As expected, anglers can again keep the hatchery chinook salmon they catch while fishing on the Cowlitz, Kalama, and Lewis rivers in southwest Washington.

In addition, the catch limit for steelhead has been increased to six hatchery steelhead per day on the Cowlitz and North Fork Lewis rivers.

Both changes take effect today, according to a news release from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Here is the rest of the release:

Pat Frazier, regional fish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), said fishing rules for those rivers can

Read more »

The biggest threat to many of Washington’s trails is not storm damage or overuse, but a lack of funding.

That is the thrust of an annual report released today by the Washington Trails Association that identifies the state’s most threatened trails.

Click here to view the WTA’s Endangered Trails Report.

The trail advocacy group called on Congress to turn around more than a decade of inadequate funding that has resulted in a federal trails system near the breaking point, said a WTA news release.

The report names 10 trails that suffer from a deep, systemic

Read more »

Mount Rainier National Park officials will hold two public meetings next week as they begin an Environmental Assessment on possible repairs of the Carbon River Road.

The first meeting will be June 30 at the Enumclaw Public Library, 1700 First St., Enumclaw. The second meeting will be July 1 at The Mountaineers Clubhouse, 2302 N. 30th St., Tacoma. Both meetings will start at 7:00 p.m.

Park staff will be on hand to discuss proposed alternatives for the road, which has been closed to vehicles since November 2006 when flooding and high winds caused damage throughout the park.

Read more »

I’m in Coulee Dam, Wash., this morning exploring the many trails and recreational opportunities for a future story. So far this area has blown me away as it’s illustrated the amazing spectrum of terrain in Washington. Above is a picture I snapped from inside a cave above Lenore Lake, a reservoir on the Columbia River.

HOW TO BE HEARD

Here’s how to send your comments on the Dosewallips Road project to Olympic National Forest:

– Read the Environmental Impact Statement.

– Send an e-mail to Olympic National Forest.

– Call the forest 360-956-2375.

– Write the forest: 1835 Black Lake Blvd. SW, Olympia, WA 98512-5623

Six years after a storm washed out a portion of the Dosewallips Road in Olympic National Forest, the forest service has come up with three options for fixing the road according to statement released it released earlier this month.

The environmental

…

Read more »

Mount Rainier National Park officials this morning released an Environmental Assessment for repairs to the flood-damaged Glacier Basin Trail.

Of the three alternatives, the staff’s preferred alternative is to reroute the trail above the White River floodplain.

Click here to read the assessment.

A one mile stretch of the trail west of the White River Campground was destroyed by the November 2006 flood. The Inter Fork of the White River cut a channel through the area where the trail was, and currently only about 1,000 feet of intact trail tread remains, according to a park press

Read more »

From Mount Rainier National Park:

Mount Rainier National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga has announced that an Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared for a proposal to repair or reroute one mile of the flood-damaged Glacier Basin Trail in the White River Valley. The public is invited to review the EA and provide their comments.

The Glacier Basin Trail (GBT) serves as the main access to Glacier Basin, Camp Schurman, Camp Curtis, Emmons Flats, the Inter Glacier, and the Emmons Glacier climbing route. A mile-long section of the GBT was destroyed by flooding in November 2006. The damaged trail section is located in Wilderness, west of the White River Campground. The Inter Fork of the White River cut a channel through the area where the trail was, and currently only about 1,000 feet of intact trail tread remains.

Read more »

Members of Eyes in the Woods, a volunteer conservation organization, is looking for volunteers to clean litter on private timberlands this month.

The group is leading events at:

Olympic Peninsula: Meet at 9 a.m. Saturday at the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Region 6 office, 48 Devonshire Road, Montesano. The work, to be done on land managed by Weyerhaeuser and the Campbell Group, will continue until 6 p.m.

Mount St. Helens: Meet at 9 a.m. on June 28 at Drews Grocery on Highway 504 in Toutle. Volunteers will work on Weyerhaeuser’s Mount St. Helens

Read more »