Moments of Gratitude: A Dozen Things We Couldn’t Have Done Without You

Dear John,  

2023 was a year of epic victories and new challenges for all of us here at Wild Salmon Center. From our high tech work with First Nations to a $174 million win for Oregon rivers, read on for why 2023 just might be our best year yet!

1. Victory for Bristol Bay, Alaska

In mid-February, WSC hosted our Bristol Bay Defense Fund coalition partners here in our Portland office. With EPA’s final decision on Pebble Mine then just a few weeks old, we had serious reason to celebrate. After so many years of campaigning with all of you, the world's greatest wild sockeye nursery is now safe from the threat of this toxic mine project. Long live Bristol Bay!

2. Salmon Vision Steals the Show in B.C.

In October, WSC Scientist Dr. Will Atlas, First Nations partners, and others officially debuted “Salmon Vision,” a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence tool piloted on Indigenous-led fish weirs in British Columbia. International media picked up the story of how this fish counting and identification technology could be a game-changer for salmon managers across the Pacific Rim.

3. The Klamath Dams are Coming Down

As of November, the Klamath's Copco No. 2 dam was down, bringing this historic salmon system one step closer to flowing freely for the first time in a century. By November 2024, four Kamath dams will be out: the largest dam removal in history. But our work is just getting started. In 2024 and beyond, WSC scientists will be assisting partners including the Karuk Tribe with an ambitious plan to recover Chinook salmon in the Klamath Basin. 

4. $174 Million For Oregon’s Water Future

In August, the Oregon Legislature allocated a whopping $174 million for drought resiliency and water security funding, including programs and projects that improve stream flow and reconnect rivers. “There’s a lot we can’t control out there,” says WSC Oregon Water Policy Senior Program Manager Caylin Barter, “but we can do a better job of protecting our home waters.” 

5. 12,000+ Action Takers

From thanking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for stopping Pebble Mine to closing loopholes for Oregon water rights violators, you really spoke up for salmon in 2023! Salmon are a keystone species, but you, our community activists, are key to why we’ll make sure these species thrive.

6. $22 Million for Pacific Northwest Restoration

Our program and grants teams worked overtime to fund a stunning number of shovel-ready restoration projects across the Pacific Northwest. In 2023, we secured more than $8 million federal and state grant dollars for Oregon, and nearly $14 million for projects in Washington. These dollars will support coastal jobs, repair ecosystems, and revitalize fisheries.

7. Tribal Partnerships on the Olympic Peninsula

Tribal partnerships are key to protecting and restoring salmon habitat. With historic levels of federal infrastructure funding flowing into salmon restoration, we’re thrilled to work alongside a growing number of Tribal partners on the Olympic Peninsula, including the Quileute, Hoh, and Makah Tribes, and the Quinault Indian Nation. Together, we’re scaling efforts to correct culverts, decommission failing roads, and expand climate-resilient habitat.

8. A Chance to Protect 28 Million Acres in Alaska

WSC and our partners are seizing a once-in-a-lifetime shot to protect 28 million acres of Alaska public lands. These salmon-rich federal lands are located across Alaska, and they could be opened to extractive industrial development. Now, you can help us fight back, as the Bureau of Land Management opens a review and public comment period. Speak up to protect these public lands!

9. The International Taimen Initiative Kicks Off

In May, many of the world’s top taimen experts gathered in Hokkaido, Japan, for the first in-person meeting of the WSC-convened International Taimen Initiative. Together, we aim to develop new strategies to protect these fascinating and increasingly imperiled species. (Travel to one key taimen stronghold with WSC CEO & President Guido Rahr in our film “River Tigers.”)

10. Stand Tall Oregon Steps Up

By September, our three-month-old Stand Tall Oregon campaign already had more than 6,400 sign-ons from Oregonians ready to support a 70-year habitat conservation plan for more than 500,000 acres of Western Oregon state forests. That’s a groundswell of new support for clean water and healthy fish and wildlife habitat on these public lands. Have you spoken up yet?

11. Amazing New Team Members

This year, we welcomed eight incredibly talented professionals to our team. We’re thrilled to have the skills of Science Intern Luke Brockman, Grants Coordinator Sheila Hanson, Human Resources Assistant Annie Kleffner, Government Grants Manager Jordan McCauley, Photo Library Intern Griffin Morse, Olympic Peninsula Fish Habitat Specialist Nicole Rasmussen (meet Nicole here), Alaska Campaign & Outreach Manager Morgan Urquia, and Staff Accountant Mariah Williams. This list wouldn’t be complete without you!

12. More Live Time With You!

With growth comes opportunity, and in 2023, we seized every chance to interface and celebrate with you. You might have celebrated with us at SalmonFest 2023 in Alaska, joined our sold-out screening of The Lost Salmon in Seattle, or rallied for state forests on Oregon’s North Coast. 2024 will bring even more gatherings for us to learn, laugh, and grow our base for wild salmon action.

Thanks for being on our team this year. If you haven’t yet had a chance to contribute to Wild Salmon Center, it’s never too late.

The mission of the Wild Salmon Center is to promote the conservation and sustainable use of wild salmon ecosystems across the Pacific Rim.

Photo/image credits: Mt. Iliamna, Alaska (Erin McKittrick): Bristol Bay sockeye (Jason Ching @JasonSChing); Salmon Vision technology in effect of a First Nations fish weir (Olivia Leigh Nowak @LeColibri.Studio); The Copco No. 2 dam on the Klamath River, before and after deconstruction (Shane Anderson @SwiftwaterFilms); Sweet Creek in Oregon's Siuslaw Watershed (David Herasimtschuk); Bristol Bay rally (SalmonState); Restoration work on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula (WSC); Quillayute River restoration (Brady Holden @BradyHolden); Caribou on Alaska’s BLM lands (iStock); Measuring taimen in Mongolia (Andrew Burr); Stand Tall Oregon activists supporting Oregon state forests in Sisters. (Olivia Leigh Nowak @LeColibri.Studio); Six of WSC's newest team members (WSC); Dan Penn, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer and William Thoms, Cultural Resource Specialist, Historic Preservation Office of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, and filmmaker Shane Anderson at the Lost Salmon screening in Seattle, WA this summer (Dave McCoy @DaveMcCoyeWA); Umqua watershed, Oregon (Heebphoto, Alamy).

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