USFWS Mulls Cougar Removals, Juniper Thinning As Hart Mtn. Bighorns Decline Sharply
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is releasing a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for a management plan to address a significant decline in the California bighorn sheep population on Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. The Service is opening a 45-day public comment period on the draft EIS.
WDFW Takes Another Step On Alternative Commercial Fishing Gear For Columbia
WDFW is taking the next step on alternative commercial gear on the Lower Columbia by beginning the rulemaking process to allow fishermen to apply to use beach and purse seines and pound nets, “opening these alternative gears for expanded study and use in the river.”
North Sound Group Sues Feds Over Salmon Season Setting Process
A North Sound organization filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for Western Washington late Wednesday afternoon against federal and state salmon fishing overseers, claiming the agencies are violating part of the Endangered Species Act related to the process for setting seasons.