Field Reports: Setline surveys planned for Lake Roosevelt sturgeon
From staff reports
Fishery managers will be using setlines to gather information on the white sturgeon in Lake Roosevelt during the first two weeks of October.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation and the Spokane Tribe of Indians will be doing a setline survey for juvenile sturgeon in the upper portion of the lake, according to a news release.
Officials will be doing the surveys during the weeks of Sept. 30 and Oct. 7, beginning at Rickey Point near Colville and moving upstream to the Little Dalles.
The work overlaps with the fall sturgeon season. Officials are asking anglers to avoid buoys that mark the location of the setlines.
Chris Donley, WDFW’s eastern region fish program manager, said in a news release that the survey will give fishery managers information about growth and the survival of young sturgeon in the lake.
Small hooks are used on the lines to target fish aged zero to 4 years old, according to the news release. It is also specific to sturgeon and doesn’t target other species, so officials believe the annual surveys have little impact on recreational angling.
Surveys will only take place on weekdays, and the lines will be moved throughout the week.
During the week of Sept. 30, the schedule is as follows:
•Monday-Tuesday: Rickey Point to Colville River
•Tuesday-Wednesday: Colville River to Highway 395 bridge
•Wednesday-Friday: Singers Bay to Pingston Creek/Nancy Creek
For the week of Oct. 7:
•Monday-Tuesday: Pingston Creek/Nancy Creek to Marcus Island
•Tuesday-Wednesday: Marcus Island to Evans
•Wednesday-Thursday: Evans to North Gorge
•Thursday-Friday: North Gorge to Little Dalles
Boat access at Twin Lakes in Idaho to close
A boat access site in North Idaho will close next week.
The Twin Lakes boat launch on the channel between the upper and lower lake will close from Wednesday to April 15 to allow crews to dredge the channel, according to the news release.
Dredging is meant to improve water quality and access for boaters and anglers. It will remove sediment that contains organic material and phosphorus, and it will widen the channel.
The sediment will be stored in bags at the site over the winter to drain before being hauled away in the spring.
The release said the work is being done by the Phase 2 Canal Twin Lakes nonprofit group. It will build on the first phase of the work, which took place two years ago.
Prescribed burns begin in Coeur d’Alene River area
The U.S. Forest Service has started a series of prescribed burns in the upper Coeur d’Alene River drainage, prompting a number of road and trail closures.
All the closures are in the northern third of the Coeur d’Alene River Ranger District east of Lake Pend Oreille and south of the Clark Fork River, according to a news release.
Roads 1533, 306 and 240 are closed, as are portiosn of trails 20, 452 and 24. Specific areas north and west of the North Fork Coeur d’Alene River are closed.
The closure order is available on the Idaho Panhandle National Forest’s website.