Op-Ed: Why the Status Quo in Washington State is Failing Steelheaders

WASHINGTON, OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK—Most anglers will change anything and everything to feel the tug of a wild steelhead. After swinging through a few juicy runs without a grab, we’ll vary our presentations. A few more unproductive runs will result in changed tips, new flies, or yes… even a bobber and bead. By the end of an unfruitful day, we might even wade waist-deep and bare-assed if we thought it would guarantee a hookup.

Yet when it comes to altering angling practices to conserve and rebuild wild steelhead populations, our community of anglers can be more reticent to discuss change. Even in hallowed waters like Washington’s Olympic Peninsula (OP), where one of the last strongholds of wild winter steelhead stocks are on the precipice of collapsing, we are reluctant.

The harsh reality is that the status quo in Washington State is failing all steelheaders and the magnificent fish we pursue. After witnessing five distinct steelhead populations get listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, we know more. Yet so far we have failed to do better.

Useless divisions between fly-guys and gear-slingers, fingers of blame that rarely point inward, and our common tendency to go fishing instead of trying once again to get the attention of recalcitrant fish and wildlife agencies, commissioners, and elected officials hasn’t helped either.

The results are gut wrenching. On famed OP rivers such as the Hoh, wild steelhead have failed to make escapement 7 of the last 14 years and the overall trend has been a precipitous decline since 1980. But even with these facts, we continue to repeat the mistakes of the past and experience the same devastating outcomes.

The cause of this decline is multifaceted. It’s death by a thousand cuts, including commercial over-harvest, hatchery supplementation, and habitat loss, particularly on unprotected spawning tributaries. But the fact remains that as anglers we are a part of the problem. As challenging as it may be, we must look inward in order to minimize our collective negative impact on struggling steelhead stocks.

For the last three years, the Wild Steelhead Coalition has helped develop and advocate for forward-thinking sportfishing rule changes. Modeled after successful wild steelhead conservation regulations from Oregon, British Columbia and other areas, these simple, commonsense proposals have helped conserve wild steelhead while preserving angling opportunities.

It’s not too late to “fish through recovery” on the OP and elsewhere. And the attention and advocacy that responsible angling brings are vital for wild steelhead preservation. But to do so requires commonsense regulation changes to reduce the harm we cause to these iconic fish.

After years of work and persistence, this suite of proposals is up for consideration as part of the Washington Department of Wildlife’s (WDFW) Sportfishing Rule Change process. Anglers across the country now have the opportunity to speak up and make these critically important proposals the law of the land… so we can stop loving our beloved steelhead rivers to death.

Change can be hard, especially when it comes with increased regulation of our favorite pastime. However, these commonsense shifts are vital to protecting the wild steelhead of the Olympic Peninsula and ensuring a future that includes angling opportunities in this legendary corner of the Pacific Northwest.

It is time the angling community steps up and implements these critical rule changes. Take action today.

[Jonathan Stumpf works for a national sportsmen’s conservation organization and when time allows, advocates on behalf of Washington’s state fish as a board member of the Wild Steelhead Coalition. To borrow a line from Lani Waller, he doesn’t care how you catch steelhead, as long as you treat them well and with respect.]