What EPA's 2023 Decision Really Means for Bristol Bay

On January 31, 2023, we declared victory in the long fight to save Bristol Bay from the world’s largest open pit mine. That day, after so many years of fighting Pebble Mine, we finally had an answer: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had finalized Clean Water Act protections for the last, best wild sockeye salmon fishery left on the planet. With millions of you, we celebrated, toasted with our coalition partners, and sent our thanks to EPA. Then, we took a breather to break down what this decision really means for Bristol Bay.

With Springers on the Brink, NOAA Considers New Protections

What does DNA have to do with winning protections for spring Chinook? A lot. There's a paradigm shift underway in conservation genetics, with Wild Salmon Center scientists and our partners at the forefront. And our findings are supporting persuasive new Endangered Species Act petitions now under consideration by NOAA Fisheries. The latest seeks to protect the spring runs of Oregon Coast and Southern Oregon/Northern California Chinook. We're also tracking a long-pending 2017 petition to list Upper Klamath/Trinity River Chinook. More here on the science reshaping the fight to save spring Chinook. 

The Oregon Legislature Is in Session. Here's What to Expect.

On January 17, the Oregon Legislature's 82nd Assembly kicked off in Salem. For Wild Salmon Center’s Oregon policy team and our conservation partners, this regular session offers key opportunities to lock in conservation gains for Oregon forests, rivers, and more. “The next few months will give us some big opportunities to show up for forests, fish, and wildlife," says WSC Oregon Policy Senior Program Manager Stacey Detwiler. Here are our top legislative priorities for the 2023 session.

Meet Mariusz Wroblewski: Fly Fishing Refugee

The life histories of our team members are emblematic of the paths of many in the conservation community around the North Pacific. But of all our stories, Mariusz Wroblewski may have had the farthest road to travel. Pressured to leave Poland as a dissident in the 1980s, Wroblewski had heard of the great salmon and trout rivers in North America. Following the fish took him around the globe, from Russia to the Pacific Northwest. Now, as Wild Salmon Center's Western Pacific Director, Wroblewski is helping our partners advance salmon conservation through paths just as far-ranging. Our Life History Project film tells the story of what finally brought him home to salmon country.  

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

Photo/video still credits (from top): Bristol Bay sockeye salmon (Jason Ching @JasonSChing); Spring Chinook, North Umpqua River, Oregon (Dr. Matt Sloat); Oregon's Elliott State Research Forest (David Tvedt); video still (Brian Kelley @brianfilm); Orca (Alamy).

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