Online hunter ed classes available

In-person hunter education classes in Washington are not likely to be held this fall unless COVID-19 infection rates subside.

The agency is offering its online classes and virtual field day courses for students who are at least 9 years old.

Enhanced carry permit training is set

LAPWAI — The Lewis Clark Wildlife Club is playing host to an enhanced concealed weapons license training at its shooting range near here Saturday.

The training will occupy the six-bench portion of the range from noon until 4 p.m. and the classroom all day. The rest of the range will be open to the public.

Fly Fishing Film Tour goes virtual

The Fly Fishing Film Tour plans to hold a virtual showing of its movies after the COVID-19 pandemic led to canceling many of its events, including one that was to be hosted by the Lewiston Tribune in March.

The event will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $18 to $30 and can be purchased at flyfilmtour.com/buy-tickets/.

According to a news release from the company, the virtual showing will feel like any other of its tour showings, including special guests and opportunities to support conservation and nonprofit partners with dozens of virtual donations and raffles with prizes from Simms Fishing Products, Yeti Coolers, Costa Sunglasses, Ross Reels, Scientific Anglers, Thomas and Thomas Fly Rods, Oskar Blues Brewing Company and Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures.

The Tribune had hoped to reschedule its March showing of the films that was to coincide with the Kelly Creek Flycasters North Idaho Fly Fishing Expo. The pandemic, however, has made that impracticable, and the newspaper instead plans to organize a local showing of the 2021 version.

WDFW seeks public input on hunting

OLYMPIA — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking comments on proposed alternatives for 2021-23 hunting seasons.

The comment period runs through Sept. 15. Information about the various proposals is available on the agency’s website at bit.ly/34fYnXF. Options include attending live webinars or commenting by text message.

“This process is how we attempt to understand the type of hunting experience our hunters want, and we need your feedback to help us determine the path forward,” said Anis Aoude, game division manager, in a news release. “We’re looking at how we can bring in more participation even as we’re having to contend with current restrictions on public gatherings. We’re grateful to the hunters who already logged in this morning to provide feedback.”

Web seminars will be held from 6-7 p.m. on the following dates.

Tuesday — small game, upland game, furbearers.

Thursday — general, equipment, and licensing.

Tuesday, Sept. 1 — waterfowl.

Thursday, Sept. 3 — elk.

Wednesday, Sept. 9 — deer.

Thursday, Sept. 10 — bighorn sheep, boundaries and mountain goat.

The public can attend the events and ask questions in real time by using the links above, which also are available from the department website.

“The proposals are posted on our website for you to review,” Aoude said. “We’ll provide an overview and answer your questions about these proposals in real time during our season-setting meetings.”

There will be an additional public review process with updated proposals in January 2021. Final recommendations will be presented to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission for adoption in the spring of 2021.

Hatcheries begin collecting fish at dam

Hatchery officials from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Nez Perce Tribe began collecting fall chinook for spawning as they passed Lower Granite Dam this week, at the same time the fishing season for fall chinook salmon opened in Washington and Idaho.

The trapping is scheduled to continue into early September, and officials from both agencies want anglers to understand why they are collecting fish during the harvest season.

According to a blog post authored by the agencies, fall chinook used for spawning at the Lyons Ferry and Nez Perce Tribal hatcheries have always been collected at Lower Granite Dam and then trucked to the hatcheries. Both wild and hatchery fish are needed for spawning. Since wild fish don’t typically show up at hatchery traps, the agencies opted to trap at the dam.

This year, as in other recent years, the fish are being trapped earlier in the run. Steelhead also are trapped at Lower Granite Dam as part of a sampling program that tracks the strength and demographics of the run. Protocols to protect wild steelhead call for only about 20 percent of the run to be subjected to trapping and handling before the fish are released and allowed to progress upstream. In years with poor steelhead numbers, such as this one, it can be difficult to hit collection quotas for fall chinook without exceeding trapping and handling limits for steelhead.

To help ensure enough fall chinook are collected without exceeding the limits on steelhead, the agencies are front loading the collection of fall chinook and intercepting more of them earlier in the run, when there are fewer steelhead in the river.

Early trapping also makes it more likely that enough larger and wild fall chinook will enter the hatchery spawning program, according to the blog post.

The agencies plan to trap about 3,600 fall chinook for spawning at both hatcheries. The fall chinook run forecast calls for more than 18,000 adult salmon to return to the Snake River this year, leaving nearly 15,000 available for anglers. More information is available in the blog post at bit.ly/32aNmnP.