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Act Now to Save Rock Creek Hatchery – Support SB 512

The Rock Creek Hatchery, a vital part of Oregon’s fisheries since 1925, was devastated by the 2020 Archie Creek Fire. This facility has historically produced fall and spring Chinook, coho, summer and winter steelhead, and rainbow trout, supporting local economies and recreational fishing. Senate Bill 512 aims to restore the hatchery by directing the State Fish and Wildlife Commission to operate a fish hatchery at Rock Creek and release the fish into the North Umpqua River. The bill appropriates $1.4 million for this purpose and declares an emergency, making it effective upon passage. The opportunity to submit a written statement in support of SB 512 is open until noon on Saturday, March 29th. Submit your comments here: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Testimony/SNRW/SB/512/0000-00-00-00-00?area=Measures For reference, the Umpqua Fishery Enhancement Derby’s letter of support is attached.

8,000th Winter Steelhead Counted in North Umpqua

8,000th Winter Steelhead Counted in North Umpqua

What's so special about this winter steelhead counted on March 10th at 8:05 PM by our project? It is the 8,000th fish for the 2025-26 North Umpqua River return and reported just a day after it occurred. There will be several more steelhead migrating upstream to spawn over the next several weeks to count and update for everyone. The total count could reach 10,000 by the end of April and be one of the highest number for this population in recent years. Thank you for watching our LiveCam Video.

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Umpqua Fish

Watch for Spring Chinook at Winchester Dam

Watch for Spring Chinook at Winchester Dam

Spring weather is here and that means Spring Chinook will arrive in the next few days. The water temperature just hit 50 degrees for the first time in 2026, which is a great predictor for the arrival of the first springer in the North Umpqua River.

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Umpqua Fish

Watch Steelhead Easily Traverse the Fish Ladder

Watch Steelhead Easily Traverse the Fish Ladder

Are you watching... 12 steelhead passing through the fish ladder in just 15 minutes. This year’s returns continue to be very high numbers and it is still 60 days away from the end of the migration period. A great start to the month of March.

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Umpqua Fish

New Live Fish Chart Features Added

New Live Fish Chart Features Added

Moses built some more features on the new live dashboard! There is now live season fish charts showing this year's run compared to last year as well as lots of other data. You can check it out at https://live.umpquafish.com/ Great job Moses Finlay!

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Ryan Finlay

Mid-Season Steelhead Count Tops 5000

Mid-Season Steelhead Count Tops 5000

The North Umpqua River winter steelhead strong returns continued last week with over 1500 fish counted. The mid-season number of steelhead to date is now over 5,000. Early predictions estimate the total runsize will be well over 8,000 fish by the end of April.

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Umpqua Fish

3,500 Steelhead Count at Winchester Fish Cam

3,500 Steelhead Count at Winchester Fish Cam

Another great day to watch several hundred winter steelhead move upstream through the fish ladder at Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River. With almost 500 fish counted on February 10th and more observed yesterday, the 2026 steelhead return is now over 3,500 and not even halfway through the normal run timing for this population. There is no winter steelhead hatchery program for the North Umpqua and only a very small number of fish stray from the South Umpqua River hatchery smolt release.

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Umpqua Fish