Dworshak fertilizing to be discussed
A proposal to boost kokanee size by adding nutrients to Dworshak Reservoir will be discussed at public meetings sponsored by the Idaho Fish and Game Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The meetings start at 6:30 p.m. as follows:
Monday in Orofino at the Best Western Hotel, 625 Main St.
Tuesday in Lewiston at the Idaho Fish and Game Department regional office, 3316 16th St.
“The Corps and Idaho Fish and Game want to add nutrients to the water to bring conditions back into balance and encourage the growth of organisms that support the kokanee salmon food chain and reduce blue green algae blooms,” said Cindy Boen, corps manager for the nutrient supplementation project.
Dworshak Dam backs up water for 54 miles from Orofino up the North Fork of the Clearwater with a surface area of about 20,000 acres extending into the Bitterroot Mountains.
The corps estimated 134,497 visitor days to the reservoir’s recreation areas in 2005.
Info: For nutrient proposals, call (509) 527-7246. For Dworshak Visitor Center, call (208) 476-1255.
Rich Landers HUNTING-FISHING
Wild night of baseball
Fishing and hunting license holders get a discount at next Sunday’s Spokane Indians Baseball game at Avista Stadium.
Casting and elk bugling contests will be held on centerfield during the seventh inning stretch. Game starts at 6:30 p.m. Present a valid hunting or fishing license for the discount at the stadium ticket office, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., or online at www.spokaneindiansbaseball.com.
Rich Landers FISHING
Columbia chinook rally
This year’s late return of spring chinook salmon to the Columbia River was worth the wait and summer steelheading has been the best since 1968, according to Oregon and Washington fisheries officials.
The state agencies recorded 87,000 angler trips this spring to the mainstem below Bonneville, where anglers caught and kept about 7,000 chinook and caught and released 2,500 unmarked salmon even though they were called off the river during prime fishing time when biologists became concerned about the later-than-expected run.
Anglers caught about 600 spring chinook above Bonneville and about 190 in the Snake River mainstem fishery near Little Goose Dam.
The upriver run counts didn’t increase until the last two days in April and 50 percent of the run had not passed Bonneville until May 12. That’s the latest on record that the upriver run has reached that benchmark.
Chinook passing Bonneville between June 16 and July 31 are counted as summer fish; fish passing thereafter are upriver fall chinook.
Summer runs have produced nearly three-times the catch of recent years all the way upstream to Brewster before tapering off recently. The fall run usually peaks upriver in September.
Staff and wire reports CAMPING
Meteor shower peaks
This weekend is prime time to be settled at a high-mountain campsite in a front row seat for the annual Perseid meteor shower.
Even though the moon will be big and bright, stargazers who find watching sites above the haze and beyond city lights should still see at least 20-30 “shooting stars” an hour, compared with 6 an hour on a non-shower night.
The Perseid meteor shower, which won’t phase out until Aug. 25, is characterized by bright, fast meteors, many of which leave smoke trails visible for several seconds. Best sightings should be in the east, at least when then moon is not in that part of the sky.
Astronomy magazine says:
“Small particles of rock and metal found in space are called meteoroids. When they burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere, they are called meteors. Particles that survive the fiery passage and land on Earth are then known as meteorites.
“A meteoroid enters the atmosphere at velocities between 50,000 and 165,000 mph
“The typical bright meteor is produced by a particle no larger than a pea.
“To be visible, a meteor must be within about 120 miles of an observer.
“Meteors become visible at an average height of 55 miles. Nearly all burn up before reaching an altitude of 50 miles.
Rich Landers