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Drought prompts fishing closure in Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park on Washington's Olympic Peninsula includes 922,651 acres of glaciated mountains, rain forests and ocean beaches. In 1988, Congress designated 95 percent of the park as wilderness, including 73 miles of wilderness coast. The park includes 611 miles of trails, more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams and 60 named glaciers.
By Rich Landers richl@spokesman.com(509) 459-5508
Olympic National Park on Washington's Olympic Peninsula includes 922,651 acres of glaciated mountains, rain forests and ocean beaches. In 1988, Congress designated 95 percent of the park as wilderness, including 73 miles of wilderness coast. The park includes 611 miles of trails, more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams and 60 named glaciers.
Olympic National Park on Washington's Olympic Peninsula includes 922,651 acres of glaciated mountains, rain forests and ocean beaches. In 1988, Congress designated 95 percent of the park as wilderness, including 73 miles of wilderness coast. The park includes 611 miles of trails, more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams and 60 named glaciers.

FISHING — Most Rivers and streams in Olympic National Park were closed to recreational fishing toda as a result of a historic drought.

Not only are water levels low, but the water temperature is higher this summer, the National Park Service said.

Fishermen have been bracing for this since spring when the Olympic Mountains snowpack was reported to be 4 percent of normal.

“Pacific salmon and trout show signs of physiological stress at water temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, with lethal effects beginning at 70 degrees,” park spokesperson Barb Maynes wrote in a press release.

The closure will likely last through the end of summer, during a time when many people enjoy fishing within the park, Maynes said.

“Really we’re not expecting any significant rains to occur until we get more into October and into the fall,” she said.

Some high country lakes within the park remain open for fishing.

Visit the Olympic National Park fishing webpage for more information.

* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Outdoors Blog." Read all stories from this blog