Field Reports: Rotenone treatments detailed in meetings

FISHING –Trout management plans to treat several Eastern Washington lakes and streams with rotenone will be explained at public meetings this week.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing to treat Park, Blue, Vic Meyers and Mirror lakes in Grant County this fall to remove species ranging from bass and bullhead to stunted panfish.

A five-mile section of Smalle Creek in Pend Oreille County also would be treated.

Rotenone is an organic pesticide commonly used to remove undesirable and illegally stocked fish species from lakes and streams so they can be restocked with trout.

“The goal is to restore trout populations by removing competing species that have essentially taken over these waters,” said Bruce Bolding, WDFW warmwater fish program manager.

“Illegally stocked fish compete with trout fry for food and prey upon them, rendering efforts to stock trout ineffective.

“At Smalle Creek, we are proposing to remove non-native eastern brook trout in order to restore a population of native westslope cutthroat.”

The public can get information and comment on the proposals 6-8 p.m. in:

Ephrata on Monday at the Grant County Public Works Building, 124 Enterprise St. SE,

Newport on Thursday at the Create Art Center, 900 W. 4th St.

Free licenses

for National Guard

HUNTING – Members of the Washington National Guard and the Washington State Guard who meet state residency and other requirements can qualify for free hunting licenses under a new law that took effect this summer.

A free license package to hunt big game, small game and migratory waterfowl is available to active, full-time members of the National and State Guard, and to those who participate part time in drill training with these military units.

Applications are available on the WDFW website.

Idaho fall chinook

opens Sept. 1

FISHING – Idaho’s fall chinook salmon fishing season will open Sept. 1 on parts of the Snake, Clearwater and Salmon rivers.

The 2016 fall chinook forecast is 32,000 hatchery and naturally produced fall chinook returning to the Snake River basin. Last year’s actual return was 59,000 fall chinook.

Fall chinook fishing on the Snake River will be open from the Washington-Idaho border upstream to Hells Canyon Dam.

Other areas opening for fall chinook fishing Sept. 1-Oct. 31 are:

Clearwater River, from its mouth upstream to Memorial Bridge,

Salmon River, from its mouth upstream to Eye of the Needle Rapids.

Refuges to expand

hunting, fishing

PUBLIC LANDS – Hunting and fishing opportunities will be introduced or expanded at 13 national wildlife refuges in 10 states under proposals announced this week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

For example, proposed for the first time are hunting for elk in designated areas of Baca National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado and sport fishing of state-regulated species at Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota.

The proposals do not affect refuges in Washington and Idaho. However, a similar action enacted in 2009 allowed elk hunting at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge for the first time since the refuge south of Cheney was established in 1937.

Meanwhile, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed banning brown bear baiting and a series of other state-legal predator hunting practices from national wildlife refuge lands the agency manages in Alaska.

The proposals also include bans on killing wolves and coyotes during the denning season and targeting bears with snares or traps.