Trout Unlimited pitches in with Eugene Stream Team

Last summer, TU Chapter 678 and Metro Planning adopted a section of stream bank along the Willamette River in Alton Baker park. It was an ugly job, but members managed to reclaim almost 200 feet of nasty blackberry infested riparian area by hand. Last weekend, TU and Metro Planning members collaborated with the larger Stream Team Whilamut Natural Area project to replant the new growth to offer shade, buffer surface pollutants, and stop erosion of the banks.

TU members managed to get some airtime on KVAL as well.

Oregon Coastal Coho protected again

Karl reports: Today NOAA fisheries announced its decision to restore federal Endangered Species Act protection as a “threatened species” for Oregon Coastal coho salmon. The agency, charged with salmon and steelhead conservation, had been under a court order to reconsider its 2006 decision not to list the Oregon Coastal coho. Trout Unlimited was among a group of fishing and conservation groups that sued to force a relisting.

Oregon Trout Unlimited State of the Union

Trout Unlimited Chapter 678 sent representatives to the Oregon State Council meeting last weekend in Portland. Conservation Officer Karl Mueller wrote up the proceedings in a recent blog post.

Highlights include:

An update on the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) Carmen-Smith relicensing. Carmen-Smith is a hydropower project on the upper Mckenzie that blocks upstream passage for ESA listed Chinook and Bull trout.

Excitement over the TU-spearheaded Copper-Salmon Wilderness.

A look at the potential settlement of the Klamath Pacificorp relicensing issue.

Check out the post for the full report.