A group of local sportsmen, outfitters, businesses and other interested citizens have organized to support Wilderness designation for the 12,000 acre Copper Salmon area to protect this watershed and ensure that hunting and fishing opportunities are protected. Wilderness designation is popular in the local area, as evidenced by resolutions in favor of it from the Port Orford Chamber of Commerce, the mayor of Port Orford, and the Curry County Commissioners. Additionally, a majority of the guides, lodges and local citizens are supporting this proposal.
"This is a unique, locally driven effort to protect some the last, best fishing and hunting in Oregon," says David Smith, President of the Port Orford Chamber of Commerce. "We want this place to stay like it is because that's what's best for our community."
"I believe it is important to protect this river system so our fisheries will continue to prosper," says Richard Wolfe, a full-time fishing guide, "My livelihood depends on this river, and the money sportsmen spend locally when they come here to fish or hunt is renewable year after year."
David Smith, Richard Wolfe, former timber company forester Jim Rogers, also of Port Orford, and others traveled to Washington, D.C. at the end of April to deliver a letter to U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio asking for wilderness protection for the Copper-Salmon, which includes the pristine headwaters of the Elk River system. The letter is signed by 10 sportsmen's organizations and has the support of the city of Port Orford and the Port Orford Chamber of Commerce. The group also met with other members of the Oregon congressional delegation. To read the letter go to http://www.tu.org and look under the column titled "TU In The News".
According to his spokesman, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., also supports the Copper Salmon proposal and would like to see it included in the Mount Hood wilderness bill now before Congress.
Background
The Copper Salmon area is one of the last intact watersheds on the southwest Oregon Coast. The Elk River, which reaches the Pacific Ocean just north of Port Orford, is home to healthy populations of Chinook salmon, steelhead, Coho salmon, and sea-run cutthroat trout. Oregon State University researchers believe it is one of the healthiest anadromous fish streams in the lower 48. For example, even after 25 inches of rain fell over 18 straight days in December, anglers were able to fish it while the other rivers in southwest Oregon (Rogue, Umpqua, Coquille) were blown out with debris and mud. The Copper Salmon area also supports healthy populations of blacktail deer, black bear, mountain lion, and Roosevelt elk.
Despite its tremendous attributes, the headwaters of the North Fork of the Elk River, around 12,000 acres, currently have no degree of permanent protection. It is adjacent to the already-protected Grassy Knob Wilderness Area that was designated more than 20 years ago.
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