Chinook Salmon Eggs
The Willapa Bay Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group (WBRFEG) was
started in 1985 by local commercial fishermen who wanted to enhance
the salmon population in Willapa Bay.
Each year, using volunteers, WBFEG raised millions of salmon eggs, smolt, and fry and released them into the creeks and rivers around Willapa Bay. But despite these efforts, salmon populations continued to decrease. Chum salmon, in particular, reached unsustainable levels.
In 1991, the Washington State legislature passed a law to establish 14 regional enhancement groups across the state. The Willapa Bay organization became one of these 501-C-3 regional groups.
The legislature envisioned these groups as volunteer organizations that would help in salmon recovery. Each independent non-profit group would have its own board of directors and would receive a percentage of funds (approximately $30,000) derived from the sale of Washington State salmon fishing licenses or commercial salmon licenses.
Around 1999, the Washington State Legislature created the Salmon Recovery Funding Board to provide grants for the protection and restoration of salmon habitat. All of the 14 regional enhancement groups, except for the Willapa Bay group, hired fulltime staff. Although those groups still have a board of directors, those members are not directly involved in the recovery projects.
Along with salmon recovery efforts, WBRFEG has worked on various community projects including a boat launch, city floats, and pier for South Bend, Washington and the construction of the Salmon Trail at Headquarters Creek on the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.
Most of WBFREG salmon recovery projects have been located on public lands, but occasionally the organization has partnered with timber companies who wanted salmon restoration work done on their property.
Photo courtesy of Spappy.joneS