Newport News: Oregon Plan works to save salmon through local cooperation

Oregon Plan works to save salmon through local cooperation

By Laura Eberly Of the News-Times

January 31, 2007

Longtime fisher and Depoe Bay resident Kathy Davis recently completed training for her position as the Lincoln County liaison for the Fishermen Extending Salmon Recovery Information (FESRI) program, and is part of the statewide effort to educate Oregonians about the steps they can take to help save salmon species. (Photo by Laura Eberly)

Kathy Davis and her husband Larry of Depoe Bay have owned and operated local commercial fishing boats for two decades. "Salmon in the summer and crab in the winter, I usually drive the boat during the crab fishery," Kathy said. "I married a commercial fisherman and it's been our way of life; my husband has never done anything else. We've been pretty seriously impacted by the restrictions on the salmon fisheries."

Kathy recently completed training as the Lincoln County information specialist for the Fishermen Extending Salmon Recovery Information (FESRI) program and is the project coordinator for the five FESRI agents working along the Oregon coast to help educate residents about the state's salmon populations while gathering citizen ideas and opinions on the issue to bring back to state policy makers.

The FESRI program is overseen by Oregon Sea Grant and is part of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board's Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds, a program established in 1997 as a tool to help facilitate the restoration of healthy salmon populations - which ongoing research has demonstrated is directly related to inland watersheds and their impact on salmon spawning grounds.

"We're interested in the plight of the salmon and wanting people to see the big picture," Kathy said. The reduction in Oregon's salmon populations is not a result of the actions of any one group, she continued, but rather an effect of years of misunderstanding regarding how best to manage the processes that contribute to healthy salmon populations.

"I know how it was for me, I had no idea what was being done," Kathy said. "The ocean's important, but hey, it's not all out there - a lot of it's on land. There's a lot that's already been done and people don't realize it," she continued, pointing to maps produced by the OWEB office that depict various geographic basins throughout Oregon where successful voluntary and state restoration projects are underway.

She also noted how decades of unintentional mismanagement has led to the current situation. "In the 1970s the state encouraged dredging and filling of wetlands in Oregon, for example, and the result was that 40 percent of the state's wetlands were either destroyed or have been altered in some way," she said. "You start to understand why we're in this crisis - it's a hundred years of mistakes. A female salmon lays 2,000 eggs, 200 make it to the ocean and of those maybe 20 make it back. So if we're going to make an impact, it's going to be in the watersheds."

The Oregon Plan "combines voluntary actions with regulations, working in a spirit of cooperation," said Kathy. The primary goals of the Oregon Plan and FESRI are to inform residents - including members of the forestry, farming, and fishing industries along with watershed and conservation groups, small woodland associations, and private landowners - about the steps that have already been taken to help restore and preserve salmon habitats in the 10 years since the Oregon Plan's inception; and to gather information and opinions to share with state policy makers to help shape the future of salmon recovery and restoration efforts.

Kathy's mission includes delivering presentations to local groups that are tailored toward the issues of specific concern for that community - be it volunteers at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, commercial and private property owners whose holdings include riparian lands, or commercial fishermen. FESRI meetings are a two-way street: While Kathy shares information about how Oregonians can help preserve salmon habitats, a major part of the discussion includes gathering information on how the issue has impacted attendees and their livelihood and what they do or do not like about salmon restoration programs in their areas. She then takes that information to OWEB, which incorporates it into ever-evolving Oregon Plan programs and initiatives statewide.

"The more eyes that are looking at this issue, the better," she said. "It's crucial to stress that the Oregon Plan acknowledges everyone who has a role needs to contribute to a solution, and that the plan combines regulatory and voluntary approaches."

Kathy views the FESRI program as a "great facilitator for bringing everyone together without pointing fingers at this or that particular group," she said. "I see a lot of positive things happening right now. We all have just a little bit of the total, but if we can put all those pieces together we can figure this out. In our coastal communities we are all stake-holders, salmon are part of our heritage and we really need to work toward their preservation. It's important that we take ownership.

"This has been a way of life for us, and it's been a really good way of life. We're committed to finding solutions."

The FESRI program and the Oregon Plan are made possible through the volunteer efforts of Oregon residents, landowners, and business persons and through funding for numerous programs and grants provided by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, itself funded by Oregon Lottery revenue and sources including salmon license plate revenue, federal salmon funds, and funds that come from the purchase of "salmon-friendly" power.

For more information about scheduling a local FESRI presentation, contact Kathy Davis at 765-7789 or Kathy134@centurytel.net. More information is also available through the Oregon Plan state program office, (503) 378-3589 ext. 821 and online at www.oregon-plan.org.

Laura Eberly is a reporter for the News-Times. She can be reached at 265-8571 ext. 217, or lauraeberly@newportnewstimes.com.