Fish conservation plan for coastal rivers to be considered at four stakeholder workshops

SALEM, Ore. – Four stakeholder groups that will advise ODFW on fish management actions for Oregon coastal rivers will meet in September and October to discuss specific proposals for four different areas of the coast.

The meetings are part of the process to develop a Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan that will outline management needs for the conservation of salmon, steelhead and sea-run cutthroat trout along much of the Oregon coast. ODFW has organized four working groups, one each for the North Coast, Mid-Coast, Umpqua and Mid-South Coast areas.

Each workshop will span several days and, according to Tom Stahl, ODFW assistant conservation and recovery program manager, participants will consider and evaluate options for harvest, hatchery programs, and other management activities.

The times and locations of the workshops are:

Stakeholder Group	Dates	Location
Mid-South Coast Stratum Group (Elk River to Coos Bay)	Sept 4 (1:00 p.m.) – Sept 6 (12:00 p.m.)	South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve 61907 Seven Devils Rd. P.O. Box 5417 Charleston, OR  97420
Umpqua Stratum Group (Umpqua River)	Sept 17 (1:00 p.m.) – Sept 19 (12:00 p.m.)	ODFW Umpqua Watershed District/SW Region Office 4192 N. Umpqua Hwy. Roseburg, OR 97470
North Coast Stratum Group (Necanicum River to Nestucca River)	Oct 1 (1:00 p.m.) – Oct 3 (12:00 p.m.)	Officer’s Mess Hall, Port of Tillamook Bay 6825 Officer’s Row Rd. Tillamook, OR 97141 (near Air Museum; from Hwy. 101 take Long Prairie Rd. to Blimp Hangar Rd.)
Mid-Coast Stratum Group (Salmon River to Siuslaw River)	Oct 15 (1:00 p.m.) – Oct 17 (12:00 p.m.)	Hallmark Resort 744 SW Elizabeth, Newport, OR 97365

The meetings are open to the public, who will have a chance to comment in writing or verbally on proposed ideas during the meetings, as well as in future public meetings and review periods.

Each stakeholder group includes representatives of commercial and recreational fishing, tribal, local government, watershed council, conservation, and land use interests. Federal and state agency representatives will also participate as non-voting members.

For more information about this project, visit the ODFW website at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/CRP/coastal_multispecies.asp or contact Tom Stahl at thomas.stahl@state.or.us.