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June 13, 2025
PENDLETON, Ore. ‐ The Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a limited fall Chinook fishing and retention season on the mainstem Umpqua, Smith, and North Fork Smith rivers after receiving many public comments and hearing testimony from a Douglas County Commissioner, business owners and local anglers concerned about a proposed closure.
The season will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays starting July 1 until a quota of 500 wild Chinook is reached. The bag limit will be one Chinook (either hatchery or wild) per day and per season. Boundaries for the three rivers remain as in permanent regulations.
The days-per-week approach should extend the fishery later into the season and allow ODFW to better evaluate when the quota is reached.
This is the first time the Umpqua River has dropped below the Critical Abundance Threshold (CAT) since the Coastal Multi-Species Conservation and Management Plan (CMP) was adopted in 2014. Last year's return of fall Chinook to the Umpqua was the lowest on record since 1980. The CMP calls for discontinuing wild harvest when populations fall below CAT, but allows for adaptive management such as the approach in the Umpqua River this year.
“We have talked for a couple years now about how conditions in the Umpqua River are very concerning for salmon and steelhead due to impacts from wildfire, drought, warming streams and non-native predators,” said Tom Stahl, ODFW Deputy Fish Administrator for Inland Fisheries. “The outcomes from these conditions are now being felt with last year’s extremely low return and discussions over how this affects the fishery are difficult for everyone.”
“It’s very hard to realize such an iconic river as the Umpqua is struggling,” said Commissioner Becky Hatfield-Hyde. “I am very thankful ODFW staff have come up with some options, and we ask the public to hang in there with us and help us figure out how to look toward the future.”
This quota system will be a new approach for inland coastal Chinook salmon, and maintains fishing opportunity on the Umpqua River while still meeting the management direction of the CMP.
All other fall Chinook seasons were adopted as originally proposed by staff. Except for a few other locations, most other river basins will have the same regulations as last year. For more information about coastal fall Chinook seasons, visit the coastal fall salmon webpage.
The Commission also took the following actions today:
Commercial coastal pelagic species: Adopted rule amendments to ensure that state regulations are consistent with the Federal Register publication of federally adopted limits and management measures for Pacific sardine. The federal regulations will maintain the primary directed fishery closure and continue to limit other harvest to very low levels to ensure that fishing mortality is not interfering with the stock’s potential to rebuild when environmental conditions become favorable.
Preference Point Appeals: Reviewed appeals of requests to reinstate preference points from several hunters that have been denied reinstatement by the department. Appeal was denied.
Auction and raffle tags: Allocated special hunting tags for auction and raffle in 2026. Host organizations receive 10 percent of the sales price for the tag sold at auction, which they can use to fund their own grant programs benefiting wildlife.
Access & Habitat project funding: Approved the A&H Board recommendations for project funding.
Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund (OCRF) funding: Approved OCRF Advisory Committee’s recommendations for wildlife passage project funding.
Recreation and Enhancement (R&E) Program: Approved the R&E Board funding recommendations for Cycle 25-1 Projects and the 2025-27 R&E Administration and Operations Budget. R&E funds help improve fisheries and access throughout the state.
The Commission also heard a staff presentation and public testimony on proposed rules to help protect Oregon’s fish and wildlife from invasive species by adding to the prohibited species list (so no import, sale, purchase, exchange or transport allowed) the following: golden mussels, non-native abalone, sea turtles Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae, the entire family of Viviparidae mystery snails and Muricidae oyster drills. Public comment for this rulemaking closes June 20, and the Commission will be asked to approve the rule amendments at their Aug. 15, 2025 meeting. Submit comments via the rulemaking page.
The next Commission meeting is July 11 in The Dalles.
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