Wins
We are proud of our work, and celebrating our wins on behalf of wild salmonids only drives us to work harder.
Legal Wins
Our legal prowess has led to the following victories in and out of the courtroom.
- Protecting Oregon’s McKenzie River Wild FishIn a lawsuit against the Leaburg and McKenzie River Hatcheries’ Clean Water Act permits, our work forced Oregon DEQ to reissue these permits with stronger protections for water quality and wild fish.
- Accountability for Washington’s Olympic Peninsula Wild SalmonidsIn a settlement with WDFW, the agency agreed to release public records on Olympic Peninsula steelhead populations that it had failed to timely produce. As a result, we now have more information on what WDFW knows – and does not know – about Olympic Peninsula steelhead to use in educating the public and supporters about these iconic fish.
- Renewed Promise for Wild Winter Steelhead in the Upper Willamette TributariesA lawsuit held the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) liable for issuing an unlawful Biological Opinion on summer steelhead hatchery operation. TCA is leveraging this victory to pursue hatchery challenges that protect the genetic diversity of wild winter steelhead in the North and South Santiam Rivers while ensuring those wild fish no longer face competition from hatchery summer steelhead smolts for limited habitat.
- Protection for Imperiled Lower Columbia Wild Coho GeneticsA settlement terminated WDFW Deep River coho-rearing net pens — a program notorious for the unnecessary straying of hatchery coho into wild areas like the Grays River.
- Lessening the Dilution of Oregon's Iconic North Umpqua Wild Summer Steelhead GeneticsBy contributing the legal and scientific muscle in a successful campaign with our conservation partners to terminate the Rock Creek hatchery’s summer steelhead program, TCA and our partners’ work effectively eliminated summer steelhead releases, and TCA is battling in court to ensure those releases do not happen again.
- Added Gene Protection for Wild Washougal Winter SteelheadA settlement with the WDFW terminated the segregated (meaning WDFW was using domesticated fish to produce more hatchery fish) Washougal winter steelhead hatchery program.
- Building Momentum in the Ongoing Fight to Preserve Olympic Peninsula Wild SteelheadWith a filing for Endangered Species Act protections (currently under review with NMFS) on the Hoh, Queets, Quinault, Bogachiel, Calawah, Sol Duc Rivers, and more, our work, while unrelated to the ESA petition, was responsible for eliminating the use of bait during the hatchery winter steelhead season in the Quillayute River watershed. Bait is a known cause of unnecessary mortality to wild steelhead and salmon.
Scientific Wins
We follow the science where it takes us and share our findings for a better tomorrow.
- A Clearer Future for Free-Flowing Rivers West Coast-WideThe publishing of several peer-reviewed articles underscores the value of dam removal in the Elwha River basin and the ability of wild steelhead and salmon to rapidly recolonize previously blocked habitats.
- Highlighting Climate Change as Enemy #1 to the Future of Wild SalmonidsWe published a review on climate change effects on wild salmon and steelhead.
- Combatting the Antiquated Notion of Hatcheries as a Viable Future ForwardWe published the most extensive hatchery review study in the world and also created the largest database on hatchery studies.
- Exposing Gaps in Agency ScienceWe dug into suspected hatchery steelhead impacts at the North Umpqua’s Rock Creek Hatchery, then extended the data set and remodeled the information that ODFW provided. That statistical analysis demonstrated a hatchery impact on wild steelhead and tilted the Commission to vote for the hatchery’s closing.
Curious to Know More?
For more in-depth details on our recent wins, TCA supporters and media should feel free to reach out to us via our Contact Us form.