September 17, 2025 3:20 a.m.

The Umpqua Fishery Enhancement Derby Steering Committee has announced the projects funded through the 2025 Derby.

A release said this year’s event raised over $100,000 for fishery enhancement, restoration, and education in the Umpqua River Basin.

2025 funded projects include:

*Bowman Pond for the handicapped – Gravel for road and parking area improvements

*Douglas County Parks Department – Cooper Creek Reservoir dock, parking, and signage upgrades

*Douglas Soil & Water Conservation District – Support for experimental Beaver Dam Analogs

*Fly Fishing Veterans – Angling licenses and tags for participants

*Gardiner-Reedsport-Winchester Bay STEP – Chinook broodstock collection, rearing, tagging and acclimation

*Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife – Backup generator for hatchery spring Chinook rearing

*Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife – Rock Creek riparian improvements, preparation and replanting of 60,000 seedlings in the Archie Creek fire scar

*Partnership for the Umpqua Rivers – Big Tom Folley stream restoration

*Phil Strader – French Creek culvert replacement

*Umpquafish.com – Educational software development for teachers

The release said the Derby thanks all applicants, partners, and supporters who make these projects possible.

Since its founding, the Derby has invested more than $2 million in matching funding for hundreds of projects that strengthen fish populations and river health across the region.