OLYMPIA -- Washington's Fish and Wildlife Commission is set to act at its meetings July 10-11 in Olympia on a new policy aimed at advancing conservation and recovery of wild salmon and steelhead populations.
The proposed policy calls for coordinated reform of the state's approach to harvest management and its hatchery operations based on the recommendations of the Hatchery Scientific Review Group.
On July 11, the commission will review progress to date in the nationwide search for a permanent director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The commission also is scheduled to consider adoption of proposals to reauthorize through 2010 a pilot program that allows cougar hunting with the aid of dogs in counties that meet specified criteria and allow recreational license dealers to charge 50 cents to process documentation and collect additional data associated with migratory bird hunting.
Checkerboard land near Naches purchased
NACHES -- About 2,675 acres of forest in the Naches River region have been purchased from a timber company and will be transfered to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as part of an overall effort to conserve more than 10,000 acres of forest, officials said.
The Nature Conservancy and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation worked with the state to get the funding and facilitate the transaction with Plum Creek, according to a statement from the groups.
The Rock Creek property will continue to be open for public recreation, and will be managed as part of the department's Oak Creek Wildlife Area. It's northwest of Naches and is reached by the Bald Mountain, Rock Creek and Milk Lake roads.
Plum Creek and the U.S. Forest Service own alternating square miles within the region.
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Outdoors briefs: Logging will restrict snowmobiling in Naches
Outdoors briefs: Logging will restrict snowmobiling in Naches
NACHES -- Winter logging will bring some trail restrictions to snowmobilers using Gold Creek (Forest Service Road 1705) Sno-Park and groomed trail off State Route 410 near Whistlin' Jack Lodge and Resort.
After midnight Monday, snowmobilers will have trail access from 3 p.m. Thursdays to early Friday and then after 3 p.m. Friday through the weekend. Logging operations will then begin again early Mondays.
The Gold Spring Timber Sale area has specific timelines for harvesting timber.
National climate change strategy proposed for wildlife
National climate change strategy proposed for wildlife
The United States has no national strategy for curtailing its contributions to climate change, but it does now have a partial strategy for responding to its effects. On Jan. 19, the Obama administration released a draft of the National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, a plan to coordinate responses to global warming across the country.
New forest-management plan weakens wildlife protection
New forest-management plan weakens wildlife protection
Back in the 1980s, when conservation advocates were trying to stop logging in old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest, they relied on a 1982 regulation that required the National Forest Service to protect wildlife such as the spotted owl throughout its range. They won, and a new Northwest forest plan in 1990 greatly reduced logging in the region's old-growth forests on federal land.
Spokane man wants lighted nocks legalized
Spokane man wants lighted nocks legalized
SPOKANE -- A Spokane sportsman said Washington should consider his bright idea for reducing the number of deer and elk wasted by archery hunters.
"Allowing lighted nocks is a no-brainer to me," said Jim Sutton, referring to an LED light in the fletching end of an arrow that illuminates upon release by the bowstring's thrust.
Washington hunting regulations prohibit the use of certain modern and electronic equipment such as lighted sights and nocks for use during the special primitive weapons seasons.
State mulls rules on wind farming
State mulls rules on wind farming
OLYMPIA -- Power generated by Northwest wind turbines will likely double in the next two years, but some energy officials are worried the negative effects have not been properly assessed and understood.
The number of wind turbines in the state, such as those dotting the horizon of the Horse Heaven Hills south of Kennewick to Walla Walla, has boomed in the past seven years, with 2,100 now in operation, according to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
Washington does not require regulatory agencies to consider their effects on nearby property owners or wildlife, and state and local officials are discussing evaluation policies before hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- more are built.
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