Hells Canyon Receives Good News

The Foundation for North American Wild Sheep has pledged $10 million to boost bighorn sheep in Hells Canyon.

This commitment was announced recently at the group’s annual convention in Reno, Nev. The foundation has never before pledged so much money to one project.

Hells Canyon is special because it contains some of the most vast and pristine habitat available for wild sheep in North America, Foundation President Pete Cimellaro said.

“Our goal is to invest, if necessary, 10 million dollars in the next 20 years and increase the sheep populations to maximum numbers,” he said.

The foundation already has spent more than $1.3 million in Idaho, Oregon and Washington for sheep conservation, Cimellaro said.

In December, biologists discovered an outbreak of pasteurella, a deadly bacterial disease, among some of the Hells Canyon herds.

The foundation provided money to capture sick bighorns transport them to the Idaho wildlife health lab in Caldwell for treatment and study.

Elk tag auctioned

A Chehalis, Wash., hunter has purchased the first elk tag Washington has offered in an auction to raise money for elk management.

Joe Balmelli bid $9,500 for the tag at the recent Foundation for North American Wild Sheep auction. The permit entitles him to hunt bull elk in the Green River watershed or the Little Naches Unit Sept. 15-30, which is before the general elk hunting season opens.

Last year, 15 bull elk permits were issued for the Little Naches unit.

Wildlife budget discussed

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will hold a public meeting in Spokane Friday to begin shaping the state’s budget for fish and wildlife management.

The meeting is set for 3-7 p.m. at the Ridpath Hotel. The meeting will be conducted in informal roundtable discussions. Info: 456-4082.

Comment on caribou

The public has until March 15 to comment on a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servive plan to relocate about 25 caribou from Canada to the Sullivan Lake area of Pend Oreille County.

For a copy of the environmental assessment, contact Philip Laumeyer, Field Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 11103 E. Montgomery, Dr., Suite 2, Spokane 99206.

Yellowstone fees increase

The price for fishing permits in Yellowstone National Park will double this year from $10 to $20.

The park has also replaced its 7-day permit, which sold for $5, and replaced it with a 10-day permit that will cost $10.

The National Park Service said in a news release the fee increases will help the park meet increasing costs for fisheries management, such as the cost of controlling non-native lake trout that were illegally planted Yellowstone Lake.

The Park Service first began charging people a fee to fish in Yellowstone in 1994.

In 1995, the park sold 9,980 season permits and 65,091 7-day permits for revenues of $425,000.

Conservation fund-raisers set

A variety of local conservation groups hold fund-raising banquets in the spring, including two North Idaho groups.

The Moscow chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elks Foundation will hold a banquet March 30. Info: Darwin Baker (208) 882-3313.

The Panhandle Chapter of Trout Unlimited’s annual fund-raiser will be at 3 p.m on March 23 at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. Info: Loren Albright (208) 263-6937.

Turkey fans welcomed

Turkey fans can attend a membership meeting for the Hells Canyon Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Idaho Fish & Game office in Lewiston.

Chapter members help coordinate seminars, fund-raising banquets and other turkey projects. Info - George Harrington at (208)-743-7267 or Shane Ristau at (208)-743-7651.

, DataTimes