As many of you are aware, the Puget Sound river closures will soon result in a mass exodus of anglers to the Olympic Penninsula. This increase can only negatively impact the wild stocks on the O.P. rivers. The Wild Steelhead Coalition is sponsoring a campaign to pressure the WDFW Commission to adopt a catch and release emergency season on these rivers. Please take the time to e-mail or write the commission and support this action.

Please e-mail your request to commission@dfw.wa.gov , fax it to 360 902-2448 or mail via snail mail to WDFW Commission, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091

Included below is a draft letter to use as a guide. Please use you own words as individual letters carry more weight than a form one.

Dear WDFW Commission Members,

Due to the closure of the North Puget Sound rivers for spring catch and release steelheading, it is predicted that the Olympic Peninsula rivers will see a dramatic increase in fishing pressure. Such increases in pressure will negatively impact the health of the wild steelhead stocks in these rivers.

I am writing to encourage you to consider and approve, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to implement an emergency Selective Fishery Season on the Olympic Peninsula. This Selective Fishery Season would require "catch-and-release only," selective gear rules from March 1 to April 30, 2001.

The Olympic rivers that will experience inordinate fishing pressure from anglers displaced from Puget Sound waters include: the Quillayute River System (Bogachiel, Calawah, Dickey, Sol Duc and Quillayute); and the Hoh, Queets, Clearwater, upper Quinalt and Humptulips Rivers.

In the past, Washington has enjoyed world-class steelheading. The current management focus on harvest has helped reduce these fisheries to shadows of their former selves. Please take action now to stop this decline and move towards rebuilding the great legacy of steelhead in Washington rivers. I appreciate your consideration and action regarding this proposal.

Sincerely,
(Your Name)
(Your Address)





[This message has been edited by Sinktip (edited 02-14-2001).]

This is a very good idea, we should all do this!

should include the Hoko and the Sekiu also

will write a letter or email but ill also include these two tribs

brain fart----------what rivers in the north are gettin the early closer?-----------ive tried the duckabush and the dosewallips---which my dad used to fish back in the late 70's -------and havent heard of any caught or did I Just wonderin ---will there be any more pressure up on the quil system ----have had a bad time finden fish in that direction also--and have logged in 150 hrs of time on those upper rivers since before thanksgiven

Sink, you are absolutely correct. WDF&W, in the words of Mr. Bob Gibbons, continues to insist that there are huge amounts of "excess' wild fish available on the OP rivers which may die of old age or something unless they are harvested. For my part, I could see this coming and have not fished the Forks area at all this year. Imagine the impact on the folks on the Forks economy when fish crash, as they surely will. I fish full time and buy licenses in about 5 states and two countries per year. I am seriously considering not buying a Washngton license next year -my home state.