Olympic Peninsula Steelhead to ESA?

With summer slipping by and foul-weather autumn BWO hatches looming, big-trout streamer season approaching, and the fall run of stripers in Montauk, N.Y. and New England a few weeks away, here’s the latest edition of Fly Fisherman magazine’s News Digest:

Olympic Peninsula Steelhead to ESA?

There's movement on the legal front as the Conservation Angler and Wild Fish Conservancy have reached a settlement agreement with NOAA Fisheries that established a deadline requiring the agency to issue a greatly overdue finding regarding Olympic Peninsula (OP) steelhead. 

Specifically, the finding is to show whether OP steelhead need protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). And keep in mind that the deadline–originally, that is–was August 1, 2023, making the finding some 535 days overdue at the time of the recent settlement.

Now, with a court-ordered deadline of December 1, NOAA Fisheries must complete their 12-month finding on the petition by the organization to list OP steelhead under the ESA after OP steelhead were determined to need federal protection after the agency's initial finding showed that in a positive finding.

"This settlement finally puts an end to the federal government's inexcusable delay in deciding whether these magnificent fish deserve protection," said John McMillan, Executive Director of the Conservation Angler, in a news release. "Olympic Peninsula steelhead have been waiting for this decision for nearly two years beyond the statutory deadline. Every day of delay puts these fish at greater risk."

Backtracking a bit, the Conservation Angler and Wild Fish Conservancy submitted its petition to list OP steelhead under the ESA back on Aug. 1, 2022. After NOAA Fisheries' positive 90-day finding in February 2023, the agency then had one year to complete a final determination, which it has not done.

And providing some context, it's important to note that Olympic Peninsula steelhead "...are a distinct population segment that occurs in the remote northwest corner of Washington State. Once numbering in the tens of thousands, these iconic fish have steadily declined throughout their range for decades due to commercial harvest, mismanaged recreational fisheries, hatchery operations, climate change, and legacy and contemporary effects from habitat degradation."

Hence the concern, which has led to this settlement between the Conservation Angler and NOAA Fisheries. But if past actions mean anything, don't expect this to end quickly.

"We're pleased to reach this agreement, but the real work is just beginning," said Emma Helverson, Executive Director of Wild Fish Conservancy. "NOAA has already acknowledged Olympic Peninsula steelhead face a moderate risk of extinction. This agreement ensures the agency can no longer delay action. We expect the agency to follow the science and provide these fish with the protections they desperately need."

There is little justification for the delay according to those involved in pushing NOAA Fisheries to do its job.

"The science is clear–Olympic Peninsula steelhead populations are in trouble and need immediate protection," said John McMillan, Executive Director of the Conservation Angler, in a news release. "This settlement ensures NOAA can no longer ignore its legal obligations to protect these imperiled fish."

Stay tuned, there's likely much more to come with this story.

Team USA Youth Three-Peats for Fly Fishing Gold

Last month, the U.S. Youth Fly Fishing Team stood in a familiar position atop the awards podium, coming out on top of the competition after a resounding victory on home soil. But as the record book shows, even when the American lads have traveled abroad in recent years, they are a tough team to beat with a three-peat to prove it.

"The United States Youth Fly Fishing Team recently three-peated as World Champions at the Youth Fly Fishing World Championship in Idaho Falls, Idaho," said David Braun, father to one of the competitors. "The team also finished on top of the podium in 2023 in Mostar, Bosnia and 2024 in Vyssi Brod, Czech Republic."

The International Sport Fly Fishing Federation FIPS Mouche chose Idaho and its numerous trout-rich streams to host the July 12-19, 2025 FIPS Mouche Fly Fishing World Championships this year for the Youth Division, the 22nd time the contest has been staged. 

Keep in mind that strong team performances are often the result of strong individual performances, and that was the case in mid-July as the waters near Idaho Falls helped secure another U.S. victory.

"In addition to the team bringing home the gold, Waynesville, N.C. native Lawson Braun became the individual champion and Blake Hall from Marion, Va. brought home the bronze medal, in third place," said the elder Braun.

Congratulations to USA Angling and the U.S. Youth Fly Fishing Team on another outstanding run and look for a standalone story next week about the American youth and their three-peat in international fly fishing competition. 

Record Low Flows in Wyoming

While some of the first signs of fall are beginning to appear in various spots, the arrival of autumn and its low water flows may do little to relieve a long dry stretch on the watersheds of several Wyoming rivers.

Despite near-normal snowpack conditions in the winter of 2024-25, according to a story in WyoFile, an early runoff this spring, less than average precipitation since the end of winter, and exceptionally dry soils have left the lowest flows on record for the Snake River and other streams–the picture is grim barring some good precipitation as fall arrives in a few weeks.

In fact, as of July 23, things looked bleak according to the WyoFile story.

"As of Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey’s river gauge above Jackson Lake was detecting less water than it ever had before during the last week of July," stated story author Mike Koshmrl. "Just 147 cubic feet per second–a relative trickle–were passing by the Flagg Ranch gauge. In 41 years of recordkeeping, that’s the lowest by a large margin. The previous minimum flow for July 23 was 263 CFS. This time of year, the typical flow coursing through the Flagg Ranch Canyon is 516 CFS, meaning the dismal dribble presently detected is only 28% of average."

Jeremy Dalling, a civil engineer who is the head of water operations for the Bureau of Reclamation's Upper Snake system, agreed with that bleak assessment. 

"It's a compounding effect, actually over several years, that can lead up to this," said Dalling. 

He also added that, "We're experiencing August (river) levels in July, more or less. It's a system-wide drought condition."

Thankfully, not all Wyoming rivers in the western part of the Cowboy State are looking so bleak, but severe drought is plaguing portions of the Snake, Wind, Green, and Bear River Basins according to WyoFile. The crisis is also enveloping famed trout streams in Yellowstone National Park with officials instituting time-of-day fishing restrictions earlier this summer.

Stay tuned as this crisis continues, and hope and pray for some cool, wet weather this fall. In the meantime, maybe it's time to target warmwater species like bass, panfish, and carp until conditions get better.

A Multi-State Program Hosted by the Western Native Trout Initiative

As fall weather makes fishing more comfortable and less threatening to native trout, fly anglers might want to consider participating in the Western Native Trout Challenge.

What is that, you ask? The organization explains that "The Western Native Trout Challenge invites anglers to help celebrate our western legacy by catching native trout and char in each of the 12 participating Western states, at their own pace. By attempting to catch 18 species throughout 12 states (at the master angler level), participants can enjoy the adventure of a lifetime!”

Why participate? First, because it's a lot of fun. Next, it's a meaningful way to help out the cause and help continue our nation's native trout heritage out West, furthering the work of the WNTI.

So exactly what is the WNTI? It's an organization that is doing a lot of good on the ground, making an impact on lots of water across the American West.

"The Western Native Trout Initiative (WNTI pronounced “win-tee”) is a public-private Fish Habitat Partnership that works collaboratively across 12 western states to conserve (protect, restore, and enhance) 21 native trout and char species," states the organization. "Formed in 2006 under the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), WNTI provides a new perspective and impetus to improve the return on investment of the time, money and workforce dedicated to native trout conservation. WNTI is a collaborative, multi-state approach that requires the involvement of a wide range of partners–from public agencies to private individuals to conservation-minded organizations and corporations. WNTI and our partners combine science-based assessments with expert and local knowledge to establish joint priorities for native trout conservation at a landscape scale. Since its inception in 2006, the Western Native Trout Initiative has directed almost $7 million in federal fish habitat funds leveraged with over $57 million public and private matching dollars for 226 priority native trout conservation projects."

What does the organization do? "With the collaboration and coordination of WNTI partners, together we have removed 163 barriers to fish passage, reconnected or improved 2,072 miles of native trout habitat, and placed 41 protective fish barriers to conserve important native trout conservation populations,” state officials with WNTI. “In order to ensure our collaborative investments are directed toward the highest priority projects, WNTI has funded over 1,123 watershed, fish population, and habitat surveys and assessed 2,482 stream miles."

Sound intriguing? Well, it is and you can help by participating in the Western Native Trout Challenge. By enrolling in the program and paying the $25 registration fee, you'll be helping out tremendously since $23 of those registration dollars go to help conserve native species. 

According to the organization, in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the monies raised went to help the "Cottonwood Creek Fish Passage Barrier Project for Native Trout Security in Montana". And in the years since then, registration fees have supported several other different small grant projects, all going to support native trout species out West.

So if you’re interested in helping, enroll in the effort, grab your fly rod, go fishing for native trout across the West, and help out a great cause!

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