1995
If we continue on the road we are on, the fishing will only worsen. This is where the fish need our support. If we head in a new direction, we have the opportunity to restore our native fish runs.
Gary Loomis, Founder / President /Fish First
Today
For 20 years, Fish First has accomplished much thru thousands of volunteer hours, millions of fish planted, miles of instream restoration work, working with local schools habitat programs are just a few... Today, with over 300 members, we are revitalizing that effort to build the next generations.
Gary Loomis, Founder / President
Fish First Inc
Spring 2018
The Summer Steelhead needed your help!
Many Volunteers responded to help Fish First raise and release 65,ooo Summer Steelhead
Nice job Net Pen Coordinator Grant Jensen!
Go see some great pictures taken by Director Dick Dyrland
Net Pens 3-2018
To offer your support and help next year:
Contact Grant Jensen at (360) 270-5501
More connections coming soon..
The Dock That Got Away
Fish First has been having problems with individuals cutting the cables the secure the net pens in the river. The pens are pulled to shore and used to fish of of. This summer, the pens were weakened. When the water level rose in December, one dock broke loose and floated a few miles downriver until it hung up in some trees. Board members and volunteers removed the dock and parked it temporarily at Gary's!
See the net pens HERE
Fish First is a non profit group dedicated to the restoration of wild and native salmon steelhead to the Lewis River system. We are 100 percent volunteer based, with no paid staff. We have invested hundreds of thousands of hours working in streams to recover fish since 1995.
Our Mission
To restore native Pacific Ocean salmon and steel head runs to levels sufficient to support responsible harvest by commercial, tribal and noncommercial fishermen.
What We Do
Full Cycle of Recovery
Fish First believes in trying to restore the cycle in a way consistent with nature's model. It does this by employing a full cycle of recovery, which requires: Removing migration barriers; Replacing nutrients to the stream; Restoring habitat to native conditions; and reintroducing native genetics to the stream through egg boxes and live plants.
Fish First Programs
To make rivers and streams fish friendly - to enable salmon and steelhead to spawn, grow, and thrive-Fish First uses proven science, design, and years of experience in restoring habitat. The technology Fish First uses has been sanctioned and used by federal and state agencies and is being adopted in various regions of Canada. It has been approved by National Marine Fisheries through our NOAA 10a1A permit.
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Remote Site Incubators (RSI) "Egg Boxes"
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Net pens
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Fish Rescue to Rearing Ponds
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Nutrients
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Projects
- Opening blocked migration routes
- Constucting side channels