Giant chinook a reminder of Lewiston-Clarkston Valley’s fishing culture

LEWISTON – A piece of art long admired by LuVerne Grussing now greets anglers, boaters and others who visit Steelhead Park in North Lewiston.

Grussing, an avid steelhead angler and board member of the conservation group Idaho Rivers United, hopes the statue of a chinook salmon reminds residents and visitors of how important anadromous fish are to the culture, economy and ecology of the region. He notes salmon and steelhead are central to the Nez Perce Tribe and its culture. But the fish are also cherished by non-native people, many of whom build a piece of their lives around chasing the powerful, seagoing fish.

Grussing calls Lewiston and Clarkston a steelhead fishing mecca that draws anglers from across the country and globe. According to data that is several years old, the Idaho Department of Labor found salmon and steelhead fishing brings in about $8.6 million to north-central Idaho each month and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game estimated that salmon and steelhead anglers spend an average of about $350 per trip.

But the extent that anglers help keep cash registers at hotels, gas stations, grocery stores, tackle shops and restaurants ringing is sometimes overlooked, he said.

“Basically, the idea is to show the importance of returning salmon and steelhead to the cultures, native and nonnative, in the area and all the good things that come about from salmon returning to our rivers,” he said.

Constructed from steel, the statue was created by Cottonwood, Idaho, artist Dennis J. Sullivan and lived for many years at Sullivan’s Dog Bark Park, a roadside inn that features a bungalow shaped and painted like a giant beagle and surrounded by lots of chain saw art. That is where Grussing first saw it. Before retiring, Grussing was the recreation planner and manager for the Bureau of Land Management’s Cottonwood Field Office.

“He told me he was going to start downsizing and said if you want it, it’s yours.”

Grussing accepted and donated it to Idaho Rivers United while working to find it a new home. He quickly landed on Steelhead Park and approached Lewiston Parks and Recreation Director Tim Barker. The city maintains the park that sits on the lower Clearwater River and features a boat ramp that is busy during salmon and steelhead fishing seasons.

“Our boat launch areas and the parks that adjoin them are very popular in fishing seasons,” Barker said. “It will be a really cool conversation piece and that is what art is meant to be. We are excited to incorporate it there.”

The statue was installed last month and a plaque explaining the life cycle of chinook salmon will soon join it. The city plans to hold a dedication ceremony soon.