Field reports: Columbia sockeye off to fast start
FISHING –The 9,689 sockeye counted at Bonneville Dam through June 10 is a record, far outpacing the former record of 7,308 fish counted in 2012. The first count was conducted in 1938.
The 2012 total return to the Columbia was 521,000 fish.
At this time last year, the total sockeye count at Bonneville Dam was 5,128 fish.
The 2014 total sockeye return to the Columbia was a record 645,100 fish.
The 2015 preseason forecast is 394,000 sockeye.
“We’re off to a great start but where will this year’s return rank in the record book?” said Joe Hymer, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife salmon specialist. “Stay tuned.”
Hunters may be tapped to kill off bighorns
HUNTING – Montana officials want to use an aggressive public hunting campaign to kill off a diseased herd of 30-40 bighorn sheep in the Tendoy Mountains southeast of Dillon.
State wildlife commissioners on Thursday gave preliminary approval to a plan to remove the Tendoy herd beginning this fall and restock the area with about 50 healthy wild sheep.
Over-the-counter hunting licenses would cost $125 for residents and $750 for nonresidents.
If hunters do not kill all the sheep, state officials said they would be removed by aerial gunning and other means.
Bonaparte tiger trout may be state record
FISHING – An 18.49-pound tiger trout caught May 5 from Bonaparte Lake near Tonasket is a pending Washington state record.
Kelly Flaherty, 53, of Priest River, Idaho, hooked the lunker 10 feet from shore on what he said was going to be the last cast of a long day of slow fishing.
The fish was weighed on a certified scale and measured by Washington Fish and Wildlife staff at 32.5 inches long with a girth of 21.75 inches, but officials said Friday the record had not yet been officially processed.
If approved, Flaherty’s fish will top the 15.04-pound state record set in 2012 at Roses Lake in Chelan County.
Volunteers needed for Mickinnick Trail
TRAILS – The Idaho Trails Association is recruiting volunteers for a spring cleanup project on the Mickinnick Trail, a popular route to a choice viewpoint of Lake Pend Oreille near Sandpoint.
The work party will meet at 9 a.m. Saturday at the trailhead parking area on Woodland Drive, a half mile south of the Schweitzer Mountain Road. Work will end by 4 p.m.
Info: (208) 263-6854.
Glacier’s ‘Sun Road’ opens to Logan Pass
PARKS – Glacier National Park officials opened the west side of the Going-to-the-Sun Road to Logan Pass to motor vehicles on Thursday.
Although bicyclists have been able reach the 6,464-foot-high pass since Memorial Day weekend, snow removal crews needed more time to clear the way for cars.
Access from the east remains closed by road construction until June 19, when the Logan Pass Visitor Center will open. The park’s shuttle system will not begin operations until July 1 and will run through Sept. 7.