A Season of Gratitude—for Salmon, Streams, and Community

As we pause this season to spend time with family and friends, we reflect on the year behind us, and we are grateful for what we have accomplished together at Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group (MCF). Our restoration and fish passage projects reconnect habitat for salmon and steelhead—and they also protect people. By restoring floodplains and healthy riparian areas, these projects reduce flooding by slowing the force of water, improving water temperatures, and keeping streams cool and clean for fish.

Just as important, restoration doesn’t stop at the streambank. When MCF staff visit classrooms or take students to local rivers and creeks, children discover the story of salmon—and they begin to care. When a student releases a young fish into a stream or plants a native tree along a creek, something clicks: they see that nature depends on them.

These moments matter. The students learning about salmon today are the neighbors, voters, landowners, and leaders who will shape the future of our rivers tomorrow. As we look toward 2026, MCF remains committed to providing hands-on, place-based education, supporting teachers, and connecting young people to the streams and salmon of the central Washington region.

Your year-end gift makes this work possible. It supports education that builds stewardship, strengthens partnerships, and helps ensure salmon continue returning home. If you are able, please consider making a gift today.

Together, we will continue restoring streams, teaching stewardship, and caring for the salmon that sustain our region.


From all of us at the Mid-Columbia Fisheries Team, thank you!

Lily brought an extraordinary mix of positivity, creativity, and dedication to her role at Mid-Columbia Fisheries (MCF). Her enthusiasm for our mission—paired with exceptional artistic talent and creative vision—has deeply strengthened our education and outreach programs over the past year. Lily consistently stepped up, never turning down an opportunity to learn something new or lend a hand wherever it was needed.


Beyond her skills, Lily’s caring energy, welcoming presence, and great sense of humor made her a true joy to work with and a valued member of our team. She has left a lasting mark on MCF, and she will be greatly missed by all of us.


After taking time to be with family, Lily will be heading to Greece for three months to pursue her passion for sustainable fashion. We wish her safe travels, inspiring experiences, and many adventures ahead.

Lily surrounded by some of her amazing artwork!

A heartfelt thank you to Steve Parker for four years of dedicated service on our Board of Directors. With a long career in fisheries, Steve brought invaluable insight, thoughtful leadership, and a deep commitment to wild fish and healthy natural systems. 

While his important work continues on the Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission, we’ll truly miss his wisdom and local perspective on our board.

Thank you, Steve, for a lifetime of championing wild places and the species that depend on them.

Join us once again for our popular virtual talks to learn more about the work going on in our region and beyond! These free talks are an hour long, offered in the evenings, and are full of amazing information about how partners are working together to support salmon recovery! Save the dates! Registration via Eventbrite will be available in January!

Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group is dedicated to protecting and restoring wild salmonid populations, their habitats, and ecosystem functions that support native fish species through restoration, protection, education, and community involvement throughout our region.