We Protect the Healthiest Remaining Salmon Rivers
Wild Salmon Center is a nonprofit working to secure the future of wild salmon. As a “keystone” species, when wild salmon thrive, so do their ecosystems and the many plants, animals, and people who rely on them.
Who We Are
Wild Salmon Center is an international nonprofit organization founded more than 30 years ago by fly fishers alarmed by the rapid disappearance of salmon in the rivers they fished.
Today, we are more than 40 scientists, conservationists, policy experts, and communicators who work in partnership with national and local leaders, Tribes and First Nations, other nonprofits, and community members to ensure the health of wild salmon “strongholds” for generations to come.
We protect salmon rivers before it's too late by engaging in:
Breakthrough Research
We use cutting-edge conservation science to develop strategies for each stronghold and the various wild salmon species 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, overuse, and development. Protecting wild salmon also means protecting clean drinking water and preserving 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 just as key.
Success Depends on Your Support
What We Care About
There are many reasons we care about this work:
Cascading benefits
Wild salmon are a "keystone" species, which means they have an outsize effect on their ecosystems. For instance, when wild salmon travel upriver to spawn, they bring nutrients from the sea that are crucial to other species' health. Salmon feed eagles and bears — and also trees. By focusing on a keystone species, we multiply the positive impact of our work.
Community Enrichment
Wild salmon are an integral part of many communities: revered by Indigenous people who have relied on wild salmon for millennia, celebrated by anglers for the food and recreation they provide, and vital to local economies where people catch and sell wild fish at scale.
Advancing Science
Our research has benefits beyond wild salmon conservation. We share our tools far and wide and make the data we collect available to collaborators. As we work to save this incredible species, we also invite others to tap our work for their conservation missions.
Efficient Use of Donors' Contributions
Our focus on wild salmon strongholds means your dollars are spent to stop a mess before it happens. Because cleanup is always more expensive.
Where do we get our funding?
Wild Salmon Center is mostly funded by individual donors and private foundations (72%), with government grants making up the next share of our revenue (23%). The rest primarily comes from investments (5%).
Are my donations tax-deductible?
Yes. Wild Salmon Center is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Your gift is tax-deductible to the full extent provided by law. You will receive a receipt by email if you give online; all other gifts receive a receipt by mail.
