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SALEM, Ore – Mussel harvesting is now closed from Cape Blanco to the California border due to levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning above the safety threshold, the Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced today. On the mid-coast, marine biotoxin levels tested below the…

SALEM, Ore.—ODFW will be proposing several changes to next year's Sport Fishing Regulations. The Commission will adopt 2026 regulations at their Sept. 12 meeting in Ontario. Major staff proposals for changes include: Allowing spearfishing for bass and walleye in more rivers and streams: Spearfishing is a popular alternative fishing method…

LA GRANDE, Ore. – Effective Aug. 1 through Sep. 30, minimum and maximum size limits as well as the daily and possession bag limits for rainbow trout and bass are suspended for Thief Valley Reservoir (Southeast Zone) located in Union County. Harvest will be allowed by hand, dip net, or…

Nick Myatt, Region Manager Golden eagle research in northeast District wildlife staff in Wallowa County, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nature Conservancy, began a pilot project to study the survival, movement, and reproductive success of golden eagles. During the pilot phase, ODFW staff tested methods of capture as well as telemetry units to determine feasibility for a longer-term study. The first capture event during this pilot project took place in mid-December 2024. USFWS provided four GPS units for this pilot year. The data from golden eagles captured in northeast Oregon during this pilot phase…

Chris Kern, Region Manager Fisher research in southern Oregon Fisher are a Species of Greatest Conservaion Need in Oregon's State Wildlife Action Plan, and ODFW is actively conducting research to understand fisher occupancy and distribution east of I-5, as well as that of their competitors and predators. Wildlife Research staff maintained 30 baited camera traps in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument and Southern Cascades. The cameras were deployed in mid-September on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands in areas with proposed habitat management efforts. The goal is to evaluate how these land alterations influence changes in mesocarnivore occupancy…

Captain Casey Thomas, Fish & Wildlife Division An Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Trooper received multiple complaints about an owl hanging from a power line. The barn owl had become tangled in fishing line, which was hanging from a power line, about 20 yards from a bridge that crosses the Lost River. A local raptor rehabilitator told the Trooper that unlike eagles, Owls can't swim. A local Pacific Power employee had a boom truck and offered to help. Using the Troopers net, he was able to safely cut the owl down. The owl received some treatment at a local…

Tucker Jones, Ocean Salmon and Columbia River Program Manager Summary of 2024 Fisheries and Outlook for 2025 Fisheries The Columbia River Management section of OSCRP has posted a document to the ODFW website with preliminary estimates of 2024 salmon returns and fishery results, 2025 run forecasts for spring Chinook, summer Chinook, and sockeye salmon, as well as a list of currently-known key dates for 2025 fisheries planning milestones. This document is prepared jointly by the ODFW and WDFW Columbia River fishery management staffs each year. This useful document has a table of salmonid returns/forecasts that will be updated on our…

July 2, 2025 THE DALLES, Ore.—With another poor forecast for Columbia Basin summer steelhead runs this year, protective regulations are again in effect on some tributaries (Deschutes, John Day, Eagle Creek). The daily adult salmon and steelhead bag limit may not include more than one hatchery steelhead in the following…

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The shotgun range at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area near Corvallis will be closed for renovation from July 14 through the end of October. Renovations on the range will include expanding the shooting bays and implementing ADA complaint access to the site. ODFW expects work to be complete…