Headlines

Early to mid-April 2025 spring Chinook and steelhead catch stats for the Lower Columbia and select Southwest Washington tributaries including That One.

Oregon’s wolf population grew to a minimum of 204 wolves across the state at the end of 2024, an increase of 15 percent over the previous tally, according to the just-released annual report.

More details are emerging on Washington’s newest Fish and Wildlife Commission member, as well as reformists’ reaction to Governor Bob Ferguson’s Monday appointments.

ODFW details potential new mule deer hunt unit names, changes to long-standing area boundaries, and why there may be slightly fewer tags on tap for the species during the 2026 season east of the Cascades. Final decision from the Fish and Wildlife Commission comes in September.

Fishing for hatchery spring Chinook will reopen on the Lower Columbia April 11-13 and 15-17, salmon managers at WDFW and ODFW decided this afternoon.

A New York Times article out this morning details how Chinook production at nearly a dozen hatcheries in Western Washington is said to be in “limbo” because cuts back in DC put a critical National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration staffer out of a job, placing future fisheries at risk.

Early April 2025 spring Chinook and steelhead catch stats for the Lower Columbia and select Southwest Washington tributaries.

The reviews continue to roll in on yesterday’s pleasing appointments to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission – reaction from NWIFC, RMEF, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, former Commissioner Kim Thorburn, Chair Barbara Baker, Puget Sound Anglers state board, and Commissioner Molly Linville.

An inseason runsize downgrade of nearly 1,900 wild steelhead is leading state managers to close all fishing on the Sauk and Skagit Rivers effective the end of the day, April 10. Tribal managers are also closing their fisheries.

Molly Linville will return to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, Jim Anderson has been reappointed, and an Anacortes man will also join the citizen panel.

A minimum of 230 wolves roamed the Evergreen State at the end of last year, a decrease over the previous count and ending 15 straight years of population growth, though the number of packs grew and overall numbers have still grown 20 percent annually since 2008, even with the one-year decline.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved WDFW-recommended cougar and bear hunting rules nearly unanimously this afternoon.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission voted late this morning to acquire 655 acres in Pacific County for waterfowl, salmon habitat restoration and improve recreational access.

Temporary good news for Willamette Valley kokanee anglers: The Army Corps of Engineers is delaying their super-deep drawdown of Detroit Lake from this fall to late 2026.

With some Central Oregon mule deer coming out of winter “at very low weights” following a bad fire season last year, the Phillip W. Schneider Wildlife Area won’t open for shed hunting and other public entry till May 1 so as to give the animals a couple extra weeks of undisturbed grazing as the range…

Washington state lawmakers will hold a public hearing Thursday afternoon on a bill that would increase most hunting and fishing license fees by 38 percent.

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is reacting to a report that some in Congress are “considering the sale of public lands as part of an upcoming budget reconciliation bill – a move that threatens to privatize landscapes cherished by hunters, anglers, and outdoor enthusiasts across the nation.”

Seattle Parks and Recreation Department details the work schedule for emergency repairs to the floats at the Don Armeni boat ramp.

As WDFW considers updates to a required federal fishery plan for holding seasons over ESA-listed salmon and steelhead stocks in Southwest Washington tributaries, it is surveying anglers and the public on how they balance opportunity with conservation goals. The survey is open through April 30.

In his monthly column, Ed Johnstone of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission defends salmon hatcheries, arguing they “have improved genetic diversity, increased abundance, and in many places have supported populations at risk” and support at least 70 percent of the catch for tribal, sport and nontribal commercial fishermen.

Enjoy the last weeks of that Skagit-Sauk wild steelhead fishery – it looks to be on the chopping block for the foreseeable future unless anglers can convince state lawmakers otherwise soon.

Late March 2025 spring Chinook, steelhead and sturgeon catch stats for the Lower Columbia and select Southwest Washington tributaries.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet April 3-5 to decide on cougar and black bear hunting seasons and a 655-acre Pacific County acquisition, as well as hear the annual wolf report and about Blue Mountain elk calf survival, among other items.

WDFW reports that Director Kelly Susewind has approved new chronic wasting disease rules, as well as most of the 2025 season’s hunting regulations that agency staff had come to him with.

Washington fish hatcheries face “significant impacts” under state lawmakers’ proposed budgets, particularly from cuts in the House of Representative’s two-year pending plan.

King County researchers say they’ve confirmed that a soil mix formula is 100 percent effective at removing a coho-killing chemical from road runoff.

ODFW is detailing a monthlong Wallowa Lake research study that will monitor fish populations there as well as the catch of lake trout via two types of nets. They say it’s not a removal effort, but with reintroduction of ocean-going sockeye in Wallowa planned, it will provide a better picture of laker population dynamics.

A bill that would hike the cost of most Washington fishing and hunting licenses by 38 percent narrowly passed out of the Senate today.

ODFW announces a noon-7 p.m. smelt dipping opener on the Portland area’s Sandy River this Thursday, March 27.

Mid- to late March spring Chinook and steelhead catch stats for the Lower Columbia River and select Southwest Washington tributaries.

Watching public input before the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission like I have over the years, I’ve heard a lot of stuff, but I can’t recall that any particular comment has ever led me to do a stand-alone story. Until now.

It was committee day for the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, and members of the various subpanels talked and heard about the Conservation Policy, federal funding concerns, a potential new keeper sturgeon fishery on the Mid-Columbia, and proposed chronic wasting disease regulations, among other things.

Mid-March 2025 spring Chinook and steelhead catch stats for the Lower Columbia River and select Southwest Washington tributaries.

Registration for a popular mentored spring turkey hunting workshop in Northeast Washington opens at 7 a.m. March 23.

It was a good day for steelheading and standing in the rain on the lower end of the Cowlitz, smelt dipping not so much.

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will hold public hearings on proposed 2025 hunting season regulations for black bears and cougars, as well as discuss the legislatively mandated Ruckelshaus Report and more at its March 20-22 meetings.