One of the toughest and most frustrating steelhead seasons in many years will close Wednesday, March 31. From the Chetco south to the South Fork Eel River, and all the rivers in between, the fish just never showed up in numbers we’re accustomed to. No one knows for certain what caused the decline but it’s safe to say  we’ll all...
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 MISSOULA, Mont. — Ninety acres of prime elk habitat is now permanently protected and opened to public access in northern Idaho. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and partners worked with private landowners to purchase and convey their property to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG). "This is a unique project that touches on several positive facets of both conservation...
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If you’re looking to get that one last steelhead trip in, this could be the weekend to do it. All the rivers are green and have plenty of water. The main stem Eel and Chetco have good color and ample water, and that’s probably where you’ll find the majority of the boats. The Smith is low and clear, but still...
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Part of responsibly managing a watershed is efficiently using a limited water supply to balance the needs of both humans and wildlife. This is especially true in the highly variable climate of California, and even more so in a rain-fed river system like the Calaveras River, where the water supply can be unpredictable. Today, as part of World Water Day, we are taking a...
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Looking at the ocean abundance of Sacramento and Klamath River kings and the numbers that returned to the rivers in 2020, I’d say we’re pretty lucky to have any type of salmon season this fall. But we will and it looks to be comparable to last season. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) last Thursday released three preliminary alternatives for...
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Climate change is turning up the water temperature along migration paths used by anadromous fish species such as Chinook salmon. In a study published in the journal Global Change Biology, researchers predicted the effects of future stream temperatures on Chinook salmon populations (Fitzgerald et al. 2020). They did this by modeling temperature changes in stream networks used for migration and assessed the effects...
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