Help Save the Skagit Steelhead Season!

THE SAUK-SKAGIT WILD STEELHEAD FISHERY IS AT RISK OF CLOSING FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE

Neither the states House or Senate's operating budgets includes funding to monitor the Sauk-Skagit winter-spring wild steelhead fishery.

The closure of this fishery would be devastating to many livelihoods, local communities and small business owners in the area that depend on the influx of traffic during this season. This fishery surpassed 3.5 million dollars in revenue in the 2025 season.
Please contact the people listed below and ask them to fund the Sauk-Skagit wild steelhead fishery.

TAKE ACTION:

IN THE HOUSE:

TIMM ORMSBY (SPOKANE)

TIMM.ORMSBY@LEG.WA.GOV

KRISTINE REEVES (FEDERAL WAY) KRISTINE REEVES @LE.A.GOV

JOE FITZGIBBON (VASHON)

JOE.FITZGIBBON@LEG.WA.GOV

IN THE SENATE:

JUNE ROBINSON (EVERETT/MARYSVILLE

JUNE.ROBINSON@LEG.WA.GOV

MIKE CHAPMAN (OLYMPIC PENINSULA)

MIKE.CHAPMAN@LEG.WA.GOV

WDFW:

COMMISSION CHAIR:

JAMES ANDERSON

JAMES.ANDERSON@DFW.WA.GOV

DIRECTOR:

KELLY SUSEWIND

KELLY.SUSEWIND@DW.WA.GOV

copy the text below, make sure to change [your name] to your actual name and send it to all of them!

To whom it may concern, I’m writing as a Washington resident who cares deeply about our state fish — the wild steelhead — and the rivers that make this place what it is. Right now, the Sauk–Skagit winter/spring wild steelhead fishery is at risk of closing because there’s no funding in the current state budget to monitor it. Without that monitoring, the fishery can’t legally stay open. This fishery is part of Washington’s outdoor heritage. Generations have fished these rivers, and they continue to bring people together from across the state. It’s also an important source of local income for guides, small tackle and fly shops, restaurants, and lodging in the Skagit Valley — over $3.5 million in revenue last season alone. All we’re asking for is funding to keep this fishery monitored and open, managed by science, and accessible to the public. Shutting it down because of a lack of budget support, not a conservation concern, would be a loss for all of us. Please support funding for the Sauk–Skagit wild steelhead fishery in the final state budget. Thank you, [Your Name] [City / ZIP] [Optional: I fish, I guide, or I support my local outdoor community]