PUBLIC LANDS -- A proposal to purchase 9,123 acres for wildlife habitat along the Columbia River in Douglas County will be considered by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday during its meeting in Spokane.
The two-day meeting agenda also calls for the commission to get a briefing on proposed changes to sportfishing rules in the freshwater areas of Puget Sound and the Washington coast.
The meeting will convene at the Red Lion in Spokane, 303 W. North River Dr. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. both days, with a public input period set to start the meeting on Saturday.
The land acquisition proposal is the second phase of a multi-year plan to secure the 20,500-acre Grand Coulee Ranch to protect important shrub-steppe habitat for wildlife and provide public access for outdoor recreation.
Last year, the department acquired about 4,200 acres of the ranch property. The land, located on the south side of Rufus Woods Reservoir on the Columbia River, includes access to the river and serves as habitat for a variety of wildlife, particularly sharp-tailed grouse.
In other business, the commission will hear proposed amendments to state wildlife interaction rules that address predation on livestock, crop damage and other sources of conflict between humans and wildlife. Some of the rule changes would make it easier for wildlife managers to kill more elk to stave off damage to agricultural lands when the elk population exceeds manageable numbers.
Another change would add more emphasis to encouraging landowners to use public hunting as a deterrent to crop damage.
State fisheries managers are recommending 50 fishing proposals specific to the rivers and lakes of the Puget Sound and coastal regions. The changes would:
- Eliminate size restrictions and daily limits for eastern brook trout in most western Washington streams and crappie in several western Washington lakes.
- Require anglers to retain hatchery steelhead they catch in some western Washington waters in order to reduce the effects of hatchery fish on wild stocks.
- Remove rules limiting anglers to keeping only two trout that are larger than 14 inches in several western Washington lowland lakes. WDFW is stocking these lakes with larger trout, making the requirement unnecessary.
The department is also considering several proposals to protect wild steelhead on the north coast of Washington. Those proposals include selective gear rules on some north coast rivers and prohibiting the harvest of wild steelhead in several coastal rivers including the Calawah, Bogachiel, Hoh and Sol Duc.
The commission also will receive briefings on:
- This summer’s wildfires and their impacts on WDFW lands and facilities.
- A department review of the livestock grazing program.
