2026

News & Announcements

Wild Fish Conservancy Sues National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Protect Toutle River Salmon and Steelhead from Dam Expansion

Wild Fish Conservancy and local conservationist Mark Smith have sued the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect wild salmon and steelhead from a project to raise the height of the Mount St. Helens Sediment Retention Structure’s spillway crest on the North Fork Toutle River.

July 14, 2026 No Comments

News & Announcements

Bonneville Power Administration’s Decision to End SAFE Hatchery Funding Marks a Step Toward Wild Fish Recovery

Wild Fish Conservancy welcomes the Bonneville Power Administration’s decision to end funding for the Select Area Fisheries Enhancement (SAFE) hatchery program—which releases more than seven million hatchery Chinook and coho into the lower Columbia River each year—as an overdue shift away from hatchery-dependent harvest and toward the habitat restoration, fish passage, and harvest reform that wild salmon, steelhead, and Southern Resident killer whales need to recover.

July 2, 2026 No Comments

News & Announcements

How harvesting immature Chinook salmon can shrink size and reduce future returns

A backgrounder on a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports by researchers from the Wild Fish Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation. This new research identifies fisheries practices that may be contributing to long-term declines in the age and size of Chinook salmon across the northeast Pacific.

June 10, 2026 No Comments

Press Releases

Harvesting immature Chinook is shrinking salmon and reducing future returns, new research finds

A new study by researchers at the Wild Fish Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation has found that marine salmon fisheries along the Pacific coast typically harvest Chinook too early in their life cycle, before they reach their full size as adults. The implications from this are far reaching for fisheries, future Chinook runs, and the ecosystem.

June 10, 2026 No Comments

Press Releases

While Orcas and Salmon Declined, Ocean Harvests of Puget Sound Chinook Were Significantly Underestimated for Decades

Newly revised data released by Canada at the Pacific Salmon Commission shows that for more than two decades ocean fisheries have killed thousands more Endangered Species Act-listed Puget Sound Chinook salmon each year than previously reported.

June 10, 2026 No Comments

News & Announcements

Building Like a Beaver: Bringing Habitat Back to the Chehalis Watershed with Beaver Dam Analogs

In 2025, Wild Fish Conservancy and partners installed 36 beaver dam analogs (BDAs) in three Chehalis River tributaries as part of a rigorous, multi-year project to monitor and document the effectiveness of BDAs for restoring aquatic habitat that supports fish, amphibians, and waterfowl.

May 28, 2026 No Comments

News & Announcements

Seeing the Ancient: How Photography Is Changing the Future of Pacific Lamprey

Wild Fish Conservancy partnered with renowned underwater photographer David Herasimtchuk to create a definitive visual portfolio of Pacific Lamprey—one of the Pacific Northwest’s most ancient and imperiled fish. The resulting archive is now available to partners, Tribal organizations, and anyone working on lamprey recovery.

May 27, 2026 No Comments

Press Releases

NOAA Fisheries Fails to Provide Federal Protections for Gulf of Alaska Chinook

Today, under the pressure of a federal court order, the National Marine Fisheries Service released its long-overdue 12-month finding on Wild Fish Conservancy’s petition to protect Gulf of Alaska Chinook under the Endangered Species Act. The finding concludes protections for Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon are “not warranted” at this time despite documented widespread declines in Chinook abundance, size, and productivity throughout the region.

May 14, 2026 No Comments

Press Releases

Washington State’s Landmark Net Pen Aquaculture Ban Protected in Victory for Clean Water and Aquatic Ecosystems

A Washington State court issued an order upholding the State’s historic ban on commercial finfish net pen aquaculture. The state court granted a motion from aquaculture industry petitioners to dismiss their lawsuit contesting the ban, marking the end of their efforts to overturn one of the strongest protections for marine waters in the United States.

March 31, 2026 No Comments

News & Announcements

State Water Typing Rules Get an Overdue Refresh

After more than 25 years, Washington state finally has a permanent water typing rule and guidance that went into effect in March 2026, informed in part by years of Wild Fish Conservancy field work and technical expertise.

March 27, 2026 No Comments

Press Releases

As Alaskan Chinook Crisis Deepens, Federal Court Imposes Deadline on Overdue Endangered Species Act Decision

Contact:Emma Helverson, Wild Fish Conservancy, (484) 788-1174, emma@wildfishconservancy.orgBrian Knutsen, Kampmeier & Knutsen PLLC, (503) 841-6515, brian@kampmeierknutsen.com For Immediate ReleaseMarch 10, 2026PDF Version WASHINGTON, D.C.— The

March 10, 2026 No Comments

News & Announcements

National Grant Award Advances Finn Creek Estuary Restoration Project on Kitsap Peninsula

Wild Fish Conservancy has secured a prestigious national grant award to advance a critical fish habitat restoration project in the Finn Creek Watershed on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state.

February 26, 2026 No Comments

News & Announcements

Statement from Wild Fish Conservancy and The Conservation Angler on Federal 12-Month Endangered Species Act Finding for Olympic Peninsula Steelhead

Today, federal government issued its 12-month finding on the petition to list Olympic Peninsula steelhead under the Endangered Species Act. NOAA determined that Olympic Peninsula steelhead qualify as a distinct population segment under the ESA and acknowledged long-term population declines, reduced productivity, and substantial uncertainty, but concluded that listing is not warranted at this time.

January 13, 2026 No Comments

Wild Fish Conservancy Sues National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Protect Toutle River Salmon and Steelhead from Dam Expansion

Bonneville Power Administration’s Decision to End SAFE Hatchery Funding Marks a Step Toward Wild Fish Recovery

How harvesting immature Chinook salmon can shrink size and reduce future returns

Harvesting immature Chinook is shrinking salmon and reducing future returns, new research finds

While Orcas and Salmon Declined, Ocean Harvests of Puget Sound Chinook Were Significantly Underestimated for Decades

Building Like a Beaver: Bringing Habitat Back to the Chehalis Watershed with Beaver Dam Analogs

Seeing the Ancient: How Photography Is Changing the Future of Pacific Lamprey

NOAA Fisheries Fails to Provide Federal Protections for Gulf of Alaska Chinook

Washington State’s Landmark Net Pen Aquaculture Ban Protected in Victory for Clean Water and Aquatic Ecosystems

State Water Typing Rules Get an Overdue Refresh

As Alaskan Chinook Crisis Deepens, Federal Court Imposes Deadline on Overdue Endangered Species Act Decision

National Grant Award Advances Finn Creek Estuary Restoration Project on Kitsap Peninsula

Statement from Wild Fish Conservancy and The Conservation Angler on Federal 12-Month Endangered Species Act Finding for Olympic Peninsula Steelhead

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Latest Posts

Wild Fish Conservancy Sues National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Protect Toutle River Salmon and Steelhead from Dam Expansion

Bonneville Power Administration’s Decision to End SAFE Hatchery Funding Marks a Step Toward Wild Fish Recovery

How harvesting immature Chinook salmon can shrink size and reduce future returns

Fish trap Journal

Working Against the Current—A New Experiment Brings Hope for Sustainable Fishing

Commercial Fish Traps Advance Sustainable Fishing and Wild Fish Recovery in Historic First Year

After Nearly 100 Years, Commercial Fish Traps Make Historic Comeback on the Columbia to Aid Wild Fish Recovery

Columbia River Fish Traps Return for the Recovery of Wild Fish and Fishing Economies

Peer-Reviewed Publication Confirms 100% Survival for Salmon Released from Columbia River Fish Traps