Tribe and ODFW Talk Rock Creek at Town Hall
Natural Resources Director Kelly Coates speaking at the town hall meeting
Working together for cultural and community connection to fish in the Umpqua Basin, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are working on a new partnership to invest in the future of the North and South Umpqua rivers.
The co-management proposal, presented at a recent town hall meeting in Roseburg, outlines how both agencies will work together to maintain operations at Rock Creek Hatchery, and expand the fish acclimation site in Canyonville, as part of a larger strategy to protect the overall health of the hatchery system and vulnerable fish populations in Southwest Oregon.
Currently there is no state funding allocated for Rock Creek Hatchery because it was not included in the governor’s most recent budget. However, under the details of the co-management proposal, investments shared by both the state and the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe would go toward infrastructure at Rock Creek and expanding the facility in Canyonville.
The funding for the state part of the partnership has been proposed in the Oregon State Legislature and will require bi-partisan support for passage. Rock Creek Hatchery’s facilities were mostly destroyed in the Archie Creek Wildfire in September of 2020 and has since struggled to maintain fish programs, with summer steelhead being cut in 2022. Cow Creek Umpqua staff have supported ODFW staff at Rock Creek in recent years under the umbrella of a separate co-management agreement, providing frequent assistance with fish rearing, spawning, counting and transporting.
The proposal, contingent on state funding, would put steps in place for future spring chinook programs to be housed at Rock Creek, while winter steelhead and coho salmon would be centered in Canyonville, and fall Chinook would continue to be raised at Elk River Hatchery.
Natural Resources Director Kelly Coates presented the proposal to the town hall crowd, emphasizing the reverence that Cow Creek Umpqua people have for first foods such as salmon.
“The Tribe cannot lose connection to this vital piece of culture,” said Coates. “If Tribal members cannot practice their culture by fishing, then our relationship with the fish is broken and so is our promise to take care of them. The fish give their lives so we can survive and in a relationship of reciprocity, Tribal members take care of them and their habitat and practice ceremony for them to ensure their health and resilience and return to their home waters.”
Findings from a recent statewide ODFW hatchery study also were presented at the town hall, and ODFW Deputy Director Shaun Clements explained how many state hatcheries in Oregon are facing budget shortfalls and aging infrastructure.
“We were left with a pretty big deferred maintenance system without a (large) investment,” said Clements.
Even still, with the proposed partnership with the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe, Clements cautioned significant challenges ahead.
“Decreasing flows, warming water, fire. It’s going take many years of sustained investment over the years, and it’s going to be a significant lift,” he said.
