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Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast

Programs

Accomplishments

North American Salmon Stronghold Partnership

  • Introduction of the Pacific Salmon Stronghold Conservation Act. This legislation would create a new, proactive U.S. policy to focus federal resources on locally supported, prevention-based strategies to conserve wild salmon populations and healthy watersheds before they decline.
  • Created a Salmon Stronghold database and updated with new assessments of over 500 wild salmon populations in California and western Washington.
  • Completed a two year project with our partners California Trout and Trout Unlimited to map California's wild salmon strongholds and identify the threats to their long-term health.
  • Endorsed stronghold basin demonstration sites in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California and supported the first salmon stronghold demonstration site in Canada.
  • Brought together approximately 80 Partners representing state and federal agencies, tribes, local government, watershed councils, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, private foundations, and nonprofit conservation groups from Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, and Alaska for the North American Salmon Stronghold Partnership annual meeting in Portland, Oregon.
  • Leveraged $94,000 from the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP) to permanently reroute an existing water diversion and restore summer flows to the lower two miles of Rudio Creek, a cool water tributary of the North Fork John Day River used by summer steelhead for spawning and by spring Chinook for rearing.

Other North America Accomplishments

Washington Coast and Olympic Peninsula

  • Completed the Washington Coastal Conservation Needs Assessment in partnership with the Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Partnership. This assessment includes a summary of priority conservation needs and a compilation of over 20,000 pages of key documents related to habitat, hatchery, harvest, and hydropower issues related to salmon sustainability along Washington's coast (WRIAs 20 through 24).   
  • Working with the Quinault Indian Nation, the Queets and Quinault rivers were formally recognized as a salmon stronghold. This allowed WSC to leverage additional support for a time sensitive restoration project that resulted in completion one year ahead of schedule and $130,000 in savings.
  • In 2008, we released a report on the Hoh River Basin, which identifies and prioritizes tributaries critical to salmon conservation. The report has helped agencies and conservation groups prioritize 54 habitat restoration projects, two conservation easements, and 11 willing-seller land acquisitions.
  • Provided key testimony at Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission hearings in support of conservation policies that were subsequently adopted to protect and rebuild wild steelhead stocks throughout Washington State.
  • In 2007 and 2008, we helped established the North Pacific Coast Lead Entity (NPCLE) and the Washington Coast Sustainable Salmon Partnership (WCSSP)--the first and only regional group in the state dedicated to the sustainability of wild salmon and their ecosystems.
  • Co-founded the Hoh River Trust with Western Rivers Conservancy and provided key support for the acquisition of 7,000 acres of floodplain habitat along the Hoh River.
  • In 2004, we worked with local land owner Becky Dickson, to purchase 255 acres of mature riparian forest along Elk Creek. A tributary to the Calawah River, this 5-mile creek produces 35 percent of all salmon redds in the river. We transferred ownership of this property to the North Olympic Land Trust in 2009.

Oregon

  • Since 2008, WSC has spearheaded a broad conservation coalition to defend Oregon's North Coast. In 2010, WSC succeeded in stopping legislation that would mandate extensive clear cutting in some of the most important areas for salmon conservation. The WSC advocated for an independent scientific review by the Institute for Natural Resources at Oregon State University to determine the impacts of increased logging to salmon habitat. The WSC continues to work with Oregon's Governor and Oregon Board of Forestry to promote the creation of protected areas for salmon and wildlife.
  • Working with a coalition of conservation groups to protect key salmon "anchor" habitats along five rivers in the 500,000-acre Tillamook and Clatsop State Forest in Northwest Oregon. WSC testified before the Oregon Board of Forestry, making the case for keeping Wild Salmon Anchor Habitat areas in northwest Oregon's state forests and released Oregon North Coast Salmon Conservation Assessment.
  • Developed a landscape-wide assessment of the northern Coast Range analyzing watershed conditions in partnership with the Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other conservation groups.
  • Partnered with Wheeler County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to fund fish habitat restoration projects in the John Day basin.
  • Oregon adopted WSC's recommendations to limit harvest levels of rapidly declining Chinook populations.

Bristol Bay, Alaska

  • Conducted watershed analysis on the Copper River in Alaska to help inform salmon conservation planning models for the region.