Four Species May Land On Imperiled List
Two meetings this month will offer the public a chance to comment on Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recommendations to add four species to the state list of imperiled fish and animals.
The meetings will be July 27 in Room 206 of the Olympia Center, 222 N. Columbia St., in Olympia and July 29 at the Moses Lake Fire Department, 701 E. Third Ave. Both meetings begin at 7 p.m.
The discussion will focus on draft reports detailing the declining status of the common loon, the Northern leopard frog, a butterfly known as the Mardon skipper and the Olympic mudminnow.
The state maintains its own lists of troubled species separate from federal listings. Unlike federal listings, the state’s rosters are advisory in nature and do not restrict human activities.
Tribes come to rescue again
For the second year in a row, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation are paying most of the operating costs of the WDFW Colville Fish Hatchery.
The hatchery was destined to close last year when WDFW faced a potentially huge budget deficit and was forced to cut funding for it and other hatcheries across the state. The Colville Tribes stepped forward with funds to keep the hatchery open.
Now, with the state’s 1999-2000 budget year just under way and funding still unavailable for the Colville hatchery, the tribes are once again picking up most of the tab, paying $68,000 of the hatchery’s $78,000 annual operating costs.
Chewelah logging meeting
The Forest Service will hold another public meeting concerning their logging plans for the Quartzite wilderness, near 49 Degrees North ski area in Chewelah.
The meeting will be at 5 p.m. July 28 at the Chewelah Municipal Bldg. The address is 301 East Clay.
No Chronic Wasting Disease
Chronic Wasting Disease has not been detected in Idaho’s wild deer or elk populations, according to Idaho Fish and Game.
Concerns were raised by Idaho outdoorsmen after the news report of a Utah man who possibly died from Cruezfeldt-Jakob Disease, though the cause of death is unconfirmed. The man was a hunter who consumed venison.
Creuzfeldt-Jakob Disease causes fatal neurological conditions in the brain and a new variant of the disease has been linked to the ingestion of meat from cattle infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease.
The similar disease in deer and elk, called Chronic Wasting Disease, has been seen in American big-game herds but is limited to northeast Colorado and southeast Wyoming.
Dr. Mark Drew, Fish and Game wildlife veterinarian, says the the animal diseases and Creuzfelt-Jakob have not been conclusively linked.
Idaho authorities say there is no connection between the Utah case and Idaho big game, but they are not ignoring the subject. The state Department of Agriculture is considering implementing a voluntary program to screen herds of farmed elk, and Fish and Game is looking into sampling hunter-killed animals.
Hunters are advised not to shoot animals that appear sick, disoriented or extremely thin. Also, wear latex or rubber gloves while dressing and processing animals and avoid eating brains or spinal cord tissues.
New commissioners meet today
This month’s meeting of the Idaho Fish and Game Commission has been rescheduled for 8 a.m. today at Fish and Game headquarters in Boise. Four new appointees to the seven-member commission will be attending their first meeting.
The new members, appointed by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, are Alex Irby of Orofino, resource manager for the Konkolville Timber Company and president of the Orofino Chamber of Commerce; Don Clower, a retired postal worker who is chairman of the Idaho Wildlife Council; Marcus Gibbs of Grace, a farmer, hunter and fisherman; and Roy Moulton of Driggs, an attorney.
All four have connections to various outdoors groups.
Fishing derby
The Northport Boat Club will hold its 15th annual Fishing Derby on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Lake Roosevelt/Columbia River from China Bend to the Canadian border. There are trout and walleye divisions.
More than $500 in cash and prizes are to be awarded. Entry fees, per division, are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 16 years old. Entry tickets can be purchased at the Exxon station in Northport.
Proceeds will be used for launch ramp improvements at the Northport launch. There is no charge to launch there.
For more information: (509) 732-4495.
Dworshak dropping the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun drawing water from the Dworshak Dam to augment Snake River flows for migrating juvenile salmon. The extra water is intended to help the tiny fish swim to the ocean. Levels at the popular reservoir near Orofino, Idaho, could drop as much as 80 feet this summer. Boaters will continue to have access to the reservoir as the water level drops. The corps has completed access improvements, such as extended boat launching ramps, over the past several years.