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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Little Spokane River shuttle service starts Saturday

From staff and wire reports

WATERSPORTS – The Little Spokane River shuttle service for paddlers will resume for the season on Saturday, running hourly on Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., through Sept. 3.

The shuttle is operated by Spokane Parks and Recreation Department to reunite river paddlers with their vehicles.

The van will run between the Nine Mile take-out and the St. George’s put-in. Cost: $8 per person. Parents must accompany children under age 18. Vehicles parked at either of the access points must have a Discover Pass.

Little Spokane River rules established by Riverside State Park prohibit inner tubes, rafts, dogs or alcohol in the natural area or on the river. Life jackets are required for all river paddlers.

Register for shuttles at spokaneparks.org, or just show up for a ride.

Pay on-site with checks or credit/debit cards. Cash is not accepted for payment.

Info: (509) 363-5418.

FreeRide class at Silver

BICYCLING – An Intro to FreeRide mountain biking class will be held at Silver Mountain Bike Park on July 16 for participants ages 14 and older.

Evergreen East’s certified instructors will work on drops, high speed cornering, manuals and more on the trail features at Silver Mountain.

Cost is $120 for members, $155 for non-members and includes a lift ticket.

Class size is limited. Register at evergreenmtb.org.

Hot spot for pikeminnows

FISHING – The Snake River near Boyer Park (southwest of Pullman) was by far the richest area on the Snake and Columbia Rivers last week for pikeminnow anglers.

Rewards are paid to anglers signed up to help save salmon by catching northern pikeminnows that prey on the fish, especially the disoriented smolts as they flush through the dams.

The Northern Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Program kicked off its 2016 season on the Snake and Columbia rivers in May and anglers immediately started cashing in on the lucrative pay-out tier system.

Anglers must report to one of 20 check-in stations along the two rivers from Cathlamet upstream to the Greenbelt at Clarkston.

Anglers in the The Dalles area were the high producers early in the season, catching and turning in 37,250 pikeminnows to date.

But the anglers reporting to the Boyer Park check station are equaling the early catch rates at The Dalles – 13 fish per angler. The total of 3,444 pikeminnows turned in to Boyer Park last week was the highest among the 19 check stations on both rivers. Next closest was Columbia Point near the Tri-Cities with 1,219 fish.

Anglers are paid for each northern pikeminnow that they catch measuring nine inches or large. The more fish you catch, the higher the reward.

Rewards begin at $5 each for the first 25 northern pikeminnow caught during the season. Anglers earn $6 for fish No. 26-200, and $8 for every fish caught above 200.

Specially tagged northern pikeminnows are worth $500, with a total of 101 tagged fish caught this season.

The program is funded by the Bonneville Power Administration and administered by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. It runs from May 1-Sept. 30.

Dig open to public

HISTORY - The public is invited to learn firsthand how an archeological dig is conducted and to view some of the artifacts uncovered at a dig south of Cottonwood, Idaho.

Through the month of July, Oregon State University and the Bureau of Land Management will present the annual archeological field school at Cooper’s Ferry. Audiences can tour the excavation site and learn more about the history of the Salmon River Canyon. Admission is free.

Human occupation of the canyon dates back nearly 11,500 years ago. The field school is carefully uncovering layers of that history, “piecing” together generations of past uses.

“This is a unique opportunity for the public to see the excavation process and learn how the various layers of sediment provide clues to the lifestyles of previous canyon inhabitants,” said David Sisson, BLM archaeologist who assists with the field school.

Operations are conducted Wednesday through Sunday, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Info: (208) 962-3782.