Spending Rule (adopted 2006)
Purpose: The spending rule’s purpose is to provide a guideline for the FFF Board. In the past, spending decisions have been made with little regard of income generated from the auction and investments. This guideline links the two so that the FFF will continue to fund. The Rule: The FFF Board, at its discretion, shall have the authority to spend the sum of the following:
- 5% of the investment portfolio, calculated as the average of the past twelve months’ assets on a rolling basis, and
- The net profit derived from its fund-raising efforts (currently, the annual auction held in May).
Funding History
“Tom McAllister” FCO Graduate Scholarship Recipients
Background: Since 1997, The Flyfisher Foundation has provided $119,500 to the Oregon State University’s Foundation for scholarships within the Graduate School. These are annual $5,000 research grants where the thesis pertains to wild fish populations in Oregon and adjacent waters. Our scholarships are open to science majors from the Zoology, Marine Science, Microbiology, Forestry and Fishery departments. Each year’s grantee gives a presentation about their research at one of our Spring dinner meetings. The following is a list of the individuals that have received the scholarship.
| Year | Name | Topic or Thesis |
| 1996-1997 | Jack Burgess | Evaluating the response of trout and associated stream organisms, from caddis flies to sculpins and salamanders, after woody structures have been placed in streams |
| 1997-1998 | Kitty Griswald (?) | Coastal Cutthroat |
| 1998-1999 | Andy Talabere | Relationship between beaver ponds, stream temperatures and trout distributions and abundance |
| 1999-2002 | No contributions | |
| 2002-2003 | Charles Criscione | Population genetic structure or variation among the helminthes (parasitic worms) that infect Salmonids in the PNW |
| 2003-2004 | Michael Chi-Chang Liu | Impact of exotic species on native fish communities through experimental manipulations and modeling |
| 2004-2005 | Seth White | Interactions within fish communities in South Fork of the John Day and pressing management questions that could limit or threaten them |
| 2005-2006 | Ian Tattum | Life of juvenile steelhead in the John Day system and the migration of parr both up and downstream prior to emigrating to the ocean as smolts |
| 2006-2007 | Todd Sandell | Bacterial kidney disease (BKD) as it effects juvenile Chinook and coho salmon survival in nearshore waters of the Oregon-Washington coasts |
| 2007-2008 | William Brignon | Interactions between juvenile hatchery and wild fish on Eagle Creek, a prime steelhead/salmon tributary of the Clackamas River |
| 2008-2009 | John McMillan | Life history development of anadromous (steelhead) and resident (rainbow trout) Onchorhynchus mykiss |
| 2009-2010 | Matthew Sloat | Born to Run? Integrating Behavior, Physiology, and Life Histories in partially Migratory Steelhead and Rainbow Trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss) |
| 2010-2011 | Brooke Penaluna | New Insights on an Old Topic: Understanding the Effects of Forest Harvest on Trout in the Context of Climate |
| 2011-2012 | Charlene Hurst | Deadly parasite of salmon and trout, Ceratomya shasta |
| 2012-2013 | Haley Ohms | The Influence of Sex, Latitude, and Migration Distance on Expression of Anadromy in Oncortynchus mykiss |
| 2013-2014 | Neil Thompson | Determining if high hatchery rearing densities are driving the ability for domestication selection to act |
| 2014-2015 | Leah Segui | Studying how invasive species alter the structure and functioning of stream food webs. |
| 2015-2016 | Christina Murphy | Tools to understand the sustainability of ESA listed salmonids where river networks have been modified for flood control and energy production |
| 2016-2017 | Thaddeus Buser | Research using a newly-available technology, X-ray micro-tomography, to examine the link between morphology and habitat in a large group of fishes commonly known as sculpins |
| 2017-2018 | Caren Barcelo | Research is seeking to understand the spatial and temporal dynamics influencing the distribution patterns of organisms that comprise the pelagic marine ecosystem. Findings can help predict present and future species and community distributions in the context of changing climatic conditions. |
| 2018-2019 | Matthew Kaylor | Research broadly evaluates how habitat and prey availability can limit trout and salmon populations both spatially and through time. |
| 2019-2020 | Alexander Jensen | Working to provide new data collection tools capable of improving harvest estimates and subsequent in-season decision-making for fall-run Chinook salmon in the mouth of the Columbia River (re/Buoy 10). |
| 2020-2021 | Alvaro Cortes | Studying fish systematics and morphology for the Cottopsis sculpins which are an ecologically important and diverse group of freshwater sculpins found throughout the PNW |
| 2021-2022 | Christina Linkem | Thesis project: seasonal movement, ecology, and habitat use of Coastal Cutthroat Trout in tributaries in Oregon |
| 2022-2023 | Lauren Diaz | The role of life-history diversity in maintaining population resilience for steelhead/rainbow trout in human-altered watersheds |
Multnomah County Central Library
In 2000 the Flyfishers’ Club of Oregon donated its entire C. Edwin Francis collection of rare and out-of-print fly fishing literature, valued at over $100,000, to the Central Library in downtown Portland. It is in the library’s John Wilson Special Collection of rare books curated by Jim Carmin. Since making this gift, The Flyfisher Foundation has invested $78,000 in maintaining and expanding this collection. It is one of the finest libraries of fly fishing literature in America that is available to the public. More recently, the MCL agreed to archive and preserve all the FCO/FFF historical documents in a single, unique archive.
Conservation Grants
Since 1998, the Flyfishers’ Club of Oregon and its Flyfisher Foundation have awarded over $360,000 in grants to a wide range of conservation, restoration and education organizations undertaking significant projects to protect rivers and fish and to enhance the appreciation of these resources for children and adults alike.
1998 Deschutes River wild steelhead recovery project > $4,500
The North Umpqua Foundation > $500
1999 Deschutes River wild steelhead recovery project > ???
2000 Raised funds for the 40th Anniversary of The Creel, McKenzie River Edition, published in 2001
2001 ???
2002 ???
2003 The Deschutes Basin Land Trust purchase and protection of 1,240 forested acres on Lake Creek
in the Metolius River watershed > $16,950
2004 Oregon Trout as part of their campaign to plant 100,000 trees along the Deschutes
River > $20,000 (check issued 12/4/04)
North Umpqua Foundation for camera surveillance system > $3,000
2005 Raised funds for the 50th Anniversary of The Creel, North Umpqua Edition, published in 2008,
edited by Bob Wethern
2006 Casting for Recovery: special pink fly fishing reels & outing for breast cancer survivors > $8,608
Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation for Diamond Lake restoration > $5,000
N. Umpqua Foundation for surveillance of steelhead holding pool on Steamboat Creek > $5,000
2007 Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation for Diamond Lake restoration > $7,500
2008 Sandy River Basin Watershed Council to restore side channels on the Salmon River > $11,900
2009 Western Rivers Conservancy for Murtha Ranch purchase (now Cottonwood State Park) on lower
John Day River > $10,700
2010 Youth Fishing Camp at Camp Angelo on the Sandy River > $5,000
McKenzie Chapter of Trout Unlimited for McKenzie River Native Redside Trout Recovery
Study > $5,000
Beginning in 2010, the Foundation’s Conservation Grant was renamed in honor of the Flyfisher’s Club of Oregon member Keith Hansen whose outstanding commitment to the conservation of Oregon’s rivers was memorialized by the creation of the Keith Hansen Memorial Conservation Paddle Raise.
2011 Western Rivers Conservancy for work to support the creation of a salmon/steelhead sanctuary at the confluence of the West and East Forks of the Hood River and Punchbowl Falls > $8,175
2012 Taimen Conservation in Mongolia re/Blue Wolf Journey > $500
Water Watch of Oregon to support stream flow protection in the Deschutes River Basin > $11,550
2013 Native Fish Society for their Oregon River Stewards Program > $14,000
The North Umpqua Foundation for their Fish Watch Program on Steamboat Creek > $5,000
McKenzie River Chapter of Trout Unlimited re/trout study > $1,400
2014 Deschutes River Alliance re/founding member contribution > $1,000
Deschutes River Alliance re/scientific research on the lower river > $20,000
World Salmon Council/2014 Salmon Watch Program > $5,000
Klamath Fly Casters/ORCFFF for Spencer Creek improvements > $5,000 (returned)
2015 Clackamas River Trout Unlimited to install Bull Trout Signage > $787
Pacific Rivers Council > $20,000
Western Division AFS Special Cutthroat Workshop > $1,000
Trout Unlimited for a Steelhead Monitoring Project on Oregon’s Coastal Rivers > $5,000
The Freshwater Trust re/memoria1 for Cal Cole > $2,500
The North Umpqua Foundation re/memorial for John Eustice > $2,500
2016 Western Rivers Conservancy re/Thirtymile Creek Steelhead Project > $20,100
Deschutes River Alliance for Continuing Research on Lower Deschutes > $5,000
2017 Deschutes River Alliance for Continuing Scientific Studies on Lower Deschutes > $23,200
2018 Freshwater Trust re/memorial for Roger Bachman > $2,500
Kilchis Point Reserve, Tillamook County re/memorial for Tom McAllister > $2,500
The North Umpqua Foundation for the FishWatch Program > $10,500
Steamboaters/Trout Unlimited for the North Umpqua FishTick Project > $10,500
Oregon Wildlife Foundation for lower Deschutes River revegetation Project > $5,000
McKenzie River Trust for redesign of the Finn Rock Project > $5,000
Native Fish Society for campaign to change fishing regulation on John Day River > $5,000
2019 WaterWatch for the Crooked River Water Restoration Project > $31,050
2020 Western Rivers Conservancy for the Williamson River Project > $5,000
2021 Native Fish Society re/N. Umpqua Coalition (The Conservation Angler, N. Umpqua Foundation, The Steamboaters, TU, Umpqua Watersheds) for restoring native steelhead after fires > $21,000
2022 WaterWatch of Oregon for removal of the Lovelace dam in the Rogue River watershed > $14,000
2023 Deschutes River Conservancy for habitat restoration on Trout Creek – $22,000
Total Conservation Grants = $384,420 (as of July 2023)
*************************************************************************************
- OSU scholarships = $119,500
- MCL grants = $78,000
- Conservation grants = $384,420
- Total = $581,920
