Local Leaders Set to Guide Conservation Efforts 

WOODLAND, WA - Not long ago, a group of concerned anglers from Oregon and Washington with an urgent need to take a more active role in the management of their marine resources contacted Coastal Conservation Association. Just six months later, CCA Washington and CCA Oregon are officially open for business and proud to announce the election of officers and directors to lead the attack on a variety of conservation issues in the region, particularly salmon.

“In just a few months, our membership grew from a handful of concerned folks to more than 1,300 in these two chapters,” said Matt Olson, president of CCA Washington. “This is largely attributable to the frustration of sports anglers throughout Oregon and Washington. They are refusing to let wild salmon populations disappear forever at the hands of commercial gillnetters.”

With the clock ticking for wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest, the two newest CCA state chapters wasted no time organizing boards and launching three local chapters in each state. The pace of membership growth in the region has exceeded expectations and reflects the urgency anglers feel towards a resource that is a historic symbol of the region.

“Gary Loomis deserves much of the credit for bringing CCA to Washington and Oregon. He has been tireless in spreading the message and he has the visibility and charisma to draw attention to this issue,” said David Cummins, CCA president. “The plight of salmon is really motivating people by the hundreds to get involved in CCA. We have rarely seen this degree of frustration with a fishery and its management. People here know what is at stake and they are ready to do whatever they have to do to fix the situation.”

In addition to officers and directors, committee chairmen were also appointed in both chapters who will begin the grassroots process of determining goals and developing strategy to address the region’s complex conservation issues. The first CCA Washington chapters will be based around Central Puget Sound, the Lower Columbia River Valley and the Chehalis River Valley. CCA Oregon will also begin with three chapters centered around the Mid-Willamette Valley, Portland Metro and Columbia County.

“CCA is a grassroots advocacy organization, not a fishing club, and that makes it different from most groups in the country. We are going to be looking at these issues in a new way,” said Mads Ledet, vice chairman of CCA Oregon. “Local anglers and conservationists have to get involved to change the future of salmon in the Northwest. That is the strength of CCA.”

CCA is the largest marine resource conservation group in the country, with more than 94,000 members in 17 state chapters along the Gulf, Atlantic and Pacific coasts.  

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For further information or to arrange interviews with representatives of the new
CCA chapters in the Pacific Northwest, contact Ted Venker, 1800-201-FISH.