Details Released On Bear Hunt

Applications for a limited spring bear hunt in Washington’s Blue Mountains must be submitted by March 17.

The applications should be available at Washington Fish and Wildlife Department offices and license dealers by March 1.

The special-permit season will run April 15-May 25 and is open for any legal hunting equipment (modern firearm, archery, muzzleloader).

A total of 100 permits will be drawn, 25 for the Wenaha unit, 15 each for the Blue Creek, Dayton, Mountain View and Lick Creek units, 10 for the Tucannon unit and five for the Grande Ronde unit. No bait nor hounds may be used to hunt black bears.

Last year was the first that had a spring Blue Mountains black bear hunt, and 518 hunters applied for 70 permits.

Lingering snow prevented access for most of the season and few bears were taken.

Hunters who are successful in the drawing will be notified by March 31.

Bighorn tag auction successful

Hunters paid big bucks for special bighorn sheep tags offered for auction by western states and provinces in order to raise money for wild sheep management.

The auction, sponsored by the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS) during its annual convention Jan. 25-29 in Reno, Nev., raised $1.4 million for big-game management.

The Idaho bighorn auction permit brought $46,000. The bid came from Jerry Tyrell, president of the Washington FNAWS chapter, who bought the permit for the fall sheep hunt. Last year’s permit sold for $36,500.

Washington’s bighorn auction permit sold for $39,000.

The highest bid of $172,000 was for a British Columbia bighorn permit, followed by $165,000 for an Arizona desert bighorn permit, and $95,000 for a Montana bighorn permit.

The FNAWS auction has brought in more than $500,000 for Idaho’s bighorn programs since its inception in 1988.

37 bighorns transported to Oregon

Bighorn sheep trapped in Alberta were released in Oregon last week as part of the Hells Canyon initiative to restore herds devastated by disease several years ago.

A total of 37 Rocky Mountain bighorns were trucked to Oregon. One ewe died on arrival.

Twenty of the bighorns were released on Big Sheep Creek near Imnaha while 17 were hoisted by helicopter for release in the Minam Lodge area within the heart of the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

All of the wild sheep were captured at a coal-mining area near Hinton, Alberta, just outside of Jasper National Park.

“They are perfect for our recovery effort,” said Norm Hesseldahl, spokesman for the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department in Enterprise. “They are genetically different the our Hells Canyon sheep, giving us some genetic diversity. And they have a big herd up there in an area where they are relatively easy to capture.

Elk hold in Pend Oreille County

The 20 elk transported from the Hanford area on Thursday appear to be holding tight in their new homes in Pend Oreille County.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Department shot nets from helicopters to capture the elk and test them for disease in advance of larger capture and relocation programs scheduled for March to reduce the Hanford herd.

Nine elk were released in LeClerc Creek drainage and 11 were released in the Gletty Creek Drainage near Flowerey Trail Road.

Neither group of elk has moved much since their release, according to monitoring of radio collars attached to some of the animals.