Lizanne Saunders, a key founder of the Salmon Watch program, passed away on June 1st of this year. Lizanne was instrumental in creating the Salmon Watch program in 1993 as part of Oregon Trout, which later became the Freshwater Trust.
“Lizanne had a clear vision of what she wanted to do,” said Salmon Watch co-founder and retired environmental educator, Jim Martin. “She used her prodigious powers of focus and determination to build alliances with state and federal agencies, organizations like PGE, and private funders to build a supporting network that would see us through our first few years. Salmon Watch wouldn’t be what it is today without Lizanne’s energy and talent for pulling what seemed like disparate elements into a strong, supportive, structure which gladly underwrote and supported all of our efforts.”
“Hiring Lizanne to build Salmon Watch was one of Oregon Trout’s greatest successes,” said Sally Lewis, former Development Director for Oregon Trout and co-founder of World Salmon Council. “She was indefatigable in exposing students across Oregon to wild salmon returning to their natal waters. She got it — if tomorrow’s voters never experience wild fish in natural habitats, why would they strive to protect them?”
When the Freshwater Trust discontinued its education programs in 2010, Lizanne stepped in to make sure that the program stayed alive under World Salmon Council. Lizanne and WSC’s current board chair, Michael Knapp, founded World Salmon Council in 2012 to ensure that Salmon Watch would continue to provide vital outdoor education opportunities for youth in the Portland metro and Columbia Gorge regions.
“With her wonderful foresight, drive, and dedication, Lizanne’s vision to educate and empower the youth of today came to fruition via the Salmon Watch program,” said Michael Knapp, World Salmon Council co-founder and Board Chair. “We honor her vision every time a Salmon Watch student steps into Mother Nature’s backyard.”
World Salmon Council honors and remembers Lizanne’s life and her legacy of creating opportunities for young people to get outdoors and gain an appreciation for wild salmon. Lizanne was highly driven and deeply motivated to provide these experiences to students so they might understand the importance of wild salmon to our Pacific Northwest ecosystems and become stewards of these incredible keystone species and the watersheds where they return each year.
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