The Trout Line Newsletter - January 1, 2018

TU Tualatin Valley Horiz websafe.jpg

THE TROUT LINE

Jan 1, 2018

Happy New Year! We hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year. This is our new newsletter that will be coming out twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month.

Upcoming Event

Wondering what to do with your Christmas tree? Donate your Christmas tree to become salmon habitat! Collections dates Jan. 6 and 13 in Portland and West Linn. Only $10 per tree to cover our transportation costs. Collection times and locations: Northwest Fly Fishing Outfitters 10910 NE Halsey Street, Portland, OR 97220 from 9am - 4pm and Decommissioned West Linn Fire Station 6000 Failing Street, West Linn, near Royal Treatment Fly Fishing Shop 9am - 4pm. More information is found on Christmas for Coho Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/christmasforcoho/

Christmas for Coho History

In 2012, the Tualatin Valley chapter of Trout Unlimited began this innovative program that provides a public service while at the same time benefiting Oregon coastal coho salmon. It has grown each year, with about 1,000 trees collected last holiday season. The effort has received national and local media coverage, including an award from Field & Stream magazine in 2014 as one of its Heroes for a Day ten top volunteer conservation projects: http://www.fieldandstream.com/hero-for-a-day/videos/2014/seaside

TU volunteers collect the Christmas trees deposit them into selected backwaters, beaver ponds and wetlands in the Tualatin Valley, Clackamas River and Necanicum River watersheds. The trees quickly provide shade and shelter for juvenile coho and a nurturing breeding habitat for invertebrates the fish feed on. Results have been amazing, with thousands of young coho observed feeding and hiding among the trees. This enhanced habitat helps young coho thrive during the critical rearing period before they swim out to the ocean.

What’s Happening with Coho Salmon on the Oregon Coast

Oregon coastal coho salmon, once numbering over a million strong, declined dramatically in the last half of the 20th century. In 1996 only about 50,000 wild coho returned to their natal spawning streams. The following year, Oregon coastal coho were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Today, coastal coho are coming back – over the last five years an average of over 200,000 wild coho have returned to Oregon coastal streams to spawn, thanks in large part to hatchery reforms, harvest reductions and habitat improvements.

Why Do Coho Need Christmas Trees?

Because they spend a year in their natal streams before migrating to the ocean, juvenile coho depend on healthy freshwater habitats for their survival. These rapidly growing fish seek backwater sloughs, wetlands and ponds with connections to river mainstems where they can feed, hide from predators and find relief from strong currents. However, one important habitat component that is often missing from these quiet waters is woody debris.

Historically, coastal stream channels and backwaters were full of such woody debris as fallen branches, whole trees, root wads and wood dispersed by beavers. But changing land use patterns over the years and the need for floodwater management has resulted in humans cleaning out of much of this material. Christmas trees collected and deposited by TU volunteers prove an excellent substitute for the naturally occurring woody debris that is in short supply in coho habitats today.

New Chapter President:

At the November chapter meeting a new chapter president was elected, Lori Day. Lori Day has been a board member for the last three years and happily accepted the nomination to become the chapter president. She started fly fishing and fly tying a few years ago and one of her favorite places to fly fish is on the Snake River for bass and Wallowa River for winter steelhead. Lori strongly believes in conservation and has participated in many different conservation events including Christmas for Coho. When she is not fishing with her husband she is a Middle School Science and 8th grade teacher for a private school in Salem, OR. She can be reached by tvtuweb@gmail.com or 503-437-4528.

Meetings Location and Dates

Regular chapter meetings are held at the Lucky Labrador Public House 7675 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, OR 97219 (503) 244-2537. Food and beverage available. Social get together starts at 6:30 pm and formal meeting starts at 7:00 pm unless otherwise noted in the newsletter or website.

January 10, 2018

Speaker: Marc Williamson

Topic: Fly Fishing Central Oregon lakes and rivers

In this presentation, Marc shares photos of many of the popular lakes and rivers in the Central Oregon region - specifically within a short distance of Sunriver. He will discuss techniques, patterns, and equipment for fishing this area; also, locations to stay and eat.

February 14, 2018

Speaker: Chris Santella

Topic: The Tug is the Drug

Chris combines some readings from his latest book, The Tug is the Drug , and some of his original fly fishing songs. His peripatetic lifestyle and eye for entertaining details--even those that have little to do with the act of throwing flies at fish--will make you look at fishing in a whole different way. He is the author of 19 books, including Fifty Places To Fly Fish Before You Die.