{"id":15654,"date":"2021-11-18T19:41:33","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T19:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/?p=15654"},"modified":"2021-11-18T19:41:33","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T19:41:33","slug":"the-new-plan-is-many-plans-driving-a-new-wa-steelhead-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildsalmoncenter.org\/2021\/11\/18\/the-new-plan-is-many-plans-driving-a-new-wa-steelhead-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"The New Plan is Many Plans: Driving a New WA Steelhead Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reeling from emergency steelhead fishing closures, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is recruiting experts like WSC\u2019s Jess Helsley to map a better path for steelhead management.<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With steelhead runs declining up and down the coast, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is looking for insight<\/span>\u2014<\/span>and advice. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jess Helsley, WSC Washington Program Director (foreground), and Chehalis Tribe fish and wildlife biologist Hope Rieden watch juvenile steelhead on the Chehalis River.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Among those lending expertise to the agency is Wild Salmon Center Washington Program Director Jess Helsley<\/strong>. In October, WDFW invited Helsley to join a newly-formed 12-member Ad-Hoc Coastal Steelhead Advisory Committee<\/a>. The committee, created by legislative mandate as part of state funding to address coastal steelhead declines, is tasked with assisting WDFW\u2019s development of new watershed-specific steelhead management plans.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is an opportunity to fundamentally change how Washington\u2019s coastal steelhead fishery is managed<\/strong>,\u201d Helsley says. \u201cThe statewide steelhead management plan provided a broad brush stroke for fishery managers. But it\u2019s increasingly evident that we need a more refined approach.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to replacing the agency\u2019s current plan with multiple plans tailored to specific watersheds, the new strategy also reflects a <\/span>paradigm shift within WDFW toward a broader view of fishery health<\/a>\u2014one that considers criteria including steelhead productivity, distribution, and diversity alongside total abundance. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe statewide steelhead management plan provided a broad brush stroke for fishery managers,\u201d Helsley says. \u201cBut it\u2019s increasingly evident that we need a more refined approach.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

According to Helsley, this more customized and comprehensive approach will help WDFW pivot steelhead management away from the crisis posture of recent years<\/strong>\u2014<\/span>seen in moves like emergency fishing closures and bans on recreational fishing from boats<\/span>\u2014<\/span>and toward proactive restoration measures informed by an <\/span>expanding body of steelhead science<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now, much of the state\u2019s coastal steelhead fishery planning essentially happens on an emergency-by-emergency basis,\u201d Helsley says. \u201cWe\u2019re always scrambling to react.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Washington’s Quillayute River \u00a9 Mihael Blikshteyn with support from LightHawk<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Helsley hopes that one of the advisory committee\u2019s first tasks will be to identify data gaps that might impede watershed-specific steelhead assessments. Addressing these gaps will be crucial to the committee\u2019s work to map thresholds that trigger local actions early enough to head off a crisis response. Once those data gaps are identified, she says, WDFW and partners can work to fill them from the larger conservation science community.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WSC’s Jess Helsley and Dan Penn of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation on the Chehalis River. PC: WSC Staff.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a level of state commitment to coastal steelhead health that we haven\u2019t previously seen,\u201d Helsley says. \u201cIncreasingly, WDFW is recognizing that these populations are spiraling<\/strong><\/span>\u2014and that we need all hands on deck to<\/strong> set coastal steelhead on a recovery path.<\/strong>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The committee, whose members include sport anglers, fishing guides, research scientists, and representatives of conservation nonprofits, will have until December 2022 to finalize recommended plans for coastal watersheds. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This approach will help WDFW pivot steelhead management away from the crisis posture of recent years <\/span>and toward proactive restoration measures informed by an <\/span>expanding body of steelhead science<\/span>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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