Dear Friends of Wild Steelhead,
Thank you for your letters of support, signatures on the petition, and emails to the ODFW Fish and Wildlife Commission. In total, we had 660 signatures on our handwritten petition sheets and over 3,000 signatures on the change.org petition in a one week time period. Additionally, we had 12 supporters give testimony at the Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting in Bandon, OR.
As you may have heard, we did not get a clean sweep on our proposal for catch and release for wild steelhead in SW Oregon. While I'm sure this is disappointing to you all, the Commissioners took the concerns raised in our petition seriously, asked many good questions of ODFW staff and ultimately ruled to reduce the bag limit to 1 fish per day and 3 per year and directed the biologists to begin a Multi-Species Conservation Plan for steelhead, which will begin in Fall of 2019.
Looking forward, we need your support more than ever to continue to grow our coalition for wild steelhead release. We can get this done, but to do it we're going to need anglers of all gear types, local folks, your neighbors, local government, fishing clubs, and guides. This is about coming together around the one big thing we agree on: the need to release wild steelhead in SW Oregon.
How can you help now?
- Please share this petition!
- Ask your city council, local fishing shop, and fishing club to write a letter in support of wild steelhead release and send them to Harvey Young PO Box 1954 Brookings, OR 97415.
- If you own a business that depends on wild steelhead, write a business letter in support of wild steelhead catch and release and send them to Harvey Young PO Box 1954 Brookings, OR 97415.
- Stay tuned for presentations and events this winter in SW Oregon
- Put a wild steelhead catch and release sticker on your truck (coming soon).
- We're not giving up and we can do this with your help!
Tight Lines,
Harvey Young