April 16, 2026 8:05 am
Camas, Clark County, Government, News, Outdoors, Washougal 
Participants in a meeting with Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, center in plaid shirt, pose for a picture at the Skamania Hatchery. From left: Skamania County councilor Brian Nichols and his friend; local anglers Andrew Dunworth and Harry Barber; Perez; Keith Hyde of NW Steelheaders; Nello Picinich, CCA; Clark County councilor and Ducks Unlimited policy director Matt Little; and local angler Ralph Ford. (Terry Otto for The Columbian)
A family enjoys a trip for winter steelhead on the Washougal River. Generations of local anglers have fished the Washougal for decades, and are upset that the Skamania Hatchery is being shut down by the state. (Photo courtesy of Harry Barber)
A fine Washougal River steelhead is displayed by lucky anglers. Several stakeholders recently met to at the Skamania Hatchery to discuss the upcoming closure of the facility. (Photo courtesy of Harry Barber)
The contentious decision to close the state-run Skamania Steelhead Hatchery along the Washougal River has alarmed and angered many local anglers and conservation groups, as well as county officials because of not only the loss of the fisheries, but also the loss of local revenue generated by angling activities.
The action will also end hatchery winter steelhead fisheries in the Washougal River, Salmon Creek in Vancouver, and in the Rock Creek near Stevenson in the Columbia River Gorge.
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