State Budget Cuts Will Affect Washington Fishing, Hatchery Production
WDFW is laying off staffers for 29 positions, not filling many of 170 vacancies, shutting down a hatchery, closing a popular steelhead fishery next year and is being forced to let a predator suppression project largely lapse as a result of Washington lawmakers’ recently approved two-year budget.
WDFW Commission Chair Questions Recruiting More Washington Sportsmen
A pro-hunting and -fishing organization continues to roll out unflattering internal Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission emails, this time a damaging communication that appears to indicate the chair is against recruiting more sportsmen, a stunning position for someone to have while overseeing policy for an agency actively trying to bring in more hunters, anglers and license dollars.
SW WA, Lower Columbia, Lower Willamette Fishing Report (6-24-25)
Mid- to late June 2025 sockeye, steelhead, Chinook, sturgeon, walleye and shad catch stats for the Lower Columbia, select Southwest Washington tributaries and the Willamette below the falls.
Public Land Sale Can’t Be Rushed Thru Senate
It’s all a little bit Washington DC-ese, but a bid to sell off 2 to 3 million acres of Forest Service and BLM land has been ruled subject to a 60-vote minimum instead of a simple majority in the Senate, and that has the chief architect of the very unpopular proposal scaling it back dramatically and opponents calling it “an important, but temporary, victory.”