• It is with profound sadness that we inform you of the passing of our friend, colleague, artist, conservationist, and fisherman, Dan Callaghan. 

John Daniel Callaghan
October 4, 1931 - April 13, 2006

SALEM - Dan Callaghan died in Portland, Oregon, on April 13, 2006, from heart disease. Dan was born to John Henery Callaghan and Margaret Laidlaw Callaghan on October 4, 1931, in Salem, Oregon, where he lived his entire life. He graduated from Salem High School and attended the University of Oregon and Willamette University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Willamette. He received his law degree from Willamette University College of Law. Dan and Bill Paulus opened a law practice together in 1958. Dan married Mary Kay (Brown) Callaghan in 1961. After practicing law for 40 years, he retired from practice in 1999.

Dan loved rivers, and he devoted his life to helping preserve them as a serious conservationist, avid fly fisherman, and gifted photographer. He was one of the founders of The Steamboaters, a fly fishing and conservation club which originated at Steamboat on the North Umpqua River, which he considered the most beautiful river he had ever seen. He was also a founder of the North Umpqua Foundation. Dan served as a director for those organizations as well as for the Museum of American Flyfishing, the Federation of Flyfishers, and the Salem Art Association. He served as a Commissioner on the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, and served on the Willamette River Greenway Commission. He also served as house counsel for several flyfishing organizations. He received the Wild Trout Award from Oregon Trout and the Federation of Flyfishers' Charles Brooks Memorial Life Membership award for his efforts in conservation and photography.

Dan was a member and supporter of the Steamboaters, North Umpqua Foundation, Federation of Flyfishers, Oregon Trout, Yellowstone Association, Trout Unlimited, 1,000 Friends of Oregon, Friends of Columbia Gorge, Nature Conservancy, Native Fish Society, American Museum of Fly Fishing, High Desert Museum, Haig-Brown Kingfisher Society, American Rivers, Steelhead Society of British Columbia, Montana Trout Foundation, Water Watch of Oregon, Henry's Fork Foundation, and the Pacific Rivers Council. He was a Nikon Professional and a member of the International Association of Panoramic Photographers and the Portland Photographer's Forum. Dan flyfished and photographed many rivers in the Western United States, Canada, Alaska, Europe, Iceland, Central America, and South America. He was also a member of the golf team at Willamette University.

Dan is survived by his wife, Mary Kay of Salem; his cousin, Margie Scandling Speidel of California; nephew, Cameron D. Thom of Medford; Goddaughters, Julie Raines Dieringer of Portland and Mariel Hemingway Crisman of California; and Godsons, Jeff Raines of Salem and Roger Farnam of Washington. Dan's sister, Helen Thom, preceded him in death.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., Tues., April 25 and funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Wed., April 26, both at Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service. A celebration of life will be held after services at Rudy's at the Salem Golf Course for friends and relatives of the family. Interment will be held privately at Belcrest Memorial Park. Memorial donations may be made to the North Umpqua Foundation, P.O. Box 238, Idleyld Park, OR 97447, or to the Humane Society of the Willamette Valley, 4246 Turner Road S.E., Salem, OR 97301. Arrangements are by Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service.

  • Benefit Dinner for the North Umpqua Foundation:
    Where: The Billiard Room, 2nd Floor, The Governor Hotel, 614 SW 11th Ave., Portland, Oregon.
    When: 5:00pm, Sunday March 26th, 2006.
    Thanks to everyone who attended this spectacular dinner and special thanks to Chef Brian Light and his staff of Jake's Grill and Pat Lee and Jim Van Loan for all their hard work arranging the event. Also, congratulations to Michelle Bukeida on winning the door prize of a beautiful William Henry Knife valued at $600 - now she has something really fancy for taking the thorns out of lions feet.

  • December 3rd, Annual Meeting: The North Umpqua Foundation held its 2005 annual meeting on December 3 rd, with Oregon's 4th District Congressman Peter DeFazio as the keynote speaker. The meeting was held from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the James D. Meyer Activity Center, 990 W. Stanton Street in Roseburg.

    The theme of the Annual Meeting was "Investing in Tomorrow's River Keepers," and the Foundation featured its student-to-career Education Program.  In the morning, participants heard from three of our scholarship recipients about today's river management.  We also listened to the views of our Salmon Watch students and teachers, who participated in our fall field trips, on the needs of tomorrow's river keepers.

    After Congressman DeFazio spoke, participants enjoyed box lunches and the opportunity to visit with other who love the North Umpqua River.

  • THANKSGIVING 2005: Bellinger Rod & Reel Raffle: Steve Rewick, of Bend, Oregon, was the lucky winner of the rod and reel raffle! Thanks to everyone who participated in the fund-raiser, and thank you to the Bellingers for their generous donation. Two hundred raffle tickets were sold, raising $10,000 for the Foundation’s restoration, protection and education work in 2006.

    • Mr. Rewick is now the proud owner of a lovely 8½ ft. 8 weight 2 piece, 2 tip steelhead rod that was created for the North Umpqua Foundation by the master rod builders of the Bellinger Rod Company of Salem, Oregon; Daryll Whitehead, Al Bellinger, Bill Bennett & Chet Croco.

    Everything about the rod speaks to the tradition of fine bamboo rod building, from the antique gold Pinkie Gillum inspired wraps and agate stripping guide to the Cape Buffalo ferrule plug and black ash wood reel seat insert. The rod has a lightly flamed blond finish and has a finely machined detachable fighting butt.

    The reel was handmade by Bellinger in the Bogdan style with a serpentine handle and a buttery smooth drag. It takes an 8 weight WF line and 150 yards of backing. To round out the package, the reel has a beautiful leather case, handcrafted by Don Horsfield of Terrace, BC.

    The outfit is valued at $3,500 and will be treasured by Mr. Rewick, and his family for generations to come.

  • March 2005 - The North Umpqua Foundation awards two scholarships. The Foundation has awarded $1,000 to Sharon Frazey to assist with her work on a Masters of Science degree in Fisheries Biology at Humbolt State University. Sharon’s research is on the potential relationship between forest stand productivity, riparian conditions, and salmonid productivity on twenty-five streams in northern California.  Prior to receiving the scholarship, Sharon had worked on the Umpqua River for both the Roseburg offices of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Sharon has since successfully completed her degree and is working in the fisheries division of the Roseburg BLM office. Sharon has participated for the past two years in the Foundation’s Salmon Watch field trips, where she has shared her knowledge of salmon and steelhead, and her respect for the river environment, with high school science students – helping to reach out to the next generation of riverkeepers!

The Foundation has also awarded a scholarship of $2,000 to Jeremiah Bernier to assist in his work on a masters degree at Oregon State University , where he works in the Marine Fisheries Genetics Laboratory at Newport . Jeremiah grew up in Roseburg and spent much time on the North Umpqua fishing and hiking. He also worked with salmon and steelhead for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on the North Umpqua River .

Jeremiah’s research examines differential gene expression between fall and spring run Chinook salmon on the Feather River in California ’s Central Valley . The Feather River used to support a large spring and fall run population of Chinook, but the fall run is now predominate due to a diversion dam being built near Oroville. This dam blocks access for spring run fish to the holding water and spawning grounds of the upper river.

Recently, due to favorable ocean conditions, chinook have been returning early to the Feather River Hatchery displaying migration times similar to those of “springers.” But, genetic analysis of these fish using microsatellite gentic markers, show they all have the fall run genotype. Therefore, some sort of transcriptional activity is controlling when these fish migrate to their spawning grounds.

Jeremiah believes his work, and other work at the Marine Fisheries Genetics Lab, may have application on the North Umpqua River , especially if the Rock Creek Hatchery were to close due to financial constraints. This could lead to a variety of management and conservation issues, including the need for genetic data  to distinguish runs from each other and to recognize hatchery influence within wild populations.

The Foundation continues to accept scholarship applications for the 2005 academic year and has a particular interest in assisting Douglas County students in pursuit of careers in fisheries science, aquatic ecology or related fields in fisheries. The North Umpqua Foundation Scholarship, established by Paul and Lory Utz, is part of the Foundation’s “student-to-career” education program that promotes learning opportunities to move citizens toward jobs in river conservation. Learn more about the Foundation's scholarship and education program.

  • 11/12/04 - The North Umpqua Foundation Awards Fisheries Scholarship. The North Umpqua Foundation has awarded a $2,000 scholarship to Pollyanna Lind, a student at University of Oregon in the Department of Geology where she will study fluvial geomorphology. Fluvial geomorphology is described as the study of landforms (such as watersheds), and processes (such as erosion and deposition), that are associated with rivers. Ms. Lind plans to focus her thesis project on the Sprague River located within the Klamath basin where collaborative efforts are underway to fund and implement restoration projects that will benefit the community, river and fish.

     

    Ms. Lind was raised in the coastal mountains of Douglas County, Oregon and has enjoyed exploring many of its watersheds.  She graduated with honors from Douglas High School in Winston in 1988 and received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Oregon in 1993 in General Science with minors in Geography, Geology and Dance. Read more about Pollyanna's award in the Roseburg News-Review.

     

    The Foundation continues to accept scholarship applications for the 2005 academic year and has a particular interest in assisting Douglas County students in pursuit of careers in fisheries science, aquatic ecology or related fields in fisheries. The North Umpqua Foundation Scholarship, established by Paul and Lory Utz, is part of the Foundation’s “student-to-career” education program that promotes learning opportunities to move citizens toward jobs in river conservation. Learn more about the Foundation's scholarship and education program.

  • 10/15/04 - Phil Wallin Reflects on the Past and Future of Rivers atThe North Umpqua Foundation's 2004 Annual Meeting. The North Umpqua Foundation proudly presented Phil Wallin, founder of the Western Rivers Conservancy, and of River Network, as its keynote speaker  on October 14th at the Foundation’s 2004 Annual Meeting. Wallin has been involved in river and land conservation for over 30 years, helping to establish the Trust for Public Land in 1972.  As President of the Western Rivers Conservancy he is currently involved in an effort to remove two dams and acquire 3,400 acres of private land to establish a conservation corridor along the Sandy and Little Sandy Rivers east of Portland to restore runs of salmon and steelhead. The Conservancy is also actively involved in conservation purchases on the Willamette, Siuslaw and Illinois Rivers in Oregon.  

    Phil is passionate about free-flowing rivers, both in his work and how he spends his free time.  This year he has floated the Rogue on three occasions as well as the McKenzie.  His thoughtful consideration about the past and future of rivers is reflected in his speech, "River Trusts: A New Approach to River Conservation."

  • August 2004: The North Umpqua Foundation Awards Fisheries Scholarship - Seeking Additional Local Applicants 

    The North Umpqua Foundation has awarded a $3,000 scholarship to Lisa Krentz, a student at Oregon State University in the Master's of Fisheries Science Program. Ms. Krentz is examining the movement and habitat use patterns of sea-run cutthroat trout in the Salmon River Estuary. She currently works for the Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife's Aquatic Inventories Project conducting stream surveys in the Coast Range and is drafting the Department's stock status review for coastal cutthroat trout.

    The Foundation continues to accept scholarship applications for the 2005 academic year and has a particular interest in assisting Douglas County students in pursuit of careers in fisheries science, aquatic ecology or related fields in fisheries. The North Umpqua Foundation Scholarship, established by Paul and Lory Utz, is part of the Foundation’s “student-to-career” education program that promotes learning opportunities to move citizens toward jobs in river conservation. Learn more about Ms. Krentz's cutthroat trout study and the Foundation's scholarship and education program.

  • 5/22/04: Added expanded information on TNUF programs and biographies of board, staff and volunteers.
  • 8/7/03: Umpqua Foundation Board Members Win Prestigious Federation of Fly Fishers Awards. We’re very happy to report that on August 7, Frank Moore and Dan Callaghan were each presented with awards at the International Conclave and Fly Fishing Show of the Federation of Fly Fishers in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

  • 9/06/03: Artist's Show to Benefit The North Umpqua Foundation.

    Through her painting and artistic ability, Douglas County watercolor artist Lory Utz has shared with others the beauty of the Umpqua River. Now, she is taking an additional step. She is sharing the proceeds from her painting sales with The North Umpqua Foundation, helping in a very special way to protect the river for future generations of artists and other imaginative minds.

    Lory's work was featured at a show from September 6th through October 31st at Steamboat Inn, 42705 N Umpqua Hwy, 38 miles east of Roseburg. A portion of all sales made during the show will benefit the foundation. Click here to see samples of Lory's work.

    Thank you Lory!

  • 8/28/03: A FishWatcher's Journal: News from Big Bend Pool on Steamboat Creek.

  • 2/17/03: TNUF receives grants from Patagonia & the Ralph L. Smith Foundation.

  •  9/19/02: A FishWatcher's Journal: News from Big Bend Pool on Steamboat Creek.

  • Get your limited edition Steamboat Creek print here.

  • 12/20/01: Oregon Governor presented with North Umpqua Foundation Print.

  • 11/3/01: A FishWatcher's Journal: News from Big Bend Pool on Steamboat Creek.

  • 11/3/01: Stream Fishing Etiquette: A gentle reminder of how to treat your fellow angler, and expect to be treated back.

For information on how you can help preserve this wonderful river please email us or write to:
The North Umpqua Foundation
P.O. Box 238
Idleyld Park, OR 97447-0238
Photography: © 1999-2006 Dan Callaghan
Content: © 1999-2005 The North Umpqua Foundation