Alsea Wild Broodstock Call to Action

Last year, the Linn Benton Chapter of Coastal Conservation Association held it's annual banquet and fundraiser, drawing record attendance. With the formation of the Siletz Anglers Association, there is a great deal of momentum to improve our local fisheries, and the spotlight has been shining on potential improvements for the Siletz River.

Meanwhile, a shadow has been forming on the other side of the mountain. Carrying some of that momentum into a collaborative effort would greatly benefit recreational anglers who fish the Alsea, and in turn reduce pressure on central coast fisheries. Over the past several years, the Alsea fishery has been in a perpetual state of disrepair, and wild broodstock collection has been an arduous point of contention for guides and recreational anglers alike. Mortality issues affecting both the Alsea and Siletz have been a catalyst for long overdue equipment upgrades, but not without tarnishing the program's relationship with the community, and forming somewhat of a divide in cooperation and lack of transparency on multiple levels.

The hatchery has been extremely cautious to improve it's rapport, but hesitant to disclose information to the public that could help the productivity of the wild broodstock program on the Alsea. A good basis for comparison is the Cedar Creek and Alsea Hatchery facilities.

The timing seems optimal to capitalize on some of this momentum. I'm offering a list of talking points that I'd like our regional fishing community to consider moving forward between today and the week of March 25th.

• The Siletz Wild Broodstock program has a quota to capture 35 pairs of wild broodstock fish for spawning. 

• The quota on the Alsea is 40 pairs (or 10 more fish of equal sex).

• Historically, the Siletz Wild Broodstock program consistently reaches that annual quota.

• The Alsea Wild Broodstock program has never met this quota in it's history.

• On March 14th, Asst. Fish Biologist Paul Olmsted requested that Siletz Wild Broodstock Collection participants put the brakes on contributing fish until March 25th, citing: "You guys are too good!" and "This is a good problem to have."

• As of today March 18th, the Alsea Wild Broodstock program has collected 18 bucks and 21 hens from anglers, 15 pairs of which have been spawned and another 9 fish that are being held until they are "ripe."

• As of March 14th, the Siletz Wild Broodstock program has collected 33 pairs of wild broodstock.
• There are an additional 4 bucks and 7 hens of Wild Broodstock that have been captured by the trap at the Alsea facility.
• If the quota of 40 pairs of wild broodstock fish (the maximum allowed is 45) is not collected,  hatchery stock will be used in the spawning matrix. If hatchery fish are used in the wild broodstock program, at least 30 percent of the broodstock will be of wild fish origin. (See page 6 of the Alsea Hatchery Program Management Plan)

PVC tubes have been used by anglers to collect wild broodstock fish on the Alsea River. As effective as they are at keeping the fish calm while they're stationary, boaters are often hesitant to use them. The hatchery also cites lack of manpower to retrieve them on a regular basis from pick up points at the boat ramps. Guides have reported leaving them at the ramp overnight and seeing them still in the same place when they finish their float the next day. There have also been instances of poaching, wildlife harassment, and liberation of the collection broodstock fish (likely by parties that oppose the program as a result of these issues). However, I'd like to offer some possible solutions.

Alsea Hatchery Angler Fish Drop Off

A self-service angler drop off area for Alsea wild broodstock is a new addition to the Alsea facility this year. There are only a small handful of people who have been consistently using it. It seems that this new addition has been for the most part ignored by the majority of the guides in our region who already have wild broodstock collection tanks on board their vessels or they are simply unaware of that it even exists. I'm hoping for this open letter to change both.

One of the top contributors to the program this year (by way of the self-service angler drop off) is a 19 year old Fisheries & Wildlife student at Oregon State University by the name of Logan Ellis. He is leading by example, and deserves some positive attention for the ambitious effort he has put into this program. If a teenage recreational angler can build his own livewell broodstock tank and become one of the most prolific contributors to the Alsea Wild Broodstock program, then large groups of well-organized, influential and well known professional guides should be taking notice just how far removed they are from it.

This is a call to action. I have a set of goals I'd personally like to see accomplished, but meeting the wild broodstock collection quota for the Alsea program is at the top of the list. The Siletz only needs 2 pair of wild broodstock contributions the week of March 25th, which should be easy to achieve. It seems like mission impossible to contribute nearly double the number of angler caught wild fish for the entire season on the Alsea in a matter of two weeks, but I'm asking anyone who can fit the time and effort into their busy schedules between now and the end of the month to simply step up and lead by example the way 19 year old Logan Ellis has. Let's end this season on a high note, and go into the next one prepared.

As for my other personal goals for the Alsea Wild Broodstock program, they are as follows:

1. Improve the current self-service drop off station

The current self-service drop off station did not have a net at the beginning of this season. I was told by hatchery personnel that the reason for this was "Most boaters already have a net." However, after seeing footage online of people grabbing fish out of their wild broodstock tanks and dropping them into the raceway, my concerns were confirmed. The concrete wall is a couple feet high, and so is the fence around it, meaning there's a 4+ foot drop into roughly 18" of water. The fish are doing a cannonball into the shallow end of the pool. I would like to see squared, fine mesh nets that are constructed to fit into the corners of the livewell tanks and be easier on the transition of the fish from box-to-box. After issuing an initial request for a net, being told everyone already has one, and showing them that people aren't using their nets, the hatchery provided a landing net at the station. This is a step in the right direction, but a net designed for this function needs to be acquired, and a landing net is likely more subject to theft.

Another possible solution is some sort of slide or chute, similar to a smaller scale version of the "Salmon cannon" designed by Whooshh Innovations so the fish aren't being just dumped in shallow water with a concrete bottom. This kind of project would likely require some thought going into the design and possibly additional funding, but would set a positive example for the Cedar Creek facility drop off area, which also has a bit of a drop over a fence and concrete wall before the fish hit the water when they are released.

2. Construct Livewell Broodstock Tanks for Public Use

There are far less tanks available on this side of the mountain than guides who consistently fish the Alsea and support our wild broodstock program. Even if we can't provide tanks to everyone, those who tube their fish and leave them at the boat ramp can collaborate with allies within the program who do have tanks to expedite the transfer of wild broodstock to the self-service drop off station. We can't depend on the hatchery personnel to perform this task of picking up the fish we collect, but we can volunteer efforts to do this ourselves.

If you are a guide or angler participating in the Siletz wild broodstock program, loaning out your tanks to those who are more focused on the Alsea fishery for the next week or two (until wild broodstock collection resumes on the Siletz) is one way you can help the Alsea program without having to leave the Siletz.

3. Transparency and self-regulation
The Cedar Creek facility has a drop off station with a weatherproof kiosk that has a clipboard which lists contributions by angler/guide, date, sex, and quantity. A similar kiosk existed for a very brief period at the Alsea facility, but was "destroyed by the weather." I was told that the complete list of contributors was now being kept confidential for privacy reasons, but that I could still acquire that information by filing a public records request with the ODFW office in Salem. I think it's valuable information for the contributions to be transparent for the accountability of both the participants and the hatchery.

4. Funding these projects independently through regional angler advocacy groups

Our Linn-Benton CCA chapter has a regional project fund it has never used since it was founded 5 years ago. The Alsea Sportsman's Association also has project funding that has not been earmarked.

Thank you for your consideration in these matters. I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish in the short time frame these opportunities have presented themselves, and moving forward into being better prepared for next winter steelhead season.

Randall Bonner

Member Linn Benton CCA
Alsea Sportsman's Association

***UPDATE ON SENATE BILL 723***

Received an email this afternoon that Senator Gelser removed her chief sponsorship from the bill. This email is public record. Please send letters of thanks and praise to Senator Gelser for responding so quickly to concerns about Senate Bill 723.

From: Sen Gelser <Sen.SaraGelser@oregonlegislature.gov>
Date: Fri, Feb 1, 2019 at 1:38 PM
Subject: Re: Senate Bill 723
To: Randall Bonner <rainorshinerandall@gmail.com>

Dear Randall,

Thank you for following up!  It’s been a busy day and I was planning to direct message you to see if we could move this discussion to email as I was afraid I would miss things on Twitter, where my feed has been taken over by a debate about vaccines.

I appreciate that you raised the concerns you did about SB 723.  I was visited in my office and also received a number of letters asking me to sign on to legislation to prohibit a specific kind of coyote hunting contests.  I saw the photos and video, and found it to be disturbing.  I remain concerned about that practice on a personal level.

However, based on your letter and that of others I realized that I am missing a great deal of information about the hunting and fishing community, predator management, and events and strategies.  While I still oppose the cougar hunting contest, it is clear that this bill is much more broad and spreads into areas about which I lack sufficient information.  As a result, I have withdrawn my name from the bill and am no longer a sponsor.  I can’t justify being the sponsor of a bill about which I cannot answer all of the questions.  There is a process that goes through, so the website may not immediately reflect that.  It appears that it requires the approval of the Senate President to have my name removed.

I am happy to pick up this conversation later as the bill will be heard in the committee on which I serve.  I’m interested in the topic generally and do hope there is a way for it to be more narrowly tailored to the problem it was described as trying to solve. In the mean time, I do need to send notes to my constituents to whom I indicated I would sign on as a co-sponsor so that I can explain my decision to them.  I hope you will bear with me if it is next week before I can pick this thread with you back up.  However, if you have urgent questions that need to be resolved right away of course you will immediately have my attention again.

Finally, I have never and will never introduce or support legislation based on who has put it forward or campaign finance.  That’s not really my style.  In this case, I signed on because I was moved by the photos and the description of what sounded like a very cruel and indiscriminate process.  It was my error to not step back and learn more before I affixed my name to the bill that was brought by my office.  I do not fault the proponents of the bill for this—I should have taken more time to study before I agreed.

Thank you for the part you played in helping me see my error.

Sincerely,

Sara

Senator Sara Gelser

Chair, Senate Human Services Committee

Senate District 8 (Corvallis/Albany)

(503) 986-1708

sen.saragelser@oregonlegislature.gov 

What Oregonians Need to Know about Senate Bill 723

***UPDATE: Senator Sara Gelser has removed herself as a chief sponsor of this bill***

State Senate Bill 723 filed on Tuesday reads:

"Prohibits person from organizing, sponsoring, promoting, conducting or participating in contest, competition, tournament or derby that has objective of taking wildlife for prizes or other inducement or for entertainment."

Senator Michael Dembrow (D - Portland), Senator Jeff Golden (D - Ashland), and Senator Sara Gelser (D - Corvallis/Albany/Philomath) are listed as chief sponsors of the bill. Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward (D) - NW Portland/Beaverton), Senator Kathleen Taylor (D - Milwuakie) and Representatives Alissa Keny-Guyer (D - Portland), Courtney Neron (D - Aloha/Beaverton/Hillsboro/Tigard/Sherwood/Wilsonville) and Rob Nosse (D - Portland) also sponsored the bill.

View this post on Instagram

I wasn't #hunting alone today... #TurkeyHunting #TurkeySeason #Wildlife #Coyote #Predator #OutdoorHub #Outdoors #RainOrShine #Turkey

A post shared by Randy Bonner (@randalljbonner) on Apr 18, 2018 at 9:05pm PDT

When news began to spread about the bill, the fishing community reacted to the threat that tournaments and derbies would be outlawed, removing many annual events statewide that fund everything from conservation projects to rural preschools. Given the history of Kate Brown's education record as governor, Alsea's rural preschool will probably take any help it can get from a recent fishing derby in the area. The Alsea Sportsman's Association also holds an annual fishing derby that funds conservation projects that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife doesn't have in their budget.

As a resident of Corvallis, I reached out to Senator Gelser on Twitter. She seemed unaware of how the bill would effect competitive fishing, and even offered to seek amendment of the bill to exclude fishing tournaments.

Hi Randall, This bill was intended to stop coyote killing contests. I was surprised to learn the impact on fishing. I will seek amendment.

— Sara Gelser (@SenSaraGelser) February 1, 2019

Upon further review, Senator Gelser discovered that the text of the bill would not apply to competitive fishing events, and was quick to point out that:

In the bill's definition of wildlife: “Wildlife” means amphibians, reptiles, feral swine as defined under State Department of Agriculture rules, wild birds as defined under State Fish and Wildlife Commission rules and other wild mammals as defined under commission rules.

— Sara Gelser (@SenSaraGelser) February 1, 2019

What the Oregon Outdoor Council called a "Ban on Fishing and Hunting Derbies" is more aptly an attempt at halting coyote tournaments (according to Senator Gelser). However, the text of the bill could be expanded to other hunting competitions as well. Some examples that I speculate could be included under the text of this bill include the Sport Shows Heads and Horns Competition, Burnt Woods Big Buck contest, Sportsman's Warehouse Big Game photo contests, even the magazine I write for, Northwest Sportsman's Browning Photo Contest. All of them fit the bill's definition for wildlife and the objective of taking it "for prizes, other inducement, or for entertainment."

Even if fishing tournaments are not included as part of this bill, there are some curious discrepancies about the Senator's logical reasons for specifically banning coyote tournaments. Even some interesting comparisons between scales and fur, but we will come back to that later...

Dominic Aiello is president of the Oregon Outdoor Council and a writer for the Statesman Journal. Dominic joined the conversation on Twitter, questioning,

When there is a fishing contest, the fish are used for food. The coyote contests are just about killing coyotes as quickly as possible and without any management plan. It's just killing for sport.

— Sara Gelser (@SenSaraGelser) February 1, 2019

First, let's address the concern that in a fishing contest, fish are used for food. It's important to acknowledge that this is not always the case for fishing tournaments, especially bass tournaments, where the catch is released at the end of the event. This could also be true for any salmon or steelhead derby in which broodstock is collected, spawned, and released. Sure, there are also tournaments where the fish are harvested as food. For example, the Oregon Tuna Classic has donated over a million pounds of food, including the catch from participating anglers, and food purchased with donations to the event.

But the preconceived notion that coyotes have no culinary value is false. Although regulated as a "furbearer," coyote is still legal table fare in the state of Oregon, even if it's a little taboo. In a scene from the Netflix Original Series "Meateater," host Steven Rinella stands over an open barbecue pit cooking coyote for the first time and acknowledges that,

"We humans have complex relationships with canines. Almost too complex for words. To put a piece of their flesh in our mouths is no light matter. I'm approaching this with a bit of trepidation." After a few bites, they begin to compare the flavors to other game animals, and sum the meal up by simply saying that, "On some basic level, meat is meat. It's good if you cook it good." 

Many people in the sustainable food movement have turned to wild game for the source of protein. Jeremiah Doughty is a wild chef who has dedicated himself to educating the public on processing and cooking wild game through his business "From Field to Plate," which includes hands more than just a website and social media presence, but hands-on butchering classes. Like many wild chefs, Doughty promotes the ethics of eating what you kill, and using everything possible in the process. Coyotes are no exception to this. When I asked for a recipe recommendation, he suggested trying "Coyote Firecracker Chili."

FromFieldToPlate.com

I personally have no desire to enter a coyote tournament. Then again, I'm not much of a competitive sportsman either. I like to bass fish, but I'm not even interested in doing tournaments that are catch and release. That's not the point though. My lack of interest, my preconceived notions and my mixed feelings about all of this are not justification to prevent other people from participating in these events. A ban would be under the pretenses of an ethnocentric perspective that should not govern this or any other bill.

Author and Wild Chef Hank Shaw is an exception too. While having a reputation for an adventurous palate and trying just about anything, crows, canines, and felines are off the menu for Hank. Shaw says that he would never shoot a coyote, cougar, bobcat, or any other predator unless it endangered his life. In an entry on his blog, "Hunter Angler Gardener Cook," Shaw elaborates on "The Lines We Draw."

"We are fellow predators and view each other with wariness and respect."

Shaw acknowledges and accepts that other people don't share his views, but respects the right of people to kill predators where it is legal.

"While I don't like it, I am not about to impose my moral standard on someone else. Coyotes are almost as clever as crows. While I accept the right of hunters to kill coyotes  where it is legal, I will never do so unless a pack threatens me. I know this is irrational. Part of me says I am limiting my culinary horizons by declaring certain foods verboten. How do I know I won't love something if I refuse to try it? Maybe crow is better than duck. Maybe it is, but I am content to never know."

I understand the Senator's concern for management. Coyotes are one of 8 species regulated as "furbearers" that are open season all year. 8 other species have specific seasons, and 5 more species are not legal to hunt in Oregon. It's not evident that the state has any desire at this point to change the course of managing it's coyote populations, and if there's concern of the adverse effects of overpopulation, then killing as many as quickly as possible IS the management plan, is it not?

Hunters often point to the fact that coyotes are "fawn killers," and adversely affect big game animal populations, and there is truth to this. However, coyotes also pose a risk to domestic livestock, especially as we encroach upon their territory. Western Oregon however, which is home to all 7 Democrats who sponsor the bill, is relatively new territory for coyotes. In fact, coyotes were rarely seen west of the Cascades prior to the 1940s.

SOURCE: COOK COUNTY, ILL., COYOTE PROJ. & S. GEHRT, OHIO STATE UNIV.

In recent history, coyotes attacked two young girls, ages 7 and 9 in separate incidents in southwest Portland last fall. Unfortunate incidents like these have been on a steady incline in urban areas of Western Oregon since the 1980s. In a Nature.com article, Bill Ripple, an ecologist at Oregon State University in Corvallis says, "the coyote's arrival will have unpredictable effects on other species in the ecosystem.

Still, many will likely view predator management as wasteful, and competitive events as barbaric. However, these private events play a role in management that saves the state from having to develop programs out of it's own pocket. And that's where things come full circle, and offering prize money for the best predator "managers" comes back around to comparisons between animals with scales and animals with fur.

The Northern Pikeminnow bounty fishery does just that, and this year will have paid out over a million bounties on the native fish in an effort to reduce predation of salmon smolts. You can track historical pikeminnow bounty data at pikeminnow.org which shows that 108,309 bounties were paid out on pikeminnow in 2018 alone. These bounties are paid out by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. In fact, the payscale is $5 per fish for the first 25. Then it goes to $6 per fish for 26-200, and $8 per fish from 201 and up. The payscale resets for bounty anglers annually. In addition to bounties set for various quantities, there are tagged fish in the system that fetch $500 each. They are tagged with both a spaghetti tag and a PIT tag, so that even if the spaghetti tag falls out, the PIT tag can still fetch an additonal $100 bounty. Last year's top angler scored a $70,000 paycheck. Do the math here.

Now ask yourself what's different about an incentive bounty on scaly predators with fins that are not (typically) revered as quality table fare and a privatized bounty on coyotes, which seem to fit the same mold? Both ARE managed for their role as predators that target populations of fish and game animals that are harvestest for food. The Humane Society of America is not after bounty anglers killing hundreds of thousands of pikeminnow in the Columbia River, but they have been vocal opponents of pinniped management in spite of serious predation issues that threaten endangered fish species.

Senator Jeff Golden (D - Ashland) told reporter Elise Herron of Willamette Week that being approached by the Humane Society influenced his decision to support this legislation.

"I didn't know about the practice before the Humane Society came to me early in the session. After reading up on these competitions, I decided to become a sponsor."

The Humane Society claims that "during wildlife killing contests, hunters compete by killing as many wild animals as possible." This is a dramatized statement. Even most of the contests operate on a set bag limit, and the winners are declared based upon weight, not quantity. They also claim that "no wildlife management purpose supports these contests," but a year long open season on coyotes is clearly a management decision, and private events that are held, bought in and paid out on their own are much more practical than involving the state to pay out bounties as a form of management.

Lastly the Humane Society claims that "some animals are sold for their fur, but most are discarded and go to waste." The problem with this claim is that is already against the law. Coyote hunters are required to purchase a furbearer permit in addition to a hunting license, which for a resident is $25. A resident furtaker's license is $53 and a non-resident furtaker's license is $395. In order for a furtaker to make use of the hides collected by those with furbearer permits, a tournament is an efficient collection point. Furbearer regulations set by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife also state that:

"It is unlawful to waste the pelt of any furbearer except when authorized by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife."

 Perhaps enforcement of existing laws would eliminate the issues of "waste" that legislators and the Human Society are concerned about.

Please contact your local legislators and ask them to withdraw their sponsorship for Senate Bill 723. While the intention of this bill may be directed at coyote tournaments, the text is simply too vague and broad beyond it's intentions. It also opens the door to banning other competitive tournaments and derbies, many of which, like hides being turned into purses for auction, fund charitable causes.

Senator Sara Gelser

Democrat - District 8 - Corvallis, Albany, Philomath, Millersburg, Tangent, and unincorporated parts of Linn and Benton County

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1708
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-405, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Sen.SaraGelser@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/Gelser

Senator Michael Dembrow

Democrat - District 23 - Portland

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1723
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-407, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Sen.MichaelDembrow@oregonlegislature.gov
Twitter: @michaeldembrow

Senator Jeff Golden

Democrat - District 3 - Ashland

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1703   District Phone: ​541-843-0720

Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-421, Salem, Oregon 97301

Email: Sen.JeffGolden@oregonlegislature.gov

Twitter: ​@SenatorGolden​

Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/golden

Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward

Democrat - District 17 - NW Portland/Beaverton

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1717
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-213, Salem, Oregon 97301
District Mailing Address: PO Box 2281, Portland, Oregon 97208
Email: Sen.ElizabethSteinerHayward@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/steinerhayward

Senator Kathleen Taylor

Democrat - District 21 - Milwaukie

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1721
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-423, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: sen.kathleentaylor@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/taylor

Representative Alissa Keny-Guyer

Democrat - District 46 - Portland

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1446
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-272 Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.AlissaKenyGuyer@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/keny-guyer

Representative Courtney Neron

Democrat - District 26 - Aloha, Beaverton, Hillsboro, King City, Sherwood, Tigard, Wilsonville

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1426
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-281, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.CourtneyNeron@oregonlegislature.gov
Website:http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/neron

Representative Rob Nosse

Democrat - District 42 - Portland

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1442   District Phone: 971-217-8037
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-472, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.RobNosse@oregonlegislature.gov            
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/nosse

Winter Mushroom Hunting

photo by Hanna Marklin

The typical hunter-gatherer types think of picking mushrooms primarily as a spring and fall activity. However, if you learn enough of the edible varieties, habitats they grow in, and the longevity of their seasons, you can easily make this past-time last all year. Winter is one of my favorite times of year for mushroom hunting. While the gold rush for fall chanterelles is probably the most popular among mushroom hunters, they tend to disappear once the rains and freezing weather put an end to the harvest. Mushroom hunting during the winter months also reduces conflict with most hunting seasons, particularly in regards to big game. Best of all, it's a great excuse to get outside when the river is blown out and the weather isn't cooperating for winter steelhead, or you've already bagged your limit of ducks in the morning.

The progression of different species that fruit during this seasonal transition begins with Hydnum repandum, commonly known as hedgehog mushrooms, which are very similar in density, texture, and taste to chanterelles. Some species of hedgehog mushrooms begin fruiting in late summer and early fall, however there are others that will continue to fruit long after chanterelles have gone past their prime. Hedgehog Mushrooms get their name from a unique spiky pattern of spines beneath their caps where you typically see gills on most mushrooms. Their lack of imposters also makes them a fairly easy mushroom to identify and distinguish as an edible. These are a great choice for savory dishes, mushroom soups, or even pickling, and will maintain their density and texture fairly well after cooking.

As the season transitions into colder, freezing temperatures that are inhabitable for most fall mushroom species, another prolific and unique mushroom is the Lactarius or more commonly known as "Candy Cap" for it's strong maple syrup aroma. There are three North American species of Lactarius, but the Lactarius Rubidus is more common on the west side. This particular mushroom requires a little more advanced identification, as it resembles a large pool of lookalikes known by the mycological community as "LBMs" or "Little Brown Mushrooms." The Galerina is one toxic lookalike that grows in the same habitat. It's recommended to gather Candy Caps by hand rather than with a knife. The texture of their stem (known as a "stipe") is fairly fragile and breaks more like an old, dry twig, while it's imposters have a stipe that is more flexible, and tends to bend and break more like a green willow branch. Another analogy to explain this would be the difference between bone and cartilage.

Candy Caps are pretty unique in their range of culinary applications, and are typically dried first and ground into powder. Drying them is recommended at very low temperatures in order to best preserve the flavor and aroma. Once they're dried, use a coffee grinder to turn them into a fine powder. A blender or food processor would be a good substitute in the absence of a coffee grinder, but you'll end up with a much more coarse product. The powder you can use in almost anything sweet, but some of the more common uses are adding it to home made ice cream, pancakes, cookies, muffins, or other baked goods. The maple syrup flavor and aroma becomes a dominating focus of whatever you choose to add it to.

Finally, one of my personal favorite mushrooms of this season is Craterellus tubaeformis, aka the yellowfoot, or winter chanterelle. They have a very similar gill structure like the unique key identifiers for all chanterelles, which are gills that fork or web rather than running parallel to each other, and have erratic termination points where the gills connect to the stipe. The top of the mushroom is almost brown, with a dimple in the center of the cap. The name for yellowfoot comes from the stipe, which is a subtle, earthy, golden color. Unlike the golden chanterelles, the stipe on a yellowfoot is hollow.

Yellowfoot lends itself as an easy to forage forest product, growing in small clusters and often prolific within a small area. Whereas it's gold and white cousins typically push up from the duff and come covered in pine needles and debris, yellowfoot tends to grow from the same habitat, only from the surface of the forest floor rather than just beneath the first layer of it. Much like the candy caps, you won't need a knife to harvest them, you can simply pluck them by bending them at their base until they snap. In spite of the fact that yellowfoot are hollow-stemmed and significantly smaller and less dense than their chanterelle cousins, the process of harvesting them involves a lot less cleaning and is very low maintenance. Their size doesn't require any slicing or cooking prep, so with enough care harvesting them in the field, you can simply bring them home and toss them in a skillet, or add them to your favorite savory dish.

The diversity of species available to pick during the winter months offers a wide range of uses in a variety of meals. The versatility of their culinary value will not only expand your palate, but with very little effort, you can easily stock up on side dishes for your winter meals, and enjoy a little more time in the outdoors, rain or shine.

This article was published in the December 2018 issue of Northwest Sportsman Magazine and received 2nd place honors in the 2019 Excellence in Craft awards for the Travel, Camping, Recreation magazine category at the Northwest Outdoor Writers Association conference.

Early Winter Steelhead on the Alsea River

The past few years, the Alsea River has had a slow start to it's winter steelhead season. However, things can swing into action faster than you can call in sick to work on a rainy day. A great deal of my time online in December and January is spent hitting the refresh button on the NOAA river level gauge waiting for that bump and the first group of fish that ride the wave in from tidewater. The fish that move early tend to also move quickly. Some of the lower river spots that are popular areas for salmon anglers can be productive, but hatchery fish harvest numbers for the season have drastically increased on the North Fork vs. the lower river in the past 10 years. That harvest data doesn't do justice to the fact that the earliest winter steelhead are typically caught by lower river plunkers targeting salmon.

During high water events, steelhead will travel closer to the shoreline than salmon in the same areas. The Mike Bauer boat launch has the Caddilac of plunking shacks. complete with a handicapped access fishing platform, a woodburning stove, and a nearby restroom with a flushing toilet. If the water is high and muddy, don't rule out an opportunity to stay warm and dry while waiting for the bell on your rod tip to ring. Cured prawns or eggs with a spin-n-glow plunked in travel lanes in the current closer to shore are a healthy snack for fish on the move.

Regardless of water level, there are a couple lower river staging areas where hatchery fish tend to congregate before moving upriver. Blackberry Campground and Five Rivers Boat Launch have been two remote release sites for twenty thousand traditional broodstock hatchery raised smolts each year since 2012. Most traditional hatchery broodstock tend to jet straight to the hatchery, and the ones that bite are more commonly used for table fare of the anglers who catch them, rather than used for spawning at the hatchery. This is somewhat problematic, as it tends to breed genetics that create hatchery fish that are more successful at reaching the trap than the dinner table. While wild broodstock smolts produce an increased harvest of hatchery adults, these forty thousand traditional hatchery broodstock are released at lower river locations with the intention of them slowing their upriver journey at the locations where they were released as smolts, presenting more angler opportunity for harvest. Unfortunately, harvest data has been inconclusive that these remote releases have actually improved lower river harvest opportunity. The Alsea Sportsman's Association has (unsuccessfully) requested that the regional fish biologist plant forty thousand wild broodstock smolts at the lower river remote release sites (in place of the traditional hatchery broodstock) in an effort for this practice to better serve it's intended purpose of increased harvest opportunity.

Prior to the introduction of the wild broodstock program in 1999, forty thousand smolts were planted into Fall Creek, an Alsea basin tributary where the Oregon Hatchery Research Center is located. Prior to 2006, twenty thousand traditional broodstock smolts were released at Five Rivers Boat Launch and Blackberry Campground as well as Mill Creek and Salmonberry Park, totaling eighty thousand smolts released during different stages of the season, in a practice known as "scatter planting," When you hear old timers talk about "the good ol' days," they're likely referring to a time when they saw a return on a more calculated effort being put into smolt releases of traditional broodstock.

For now, the Blackberry and Five Rivers sites (in theory) are a good option for targeting fresh chrome in the lower river. Unfortunately, many of the traditional broodstock adults still tend to race for the hatchery. It is surely not a coincidence that the North Fork opened to fishing up to the hatchery the same year that the wild broodstock program began in 1999, and that some of the largest creel check numbers occurred 3-4 years afterwards. Unfortunately, due to a few years of consecutive losses of wild broodstock eggs, the Alsea has been in a downswing of creel check numbers in more recent history. Lack of participation in wild broodstock collection by anglers and guides alike due to a mistrust of the program has been an arduous point of contention that has left the fishery in a perpetual state of disrepair. Upgrades to equipment, collection practices and collection sites have all been made in an effort to prevent history from repeating itself, but with most guides directing their attention to other fisheries, collecting wild broodstock has become a challenge for the hatchery. Last year the program depended mostly upon fish caught in the hatchery trap and a handful of bank anglers who collected wild broodstock within sight of the hatchery.

The South Fork of the Alsea contributes a majority of the silt and debris that tend to stain the water in the mainstem of the river. When the water is muddy downstream of the confluence, fishing the North Fork is often the best option to finding visibility and staging areas for fish that have made their way through the bulk of the obstacles downstream. Clemens Park is a good secondary option to find a spot away from the crowd at the hatchery. The trails at Clemens Park are well kept, but access is limited to a boundary of private Weyerhauser property, and the opposite side of the river is private property occupied by local residents. Several stretches of river between Mill Creek and Clemens Park have been closed in recent years due to a lack of respect for private property. The confluence itself is now part of a stretch of river only accessible through purchasing an annual permit through a local fishing club.

The result of the shrinking accessibility on the Alsea and a traditional broodstock steelhead that's been bred like a hatchery-bound racehorse is a perfect storm for crowded anglers near the hatchery. If you're planning to hit the hatchery stretch, prepare for the crowds you're not likely to encounter downriver. Hate on the crowds all you want, they are fishing the final destination for these fish, so naturally the chances for success are often higher the higher upriver you're fishing, particularly when the water is higher too. If the fish are moving through, you'll know soon enough from your own success, or that of the anglers around you. Stats of fish collected at the trap are also posted in print on the bulletin boards in the hatchery parking lot, which much like magazine articles, is valuable information you won't find on the web.

This article was published in the December 2018 issue of Northwest Sportsman Magazine

Oregon's Cougar attack, and what we can learn from Washington's attack in May

Many questions are being posed as Oregon's first cougar attack on record (fatal or otherwise) occurred on Tuesday, September 11th, 2018. The victim, 55 year old Diana Bober of Gresham was found 100 yards from Hunchback Trail #793 near Mount Hood Village. Sgt. Collinson with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said the woman's body was found "100 yards off the trail and down an embankment in the steeper areas."

Washington's first fatal cougar attack occurred earlier this summer on May 19th when two mountain bikers were attacked and one was killed near North Bend, 30 miles east of Seattle. The connections between the two incidents raise a lot of questions. Typically, people are instructed to stand their ground, make themselves appear loud and large in the instance of coming in contact with a cougar in the wild. During the attack in Washington, the survivor in the attack told authorities that they did everything they were supposed to do to scare the cat away during the attack. Alison Bober, Diana's sister, told the Oregonian it appeared she fought the animal that attacked her, saying "Although she died of her wounds, the wild animal didn't come back for her."

In the case of the Washington attack, the cougar stalked the two cyclists, then they attempted to scare it away, and it returned to attack them. "Something was wrong with this cougar," Sgt. Ryan Abbott, spokesman for the King County Sheriff's Office, told the Associated Press. Capt. Alan Myers of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife told the Washington Post, "Humans are not on the menu for Cougars normally. For it to attack two human beings in the manner that it did was incredibly abnormal. They do everything they can to avoid human contact." Myers said a preliminary exam of the animal showed it's age to be 3 to 4 years old, 100 pounds and slightly emaciated. A typical adult male cougar weighs between 140-180 pounds.

This abnormal attack occurred simply because the large cat was hungry. In addition to being hungry, it is either unafraid of humans or willing to take the risk of engaging with a human for a meal. Either way, officials made the decision to track down and euthanize the animal, which allowed them to collect information about what might have caused it's unusual behavior.

First responders from the fire and sheriff's departments found the victim in the cougar's den, with the cougar on top him. One of the deputies fired a shot, scaring the animal away. Officers with WDFW used hounds to track the cougar, which they found behind a tree no more than 80 feet away.

One of the big questions being posed with the cougar in Oregon is, "How many cougars will they find and kill before they get the culprit?" Well, it only took WDFW one try to find the culprit of their killer cat. Hopefully it will be a similar hunt for ODFW officials, although the timeline is a little further out, with Bober's body being found 2 days after she went missing, and another couple days passing with rains that might complicate hounds ability to follow a scent trail.

Another big question is "Is there any evidence that killing this cougar will prevent further human fatalities?" Well, the Washington cougar did not have anymore victims, and that is for certain. As far as this process being a "revenge killing," it's really more about the idea that cougars tend to learn behaviors and return to areas where they find they prey. For instance, if a cougar takes a chicken from a coop, it will continue to return to the coop until all the chickens are gone. As long as there are hikers in that area, they are in danger of becoming food for this cougar. The fact the body was dragged and left behind may only mean that she was left to die and the cat was coming back for it. Her body being removed from the trail and taken into rough terrain is still typical of large cat behavior being secretive about it's kills.

Many people wonder "Aren't cougar populations in decline?" Far from it. In fact, their populations have doubled since the mid 1990's.

An obvious problem is the expanse of the human population and the encroachment of habitat. "It's just animal doing what it does, she was in it's home!" Given that the woman was hiking in the wilderness, the trail is regularly used by hikers and cougars do not typically inhabit areas where people are. More and more human interactions with these animals continues to occur, but it's important to remember that humans are still part of the ecological equation. As long as this is true, the human element will affect wildlife management, and much of the reaction to this headhunt for a killer cat is an emotional response by people who are far removed from it.

Many of these far removed people are still questioning "Aren't these creatures being over-hunted?" Historically, a bounty was issued on cougars by settlers long before Oregon was even declared a state, and poisoning was the most popular method of removal. After some time of going unregulated, populations nearly went extinct. The fact they inhabit some of the most remote and hard to reach areas of the wilderness preserved their species until the state declared them a game animal and began regulating hunting practices in 1967. After the state stepped in, the population stabilized and continued on a steady rebound. Those slowly increasing but manageable populations were drastically changed in 1994 when measure 18 was passed, banning the use of hunting cougars (and bears) with hounds.

Since 1994, the population has nearly doubled in size in a short time frame, and many are skeptical that there are enough food sources to support such large populations, which could explain the drastic uptick in urban complaints involving problem cats. Zach Urness of the Statesman Journal reported in March of this year, (prior to these 2 fatalities) that:

"Complaints about cougars have tripled in the Willamette Valley since 2011. And the number of cougars killed due to human or livestock conflicts reached a record 70 animals last year in the Willamette Valley, Coast and Northern Cascades region, according to state records.

State officials say rising cougar numbers are pushing the animals into more populated areas, especially towns near forested lands such as Silverton, Dallas and Corvallis.

“When you see them showing up in urban areas, it’s likely that better habitat was occupied and they are trying to find a place that works for them,” said Derek Broman, carnivore coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife."

If you look at the graph, you can see that not only were populations continuing to increase during the period of the late 80s and early 90s that hound hunting was still allowed, but the drastic rise in population that began once it was banned:

Another part of this equation is simply the lack of hunters in general. With fewer hunters, there's less hunting pressure on these populations. Many of the cougars taken by hunters are incidental kills in which they were not a primary target species. Even an increase in the number of cougars that are killed is not indicative of increased hunting pressure, but instead points to the larger probability of encountering a cougar given the increase in the population.

The difficult thing for people to understand is that they themselves create the human element regardless of whether or not they are a hunter. Increased populations of residents in the surrounding Portland and Seattle metro areas mean there will be more encroachment upon wilderness land. Leaving the decision of hunting tactics in the hands of these residents as voters rather than biologists and wildlife officials who understand wildlife management is a short-sighted approach that will continue to cause conflicts as the population of cougars reaches critical mass and branches out of it's habitat and into populated areas looking for food.

Watching for Big Game from Behind the Wheel

I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting this bull that was standing in the middle of the road in August 2017. He ran into a nearby field, but stopped and turned back long enough for me to snap this photo before moving along down the road.

Imagine you're on your way home from a great day enjoying every last minute of daylight in the great outdoors. You've been hiking, foraging, scouting, fishing, and you ran out of water an hour or two ago, so you're a little tired and delirious. The visibility is low as the sun begins to set. You have to turn on your headlights and maybe even squint to see where you're going.

Slow down during the twilight hours. It's summer. You're not the only one that's thirsty and tired. Animals are moving long distances in search of grass that's still green and water sources that haven't dried up yet. Maybe they're even being pushed away from their stomping grounds due to forest fires. Either way, the end of the day at the end of summer creates a lot of roadkill, and as a hunter, it's heartbreaking to see how many animals meet their maker just before the season opens, and rot on the side of the highway. Nobody's putting up crosses or stuffed animals on the side of the road to remind motorists that an automobile accident took a life in this curve or over that hill. There's simply buzzards and bones when it's already too late and it happens again.

I don't have a lot of faith in those whistle gadgets that fix to the bumper. If I had been stumbling around all day on a full stomach of fermented apples and pot leaves while looking for a drink of water, I'd probably freeze in my tracks if you shined your brights at me in the middle of the road too. As drivers, it's best to take responsibility for maintaining a rate of speed where we can not only spot wildlife, but avoid it or stop if it decides to move into our path.

With that being said, something most people don't think about when approaching deer in a vehicle is that if you're going slow enough to stop and take pictures of it, you're also teaching that animal a learned behavior, giving it a false sense of security that vehicles aren't a threat. I know I've done it more times than I could ever count, pull over, fumble around for the phone and try to get a quick snapshot of the animal in it's majestic element of wilderness. I've gotten a few really good shots doing this, but more often I find myself seeing deer that don't bother moving as I approach them with my vehicle. This spring, I saw 3 yearlings wandering in a ditch that were darting back and fourth into the road for nearly a hundred yards as I passed by. I turned to my passenger and said, "These dumb kids are going to get run over, they need to quit playing in the street!" That's when I rolled down his window and yelled across the cab of the truck, "WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS?" Only a few seconds later, a startled doe seemed to appear out of nowhere and herded her children back into the forest and out of the road.

Deer need to fear vehicles, not feel like they're posing for your instagram muching on ryegrass and crabapples. The best way to do that is yell or honk the horn a few times. Be assertive with these traffic obstructions, their lives might depend on it.

With the passing of SB 372 by the Oregon State Legislature, ODFW will make permits for salvaging roadkill deer and elk no later than January 1st, 2019. Until then, salvaging deer or elk remains illegal until new rules creating a roadkill salvage permit program are adopted by the Fish and Wildlife commission. You can find out more about Oregon's new roadkill salvage laws here:

https://www.dfw.state.or.us/resources/hunting/roadkill%20_regulations.asp