News & Announcements

Photo of Finn Creek area
News & Announcements
Jamie Glasgow

Finn Creek Estuary Restoration Update

Historically, Finn Creek flowed through Hansville, WA in a complex mosaic of wetlands and tidally-influenced salt marsh providing a critical nursery for baby salmon and

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News & Announcements
Conrad Gowell

Celebrating the Life of Jim Lichatowich 

With profound sorrow, we share the news of Jim Lichatowich’s passing, a revered figure in the Pacific Northwest’s wild fish community and a board member of Wild Fish Conservancy since 1991.

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News & Announcements
Emma Helverson

After Chronic Decline, Feds Agree Alaskan Chinook May Require Protection under the Endangered Species Act

NOAA Fisheries announced a somber, yet significant milestone in the effort to protect dwindling Alaskan Chinook. After reviewing a formal petition to list Alaskan Chinook populations as ‘threatened’ or ‘endangered’, the federal agency has made the first ever positive finding for Alaskan-born salmon under the Endangered Species Act.

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News & Announcements
Emma Helverson

Conservation Advocates Sue Over Lower Columbia River Hatchery Programs Harming Wild Salmon and Hindering Recovery Progress

Wild Fish Conservancy and The Conservation Angler filed against federal, state, and local governments for their continued funding and operation of Mitchell Act and Select Area Fishery Enhancement (SAFE) program hatcheries that are far exceeding limits under the ESA designed to prevent extinction of imperiled wild salmon and steelhead.

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News & Announcements
Adrian Tuohy

Celebrating Mary Valentine

It is with great sadness that we must share the news about our dear friend and colleague Mary Valentine who passed away tragically last week.

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News & Announcements
Emma Helverson

We’re Taking Emergency Action to Protect Alaskan Chinook

Wild Fish Conservancy filed a petition calling for federal protection of Alaskan Chinook under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. This emergency action is being taken in response to the severe decline and poor condition of Chinook populations throughout the state of Alaska.

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News & Announcements
WFC

Court Rules In Favor of Short-Term Economics over Endangered Species Protections for Southern Resident Killer Whales and Wild Chinook

In a disappointing ruling for Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections, a Ninth Circuit Court granted a request by NOAA Fisheries, the State of Alaska, and the Alaska Trollers Association to continue overharvest of threatened Chinook salmon that is jeopardizing critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales.

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News & Announcements
Emma Helverson

After 40 years, the Net Pen Industry is Pulling Up Anchors, Towing Away Their Net Pens, & Leaving Puget Sound Forever

All week residents across Puget Sound watched the net pen industry packing up nets, removing debris, and pulling up anchors and chains that have been holding the industry’s net pens in place for over forty years. Now, Puget Sound is only days away from being free of all commercial net pens for the first time in nearly half a century.

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News & Announcements
WFC

Landmark Legal Victory Ending Overharvest Marks Turning Point for Southern Resident Orcas & Wild Chinook Recovery

In an international, coastwide environmental victory, Seattle federal Court issued a landmark order halting the overharvest of Chinook salmon in Southeast Alaska that has persisted for decades, jeopardizing the survival of federally-protected Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW) and wild Chinook populations coastwide. This significant decision will immediately allow the starving Southern Resident population far greater access to these Chinook which are the whale’s primary prey, marking a turning point for their recovery.

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News & Announcements
Conrad Gowell

Court Recommends Halting Alaska’s Unsustainable Harvest to Protect Wild Chinook and Southern Resident Killer Whales

In a massive international and coast-wide decision for wild Chinook and Southern Resident killer whale recovery, Seattle’s federal Court issued a landmark opinion on Tuesday that recommends terminating unsustainable commercial salmon harvest that has persisted for decades until new environmental reviews of those fisheries occur.

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