Starting Sunday, the area near the mouth of the Columbia River will be closed to all salmon and steelhead fishing. Despite the previous chinook closure, catch rates for coho have quadrupled in the past week, raising concerns about the impact on wild fish listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act, said a state news release.

High catch rates are an issue even though anglers fishing the lower Columbia River may retain only hatchery-reared coho, identifiable by a clipped adipose fin, Cindy LeFleur, Columbia River policy coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said in the

Read more »

Here’s the latest installment in our newest blog feature: Photo of the week. I snapped this at Fort Worden State Park from the top of one of the old batteries near Alexander’s Castle. That’s the park’s famous lighthouse to the left and Mount Baker in the distance.

Just talked to Bob Mortimer of Gig Harbor. You may remember the story I wrote about him in May. Mortimer lost an arm and both legs in an accident when he was kid. However, even with just one arm he’s lived a fuller life than most people with four limbs.

In May he and his family started pedaling across the country from Gig Harbor to the Statue of Liberty. They plan to arrive at the Statue of Liberty on Sept. 12. They’d originally planned to arrived on Sept. 11, but as Mortimer

Read more »

The guys from OAR Northwest, a foursome of University of Puget Sound graduates, have finished another epic rowing adventure.

Two years after becoming the first Americans to row across the North Atlantic, two members of the team circumnavigated the Olympic Peninsula.

Greg Spooner and Jordan Hanssen pulled into Gig Harbor at 2 p.m. on Aug. 23 to complete their 20-day, 400-mile voyage.

The men made the journey in a 16.5-foot, 200-pound dory and carried 150 pounds of gear.

Hanssen, who biked across Australia earlier this year, said in some ways

Read more »

Mount Rainier National Park superintendent Dave Uberuaga just announced that Highway 123 through the park will be closed Mondays through Thursdays beginning a week from today.

Park, state Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration officials said the road will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. for paving, according to a park news release.

The closure area will be from Cayuse Pass, at the intersection with Highway 410, to just north of the intersection with the Stevens Canyon Road.

Depending on the weather, the work is scheduled to be done on Sept. 18.

Almost

Read more »

Just got back from a weekend kayaking and exploring in Port Townsend.

Seems like most people are there to hit the shops, but there is clearly much more to do around here for those who are little more active.

We’ll be exploring what there is to do in Port Townsend in a future Adventure section. Until then, here are a couple pictures.

Kayaking with my son, Alexander.

Kayaking with my daughter, Mackenzie.

“I got

Read more »

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife just announced that beginning on Monday anglers will have to release any chinook they catch in the Buoy 10 fishery at the mouth of the Columbia River.



Here is part of the news release:

The new rule, approved today by fishery managers from Washington and Oregon, does not affect fishing for hatchery-reared coho salmon or steelhead in the river.



High catch rates – particularly for upriver bright chinook – prompted both states to end retention of chinook salmon in the Buoy 10 fishery a week earlier

Read more »

The National Park Service will unveils its new children’s Web site, The Kids Zone, on Monday.

The site, accessed through www.nps.gov, will contain more than 50 interactive activities designed to connect children with the people, places, and events commemorated in the country’s 391 National Park Service sites, according to a park service press release.

Starting Monday, children visiting the website can learn about Mitsy, a 9-year-old Border Collie who performs an important job at the Statue of Liberty or little Lula McLean’s rag doll which is a witness to history at Appomattox Courthouse or how Thomas Edison

Read more »