Washington’s second gray wolf pack has been confirmed in northeast Washington’s Pend Oreille County, the state just announced. An adult wolf has been equipped with a satellite-telemetry tracking collar by state biologists.

State Department of Fish and Wildlife enforcement Officer Pam Taylor steadies a male gray wolf in Pend Oreille that has been temporarily sedated so it can be equipped with a satellite tracking collar. (WDFW photo)

Here is the rest of the news release:

This morning, biologists with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife led by a wolf expert

Read more »

The state is going to allow anglers to keep pink salmon caught on the Skagit River for three days next week.

Effective date: 12:01 p.m. Aug. 6 through Aug. 9.

Location: Skagit River from the mouth to Gilligan Creek.

Reason for action: Surplus pink salmon are available for harvest.

Other information: Salmon fishing is allowed only from the mouth to Gilligan Creek. All other portions of the river remain closed to salmon fishing. The daily limit is two salmon. Only pink and chinook salmon may be retained. Only one adult chinook may

Read more »

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced its proposal to continue liberal hunting seasons for the upcoming 2009-2010 late waterfowl seasons.

Duck hunting season lengths would be 60 days in both the Atlantic and

Mississippi Flyways, 74 days in the Central Flyway, and 107 days in the Pacific Flyway, according to a news release.

Among the highlights area a proposed full season on pintails with a two-bird daily bag limit in the Pacific Flyway and a full season on canvasbacks with a one bird daily bag limit offered nation-wide. Additionally, the framework calls for a bag

Read more »

The National Park Service just announced it has restricted open campfires in portions of Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. Effective today, campfires are banned in the following three campgrounds along the NPS-managed portion of Lake Chelan: Flick Creek, Weaver Point and Manly Wham.

This restriction means that no campfires are permitted until further notice. This includes using wood, briquettes, or any other fuel in the fire pits provided or in any kind of open fire pan or barbecue grill or other device, said a Park Service news release. Pressurized liquid gas camp stoves and enclosed solid fuel fire that

Read more »

Oh, how a well-timed thunderstorm can save the day.

Like the rest of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier has been feeling the heat. At noon on Wednesday, the temperature reached 80 degrees at Paradise – that’s at 5,400 feet of elevation.

That’s when a thunderstorm rolled in.

The .12 inches of rain that fell in about two hours helped drop the temperature 15 degrees in the same span. It only warmed back up to 70 by 6 p.m.

But lightning caused some issues, including a strike that damaged some of the phone and electrical systems at the

Read more »

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced late Wednesday that Lake Wenatchee will open for sockeye salmon fishing.

Here is the press release:

Effective date/time: Wednesday (one hour before official sunrise) until harvestable fish numbers have been caught.

Species affected: Sockeye salmon

Daily limit: The daily limit per angler is two sockeye 12 inches in length or longer.

Location: Lake Wenatchee in Chelan County.

Reason for action: The 2009 return of sockeye will be sufficient to provide for the Lake Wenatchee spawning escapement goal, and additional fish will be

Read more »

The staff at Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest announced today a ban on open campfires and restricts smoking beginning tomorrow.

Here is the rest of the release:  

"We need to take precautions for public safety," said Forest Supervisor Rob Iwamoto. "These steps are based on weather projections and conditions on the ground."  Fuel moisture has been at historic lows and the National Weather Service predicts more hot and dry conditions ahead.

Wood and charcoal fires are only allowed in developed campgrounds that have established concrete or steel-grated fire pits or rings.  Campers can use portable

Read more »

This was posted on the National Park Service Web site today.

On the afternoon of Thursday, July 23rd, a 17-year-old boy from New York disappeared while hiking with his family on a southwest section of the Wonderland Trail. The family hiked west from Longmire on the Wonderland as far as Pyramid Creek that morning, then began their return hike to Longmire, retracing their earlier route. The boy was last seen by his family at the Kautz Creek crossing, where he moved ahead of the group. A ground search was conducted on Thursday evening and resumed on Friday morning. When

Read more »