We Protect the Healthiest Remaining Salmon Rivers
Wild Salmon Center is a nonprofit working to secure the future of wild salmon and the rivers they call home. Wild salmon are a “keystone” species. When they thrive, so do the many plants, animals, and people who rely on them.
How We Work
The “stronghold strategy” is Wild Salmon Center’s unique approach to conservation. Strongholds are the rivers where wild salmon still thrive. Many are concentrated in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. These rivers are clean, cold, and comparatively pristine: ideal habitat for wild salmon and myriad other fish and wildlife.
The stronghold strategy focuses on defending and restoring wild rivers that are still in great shape. By being proactive, we protect beautiful, essential places now, and head off many of the heavy political and financial costs of restoring degraded rivers down the road.
Meet Stronghold Guardians
Discover the stories of people like you helping to protect wild salmon rivers.
Blue Ridge Timber Cutting
“Some people go to the mosque or church. I go to the Tillamook.”
Ultramarathoner
Artist and Activist
Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management
Become a Stronghold Guardian
Guardians are people like you who directly support our work to save wild salmon. They’re just as crucial to our success as our team in the field.
Donate
Donations are our most critical need at Wild Salmon Center. None of our protection work is possible without your support.
Take Action
Take the next step and write leaders who can help us secure policy wins and long-term protections.
Shop Wild
Choosing wild salmon when shopping can be a key part of protecting these keystone species.
We protect salmon rivers before it's too late. Here's how:
Breakthrough Research
We use cutting-edge conservation science to develop strategies for each stronghold and wild salmon populations at risk. We tag wild salmon to follow them in the wild, keep counts with the help of advanced video monitoring systems, investigate their genetics for adaptive superpowers, and more.
Protections for Rivers and Watersheds
We convince public and private partners to protect rivers, streams, and surrounding areas (watersheds) from the harmful impacts of pollution and development. Protecting wild salmon also means preserving clean drinking water as well as the carbon stored by healthy forests, which helps slow global warming.
Local Stewardship
We work with Indigenous partners and local organizations dedicated to wild salmon conservation, because the people closest to salmon strongholds are some of the best advocates for their success.
Boots on the Ground
Our team members are experts in hands-on conservation, from tearing out fish barriers to installing post-assisted structures (PALS) and beaver dam analogs (BDAs) that help give wild salmon more pathways to survive and thrive. Sure, some of our work is high-tech. But good, old-fashioned field labor is also key.
