Contacts: Emma Helverson, Wild Fish Conservancy, 484- 788-1174, emma@wildfishconservancy.orgJohn McMillan, The Conservation Angler, 360-797-3215, john.mcmillan@theconservationangler.orgBrian Knutsen, Kampmeier & Knutsen PLLC, 503-841-6515, brian@kampmeierknutsen.com For Immediate Release
After years of warnings and repeated Endangered Species Act violations, Wild Fish Conservancy and The Conservation Angler have filed a new federal lawsuit challenging NOAA Fisheries for once again failing to protect these species from ongoing harm caused by Columbia River hatcheries.
When strong partnerships and sound science come together, the path to healthier watersheds becomes possible.
Read Wild Fish Conservancy’s recent comments on the management of Oregon Coast coho salmon.
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
After conducting snorkel surveys for more than 25 years, Wild Fish Conservancy has learned a lot about steelhead populations’ status, trends, and the number of hatchery fish that stray into wild rivers.
Earlier this year, Wild Fish Conservancy proudly announced the implementation of Washington’s State’s second commercial fish trap since 1934. The new trap located near Hunting Islands is part of the state’s historic Emerging Commercial Fishery—the first of its kind in nearly a century.
History continues to be made on the lower Columbia River this month with the first commercial fish traps since 1934 now operating at three sites in Washington and Oregon.
Here’s how Wild Fish Conservancy is working to ensure the Washington Fish & Wildlife Department’s Resident Native Trout Harvest Management Policy doesn’t harm imperiled native resident trout.
Contacts:Emma Helverson, Wild Fish Conservancy, 484-788-1174, emma@wildfishconservancy.orgJohn McMillan, The Conservation Angler, 360-797-3215, john.mcmillan@theconservationangler.orgBrian Knutsen, Kampmeier & Knutsen PLLC, 503-841-6515, brian@kampmeierknutsen.com For Immediate ReleaseSeptember 12, 2025PDF
Anyone who spends time on our rivers understands the profound story they tell—a story of return, resilience, and relationships as old as the mountains. But
Nearly a century ago, fish traps were banned in Washington State due to poor management that led to overharvest and the decline of wild salmon populations. Now, in a historic moment, fish traps will return to the Columbia River for the first time since 1934—this time as a tool to advance the protection and recovery of the basin’s threatened wild salmon and steelhead.
In August 2017, a devastating net pen aquaculture collapse at a facility maintained by Cooke Aquaculture in Puget Sound released an estimated 260,000 non-native and
Wild Fish Conservancy and The Conservation Angler reached a settlement agreement with NOAA Fisheries establishing a deadline requiring the agency to issue its long-overdue finding on whether Olympic Peninsula steelhead warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 2, 2025 Pacific Seafoods’ so-called “sustainable” fish farming facilities in violation of Clean Water Act permits daily since at least
Wild Fish Conservancy filed suit against NOAA Fisheries for failing to meet essential legal deadlines under the Endangered Species Act and delaying federal protections to at-risk Alaskan Chinook salmon.
Today and Tomorrow, Give Big to Aid Wild Salmon Recovery & Help Commercial Fishers Transition to a Sustainable Future
Making history this summer season, local fishers will operate fish traps (otherwise known as pound nets) on both shores of the lower Columbia River in
Through two significant legal actions, we are holding the federal government accountable for its responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)— one of the most effective tools we have to prevent extinction, but it only works when it’s enforced..
Wild Fish Conservancy notified NOAA Fisheries of its intent to sue for failing to meet legal deadlines under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and delaying federal protections to at-risk Alaskan Chinook salmon.
The Conservation Angler and Wild Fish Conservancy filed suit against NOAA Fisheries for delaying Endangered Species Act protections for Olympic Peninsula steelhead.
This week, we are celebrating a monumental environmental victory for Puget Sound’s ecosystems, Washington Tribal Nations, and the protection of our iconic wild salmon and Southern Resident orcas. On Tuesday, Washington State made history, becoming the first—and only—place in the world to successfully remove and permanently ban commercial net pen aquaculture.
