Field Reports
ENDANGERED SPECIES
Pelicans crash-landing
More than 30 endangered brown pelicans have crashed onto sidewalks and roads in Arizona this summer, mistaking the heat-induced shimmer of the paved surface for lakes and creeks.
“They try to land on the water, but it’s asphalt and it’s ‘Bam!’ That doesn’t feel so good,’ ” said Sandy Cate, director of the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s wildlife center near Phoenix.
The dazed pelicans were brought in for treatment, mostly for dehydration and emaciation.
Wildlife experts believe the endangered birds are experiencing a food shortage along the West Coast and are heading to Arizona to find fish.
Associated Press
HUNTING
Meat must be processed
Hunters will not be allowed to bring unprocessed big-game meat harvested in certain states back into Washington this fall under rules enacted this month by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission to help prevent the introduction of chronic wasting disease into the state.
Starting Sept. 1, hunters will be allowed to import only boned out or processed meat from deer and elk taken in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Illinois, South Dakota, Nebraska and Saskatchewan.
Hides and capes will be allowed if heads are not attached; skulls and antlers will be allowed if all soft tissue is removed or finished by a taxidermist.
Rich Landers
FISHERIES
PdO fishery updates
Idaho Fish and Game Department biologists will present the latest information from fishery Lake Pend Oreille fishery studies during a public meeting, starting at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Sandpoint Community Hall, 204 South First Ave.
Ned Horner, department regional fisheries manager will explain lake trout trap net program and the reasons it has been suspended until next fall. He also will present creel census results from the 2004 spring derby, and results of the commercial rod and reel lake trout fishery.
Horner also plans to have results from other surveys and a lake trout contaminant analysis.
Many anglers believe angler harvest can be used to control lake trout numbers, Horner said. “Tag-return data so far does not suggest this is the case; however, there may be ways to increase harvest through angler incentive programs,” he said.
Anglers will be asked for their opinions about potential ways for anglers to help effectively manage lake trout.
Rich Landers
SHOOTING
Shooting ranges listed
A new pamphlet listing 165 shooting ranges in Washington is available from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The free booklet lists the public shooting facilities by county and notes the types of shooting opportunities at each location. The publication also details a department grant program that uses funds from a federal excise tax on archery equipment and firearms to help local non-profit groups develop shooting ranges.
Why? “Target practice plays a key role in public safety, and we hope this publication will make it easier for hunters to locate places where they may safely and legally practice shooting skills,” said Mik Mikitik, state hunter education coordinator.
Send a self-addressed business-size (number 10) envelope stamped with 60 cents of postage to: Hunter Education Program, WDFW, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091. The 28-page booklet also can be downloaded from the agency’s Web site at wdfw.wa.gov/outreach/hed/ shootingranges.htm
Rich Landers
FISHING
Beaverhead rule upheld
A Bozeman judge has upheld Montana’s rules on non-resident anglers that are intended to manage crowding on the Big Hole and Beaverhead rivers.
The Big Hole and Beaverhead River Recreation Management Plans were the state’s first attempt to manage angler crowding on popular trout streams. The plans limit commercial outfitting on both rivers, and set aside one day a week for resident-only float fishing.
The rules were adopted by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in 1999, amended in 2001 and readopted in 2003.
Sportsmen groups support the rules, saying they helped ease fishing pressure on the rivers. But outfitters and local business people have complained the rules drove away nonresident fishermen and hurt the economy.
The Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana filed a lawsuit in January 2002, saying the rules discriminated against outfitters and nonresident fishermen.
District Judge Mike Salvagni of Bozeman ruled FWP had authority to impose the rules and followed the proper procedures in implementing them.
Robin Cunningham, executive director of the outfitters’ association, said the organization’s board is considering whether to appeal the decision to the Montana Supreme Court.
Associated Press