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Witnesses urge no vote on reestablishing Columbia River salmon and steelhead endorsement
Summary
House Bill 2,003 would reestablish a Columbia River recreational salmon and steelhead endorsement and associated non‑appropriated account. Committee staff said the endorsement would raise receipts largely for monitoring and selective fishery opportunities; sportfishing groups objected to the structure and equity of the fee.
House Bill 2,003 would reestablish the Columbia River recreational salmon and steelhead endorsement program account that previously existed from 2010 to 2019. Judd Herrmann, staff to the Ways and Means Committee, told senators the endorsement would again require anglers age 18 and older who fish for salmon and steelhead on the Columbia River and its tributaries to purchase a separate Columbia River endorsement; the fee was described in the committee presentation as $7.50 per year with a reduced price of $6 for youth and seniors. Herrmann said the account would be non‑appropriated and intended to fund selective recreational fishing opportunities, scientific monitoring and evaluation, permitting, reporting and enforcement.
The fiscal note cited in the hearing estimated roughly $2 million in receipts in the first biennium and about $1.35 million per year thereafter, with administrative costs of roughly $193,000 per biennium. The bill’s effective date was listed as January 1, 2026 in the materials presented.
Public testimony included opposition from the Coastal Conservation Association and angling representatives. Noah Pisenich, executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association (Zoom), said the endorsement is “fundamentally unfair” because other salmon and steelhead fisheries in the state do not require special endorsements and because license fees recently increased. He asked senators to vote no and recommended the Department of Fish and Wildlife work with stakeholders in the interim. Heath Heikala, who said he helped pass the original endorsement in 2009, testified the new draft lacks provisions that previously prioritized increasing fishing opportunity and guaranteeing angler input on fund use and warned it could create management non‑concurrence with Oregon’s Columbia River endorsement.
Ending: The hearing concluded with public testimony opposing the bill as drafted and recommending changes to the endorsement’s purposes and stakeholder governance. No committee vote was recorded at the hearing.
