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SUNNY Temp: 81 °F Wind: W at 3 mph Friday, August 2, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Cyberchef E The People Golf Job Network Headbone Zone Wellness Connection Movie Times Newspaper in Education Oregon CarZone Outdoor Journal Personals Prime Times Real Estate Tempo A & E TV Times W3 Magazine CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Destinations Automotive Communities Employment Entertainment Publications Real Estate Recreation Shopping Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Jobs @ Mail Tribune Email Story to a Friend July 25, 2002 Easing bag limit restrictions might be best thing for wild steelhead By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune The coastal streams of Curry County are so ripe with wild winter steelhead that some of Oregon’s most outspoken wild-fish advocates believe the best protection for their future might be to start killing them again. Russ Stauff certainly is convinced of that. He’s an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist who is pushing to ease catch-and-release restrictions next year for anglers on the Elk, Pistol and Chetco rivers, plus smaller nearby streams — the Winchuck River as well as Hunter and Euchre creeks. Stauff wants to rescind the 5-year-old rule for catch and release of all wild steelhead and replace it with a limit of one wild winter steelhead a day and no more than five a year. A similar bag limit remains in place during winter steelhead fishing on the Rogue River, and the streams that are part of Stauff’s proposal are those immediately north and south of the Rogue mouth. The ODFW is backing the proposal, which Stauff sees as a way to give anglers a chance to take home some of these large and impressive sea-going trout without adding hatchery fish. Some anglers have encouraged the ODFW to expand hatchery production in the Chetco and introduce hatchery fish in streams such as the Elk River in order to boost fish numbers and give loyal anglers something to take home. Stauff says new research shows the streams are producing so many steelhead annually that they are off the charts for what fishery biologists deem as optimal production — something that could be weakened over time if hatchery fish get in the genetic mix. Allowing anglers to kill a handful of wild steelhead annually in these streams likely will have no real impact on their populations, he says. "We probably have the healthiest population of steelhead in the world," says Stauff, who is based in Gold Beach. "I think this is the best way to protect these populations." The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will hear Stauff’s pitch Aug. 9 in Corvallis, when the commission considers a small package of new angling rules for 2003. The research backing the proposal already has passed muster with an international panel of steelhead experts, and Stauff believes it will persuade the seven-member commission to bend his way. "I think our stuff’s bullet-proof," Stauff says. "The data’s impressive and it’s impressive that it’s been so well-received." Some of Oregon’s most staunch wild-fish advocates are agreeing with Stauff and are encouraging the commission to adopt the proposal. "I like it," says Bill Bakke, founder of the Portland-based Native Fish Society. "If you have a robust population where you can allow a low kill, that’s less risky than adding hatchery fish." Bakke says his society is joined by Oregon Trout and the Oregon Chapter of Trout Unlimited in supporting the proposal, and he plans to testify in front of the commission Aug. 9. Such testimony likely will carry great weight, says Medford attorney Don Denman, the commission’s vice chair. Bakke and leaders of the other two groups are known for preaching a management strategy that builds wild steelhead runs up to where they can withstand anglers catching and keeping some and "not just be there to look at them," Denman says. So Bakke’s crowd is a strong oar to have in the water on the proposal’s behalf. "This is a resource we don’t want to over-use," Denman says. "It’s one we want to use and enjoy — and that means consumption where we can." But not everyone is ready to line up in support the so-called "1-and-5" rule. Harry McCabe of Medford is concerned that giving anglers a chance to have a wild steelhead in their possession will lead to a greater harvest of wild fish — both legally and illegally — than what Stauff expects on rivers like the Chetco. "The Chetco gets so much pressure anyway that people are going to use that, and abuse that," McCabe says. "This will make it even more crowded. "The (ODFW) better be careful." But Stauff believes the kill rate will remain lower than 5 percent of the various rivers’ wild runs. "Maybe 15 years ago, hard-core anglers said that if you got a steelhead to the boat, it’s a dead fish," Stauff says. "But more people are into catch and release, especially for steelhead. This way, though, they can still harvest one occasionally." Few Oregonians wanted to see the wild steelhead harvest bans on these streams. They were added as part of a 1998 agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service to keep the agency from listing wild steelhead as threatened in Southern Oregon and Northern California. In that area, only the Rogue was allowed to have the 1-in-5 rule during winter steelhead season because of a strong run of those fish. But Stauff sensed the Elk, Chetco and Sixes rivers justified the 1-in-5 as much, if not more, than the Rogue and vowed to get some harvest back. "I told everyone that the battle wasn’t over," Stauff says. "I told them I’d persevere." Perseverance came in the form of four years of various studies on juveniles and adults that Stauff and Bakke believe easily justifies the 1-in-5 rule. If Stauff perseveres, Bakke says he better not think he’s done. Bakke warns that the ODFW needs to keep its intensive monitoring on these winter steelhead streams to ensure that killing wild fish is justifiable annually, and be ready to pull the plug on harvest when it’s not. "You always will have to know if it’s safe to kill fish in that population," Bakke says. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S