Two Ne Washington Caribou Relocated To Canada Found Dead

Two of the 19 woodland caribou relocated from Canada to northeast Washington this spring have died from undetermined causes.

Washington Fish and Wildlife Department biologists say the remains had been scavenged too badly to determine how the animals died, but there was no evidence of human involvement.

While the losses are significant to this year’s transplant and to the Selkirk Mountains’ population of fewer than 70 caribou, some deaths were expected, said Jon Almack, department caribou project leader.

“Caribou are a prey species, just like deer, elk and moose,” he said. “Natural predators like cougars and bears have always fed on them.”

The dead caribou were found by the signal their radio collars emitted once they stopped moving for long periods. The remains of a yearling female caribou were found earlier this month near Stagleap Provincial Park in British Columbia. The remains of an adult male caribou were found a few days later near the Canada border.

At least one calf was born this spring from the transplanted caribou and another is suspected, Almack said.

Californian gets permit

D. Kevin Moore of Oceanside, Calif., has drawn the Idaho’s 1996 bighorn sheep lottery permit, the Idaho Fish and Game Department reports.

The lottery raised $51,712 for bighorn sheep research and management, up from $27,000 in 1995. The raffle was authorized by the state legislature last year in addition to an auction permit. The winning bid for this year’s Idaho permit, auctioned at the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep convention, was $101,000.

Tickets for the lottery drawing were $10 or 13 for $100.

Both the lottery and the auction permits entitle the holders to hunt bighorn sheep in any portion of the state where bighorn sheep seasons are open. Otherwise, they must abide by all other seasons and rules.

Season extended

A southeast Washington fishing season delayed by floods this spring was extended three months by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department last week.

Three man-made lakes of the Tucannon River in Columbia County - Blue, Rainbow and spring - were scheduled to close today. Instead, the lakes will remain open through Oct. 31.

Other lakes near the river - Beaver, Big Four, Deer and Watson - were never stocked this season because of severe flood problems, department officials said.

Blue, Rainbow and Spring lakes were stocked in late May.

Hatchery construction

Groundbreaking for a new warmwater fish hatchery at Ringold Springs northwest of Pasco is set for Thursday. When in full production, the hatchery will produce two million bass, walleye, crappie, bluegill, catfish and tiger muskies for Eastside and Westside waters. The first fish are expected to be released in 1997.

Also under construction at Ringold, which is along the Columbia River, is a new rearing facility for fall chinook salmon.

State funds will be used for the warmwater hatchery, the first of its kind in the state. Federal funds will be used for the salmon facility.

Meeting on violation laws

A statewide series of meetings on changing Washington’s laws governing fish and wildlife violations begins tonight, 7 p.m. at the downtown Spokane Library.

The goal is to merge and simplify laws of the former Fisheries and Game departments which were merged into the Fish and Wildlife Department last year, department officials said.

No sockeye fishing at Wenatchee

Despite the revival of the Lake Washington sockeye fishing season this year, no sockeye fishing will be scheduled for Lake Wenatchee, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department says.

Only 9,000 sockeye are expected to return to the Central Washington lake this year, the department reports. At least 20,000 sockeyes must be allowed to spawn before a recreational fishery can be scheduled.

Lake Wenatchee sockeye encountered different environmental conditions than those originating in Seattle’s Lake Washington. Almost 500,000 sockeyes are expected to return to the Seattle Lake, providing a fishery of 140,000 for Indian and non-Indian fishers.

Hunting education signups

Certified instructors have begun taking signups for Washington hunter education courses, a requirement for all first-time hunters born after Jan. 1, 1972.

A course is set to begin in Pullman at the Washington State University campus on Aug. 6. Info: Joe Ford, 334-7665.

For information on courses in the Spokane Region, call the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department, 456-5082, or the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council, 487-8552.

Fish kill cause undetermined

Idaho Fish and Game experts can’t find the cause of a fish kill that claimed more than 100 channel catfish in Cocalalla Lake last month.

Fish and Game agents recently recovered about 150 dead fish from the lake, about 14 miles south of Sandpoint. Included were about 100 catfish, perch, crappies and one largemouth bass.

Lance Nelson, regional fisheries biologist, said the cause hasn’t been determined but it seems to have run its course and the fish kill seems to have stopped.

Nelson said they plan to take live fish specimens from the lake to send to a Fish and Game laboratory near Eagle.

Although mortality can be high in some fish species immediately after the spawning season ends, Nelson said the dead fish normally found in the area are brown bullhead, sunfish or bass. High numbers of dead catfish are rare, he said.

“There is nothing to indicate there is anything wrong in the system,” he said. The fish population in the lake is large and it has been stocked with more than 50,000 catfish in the last 10 years. Cocalalla Lake is one of the few in the region that is stocked with catfish. , DataTimes