A hand-crafted “Fly Fishing Only” sign was stolen recently from the Merrill Lake Conservation Area. The sign was made by a member of the Clark-Skamania Flyfishers that is no longer living and the club and the Washington Department of Natural Resources would like to get it back.
Volunteers with the Clark-Skamania Flyfishers actively work to maintain and care for the lake and property.
The sign has router-made lettering and is made of cedar wood. It is estimated to be worth $3,400, and the club is offering a $300 reward for information that leads to the recovery of the sign.
At the same time a Forest Service wooden sign was also stolen from the area. It was approximately 50 inches wide, brown, and says “Entering Gifford Pinchot National Forest.”
Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call Steve Rhodes, Washington Dept. of Natural Resources Education & Enforcement Forester/Resource Warden of the Pacific Crest District/Pacific Cascade Region at 360-827-2899 or email steven.rhodes@dnr.wa.gov.
Ridgefield blind clean-up scheduled Sept. 22
The Washington Waterfowl Association (WWA) will be hosting the opening up of blinds and camouflaging them on Saturday Sept. 22 at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge River S Unit hunt area.
Volunteers will meet at 8 a.m. at the check station. Bring waders, gloves, loppers and a square nose shovel.
Volunteers will be opening up the pit blinds, picking up trash and camouflaging the blinds.
New hunters to the refuge will get a good look at the area in daylight hours which will be a big asset when the season opens. A BBQ lunch will be provided.
WWA banquet set for Sept. 29
The Washington Waterfowl Association will host its 15th annual fund raising banquet at Club Green Meadows on Saturday, Sept. 29. Doors open at 5 p.m. It is a family friendly event.
Waterfowl accessories, guns, decoys, hunts and guided fishing trips are just a few of the items available for bids. Proceeds go to support local volunteer projects in our area.
For more information contact Doug Hargin at 360-903-6951 for tickets or donations.
Target shooting ban lifted on state-managed lands
Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz lifted the ban on target shooting on state-managed lands on Sept. 15, two weeks earlier than anticipated.
The ban was set to expire at the end of September, but due to an increase in humidity and moisture across some portions of the state, Commissioner Franz ended the ban early.
Individual sites may have continued restrictions where fire risk remains high. Currently, all but five Washington counties remain in moderate to very high fire risk status. Therefore, the statewide burn pile ban, industrial burning ban, and ban on dispersed campfires remain in effect until further notice or until the Sept. 30 expiration date.
Recreational target shooters are reminded to be cautious and report any wildfires to 911 immediately.
Commission approves Wooten land purchase, hoof disease designations
OLYMPIA — The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved the acquisition of a timbered 58-acre property that will provide habitat for deer and elk and increase recreational access within the Wooten Wildlife Area in Columbia County.
WDFW plans to use federal grant funds — generated through a tax on the sale of arms and ammunition — to buy the Wooten land from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for $175,000. The parcel is an “inholding” within the wildlife area.
In other business, the commission added four game management units (568, 572, 574, and 578) in Clark, Klickitat, and Skamania counties to the list of GMUs where infectious hoof disease has been confirmed in elk. Hunters who harvest an elk in these areas are required to remove the hooves and leave them in place to avoid spreading the disease..
Information about upcoming commission meetings is available at https://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/.
WDFW will use drone to collect river data
OLYMPIA — Scientists with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will fly a drone over a section of the Elochoman River in Wahkiakum County during the week of Sept. 24 to collect information to support river restoration work.
WDFW scientist Jane Atha said a drone would collect imagery at the Elochoman River hatchery, where the agency recently removed the lower weir and fishway from the river.
The agency will also collect imagery of a portion of the river along and upstream from the hatchery property to assess restoration opportunities.
Atha said the drone will be flown between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. for approximately 30 to 60 minute periods within a four day window over approximately 1 1/2 miles of the Elochoman River between mileposts 8 and 11 of Elochoman River Road.
WDFW scientists regularly collect imagery of river restoration projects to support design and document their progress. Drones provide an opportunity to conduct river restoration monitoring safely, while also efficiently providing a view of rivers that would generally not be possible otherwise.
