surf and constantly shifting sands workers had removed about three-fourths of what was left But two large pieces of hull were still on the beach emergency response coordinator for the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Heavy swells moved sand into and around the wreckage as fast as salvage crews could scoop it out five weeks after the Aleutian Storm was grounded salvage operations were put on hold—an “operational pause” until the return of minus tides in June sanctuary representatives took into account changing tides and a shift away from the extra-low water levels that allowed for longer periods of work Another issue was the beginning of the nesting season for a tiny endangered seabird called the western snowy plover which counts the beach area near the wrecked vessel among its few remaining nesting spots Still unknown is how much of the Aleutian Storm’s diesel fuel was spilled Of the estimated 1,500 gallons on board initially Delaney said 197 gallons were recovered during salvage efforts Some fuel had been expended early on as Fox ran the engines during the rescue attempts a hastily organized band of volunteers swooped in to collect as much of the remaining litter from the beach as possible And officials say they’re committed to salvage the remaining wreckage some of which peeks out above the sandy beach these days though the remains of the Aleutian Storm are mostly buried Delaney said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fish and Wildlife Service are working with Fox’s salvage contractors to resume work during low tides in mid-summer But their work is complicated by the presence of active plover nests nearby Nesting season for the endangered plovers does not close until mid-September The destruction of the Aleutian Storm revived criticism of the Coast Guard’s response to grounded vessels—a kind second-guessing that gains strength with each loss who sold his boat and retired from commercial fishing last year due to the troubled nature of the industry said his thoughts could be considered moot after seeing several vessels run aground and break apart while the U.S he shares the concerns of others in the local fishing fleet who believe the agency’s reluctance to act jeopardizes vessels that could be saved “It’s at the point now where I wouldn’t call the Coast Guard “It comes back that we don’t have trust in them.” who dates his doubt in the agency to the 2011 loss of the fishing vessel Tasu near Bolinas the 48-foot Tasu foundered in shallow water off Marin County’s Stinson Beach small Coast Guard stations like the one near Fort Baker in Horseshoe Bay only respond when human life is at risk Ambiel’s boat also was in water deemed too shallow for one of the agency’s 47-foot motor lifeboats to navigate The captain was left to try to free his boat on his own It eventually overturned and filled with sand Coast Guard officials cite challenges specific to each incident which could not be overcome safely and prevented their intervention the risk to Coast Guard assets like boats and equipment Shupe said her agency is “sensitive to the concerns of the fishing community,” as well as to the reality of the North Coast’s rather remote distance from tugboats and other assets more readily available in environmental factors and dangers dashed hopes of saving the vessel The Coast Guard has a different calculus when asking crews to risk their own safety to protect property when no one on board is threatened with injury or death “Obviously there’s a lot of complexity to a response like this.” Tal Roseberry was especially close to another incident in February 2022 when a young fisherman named Ryan Kozlowski fell overboard and perished while working alone harvesting Dungeness crab off Point Reyes National Seashore Commercial and recreational crabbers in the area found Kozlowski’s boat They sought help to anchor or tow the boat to preserve it for Koslowski’s family and prevent it from running ashore But the vessel soon broke apart on Kehoe Beach The Seastar incident occurred almost exactly a year after a decommissioned unoccupied fishing vessel being towed south from Port Angeles came loose when a steel shackle linking it to its tugboat failed The 90-foot American Challenger was adrift for more than 12 hours before ending up on the rocks off the north Marin coast Both the tugboat and the American Challenger were uninsured said at the time that the Coast Guard had several options to prevent the American Challenger from running aground including getting on board and dropping the anchor or securing a 100-foot-long “insurance line” tied to a buoy and trailing behind the vessel Coast Guard representatives cited reasons for decisions that are difficult to evaluate in hindsight But the decisions were robustly challenged at the time the Coast Guard said the then-commander of the 87-foot Coast Guard cutter Hawksbill had determined it was unsafe to put personnel aboard “due to weather conditions and the unknown structural integrity of the unmanned vessel.” Lint countered that “calm seas” and “unlimited visibility” prevailed during the extended period the American Challenger remained offshore He pointed out that Coast Guard personnel would not have had to get on board to secure the trailing insurance line which might have kept the vessel off the rocks the Coast Guard said the vessel was on rocks by the time its personnel boarded so towing the vessel would have risked rupture to the hull and the potential release of fuel or other pollutants into waters of the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary They also considered the possibility that Kozlowski might have become entangled in gear or rigging underneath the boat and wanted to find him or his remains before moving the vessel But fishermen who were present said the Seastar remained in deep water by the time the search for Kozlowski moved elsewhere The loss of the fishing vessel added to the pain of its captain’s family the Aleutian Storm was on a sandbar for an hour or more before waves shoved it into the surf at Salmon Creek Beach “When I say it traumatized the whole industry,” said Iversen “I mean it traumatized the whole industry.” He believes that there’s an opportunity to reconsider the response to vessels in distress along the North Coast—perhaps by staging a suitable tow line near the harbor “It’s frustrating because we do have the infrastructure within our area to respond to these kinds of incidents,” said west Sonoma County supervisor Lynda Hopkins “It just felt like all the ingredients weren’t there.” Hopkins and Sonoma County emergency management director Jeff DuVall also believe a fix is possible They are now working with Ogg to develop a playbook for vessel groundings that identifies best practices and available resources like tugboats and other equipment plus phone numbers and government agency roles—“kind of like a wildfire plan,” explained Ogg They hope to improve coordination between the Coast Guard the Office of Spill Prevention and Response the county and the fishing community for faster “Up until the Coast Guard federalizes a case,” said DuVall “it is 100% on the owner to try to mitigate and get the vessel off the beach and that’s when we saw the community coming together and trying to help Fox is hopeful his insurance will cover the costs for which he’s responsible but he’s exasperated by the need to make a claim of complete loss Though final figures aren’t available and the status of his insurance claim is unknown Fox recently declined to say anything further about the claim “I spent a lot of time on that boat thinking it would be saved while my kids built sandcastles right next to it,” Fox said though it had by then been smashed to pieces Restoration of Lagunitas Creek is critical to removing Central California Coast (CCC) coho salmon and CCC steelhead from the Endangered Species List Lagunitas Creek is the largest river system in Marin County and has two large tributaries Lagunitas Creek coho salmon contribute important genetics to a critical recovery effort the Russian River coho salmon Broodstock Program there is a very active restoration community that cares deeply about these species Community members gather to watch the coho salmon spawning each year at the state park spawning coho salmon and steelhead supported a vibrant ecosystem future generations will be able to enjoy a healthy river full of salmon The SHaRP process identifies potential high-quality salmon and steelhead habitat at the watershed scale and recommends restoration treatments to strengthen these areas The SHaRP process also provides for a structured collaboration between representatives of resource agencies and land managers to collaboratively identify the greatest impacts to salmon during each stage of their life cycle depended heavily on local community engagement Creating these highly-specific restoration plans requires a deep The SHaRP Action Plan for Lagunitas Creek prioritizes restoration to: Download the full Lagunitas Creek SHaRP Action Plan (PDF 44 pages) for more details about this process and for the action plan maps and tables If you have any questions or would like to collaborate on implementing the actions in this action plan In early September, the US Forest Service released a draft decision notice that would allow for the recommissioning of an old mine site at the headwaters of the South Fork Salmon River in central Idaho would be the largest antimony producer in the country (antimony is used in lead-acid batteries and flame retardants) and potentially one of the top ten producing gold deposits as well would require huge infrastructure developments the project would cost $1.3 billion and take three years to build and it would have an active mining lifespan of 15 years have expressed concern that the mine could be detrimental to the ecosystem and that the decision notice has largely ignored public comments “This decision is a grave disservice to the hundreds of people who voiced concerns about the cyanide vat leach mine, and it appears that the Forest Service has not made any substantive changes to the project,” said John Robison of the Idaho Conservation League in a press release “The plan still involves excavating three massive open pits punching in a road through three roadless areas and along the boundary of the Frank Church Wilderness and filling Meadow Creek with toxic mine waste.” The Frank Church is widely regarded as one of the most intact sections of salmon-spawning habitat in the Lower 48, with the South Fork watershed being particularly special. According to the Forest Service the area “contains the most important remaining habitat for summer chinook salmon in the Columbia River basin.” Perpetua Resources claims that their proposed mine will actually help local salmon and native bull trout populations by improving and reconnecting previously damaged habitats thereby “improving habitat connectivity” and restoring fish passage to the upper reaches of the river point out that other environmental costs to the area outweigh those benefits “We are particularly concerned about increased water temperatures in watersheds that are home to Endangered Species Act-protected salmon Conservation Director at Idaho Rivers United “We know that stream flows in the East Fork of the South Fork watershed will be reduced by up to 30 percent and the removal of riparian shading will increase predicted stream temperatures by up to 6.6 degrees Celsius for up to 100 years.” appears to be pushing the Stibnite Mine through including the addition of five amendments to the current Payette National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan to make way for the mine and associated infrastructure development the project is now open for a 45-day objection period (open only to those who have previously submitted comments on the project) A caller to emergency dispatch reported three people on a boat being battered by waves A desperate rescue unfolded off the Sonoma County coast Monday as beachgoers dashed into rough surf to save passengers from a capsized boat a tragedy that left one dead and four others injured who joined the frantic rescue effort around 2 p.m at North Salmon Creek Beach near Bodega Bay said she and others on the beach scrambled to save the boat's passengers she recounted seeing the vessel close to shore where waves break roughly at the north end of Salmon Creek She and two other women waded into the crashing waves that reached their chests The boater she helped pull out alerted them there had been five people aboard The fourth boater was seen bobbing in the water before being rescued by first responders The fifth passenger washed ashore just south of Salmon Creek Four of the boaters were taken to the hospital Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Misti Wood said A Press Democrat reporter saw two being airlifted from the beach Emergency crews rushed to the scene around 1:45 p.m after a caller reported a boat being battered by waves near the shore Three people aboard were desperately waving a red flag for help named Achelous — which is a Greek river god — had run aground south of Salmon Creek’s mouth at the Pacific Ocean A Sonoma County Fire District helicopter and California Highway Patrol’s helicopter Coast Guard and California State Parks personnel The Pacific Ocean near North Salmon Creek Beach is “pretty rough,” National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Merchant said Monday A small craft advisory remains in effect for the area until 3 a.m with sustained winds reaching up to 30 mph and waves ranging from 8 to 13 feet — some even higher in certain areas The conditions “will be hazardous to small craft,” according to the advisory Monday’s wreck adds to a growing list of boating tragedies along the coast since noncommercial Dungeness crabbing season opened Nov A day later, on Nov. 3, another boat capsized near Mussel Point. One man was rescued, but Jason Prasad Coast Guard reported rescuing 15 boaters in four separate emergencies across the Bay Area and Monterey Coast Guard crews from Bodega Bay saved five people after their 24-foot boat became disabled a mile west of Kehoe Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore Staff Writer Andrew Graham contributed to this report OTIS – Clayton Morgan has spent the last eight years caring for hundreds of thousands of salmon steelhead and trout at the state’s hatchery along the Salmon River northeast of Lincoln City He and his family along with two other Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife employees live at the hatchery pulling shifts over seven days a week and responding to emergencies in the middle of the night Their jobs involve dozens of tasks ranging from putting in and taking out weirs in the Salmon River below the hatchery monitoring the huge electric pumps that pull up river water to circulate through holding ponds harvesting or sorting the salmon that return each fall raising incubated eggs to fingerling and smolts and then feeding them once they are in ponds or protecting the hatchery when catastrophes like the 2020 Echo Mountain fire swept through the Otis community Now Morgan expects he will be looking for a job – hopefully still with ODFW and doing what he went to college for but possibly returning to the construction trade That’s because ODFW plans to shutter the 49-year-old hatchery – plus another near Roseburg and a research facility east of Waldport – due to an impending $8 million hole in its proposed 2025-27 budget And by almost every measure the Salmon River Hatchery is the most inefficient to operate of the 14 such facilities ODFW owns across the state “The Salmon River Hatchery has gone through this potential closure process before,” Morgan says The planned closures are part of a three-pronged effort by ODFW to deal with the $8 million budget shortfall developing a proposed 2025-27 budget reflecting potential 10 percent cuts across much of the agency’s programs months-long look into all its hatchery operations The most immediate cuts have largely involved internal staff discussions and a report in June to ODFW’s seven-member commission The cuts are made necessary due to inflation and rapidly rising costs of everything from fish food to electricity to charges from other state agencies The proposed 10 percent cuts for 2025-27 were compiled by agency staff after talking to stakeholders and approved by the ODFW commission in June The hatchery resiliency study is funded by $1 million from the 2023 Legislature and has mostly involved economic and climate studies discussions with 10 fishing and other interest groups and three hour-long public webinars in August The proposed 2025-27 budget and its associated cuts – which could be offset somewhat by the first license increase in four years a new $9 yearly saltwater fishing endorsement and possibly the first increase in commercial harvesting fees in nine years – will be ultimately determined during the legislative session that begins in January But during that session the ODFW and its supporters will be fighting for money that is also needed for schools without the commercial and recreational fee adjustments these reductions will be even more extreme,” an ODFW memo says in laying out the planned hatchery closures and cuts to or elimination of eight other programs “While the planned reductions will be difficult they are necessary to offset the rapidly rising costs of doing business and reduce the scale of fee increases needed to maintain programs.” The proposed closures of the Salmon River and Rock Creek hatcheries would save $2 million a year Closing the Oregon Hatchery Research Center and the proposed elimination of 11 staff in fish monitoring programs would save $3.3 million The Salmon River Hatchery sits on 23 acres seven miles northeast of Lincoln City It contains living quarters for the three ODFW employees six holding and rearing ponds and raceways where fish live before their release and a separate building where eggs are grown into tiny fish some – but possibly not all – of its fish production could be moved to other hatcheries if state fish managers can find extra capacity at other facilities The situation is also tricky because hatchery-raised salmon will still return for years after the facility is shuttered To prevent hatchery Chinook from going farther upriver to mix with wild fish ODFW will still need to send staff to the hatchery each fall for five years or more to capture the returning salmon and sort out hatchery fish from wild fish “You just can’t close it and walk away,” said John Spangler the ODFW’s mid-coast fish biologist based in Newport “There’s just so many programs attached to it.” The agency could also lose the ability to augment summer runs of steelhead in the Siletz River One of the things that makes the Salmon River Hatchery expensive to operate is because the agency spends $5,000 a month just for electricity to run pumps that pull water from the Salmon River below the hatchery All other ODFW hatcheries have streams that naturally feed their operations The hatchery – like several other ODFW facilities — is also affected by river water temperatures that have been steadily rising over the years A water temperature of 52 to 57 degrees is best for raising fish But water temperatures at the Otis hatchery reached the upper 60s and 70s this summer – and has spiked to 100 degrees before — leading to bacterial disease in August that forced an earlier-than-preferred release of fall Chinook smolts the hatchery occupies a unique spot in international Chinook salmon management Each year the 200,000 or more fall Chinook smolts raised at the hatchery are electronically tagged and fin clipped so researchers can monitor the 3-5 years they spend off the coasts of southeast Alaska British Columbia and Vancouver Island – and then how many are caught by commercial and sport fisheries there those valuable fisheries are closed to allow enough to return to Oregon coastal streams “It’s a very rare gem in terms of fishery analysis and management,” says Ethan Clemons a Newport-based analyst for ODFW’s coastal chinook research and monitoring project “It has an impact on how international and domestic fisheries are managed and it’s an obligation the state has as part of the Pacific Salmon Treaty.” ODFW fish division manager Mike Harrington said the agency has been dealing with rapidly escalating costs and flat revenue and therefore needs to make cuts to many operations and to also propose fee increases “The Salmon River and Rock Creek hatcheries were chosen for closure because our analyses to date suggest that these two facilities are the most vulnerable to climate change (decreased flows flooding) and will be among the costliest to maintain going forward because of the deferred maintenance costs …” Harrington said in an email The Salmon River Hatchery is not the only one affected by the immediate cutbacks ODFW closed its Oregon Hatchery Research Center that sits along Fall Creek 27 miles east of Waldport after it determined a big 2020 landslide on Weyerhaeuser property upriver continues to make it too hard to keep silt out of its raceways The center sits on the site of a state coho salmon hatchery that closed in 1997 Eight years and $7.5 million later it reopened as a place for scientists from around the Northwest and the world to conduct research on hatchery salmon and steelhead that research has moved to Oregon State University and other hatcheries and the facility shuttered except for a volunteer caretaker living out of a travel trailer The agency is unsure what it will do with the facility The other affected facility is the Rock Creek Hatchery on the North Umpqua River 23 miles east of Roseburg which used to produce fall and spring Chinook Hatchery buildings were destroyed in the 2020 Archie Creek Fire and while there is limited Chinook chronic low stream flows and high water temperatures led to an ODFW decision not to rebuild it The more immediate plans to close the facilities near Lincoln City Waldport and Roseburg come at the same time the agency is leading a long review of all its hatchery operations that started when the Rock Creek Hatchery was destroyed but also with the realization that hatcheries consume a third of the fish division’s budget that most were built in the 1950s and need repairs or modernization and that climate change is greatly affecting operations “All these things coming together have put us at a tipping point,” ODFW deputy administrator Sean Clements told a webinar involving stakeholders and other interested parties last month But the agency also recognizes that 70 percent of the salmon and steelhead caught by commercial or recreational fishers each year originate in hatcheries It has contracted with consultants to help understand the economics of hatcheries look deeper into how warming temperatures and lower stream flows are affecting operations and interviewing 10 interest groups to get their views It costs the agency $5 to raise each Rainbow trout that are planted in lakes and later caught by a fisherman “We’re not expecting there will be consensus on this,” Clements said in August as he outlined areas of agreement ranging from climate change to fish abundance and disagreements on hatchery effectiveness and operations versus habitat restoration “There was more common ground than challenges … not to sound PollyAnne-ish.” ODFW will have to make hatchery investment decisions based on operating costs deferred maintenance and adjusting to climate change “You can’t just cut all hatcheries or all programs But we know which hatcheries are costing us the most.” September 27, 2024 at 10:20 am Saving Salmon and Steelhead fish from extinction is priceless I think closure of any coastal hatchery because of not making changes and upgrades over the decades is a poor excuses for not dealing with the problem at hand There are a lot of different areas ODFW can cut Increasing already high cost Oregon fishing licenses and creating new ways to tax fishing licenses is not the way to go especially with most recreational salmon fishing closures fishing licenses should be reduced not increased A Family of four can no longer afford go fishing together September 27, 2024 at 7:44 pm Our state has run off tax paying business by the hundreds even before COVID Driving by towns with empty buildings which once housed small independent owners is so sad Add them up mean loss of state tax revenue September 28, 2024 at 10:02 am I believe fishing should be closed above the new 101 bridge to somewhere above the hatchery starting Sept This would give the remaining salmon a chance In low water years they stay in tidewater sometimes to the middle of October before the first big rain It would also help to thin out the seal population that is a 1000% higher from when I first started fishing the river over 40 years ago I am a Salmon River property owner and at this point there are no native fish left that do not have some hatchery fish in them September 28, 2024 at 4:44 pm I am for the river closing as a land owner up river our native animals have starved our rivers dying when hatchery was closed from fire we had fish galore and love watching them spawn also then with this new management that started about 8 years ago the salmon all get jacked by hatchery for fishermen below dam as up river has died It will be wonderful to watch river come back to life when dams gone September 28, 2024 at 7:46 pm September 30, 2024 at 11:22 am Get rid of a lot of the engineers and get something done GARAGE SALE: Tell folks about your upcoming garage sale here LANDSCAPING SERVICES:  It’s that time of year Let everyone know what services you have to offer JOB OPENINGS: Need to let the community know that you need help Lincoln County Library District NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMITTEE MEETING Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue District SECOND NOTICE OF BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING Port of Alsea NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING Yachats Rural Fire Protection District NOTICE OF BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING Central Lincoln People’s Utility District LEGAL NOTICE OF BOARD VACANCY Click to display full size or right-click to save to your device Contact: Julie KlacanMedia Contact: Chase Gunnell These salmon are raised by Bellingham Technical College students as food for Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW) and to support tribal and recreational fisheries.  hatchery-produced Chinook salmon are returning to the mouth of Whatcom Creek in downtown Bellingham Though they’re following the same instinctive urge to swim upstream and spawn as their cousins in nearby rivers these Chinook are not intended to reproduce in the wild or even to make it more than a mile up the urban creek The Chinook in lower Whatcom Creek originate from the Samish River, where Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)’s Samish Hatchery staff take eggs and milt (sperm) from adult broodstock. At the hatchery WDFW is joined by students from Bellingham Technical College (BTC)’s Fisheries & Aquaculture Sciences program and fertilizing process before transferring more than half a million eggs annually to BTC’s Perry Center in Maritime Heritage Park students and faculty incubate the eggs until they hatch and grow into fry then feed and rear the tiny Chinook until they’re big enough to head out to sea With support from the Lummi Nation and Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission staff they carefully clip their adipose fins to mark them as hatchery-raised salmon the BTC students release the fish near where Whatcom Creek flows into Bellingham Bay—all with three specific goals in mind: “We ask Bellingham residents and visitors to please be respectful of fishers,” said Julie Klacan “The hatchery Chinook salmon returning to Whatcom Creek are a collaborative success story between Bellingham Technical College “The Chinook program has provided a wonderful expansion of the hands-on hatchery training for our students,” said Brittany Palm-Flawd BTC Fisheries & Aquaculture Sciences Faculty and Hatchery Manager “Not only does it help them build valuable skills as they raise and release a new species but they also get to see Washington’s co-management system in action As the Chinook return to the college hatchery each year BTC students really see their work make an impact on our fisheries and aquatic ecosystems." The state-managed salmon fishery in lower Whatcom Creek is open Saturdays and Sundays only through Sept. 15. Fishing is closed Monday through Friday. A valid fishing license and salmon Catch Record Card are required Only hatchery Chinook may be retained; any other salmon caught must be released Fishing is closed at night from one hour after official sunset to one hour before official sunrise An Anti-Snagging Rule is in effect during the state fishery, meaning fishing gear is restricted to a lure or bait with one single-point hook; check the regulations for additional details Snagging is defined as an effort to take fish with a hook and line in a manner that the fish does not take the hook or hooks voluntarily in its mouth Tribal fishers enrolled with the Lummi Nation or Nooksack Indian Tribe may fish Whatcom Creek according to their fishery rules and schedules These co-managers have several special fisheries planned such as Tribal Youth Chinook Fishery days when gear will be available to loan to tribal youth Reports of suspected poaching or unlawful fishing can be sent to WDFW Police by calling 877-933-9847, emailing reportpoaching@dfw.wa.gov, or using the form at wdfw.wa.gov/about/enforcement/report The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife works to preserve wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities Request this information in an alternative format or language at wdfw.wa.gov/accessibility/requests-accommodation, 833-885-1012, TTY (711), or CivilRightsTeam@dfw.wa.gov Request translations or interpretation The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has released the “Klamath River Anadromous Fishery Reintroduction and Restoration Monitoring Plan (PDF),” a 60-page blueprint to guide the reintroduction and monitoring of Chinook salmon steelhead and Pacific lamprey in a newly undammed Klamath River The plan’s principal goal is to reestablish viable self-sustaining populations for species conservation The primary strategy is to allow these ocean-going fish species to naturally recolonize some 420 miles of newly accessible spawning and rearing habitat The last two remaining barriers – cofferdams at the former Iron Gate and Copco No 1 dam footprints – were breached this week returning the Klamath River to a free-flowing state in California for the first time in a century “The largest dam removal project in American history is part of something even bigger as we work with countless partners to achieve the largest river restoration project in American history which is a super exciting space to be in,” said CDFW Director Charlton H “Nature teaches us time and time again just how resilient she is sustain themselves and help heal and sustain the communities that cherish them There is no bigger game-changer underway for Pacific salmon in the West than this effort.” The Klamath River anadromous fishery plan was prepared in collaboration with Native American Tribes Beyond the newly available habitat within the main stem of the Klamath River anadromous fish species also have access to several important tributaries upstream of the Iron Gate Dam footprint that historically supported these fish through several critical life stages and will provide reliable sources of cool water in warmer months and in warming climate conditions Fall Creek will play a significant role in the restoration of the Klamath River The creek is home to the newly constructed $35 million Fall Creek Fish Hatchery intended to jump-start salmon populations in the upper basin The Fall Creek Fish Hatchery replaces CDFW’s Iron Gate Fish Hatchery the former owner and operator of the hydroelectric facilities on the Klamath River PacifiCorp is slated to fund hatchery operations for the next eight years Annual production goals consist of 3.25 million fall-run Chinook salmon and 75,000 coho salmon The Klamath River Anadromous Fishery Reintroduction and Restoration Monitoring Plan calls for an “adaptive management approach,” which means future management decisions and strategies can change based on extensive monitoring detailed in the plan and coordination with Klamath Basin fisheries partners Idaho’s fall Chinook Salmon season opened on August 18 and the Coho Salmon season starts on September 1 I figured I better put out an update to let people know what is going on with these fisheries I will try to answer the questions people have been asking most frequently including what are the runs looking like what percent of the runs are being trapped at Lower Granite Dam for broodstock and what fishing rules do you need to follow if you have both an Idaho and Washington fishing license and would like to fish the boundary waters and/or both states during the same day.  Fall Chinook “officially” started passing over Lower Granite Dam on August 18 which means we don’t have a lot to go on to evaluate how this year’s return is progressing I have provided the figure below that shows how the 2024 preseason forecast (bars furthest to right) compares to previous year’s returns This forecast suggests that this year’s return will be less than the previous four years but still enough to provide good fishing opportunities.  Counts at Bonneville Dam and Lower Granite Dam suggest a couple things the 139,000 adult fall Chinook Salmon that have been counted passing over Bonneville Dam is the most we have ever seen for this time period (Aug 1 through Aug 28) The majority of these fish are destined for the upper Columbia River but what we see at Bonneville Dam reflects on what we can expect to see upstream of Lower Granite Dam the counts we are seeing at Lower Granite Dam for this same time period are also the highest we have ever seen The other thing these counts tell us is the run will likely come in higher than the preseason forecast if we look just at the PIT tagged fish that are destined for the Snake River this data suggest that we could see over 35,000 adult fish make to Lower Granite Dam which is quite a bit higher than the 24,000 fish preseason forecast Just how early this run is will dictate just how many fish will ultimately pass over Lower Granite Dam this year To help those of you who were wondering when the best time to fish for fall Chinook is I have provided the figure below that shows the average run timing (for the past 10 years) for adult fall Chinook Salmon to Lower Granite Dam This information shows that the beginning of the second week of September is when fall Chinook Salmon counts at Lower Granite Dam typically peak they typically stay up for two to three weeks Based on the adult Chinook Salmon counts that have occurred this year it looks like good counts (> 1000 fish/day) at Lower Granite Dam will start occurring a week earlier than normal An important thing to realize is that when many of the fish arrive at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers they stop migrating and hang out in the cool Clearwater River flows Many of these fish will remain in this area until the Snake River cools down (typically around mid to late September) these fish will resume their migration upstream What this means is the number of fish in the confluence area will build up until water temperatures cool down in the Snake River.  For those who like to fish in the flowing rivers such as the Clearwater River upstream of the Potlatch mill the later you will want to wait before you head out the Snake River typically cools down around mid to late September if you want to fish in the Snake River above Asotin you won’t see a lot of fish until after mid to late September fishing often doesn't pick up until October Fish will enter the Clearwater River earlier than the Snake River because it has cold water but fishing still doesn’t usually get good until late September it is important to know that when the fish first get to areas they want to spawn they tend to hold in the deeper pools and runs they will start moving into shallower water near gravels bars and pool tail-outs I provided the figure below to give you a feel for how the Coho Salmon preseason forecast to Lower Granite Dam for 2024 compares to previous years the forecast for this year’s return is similar to what occurred last year (around 14,000 fish) Coho Salmon typically don’t start showing up at Lower Granite Dam until around mid-September so we have some time before we will understand how accurate this forecast is we can glean information from counts and PIT tag detections at Bonneville Dam over 27,000 Coho Salmon have been counted at Bonneville Dam That is the second highest count we have ever seen at Bonneville dam for this time PIT tag detections of Coho Salmon at Bonneville Dam are also promising PIT tags estimated about 3,300 of these fish are destined for Idaho that would result in around 24,000 Coho making it to Lower Granite Dam It would make sense that this run is early seeing both steelhead and fall Chinook Salmon appear to have early run timings this year the 24,000 fish PIT tag projection will be on the high side this early information suggest that we will have another good Coho Salmon return to Idaho this year Coho Salmon typically don’t start showing up in Idaho until mid-September and fishing doesn’t get good until October Good fishing can occur through much of November.  Most of the Coho Salmon returning to Idaho were reared at Dworshak Hatchery and released in Lapwai Creek and Clear Creek at Kooskia Hatchery Some Coho Salmon were also reared at Eagle Creek Fish Hatchery in Oregon and released into a tributary of the Grande Ronde River Although Coho Salmon will scatter throughout the Clearwater and Snake rivers anglers tend to have the most success in those area where they congregate – the areas they were released and reared at.  The fall Chinook Salmon hatchery program has played a key role in why fall Chinook Salmon returns to the Snake River basin have improved dramatically since the 1980’s and 1990’s Three hatcheries rear and release fall Chinook Salmon in the Snake River basin Their overall goal is to release close to 6 million smolts into the Snake River basin with about 80% of these fish being released upstream of Lower Granite Dam The broodstock for this program is collected at a fish trap located on Lower Granite Dam’s fish ladder These fish are trapped in a manner to help meet broodstock goals and reduce handling of wild steelhead trapping started on August 18 with 70% of the return being trapped For marked fish (fish that had a clipped adipose fin or some type of tag) they were kept for broodstock if their fork length was over 80 cm (about 33 inches total length) whereas if they were not marked (adipose intact and no tags detected) they were kept if they were over 70 cm (about 28 inches total length) broodstock collection has been going better than expected this year the trap rate dropped to 40% and the only fish kept for broodstock are unmarked fish (adipose intact and no tags detected) that are > 70 cm What this means is that when we were trapping 70% of the run about 65% of those fish counted at the window made it past Lower Granite Dam Now that the trap rate is at 40% and only unmarked fish are being kept over 80% of the fish counted at the window will make it past the dam and into the fishery Coho Salmon broodstock have also been collected at Lower Granite Dam in the past the Nez Perce Tribe has been successful in collecting sufficient broodstock at trap sites in Lapwai Creek Because the Coho Salmon return looks like it will be good this year it is unlikely that broodstock will need to be collected at Lower Granite Dam.  I’m not going to go into details on Idaho’s seasons and rules for fall Chinook Salmon or Coho Salmon because you can review them by clicking on these links: For those who like to fish in Washington or with a Washington fishing license in the confluence area, you can view their regulations for the Snake River by clicking on this link (WDFW Snake River Fall Chinook regulations) Washington has the same limits and seasons as Idaho One popular area to fish for fall Chinook Salmon is around the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers (see map below) Where it can get complicated is for those people who have both an Idaho and Washington fishing license and fish in Washington only waters you should be aware of the following things you can only exercise the privileges of one license at the same time if you are fishing with two rods (Idaho allows this if you have a two-pole permit Washington does not allow this) in the boundary water You also must follow all other Idaho regulations such as in Idaho whoever hooks the fish must tag the fish (in Washington whoever lands the fish must tag the fish) you are entitled to have in possession only the limit allowed by one license regardless of the number of licenses in possession If you plan to fish in both boundary waters and Washington only waters, I urge you to call up the WDFW (WDFW Contact Info) to understand how they will enforce various scenarios I copied the following wording from Washington’s regulations that anglers may not be aware of “Before utilizing a Washington fishing license or fishing Washington only waters any fish retained while using another state’s license must be returned to shore before continuing to angle.” In other words don’t catch a fish in the boundary water and tag it on an Idaho permit and then continue into Washington only waters with that fish in your boat If you plan to fish for fall Chinook Salmon or Coho Salmon you may also encounter steelhead or Sockeye Salmon so it is imperative that you be able to differentiate between these four species Be aware that anglers have been catching Sockeye Salmon this year and there is no season on them anywhere upstream of the mouth of the Snake River There are many different sources that can help you identify the differences between these species I have provided links below to some of the better sites Idaho County Dispatch received a third-hand report of a man who had fallen down a 40-foot cliff the previous night and required medical assistance The incident occurred near the west fork of Crooked Creek helicopters from Life Flight and Two Bear Air were initially unable to reach the scene Both aircraft monitored conditions throughout the day making stops at various locations while waiting for a break in the weather the initial search was unsuccessful as the patient had moved from the given coordinates Idaho County Dispatch remained in communication with those on-site confirming the patient’s stability overnight and providing updated coordinates for the helicopter Two Bear Air located the 33-year-old Washington resident and transported him to Grangeville Airport where Life Flight personnel met him for further transport to St Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston Idaho County Sheriff Doug Ulmer expressed gratitude to Two Bear Air and Life Flight for their assistance in the successful rescue Ghana's economy has been hit by brutal inflation for years Would you like to receive our daily news? Signup today there are no recent results for popular commented articles Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: a 79-year-old stained-glass artist from Salmon Creek and founder of Salmon Creek ArtWalk creates intricate artworks inspired by nature After 30 years of living near the beach at Salmon Creek on the Sonoma County coast Diana Bundy has seen her share of nature’s wonder: crashing waves She’s made a career of capturing these spectacles in art is first and foremost a stained-glass artist assembling and soldering tiny pieces of glass to create anywhere from eight to 10 intricate and whimsical commissions each year If you spot stained glass anywhere between Bodega Bay and Jenner The New Jersey native also creates different art in other media: three-dimensional wall pieces in copper and aluminum Most of the magic happens in a small studio — a refurbished garage to the north of her 1930s craftsman home. She calls the studio Salmon Creek Design with classical music playing and a special throne for her cat Pickles “That’s the thinking I try to bring with every piece.” Bundy didn’t come to art naturally; except for one art class in high school back east Her interest was piqued one day by happenstance she was driving down the street with her mother in the car marveled at how the light was reflecting off it and decided right then and there: She wanted to learn how to make that So she bought a book about the art form and began experimenting Every time she tried to create a piece she cut or burned her fingers and hands managing everything from loan processing to underwriting She worked in this career for roughly three decades when she and her husband Michael moved to Salmon Creek in the late 1990s coming to the beach was an opportunity to focus on my art,” she said “Out here there is beauty all around us — on the beach The only question is: What are you going to focus on and try to capture?” Walking into Bundy’s studio is like walking into a whimsical wonderland Various strings of colored lights hang from the ceiling — one with tiny plastic flip-flops Several pieces of Bundy’s original art hang on the walls Bundy does most of her glass work at a raised table that faces the door toward the front of the room — usually in two- to three-hour morning sessions every day She gets her sheets of colored glass from a shop in Marin County The process of creating stained-glass art is complicated to say the least she almost always works off specific measurements — usually to fill a spot in someone’s home She sets up a border of zinc to frame the piece Bundy slices segments of colored glass with a diamond-tipped cutter assembling them like a puzzle between sections of bendable lead she solders the lead at the joints to fuse everything together After a piece has been completely assembled she applies special compounds to “concrete” it and protect it against the elements “It’s an incredibly intricate process,” she said Bundy’s husband Michael — a woodworker and artist in his own right — helps with installation since the duo must be careful not to ruin the work so we usually go back and forth for a while until we figure it out,” said Michael who worked in construction around the Bay Area for nearly 45 years “It’s really great to be able to be a part of (her) process and help put these pieces into place.” A small piece depicting a setting sun sits in her own front gate adorns the entryway of a client’s home elsewhere in Bodega Bay Depending on the size of a piece and how complicated it is a Bundy original could cost multiple thousands of dollars Most pieces take about a month for her to create depending on how complicated the piece is and how much life gets in the way Sometimes her waitlist can run several months long has purchased a dozen pieces from Bundy over the years many of the pieces are incorporated into his home is a lifelike recreation of a great blue heron foraging in Salmon Creek “She does beautiful work that always looks realistic,” Perry said “The wave in particular is spectacular at night when it’s dark outside — if you go outside and you see the light shining through it Another way to interact with Bundy’s art is the Salmon Creek ArtWalk This biannual event is an opportunity for visitors to stroll around the tiny neighborhood of Salmon Creek and visit several different artists in their studios as they’re making art Bundy founded the juried event 25 years ago and she remains the only local artist to participate every time She said the ArtWalk is a great way to raise visibility about some of the work she and her neighbors are doing It’s also a good opportunity to sell some of her smaller stuff and this is a great way to see the creativity of the entire community,” said Bundy who noted that the next ArtWalk will be in the spring “Every now and again it’s fun to have people coming through the studio.” considering she’s been doing glass work for nearly 50 years one might wonder if she’s nearing a point in her life where she starts to wind things down “I’m lucky enough at this point in my life to be spending my time doing something I love and something I’ve always loved Another of Bundy’s passions that will continue: Her love for where she lives She added that she and Michael will continue to volunteer for the community — when they’re not exercising their creativity or tending to their home the duo runs both the local farmers’ market and the Bodega Bay Community Center She noted that locals call them the “stewards” of the community center “At this point I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else,” she said “It’s nice to feel like a part of such a special community.”