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Upcoming Events

December 31st - Fishes & WishesFinnriver Cidery, 5:00 - 9:00 pm

Live music, Salmon dinner, Bonfire + art____________________________________

January 1st - BINGO night kick offHilltop Tavern, 7:00 - 9:30 pm

Play games, Win prizes, Support NOSC____________________________________

January 11th - Planting at Discovery Bay

This 10+ year project included a creek re-meander, engineered log jams, and estuarine

restoration.

Be part of the story. Plant trees._____________________________________

January 22 & 23 - Planting at Pyhst Riverw/ Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe

10 acre field reforestation on the rivers edge_____________________________________

Annual Report is here!

The 2018-2019 Annual Report is here! Our theme for this past year? We are growing.Check out this letter from Executive Director Rebecca Benjamin, to learn more aboutnew partnerships and our leadership locally and at the state level.

At the Salmon Coalition, we know that to promote robust wild salmon stocks we needto prioritize education, restoration, and celebration. Help us celebrate our sharedaccomplishments this past year by reading our Annual Report. We share updates onriparian recovery, fish passage projects, and our stewardship programs.

Puzzles & Gear Sale

Schedule a time to shop and take your new gear home! 360-379-8051 or info@nosc.org

Consider adding a membership with a merch item to double your impact!

500 piece puzzle with DiscoveryBay restoration project backdrop.Art by Larry Eifert.

Stay warm thisseason with salmon

gear!

Size & color variety

Sweatshirts,t-shirts, hats!

Statewide Salmon Recovery: The RFEG's

The Salmon Coalition is one of 14Regional Fisheries EnhancementGroup. You may have heard usreference this before, but what doesit mean?

Each RFEG works within a geographicregion based on watershed boundariesand is a separate, nonprofitorganization led by their own board ofdirectors and supported by theirmembers.

The RFEGs create partnerships withlocal, state and federal agencies,tribes, local businesses, communitymembers, and landowners.

In November, we all met in Forks toshare stories and learn from eachother. Work sessions ranged fromhydraulic modeling to outdooreducation activities.

In the World of WCC: AmeriCorps Updates

WCC crew at Tamanowas Rock in Chimacum

The Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) mission is to conserve and enhancethe natural resources of Washington while providing meaningful serviceopportunities to young adults and military veterans.

This is the tenth year the Salmon Coalition has sponsored a WCC Crew. We workwith partners across the Olympic Peninsula to provide different opportunities forthe crew to get boots on the ground.

The crew has been working closely with the Jamestown Tribe on the TamanowasRock trail. Here's an update from Owen, Crew Supervisor, "We improved the trailso tribal elders and others could access the area. We re-established severalswitch backs and built crib walls to support the trail surface on the steep slopes.We utilized the materials on site like cedar, rock and dirt."

Check out this awesome video, made by crew member Torin Blaker, to see whatthe crew has been up to. You can follow more of Torin's work on instagram,@torin.jpg

Spotlight: Nate Roberts

Please join us in welcoming Nate Roberts tothe Salmon Coalition! Nate joins us as the newProgram Assistant and will be based in our PortAngeles office.

Some of you already know Nate from hisinternship with us earlier this year. We'reexcited to welcome him back full time tosupport our Clallam County volunteer programsand restoration projects.

Get to know more about Nate below!

Tell us about yourself:

Growing up in Gig Harbor, I was fortunate to have several acres of forest at my disposal behind mychildhood home, and it was in these woods that I developed a keen interest in the natural world.Collecting salamanders, slogging through creeks in search of crayfish, and encountering theseemingly endless varieties of strange and interesting fungi are just a few of the experiences that Ilook back on with fondness. Around the age of 13, I picked up my first fly rod and instantly becameobsessed with all things related to fly fishing. Luckily for me, there was an old homestead with afarm pond teeming with native cutthroat trout just a mile or two down the road and anyone lookingfor me knew that was where I’d most likely be found.

Although I’m still an avid fisherman, at some point in the last 10 years, my desire to catch fishtransitioned to a desire to aid in their recovery. Just a few years after receiving my initial degree inElementary education, I went back to school for a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, where Ispecialized in wetland/riparian restoration. I believe it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

How did you first hear about NOSC?

The final component of my degree was an internship with an organization involved in riparianrestoration and salmon recovery. At the time, I was living in Southern California, but my goal was toget back to my home state of Washington. While back in Gig Harbor on vacation, I had aconversation with a neighbor who also happened to be a fisheries biologist. He suggested I look intothe RFEGs (Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups), and mentioned one group, the North OlympicSalmon Coalition, that he knew was involved in some exciting restoration projects on the OlympicPeninsula. I took his advice, did some investigating and immediately knew that NOSC was exactly thetype of organization I’d like to be associated with. Shortly after contacting them to inquire aboutthe possibility of an internship, they responded positively, and the rest is history.

You interned with NOSC January-April 2019. What did you do in this roleand what was your experience like?

My internship was an incredible experience. Part of what made it so enjoyable was being involved inseveral different aspects of what NOSC does. One of my primary duties was assisting on the HokoFish Passage Prioritization Project, which essentially involved hiking up remote, often unnamedtributaries of the Hoko and assessing whether culverts presented barriers to fish passage. If aculvert was determined to barrier, it was placed on a prioritized list for removal based on how muchhabitat would be accessible to fish once remedied.

I also assisted in several volunteer-based plantings on local salmon streams. These were veryrewarding, as they gave me the opportunity to meet and interact with community members from allwalks of life, but each with the common goal of healthy salmon runs and the habitat needed forsurvival.

Perhaps the most rewarding role I had was assisting in implementing salmon-based curriculum tolocal 7th grade students. Getting kids outside planting trees and educating them about theimportance of healthy riparian habitat is something that will pay dividends down the road. I get akick of thinking about these kids returning to the areas they’ve planted 20 or 30 years into thefuture and seeing salmon spawning in habitat they personally had a hand in restoring.

What are you looking forward to about your job?

I’m truly excited to be part of the NOSC team once again! I’m looking forward to helping NOSC growtheir footprint to areas of the Peninsula with habitat in need of restoration. I’m also lookingforward to meeting many more community members who value salmon and the role they play inhealthy ecosystems. Perhaps what I’m looking forward to the most is seeing restoration from theinitial planning phase to completion, and witnessing salmon return to habitat that was onceinaccessible.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Beyond salmon and fly fishing, I have several other interests. These include: skiing, backpacking,botany and plant propagation, lapidary (cutting and polishing stones), and philosophizing with mycat Blue.

Donate with

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Base funding for the RFEG program comes from a grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service'sPartners for Fish and Wildlife Program, a portion of state commercial and recreational fishinglicense fees, and excess egg and carcass sales administered by the Washington Department of

Fish & Wildlife.

Give Us Your Feedback

Questions or Comments? Let us know what you think!outreach@nosc.org

360.379.8051www.nosc.org