Coquille, Sixes and Illinois Rivers in serious trouble

Dear Tribal Chairman Brenda Meade,

I am glad to hear the Coquille Tribe is taking a lead position on Coquille fisheries. I have personally tried to alert ODFW regarding the widespread poaching of the coho on this river and lack of enforcement. We have seen some of the same people year after year taking these fish when this fishery is closed to harvest. Our group, CDAO, made many complaints about the endless sewage spills by the City of Coquille.

If you are truly interested in preserving this fishery, I think it would be of great benefit to talk to biologist Keith Parker PhD. Keith is a member of the Yurok tribe on the Klamath River. The Yurok fisheries is leap years ahead of ODFW. In fact, California has more wild salmon than the State of Oregon has. Some of the latest published Chinook science has been done by Yurok fisheries.

I know Keith is super busy. I read NOAA has appointed him to lead a project in the ocean. Keith is also in charge of the 3 dams that will be removed on the Klamath River. Keith is also a big advocate on natural fish production. He recognizes that hatcheries change fish genetics from one cycle in hatchery systems. It would be a great benefit if someone from the Tribe could contact Keith and get his opinion on the Coquille issues. Ph: XXX-XXX-XXXX Email: XXXXXX@XXXXXX You can tell him Chuck Erickson said to talk to him for advice. I know he is super busy and it may not be possible but it is worth a shot.

I have been ringing the Coquille River alarm bell since 2014 and they are just now doing something after we have a total collapse of the fishery. The warnings were there, and they were ignored.

I am now working on the Sixes River issues. We caught some gold miners damming the river. They moved a bunch of the river bottom. Dumping grey water all summer. They put up a gate to block access to the river. We also got word there is illegal water extraction going on in this basin for illegal pot grows. I went back to this camp and took pictures and made a video. It is a sad indictment that an old, retired guy must be the one to investigate and repeatedly turn this in these problems.

USFS, BLM, ODFW, ODSL and OSP are not protecting our natural resources. The forest service directed me to a mine inspector in Medford and they never answered their phone or returned my calls. There are over 30 + active placer mines on the Sixes and no one bothers checking what they are doing. The Sixes River fisheries are also in trouble. We are getting reports about water extraction and grow operations in the Illinois River basin. Low water years are killing our fisheries. This must stop.

My Grandson and Uncle are Grand Ronde Native Americans and I intend on doing everything I can to protect their heritage and their natural resources. It would be beneficial if we could have a Native American as one of ODFW Commissioners. Gov Kate Brown appointed some guy on the coast who has multiple commercial fishing violations and convictions. This can’t be good.

Thank you for your concern for our Coquille River.

Sincerely,
Chuck Erickson
PO BOX 1083
Coos Bay, OR


Cc: Gov Kate Brown