Trout decline in SF Snake
A trout decline in one of Idaho’s prized fishing rivers isn’t all bad news, Idaho Fish and Game Department biologists say.
A fall survey along a stretch of the South Fork of the Snake River shows a 30 percent drop in rainbows and rainbow-cutthroat trout hybrids since last year’s surveys.
The stream yielded 933 rainbows and hybrids per river mile. Numbers for other species were down only slightly. The survey found 1,766 Yellowstone cutthroats and 720 brown trout per river mile.
The change suits fishery managers, who are trying to limit non-native rainbows because they spawn with native cutthroats.
Dan Garren, department regional fisheries manager, attributes the drop in rainbows to lower winter flows, higher spring flows and fishing regulations designed to target rainbows.
Staff and wire reports
SNOWSHOEING
Rent ‘shoes at Manito Park
If you can’t beat the weather, join it — with a snowshoe trek today at Manito Park.
The Spokane Parks and Recreation Department will be renting snowshoes at the park pavilion off Grand Boulevard from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
First served will be trekkers who reserved snowshoes in advance for this spur-of-the-moment event, which was announced Friday.
But snowshoes should be available for walk-on adventurers.
Cost: $8.
Rich Landers
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
Wildlife agencies aim to cut costs
To save on expenses, Arizona’s Game and Fish Commission has voted to hold all 2009 meetings in Phoenix rather than spreading the meetings out across the state as in the past.
A similar strategy has been proposed for Washington’s Fish and Wildlife panel by Spokane commissioner George Orr.
In New York, Gov. David Paterson has proposed closing a state game bird farm as a cost-cutting measure. Instead of releasing the birds for hunting, he plans to donate nearly 8,000 of the farm’s pheasants to needy families.
Rich Landers
WILDLIFE
Big game using WY underpasses
During a seven-day period in December, new Webcams photographed about 800 deer, a few antelope and a bull elk using wildlife underpasses installed on a highway known for wildlife-vehicle collisions.
Wyoming built six deer underpasses along U.S. 30 last summer, spending $3.8 million to assist migrating mule deer cross the busy highway and protect motorists from colliding with big game.
The Webcam data is showing the animals were quickly taking to the tunnels, state transportation officials said.
The busy highway traverses a large big-game winter range used by the 30,000-animal Wyoming Range deer herd. About 130 deer a year have been killed by motorists on the route.
WYDOT, in collaboration with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, finished the state’s latest and largest highway wildlife project in October. It included the construction of 12 miles of fence to lead game to the underpasses.
Staff and wire reports
FISHING
Smelt run takes a dip
Net dipping for smelt is all but a memory in Western Washington.
State fisheries officials say they see no particular reason for optimism in 2009 of a rebound in Columbia River smelt runs, which are entering their fifth year of low levels.
As a result, sport and commercial fishing in the lower Columbia and Cowlitz rivers again will be restricted basically to test dipping.
John North of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the National Marine Fisheries Service is expected to make a determination any day on a petition to list smelt under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Bill Tweit, Columbia River policy lead for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said he does not see how an Endangered Species Act listing will benefit smelt.
“Our harvest plan is hard to improve on from a precautionary standpoint,” Tweit said
Vancouver Columbian
Deschutes marks anniversary
An important anniversary was quietly celebrated in November.
Twenty-five years ago, Doug Robertson of Lake Oswego launched one of Oregon’s most popular and heartening public campaigns – the Deschutes River purchase in 1983.
School children, elderly pensioners, anglers, foundations, politicians, biologists, governors came together to raise $1.5 million that bought the lower 12 miles of riverbank for the public. Pieced together with federal land, anglers now have access to the queen of western trout and steelhead streams from its mouth upriver 15 miles.
Cattle and developers don’t.
Bill Monroe
WILDLIFE
Elk out of bounds in Longview
New and smelly hazards have been appearing at the Longview Country Club golf course, a byproduct of the growing elk population in this southwest Washington town.
Besides their calling cards, elk frequently tear up the greens, course official Ben Davis said.
“We were devastated last year,” he said. “It was probably our worst year” for elk damage.
Elk have become so plentiful around town, especially on hillsides, that the state Department of Fish and Wildlife is considering allowing hunting, although that would require a change in municipal ordinances over the likely opposition of residents who enjoy the animals.
Associated Press
NORDIC SKIING
Thrills, chills in Yellowstone
Experience a backcountry ski trek into the steaming geyser basins of Yellowstone National Park in a free slide show by Rich Landers, Spokesman-Review Outdoors editor, on Tuesday, 7 p.m., at the Two Rivers (Fernan) Ranger Station off I-90 at the Sherman Exit.