Trout Fishing in Washington's High Elevation Lakes

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's website features a comprehesive guide to fishing the states's high elevation lakes.

Created by colliding tectonic plates, and carved by glaciers and ice, high mountain lakes in Washington offer anglers a recreational experience unmatched by any other waters in the state. The fishing is spectacular in these high elevation gems but the experience is punctuated by fantastic camping, hiking, wildlife watching and the scenic vistas taken in during your stay, and travels to and from these unique angling opportunities. Without a doubt, high lakes trout fishing is one of Washington's premier recreational opportunities.

LINK (via: WDFW)

"Angling community frustrated by deal on steelhead "

I guess it would depend on which "angling community" you were referring to.

LINK 

This story is in need of some comments from wild fish advocates.

WDFW will not release 'early winter' hatchery steelhead!

Thanks to the Wild Fish Conservancy another blow has been struck against the hatchery welfare state.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will not release early winter hatchery steelhead into rivers around Puget Sound as planned this spring unless it can resolve issues raised in January by the Wild Fish Conservancy and restated in a lawsuit the group filed this week.

Phil Anderson said WDFW leaders made the “very difficult” decision last week under the threat of litigation by the Conservancy, a non-profit group based in Duvall, Wash. In late January, the group filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the department over its management of early winter (Chambers Creek) steelhead hatchery programs.

On Monday, March 31, as the 60-day period ended, the group filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Seattle against the department and the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, alleging WDFW has violated the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The group contends WDFW’s planting of Chambers Creek steelhead undermines the recovery of wild Puget Sound steelhead, salmon and bull trout, which are listed as “threatened” under the ESA.

Anderson said WDFW is vulnerable to lawsuits over its hatchery steelhead operations because they were not approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) following the ESA listing of Puget Sound steelhead in 2007.

LINK (via: WDFW)

Three tributaries of Columbia River designated wild steelhead gene banks

In what is a major victory for wild steelhead, and a decision that is sure to make many a pro-hatchery talking head explode, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife yesterday designated three tributaries of the lower Columbia River as "wild steelhead gene banks," where it will no longer release steelhead raised in fish hatcheries.

Starting this year, WDFW will no longer plant hatchery steelhead in the East Fork Lewis River or the North Fork Toutle/Green River. The Wind River, which has not been stocked with steelhead since 1997, will also be off-limits to any future releases.

LINK

There was even better news if you care about wild fish....

Jim Scott, assistant director of WDFW's Fish Program noted that WDFW plans to create more wild steelhead gene banks throughout the state in the years ahead.

"During the next six months, we will be focusing on establishing wild steelhead gene banks for Puget Sound and lower Columbia tributaries below the Cowlitz River," Scott said. "As with the plan announced today, our goal will be to continue to make those fish available for area fisheries where doing so is consistent with our steelhead conservation goals."

The wheels of wild steelhead management turn very slowly.....

Angling regulation proposals for the East Fork of the Lewis River will be discussed when the Steelhead Management Work Group meets at 1 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2108 Grand Blvd.

So we're now back to holding working group meetings on this proposal?

What happened with the Green and the Toutle?

It's all part of the plan!

Setting up a network of gene banks is one of a number of strategies endorsed by the department's Statewide Steelhead Management Plan, adopted in 2008.

Plan?

A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with timing and resources, used to achieve an objective.  It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal.

Six years later and we're still waiting for somebody to implement the dam "plan."

Vote early and vote often

If you've been with us this long, you understand our believe that wild salmon and steelhead conservation is the ticket to sustainable, quality fisheries.  And, we feel it is paramount that our Washington state leaders understand that we are not alone in this belief. 

If this is important to you too, then we encourage you to fill out the 1 minute survey on the right sidebar right here on the WDFW website. 

NEWS RELEASE
Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission
July 13, 2009
Contact: Susan Yeager, (360) 902-2267

Commission surveys public priorities
for a new fish and wildlife director

OLYMPIA – Should the next director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) focus on restoring wild salmon and steelhead populations, or on improving statewide fishing and hunting opportunities?

That is one of several options posed in an online public survey by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, which is currently accepting applications for the state’s top job in fish and wildlife management.

Anyone interested in sharing their ideas about qualifications for that position can do so on the commission’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/ . A job description and application form are also available at that site.

Phil Anderson has been serving as interim director since December, when Jeff Koenings resigned after 10 years as director of the agency.

“We’d like to hear from anglers, hunters and everyone interested in the future of our state’s natural resources,” said Miranda Wecker, who chairs the nine-member citizen commission responsible for setting policy – and hiring a director – for WDFW. “We’ll consider those responses as we get down to the business of selecting a new director.”

So far, 21 candidates have applied for the position, said Anthony Cesario, a state Department of Personnel recruiting consultant, who updated the commission on the executive search during a public meeting July 10-11 in Olympia. “About five of those candidates appear to be qualified,” he said.

Wecker said the commission will review the qualifications of specific applicants at a meeting scheduled Aug. 6-8 in Colville. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, she said.