Chinook Season Approved

A sports fishing season for hatchery summer chinook salmon on the South Fork of the Salmon River was approved Tuesday.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission authorized the first fishery for summer chinook on the South Fork since 1997 and only the second since the McCall hatchery was opened in the early 1980s.

But it is the third salmon fishery opened this season following some of the strongest salmon returns in years.

Assuming the National Marine Fisheries Service signs off as it has on the other two, the summer chinook season will open June 30 and run through Aug. 4 unless the season must be closed sooner.

Fisheries managers estimate about 1,700 surplus hatchery fish will be available for tribal and nontribal demand.

The limit on the South Fork will be two fish daily and four in possession, down from the three daily and six in possession for hatchery spring chinook on the Little Salmon River, the North Fork, South Fork and main Clearwater River and the Lochsa River.

Sportfishing seasons

Changes were made this week in several Washington sportfishing seasons, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department reports.

On Saturday, halibut fishing was closed in Marine Areas 3 and 4 (LaPush and Neah Bay) off the Washington coast. The seasons are scheduled to reopen July 1.

Since Tuesday, sturgeon anglers have been required to release all sturgeon caught on the Columbia River between Bonneville Dam and John Day Dam.

In both cases, anglers caught the quota of fish established earlier in the year by fish managers.

Anglers heading to saltwater destinations can check the state’s fishing hotline for the latest rule information at (360) 902-2500, press 2 for recreational rules.

For the Shellfish Rule Change hotline call (360) 796-3215.

Volunteers needed

Cross country skiers and mountain bikers are looking for more volunteers to give up the glories of Hoopfest in order to work on trails in Mount Spokane State Park on Saturday.

Volunteers will be given special permission to drive past the road construction barricade near the park entrance, said Tom Frost of the Spokane Nordic Ski Education Foundation.

Meet at 9 a.m. at park headquarters to arrange car pools, he said. Bring lunch, water, work boots, gloves, a hat, clothes suitable for changing weather, and tools such as chain saws, bucksaws, heavy loppers, picks, and shovels.

The trails are extremely muddy, so be prepared for walking.

“This may be the only time you can use an internal combustion engine to get to Selkirk Lodge before October, so take advantage of it,” Frost said.

Info: 467-9835.

Sheep lottery possible

A proposal to release bighorn sheep tags for lottery and auction will be considered when the Idaho Fish and Game Commission meets at the Mountain Village Lodge in Stanley, Idaho, beginning at 8 a.m. July 13.

The Commission also expects to decide whether an observer with a hound hunting party needs to have a hunting license.

Commissioners reappointed

Idaho governor Dirk Kempthorne has reappointed two Fish and Game Commissioners whose four-year terms had expired.

John Burns of Carmen, commissioner for the Salmon Region, and Dr. Fred Wood of Burley, the Magic Valley Region commissioner, had each served one term. They were appointed by former governor Phil Batt.

Governor Kempthorne has appointed six of the seven commissioners.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Cougar spotted

An adult cougar was seen at least twice passing by dumpsters at the Sullivan Lake campground last week, Forest Service workers confirmed Tuesday.

The cougar apparently has not threatened any people, but officials are warning campers the animal has been around.

A young girl was attacked by a cougar at a Sullivan Lake campground two years ago. That young cougar was destroyed.