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Press Release: Court Protects Wild North Umpqua River Summer Steelhead

North Umpqua summer steelhead holding in Steamboat Creek | Photo: Arian Stevens
Posted:

For Immediate Release
October 31, 2024

Media Contacts:

Court Protects Wild North Umpqua River Summer Steelhead

Request to Release Hatchery Summer Steelhead Denied

Salem, OR – Yesterday, a Marion County Circuit Court judge denied a motion for an injunction, requesting that the court order the continued release of hatchery summer steelhead into Oregon’s famed North Umpqua River. This is a river which supports one of the most cherished populations of wild summer steelhead on Earth. A copy of the Opinion is available here.

Yesterday’s decision marks the latest chapter in the North Umpqua Coalition’s campaign to protect the North Umpqua River’s legendary wild summer steelhead from the negative genetic and ecological effects of the Rock Creek Hatchery summer steelhead program. Among other actions, in 2022, the Coalition submitted a Petition for Declaratory Ruling, which alerted the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission to legal violations stemming from the release of hatchery summer steelhead into the river. Shortly thereafter, the Commission held a public hearing about the hatchery program. During that Hearing, the Coalition gave a compelling presentation (scroll to minutes 7:15:40 - 7:28:44) about the hatchery program’s harmful effects on wild summer steelhead. The Commission was persuaded by the best available scientific data and voted to terminate the hatchery summer steelhead program at Rock Creek.

Several parties (“Petitioners”) filed a lawsuit challenging the Commission’s decision. The Conservation Angler, Steamboaters, The North Umpqua Foundation, Native Fish Society, Umpqua Watersheds, and Pacific Rivers are all participating in that case as Amicus or “friend of the court” parties. The Amicus groups submitted detailed briefs and supporting Declarations opposing the motion to force the agency to continue hatchery summer steelhead releases. Those briefs are available here.

“We are pleased with the outcome,” said David Moskowitz, Executive Director for The Conservation Angler. “Hatchery summer steelhead have been released into the North Umpqua River for decades, even though the data demonstrated the negative consequences of those releases on wild summer steelhead. We are greatly relieved that the river’s wild summer steelhead will finally get a break. The Coalition will continue to fight in this case to ensure that the Commission’s historic decision to protect these extraordinary fish is ultimately upheld.”

“Today’s decision represents a major step forward for Oregon’s iconic wild summer steelhead,” said Mark Sherwood, Native Fish Society’s Executive Director. “When quality habitat and cold water are present like in the North Umpqua, nothing helps restore wild fish to abundance better than sunsetting harmful hatchery programs. Wild is the future!”

The North Umpqua Coalition is represented in this case by the Law Office of Karl G. Anuta PC.

The North Umpqua Coalition consists of Native Fish Society, The Steamboaters, Umpqua Watersheds, The North Umpqua Foundation, The Conservation Angler, and Pacific Rivers.