Russia Gains Two Vast New Protected Areas

In a huge step forward for the stronghold protection strategy developed over the past two decades by Wild Salmon Center and our partners in Russia, the Khabarovsk government has officially created two new protected areas on the Tugur and Maia—a combined area of 3.7 million acres. The reserves will be a powerful tool to safeguard these systems' biodiversity, including salmon and giant taimen. And this milestone also shows the possibilities of cooperation and joint achievement between U.S. and Russian scientists and conservationists. 

Watch River Tigers online now!

In celebration of these new protected areas, we're sharing the full film version of River Tigers. Join us for 14 thrilling minutes on the Tugur! 

Update: EPA Slows Bristol Bay Protections Timeline

In December, we called on the Biden Administration and EPA to finalize permanent protections for Bristol Bay by May 2022. But in late January, EPA announced its intention to further delay the protection process under the Clean Water Act. This burdensome delay means that Bristol Bay's 2022 fishing season will commence under the shadow of the toxic Pebble Mine project. We still have our eyes on finishing this job. And we'll need your help. It’s long past time to protect Bristol Bay. This is the summer we make sure EPA finishes the job. 

Catch Our Film A Flyfishing Refugee at IF4

Starting Feb 19, the IF4 2022 FilmFest is officially on tour! In the stellar 2022 lineup: A Flyfishing Refugee, a short film from our Life History Project series starring WSC Western Pacific Director Mariusz Wroblewski. Here's the backstory: pressured out of Poland as a dissident in the early 1980s, Wroblewski set out for freer territory with his family, a yearning for wild rivers, and not much else. Four decades later, he’s become a conservationist and advocate for wild rivers—and discovered the true reason rivers figure so prominently in his life. (Somebody get the popcorn, stat!)

The Elliott Close to Achieving New Role as Key Research Forest

Right now, a bill is moving through the Oregon Legislature that would codify an agreement to put most of the 82,000-acre Elliott State Forest's older forestland in conservation, while securing strong aquatic protections and advancing important climate and forest management research. If SB 1546 is passed into law, it would be a historic win in a long, hard-fought campaign. And it’s worth remembering that as recently as a few years ago, the Elliott and its rare old growth stands were nearly sold off to the highest bidder. Here's the backstory.

The Stronghold Fund is Now Fully Capitalized

The Stronghold Fund, Wild Salmon Center's first-of-kind impact fund for North Pacific salmon conservation, was conceived to answer a growing need. We'd learned that sometimes, our programs and key partners needed the option to act fast—to seed an innovative project, or safeguard a watershed from a new threat—without sacrificing financial stability or interrupting ongoing campaigns. We're pleased to announce that as of December 2020, TSF has met its initial capitalization goal of $15 million. Now, we're spending that money down on high-impact projects across the North Pacific.

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): The Tugur River (Guido Rahr); Nushagak Point, Bristol Bay (Ben Knight); Video still, A Flyfishing Refugee (Brian Kelley @brianfilm); The Elliott State Forest (David Tvedt); Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjords (Alamy); Red Flat system (Ken Morrish).

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