Road Closures Will Affect Travel In Colville Forest

Visitors to the Colville National Forest should expect mid-week traffic delays along Highway 20, the Tiger highway, near the Little Pend Oreille Lakes, because of highway improvements.

Lou Janke, acting recreation and engineering staff officer for the Colville National Forest, said there will be minor delays until October between Spruce Canyon Road and Tiger, Wash. In addition, he said Mountain Road, Hande Creek Road and a half-mile of the Little Pend Oreille off-road vehicle trail will be closed to traffic from 6 a.m. Mondays through 6 p.m. Fridays.

The highway, the forest roads and the trail will be open weekends and holidays, Janke said. He said people traveling to Lake Leo, Lake Thomas, Lake Gillette or other campgrounds in the northeast part of the Colville National Forest should plan for delays.

Other roads and trails throughout the forest have been closed temporarily until work crews can clear away fallen trees, rocks and debris.

County road 9345, the principal access to Sullivan Lake off Highway 31, is blocked by a landslide east of Metaline Falls and north of the lake. However, the road’s southern access is open from Ione.

For information about Colville National Forest road and trail closures, call Bruce Bailey, (509) 684-7000.

Regulations under review

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game seeks final public input from Panhandle Region anglers to shape 1998-99 fishing regulations.

Four meetings, in an open-house format, have been scheduled to consider proposed changes developed after a series of six public meetings in May. Meetings, from 4-8 p.m., have been scheduled for:

Coeur d’Alene: Thursday, Fish and Game regional office, 2750 Kathleen Ave.

Sandpoint: Monday, Leo Hadley Range, 1114 Lake St.

Priest River: Tuesday, VFW Hall, 220 Larch St.

Bonners Ferry: June 18, University of Idaho Extension Office, 6447 Kootenai Ave.

Proposed changes include:

Bonner Lake: Season, last Saturday in April through Nov. 30, two fish, 14-inch minimum, single barbless hooks, no bait.

Perkins, Dawson and Robinson lakes: Quality bass management, open to harvest July 1 through Dec. 31, two fish, 16-inch minimum size.

Kerr and Brush lakes: Remove 12-inch minimum on bass.

Priest Lake: Three lake trout management options.

Gamble (Gamblin) Lake: Consider removing electricmotors-only restriction.

Comment sought

The public will have two final opportunities to comment on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s draft environmental impact statement for a wild salmonid policy before the state commission selects one of five alternatives.

The Eastern Washington hearing is June 21, 10 a.m., at the Ramada Inn Clover Island in Kennewick.

Department staff will review technical information about the draft and summarize public comments.

The commission will make its selection at its workshop meeting July 18-19 at Tumwater.

Tagged fish pay

A catfish caught in the Snake River or Brownlee Reservoir could be worth money.

The Idaho Fish and Game Department said it will pay $5 to anglers who catch tagged catfish and provide information to the agency.

Anglers need to write down the tag color and number and mail the information to Idaho Fish and Game, Southwest Regional Office, 3101 S. Powerline Road, Nampa, Idaho, 83686.

, DataTimes