Saturday, May. 10, 2008

Briefs: Northern pikeminnow reward program begins

From Herald news services

The Northern Pikeminnow Sport Reward Fishery Program has opened on the Columbia and Snake rivers in an effort to cut the number of the predatory fish.

Hundreds of specially tagged fish will be worth $500 apiece, in hopes of enticing more anglers to catch pikeminnow. The fish eat millions of young salmon and steelhead each year, and researchers say they believe the reward program has helped reduce the number of pikeminnow.

The Bonneville Power Administration funds the reward program, which is administered by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. Anglers who register for the reward program will be paid $4 per fish for up to 100 pikeminnow, and the pay bumps to $5 per fish for each one over 101 total. The price goes to $8 per fish for 401 and above.

There are 17 registration stations, and the busiest in 2007 was Boyer Park near the Lower Granite Dam with 32,751 fish, followed by The Dalles Boat Basin with 29,023.

The program pays for some dedicated anglers. One man who caught 5,591 -- including eight tagged -- fish last year earned $47,364, while another was paid $46,400 after catching 5,778 pikeminnow.

In all, anglers caught 191,154 northern pikeminnow in 2007, officials said, reducing predation on juvenile salmon by an estimated 37 percent.

The season runs through Sept. 28. For more information, see www.pikeminnow.org.

State approves series of land acquisitions

COLVILLE -- The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has approved five land transactions.

The nine-member commission, which sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, approved the acquisitions for fish and wildlife habitat and public recreation in Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Skagit and Snohomish counties during its meeting last week. Parcels to be acquired with grants from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program are:

-- 1,079 acres of wetlands, streams and other diverse fish and wildlife habitat along the West Branch of the Little Spokane River, between Fan and Horseshoe lakes in southern Pend Oreille County.

-- 19.54 acres on Beaver Creek between Twisp and Winthrop in central Okanogan County to be managed within the Methow Wildlife Area for bull trout, songbirds, mule deer and more.

-- Two parcels of riparian forest and wetland habitat at the convergence of the north and south forks of the Skagit River, north of Conway in Skagit County.

A fifth parcel -- 808 acres of Deadwater Slough wetlands east of the Snohomish River and west of Ebey Slough near Everett in Snohomish County -- will be acquired with a National Coastal Wetlands Conservation grant and managed along with adjacent department property in the Ebey Island unit of the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area.

Fish and Wildlife seeks comment on game plan

The public has until May 30 to comment on a draft supplemental environmental impact statement recently issued for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's six-year game management plan.

The draft includes updates to the current plan, developed in 2003 to guide Fish and Wildlife's management of the state's game species.

Public comments on the draft will be used to prepare a final plan, which will be reviewed in August by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. Once finalized and approved, Fish and Wildlife will incorporate changes into the new 2009-2015 plan.

The draft, which was developed after a public scoping period, addresses issues that have emerged since the original plan was approved six years ago, said Dave Ware, game division manager.

The draft and comment form are available online at www.wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/management/2009-2015.

Volunteers needed for campground hosts

The Department of Natural Resources seeks volunteers to serve as unpaid campground hosts.

Hosts conduct general campground maintenance and act as primary points of contact for campers. All hosts must complete CPR/first aid training and successfully pass a Washington State Patrol criminal background check.

For more information, call 360-902-1678, e-mail christine.redmond@dnr.wa.gov, or log on to www.dnr.wa.gov.