Skeena Steelhead are Having a Good Year. What Does that Mean?

Numbers are in from the Tyee Test Fishery: more than 33,000 summer-run steelhead have passed the lower Skeena: the 13th best return since 1955. Yet we’re just three years from the river's lowest recorded return—when just 5,400 steelhead passed the fishery. “There can be a sense, with a strong year like this, that everything is fine again,” says Greg Knox, Executive Director of Wild Salmon Center partner SkeenaWild. “But if we’re serious about the long-term health of these fish, we have to consider the bigger picture.” Here's what experts think about the Skeena's good year, and how Knox and others hope to keep the momentum going.

Dive into Wild Salmon Center's First-Ever Virtual Event

We invite you to join us for the October 9 debut of Headwaters with Wild Salmon Center. Our brand-new live virtual presentation kicks off at 6 p.m. Pacific—and it's free and open to all. Get ready for an insider’s look at the latest in Pacific salmon conservation, delivered to your home, office, or clubhouse. This is your chance to hear directly from President & CEO Guido Rahr and WSC's expert program directors as they share news, breakthroughs, and updates from our work across the Pacific.

NEW STUDY: How Logging Impacts Salmon Rivers

Across Western North America, clearcuts scar coastal forests. But how exactly does logging impact salmon? A new study from scientists at Simon Fraser University and Wild Salmon Center finds that while impacts can vary by watershed, logging at any level carries real risks for salmon rivers—from hotter, lower summer flows to bigger floods in winter. “In an era of rapid climate change, it’s more critical than ever to understand how forestry also warms salmon streams and changes flows,” says study co-author Dr. Matt Sloat, WSC Science Director. “This study deepens our understanding.”

In Case You Missed It: Federal Land Managers Protect 28 Million Acres in Alaska

In late August, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced protections for 28 million public acres across Alaska, safeguarding critical salmon rivers and wildlife habitat from extractive industrial development. You asked for these protections earlier this year. Now, the Secretary has responded to you and the hundreds of Alaska Native Tribes, communities, and businesses who spoke up. As part of the decision, 1.2 million acres near the Pebble deposit will also be off-limits to mining and drilling—helping to stop the next generation of mining threats in Bristol Bay. THANK YOU for speaking up for Alaska's salmon and public lands!

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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.

Photo credits (from top): Steelhead ((Alamy); Headwaters with Wild Salmon Center (WSC); clearcuts in Southwest Washington (Robert Delahanty with support from Lighthawk); recreating on BLM public lands (Courtesy SalmonState); Fly fishing (Ken Morrish @FlyWaterTravel).

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