July 28, 2017

Contact:
Zac Kauffman, Sawyer Paddles and Oars, (541) 535-3606 zac@paddlesandoars.com
Joseph Bogaard, Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, (206)-300-1003 joseph@wildsalmon.org

Gold Hill, OR. Save Our Wild Salmon and Sawyer Oars announced a partnership today that will benefit fisheries through a series of limited edition “Artisan Series Oars” with a percentage of sales supporting Save Our Wild Salmon conservation efforts to protect and restore wild salmon, steelhead and the healthy river systems they depend on.

The “Sawyer Artisan Series” feature prints of fish species from artists around the country passionate about fisheries and fishing art. The first two are ”The Steelhead” by Link Jackson and ”The Brown Trout” by Ty Hallock. These oars showcase Sawyer’s and each artist’s ability to create rugged yet highly functional art.

The timing is perfect for this alliances as part of Sawyers 50th anniversary. At our 45th, we realized that we don’t just make paddles and oars, we make memories. For anglers, some of their fondest memories are with the critical salmon and steelhead fisheries around the world.
- Pete Newport, President of Sawyer Oars

“This is a great partnership for us,” said Zac Kauffman, V.P. of Sales & Marketing for Sawyer. “It allows us to interact with the vibrant Save Our Wild Salmon community and pair up our most popular oars with an ancient cause, helping us give back to the fisheries that are so cherished by all”.

Sawyer was founded by legendary canoe racer Ralph Sawyer in 1967 and in the first few years began collaborating with Willie Boats on drift-boat oars. Ever since, the company has been at the forefront of the rowing culture. Today, Sawyer is employee owned and shares the passion for boating and for putting the best oars into the hands of dedicated river users.

“Save Our Wild Salmon is honored to partner with Sawyer on this project to raise awareness and funds to support our advocacy efforts,” says Joseph Bogaard, executive director of the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition. “Healthy fisheries, healthy rivers and responsible companies like Sawyer Paddles and Oars remind us all about how environment and economy can, and must, go hand-in-hand”.

Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition (SOS) is a 25-year-old coalition of conservationists, fishermen and clean energy advocates working together to protect and restore abundant, self-sustaining and fishable populations of salmon and steelhead by improving the rivers and watersheds that they depend upon for the benefit of people, wildlife and their ecosystems.