WDFW, ODFW Commission Members To Meet On Columbia Fishery Policies

THE FOLLOWING IS PRESS RELEASEs FROM THE WASHINGTON AND OREGON DEPARTMENTS OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

WDFW

Members of the Washington and Oregon Fish and Wildlife commissions will hold a virtual meeting next week to discuss policy for the shared waters of the Columbia River.

SPRING CHINOOK ANGLERS FISH ON THE SHARED COLUMBIA BELOW BEACON ROCK. (ANDY WALGAMOTT)

Four members of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission and three members of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet from 2 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28.

Commission members will discuss draft language for shared conservation goals and management policies in the Columbia River, and receive updates from staff with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) about the impacts of different commercial and recreational fishing gears, as well as changes in fishing pressure over the past decade.

The meeting will be held via Zoom webinar; the public can tune in to the meeting at https://zoom.us/j/95834364815. Participants can also call in to the meeting at 253-215-8782 or 888-475-4499, then enter the webinar ID: 958-3436-4815.

No decisions are expected at this meeting, and no public comment will be taken.

To view the full agenda and for more information about the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, visit https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/commission. For more information about the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, visit https://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/commission/.

ODFW

Members of the Oregon and Washington Fish and Wildlife commissions will hold a joint meeting to discuss Columbia River salmon policies on Wednesday, July 28 from 2:30-5 p.m. PT.

The meeting is open to the public but no public comment will be taken during the meeting. The meeting will be available to view at https://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/OSCRP/CRM/LMCR_fisheries_mgmt_reform.asp A meeting agenda is also available at the site.

Public comments can be sent to odfw.commission@odfw.oregon.gov

Commissioners Wahl, Wolley and Zarnowitz are members of this joint state Columbia River policy subcommittee and will represent Oregon at the meeting.

The joint meetings are not decision making meetings. The committee members will report back to their full Commissions, who will ultimately consider any changes to their respective policies.