I heard from Rhine Messmer of ODFW that the agency will promote a coastal cutthroat trout harvest starting in 2009.
I will have petitions in River City Fly Shop and Kaufmann's by next week and I will try to get them to other shops if I am able too.
If you cannot get to those shops to sign the petitions then please by all means write ODFW and let them know that you oppose any harvest of these wild trout.
Here are some addresses to send your letter of opposition to
Keith Braun - Keith.E.Braun@state.or.us
Ed Bowles (Fisheries Director) - Ed.Bowles@state.or.us
Rick Klumph - Rick.L.Klumph@state.or.us
Rhine Messmer - Rhine.T.Messmer@state.or.us
You can also contact any or all of the commissioners
at the ODFW website. ODFW LINK
There will be public meetings on 5/22 in Newport and 5/23 in Tillamook. We could use as many people there as possible.
If you believe that these fish are worth saving then please make your feelings known.
With the state of Oregon planting hundreds of thousands of hatchery rainbow trout in lakes and reservoirs throughout the state there is absolutely no reason to kill wild trout!
ODFW is dealing with a revenue shortfall from declining license and tag sales so it appears they think they way to sell more licenses is to allow the killing of these wild trout.
Here is the first paragraph from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's mission statement.
The mission of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is to protect and enhance Oregon’s fish and wildlife and their habitats for use and enjoyment by present and future generations.
You make up your own mind if killing wild cutthroat trout fits into this strategy.
Hi Shane,
ReplyDeleteI just stumbled across your blog, trying to find information about fly fishing for cutthroat in tillamook.
I grew up in tillamook, now live in california, and am gonna be up there next week and am hoping to do some trout fishing. Unfortunately, it's impossible to find any information on fly fishing for cuts in tillamook. As you know, the mentality is 100% tossing bait for big fish, and keeping as many as possible.
I read through a bunch of your posts, and was pretty alarmed when I saw that ODFW is considering re-opening harvest of wild cuts. That's absolutely horrifying. I saw a study a few days ago about the cut population in the Wilson river. Every year since 1964, ODFW has surveyed the river (snorkeling) and counted the number of cuts. In 1964 there were an average of 10.5 trout per pool. As of ~1998 that number was down to 1.7. Except that to drop to zero within 5-10 years of them letting people keep the fish.
I see that Rick Klumph has some say in the issue. Rick is a family friend, I've known him since I was a kid, and will definitely be sending a courteous email to encourage him to try and put a stop to this :)
Anyways Shane, I was hoping to find your email address on your blog. I'd love to pick your brain on cutthroat information, since you clearly know what's going on, and so far I haven't been able to find anyone with a clue. Hoping you could drop me an email when you have a chance, spencermiles at gmail dot com.
Thanks and keep up the great work on this blog. I'm definitely going to be reading it from now on!
Spencer