Idaho To Trade Turkeys

Idaho plans to do some turkey trading with California.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has trapped more than 50 of the fowl from the Kootenai Valley with plans to move about 200 around in the Idaho Panhandle area before the end of winter.

Other birds of the subspecies Merriam’s will be traded for Rio Grande subspecies from California. The Merriam’s turkeys are well-adapted to woodland habitats and should thrive in California, while the Rio Grande turkeys are accustomed to stream-side and scrub woodland habitats like the Payette, Weiser and Snake River regions of Idaho.

All the turkeys that live in the Idaho Panhandle are either transplants or the descendants of transplants. Turkeys are not native to Idaho and were first brought to the region through a 1961 Department of Fish and Game program paid for by hunting and fishing license revenue.

Turkeys have become well-established in the area since the first release near Riggins. More than 1,200 turkeys have been moved since 1982 alone, and an estimated 7,000 hunters harvested 1,526 Thanksgiving dinners in 1995. With turkey hunting interest growing, the recently released 1996 regulations expanded the hunting season. Deadline for controlled hunt applications is Thursday.

Hunter safety classes offered

A series of hunter’s safety classes will be offered by the WSU Cooperative Extension in Whitman County in late February and early March. Certification is offered for those who attend all seven classes at the Whitman County Library in Colfax. Classes will be held Feb. 27 and 29 and March 5, 7, 12 and 14 from 7-9 p.m. For more information call 509-397-6290. Participants must register by Friday.

Fishing decision postponed

A decision on a proposal that would create the only public fishing access site on the lower Ruby River in southwestern Montana has been postponed until May.

A new task force has been appointed to study the issues in the meantime and will make its recommendations by May 15. George Swan of Sheridan is chairman.

The proposed site, near Sheridan, would allow fishermen access to seven-tenths of a mile of the Ruby River and would put a conservation easement on 200 acres of adjoining land. Cost was set at $560,000.

There was considerable public support for the access, but there also was concern about the project’s cost, the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department said Friday in a news release.

Other issues of concern include the need for a comprehensive fishing access plan and the need for an assessment of potential impacts on neighboring landowners, it said.

Ramp permits on sale

Boaters who use Washington state parks boat ramps can purchase a $40 permit for $30 through April 30. The permit and a $3-$4 per-use fee allows unlimited boat launches for 1996.

Permit at Southside Auto License, 2933 E. 29th Street in Spokane, or by mail from Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, P.O. Box 42650, Olympia, WA, 98504-2650.

Include name, address and tow-vehicle license number, along with a check or money order.

Kokanee salmon season extended

Area fishers should enjoy an extended kokanee salmon season for portions of the mainstream and North Fork Clearwater Rivers. The extension comes after Dworshak Reservoir water discharges pushed many of the salmon through the Dworshak dam.

The daily limit on the kokanees will be 50. The extended season applies on the North Fork Clearwater River downstream of the dam and on the mainstream downstream of the North Fork Clearwater. The salvage fishery will run through Feb. 29, and anglers may take the salmon by dipnet, hands or conventional fishing gear.

, DataTimes