Restrictive Umpqua Wild Fall Chinook Fishery Approved

UPDATED 4:11 P.M., FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 2025 WITH AN ODFW PRESS RELEASE AT BOTTOM

Umpqua River wild Chinook anglers escaped a full closure but will still see a heavily restricted fishery this fall.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved a one-Chinook limit for the season, with fishing only allowed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and the fishery will close after 500 wild Chinook are harvested.

ODFW had initially recommended a full closure on wild fall Chinook and limiting fishing for hatchery kings to the bank below the Highway 101 Bridge, but overnight staffers produced a couple alternatives, both of which present novel approaches to the fishery.

The first would have issued 750 harvest tags for the river via random draw, while under the second, the one-fish seasonal bag limit would have included hatchery kings as well as introduced a quota and closed fishing after a total of 500 Chinook had been kept.

Ultimately, Commissioner Bob Spelbrink of Siletz riffed off of option 2, and he was supported by all his five of his fellow members.

The reason ODFW had proposed to close wild Chinook retention for the fall season is related to how many returned last year, 1,318, the lowest on record since 1980, and how many are forecast this year – 4,710. The agency uses a sliding scale in its coastal management plan, and the arithmetic mean between those figures, 3,014, fell below what’s known as the critical abundance threshold of 3,197.

ODFW points to impacts from wildfires, drought, warming waters and nonnative predators as impacting salmon as well as steelhead.

But the full closure faced a lot of local pushback, and it saw Douglas County Commissioner Chris Boice fly all the way from Roseburg to Pendleton in his personal plane to speak to the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

While Boice, a fall Chinook angler himself as well as grandson of one of the pioneers of the Northwest jet boat industry, said he was “encouraged” to see alternatives to a closure on the table, he also noted, “We’re already seeing an economic impact. We have folks in our RV parks canceling reservations already just based on the proposal.”

Some of those reservations for this season just might be back on this afternoon, though Commissioner Leslie King warned that last year’s low return of wild fall Chinook may not be the bottom.

THE FOLLOWING IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

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.