Wild Salmon Center News - March 2024

OREGON STATE FOREST PLAN CLEARS KEY HURDLE
On March 7, a plan to protect essential fish and wildlife habitat on Oregon’s North Coast got a big boost when the Oregon Board of Forestry voted to advance a habitat conservation plan covering more than 600,000 acres of state forestlands. “This vote to move the plan forward would not have happened without a huge show of support from Oregonians,” says Michael Lang, WSC Senior Oregon Policy Manager. “Thousands stood tall despite relentless pressure from the timber industry to reduce conservation areas and increase logging.” With this vote, the plan— years in the making—moves to a final federal review, with a decision expected by early 2025.
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A $19 MILLION BOOST FOR WASHINGTON FISH PASSAGE
Spotlighted recently by NOAA Fisheries: the fish-friendly work of our Washington-based Cold Water Connection Campaign. NOAA has committed a whopping $19 million to remove high-priority fish passage barriers, design durable and flood-mitigating culvert replacements, expand Tribal capacity, and invest in the Washington Coast's growing restoration economy. In the next ten years, projects led by Wild Salmon Center and our partners aim to reopen 125 miles of top-quality salmon spawning and rearing habitat across the Olympic Peninsula.
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MEET IVAN THOMPSON, SALMON CHAMPION
In the early 1980s, Ivan Thompson moved to Smithers, in B.C.'s Skeena watershed, to teach at a school that served many children of the Lake Babine First Nation. But he’s the one who got schooled: by the families of his students.⁠ “I learned how connected these folks were to salmon,” he remembers. “ I saw the power of people when they work together.” ⁠A longtime Wild Salmon Center partner and a board member of The Stronghold Fund—our impact fund for salmon—Thompson has spent the last four decades connecting grassroots salmon advocates across the North Pacific with resources, research, and the power of a good story.
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MEET OREGON'S NEW ENVIRONMENTAL POWER PLAYER
What happens when seven conservation groups join forces to tackle Oregon’s toughest water problems ? Smart bills get passed, and historic investments get made. Meet Oregon Water Partnership, a stream dream team comprised of Wild Salmon Center, WaterWatch of Oregon, Environmental Defense Fund, Oregon Environmental Council, Sustainable Northwest, The Nature Conservancy, and Trout Unlimited. Check out OWP's new website—including a fresh World Water Day press release!—for more on how we're working to bring water governance into the 21st century.
OWP WEBSITE: [link removed] [[link removed]
WORLD WATER DAY PRESS RELEASE: [link removed]

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

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