EFFORTS AIMED AT IMPROVING LAMPREY PASSAGE, SURVIVAL IN COLUMBIA BASIN Posted on Friday, February 08, 2008 (PST)

Pacific lamprey face all the same perils as salmon in the Columbia River basin. But they don't get nearly as much love -- except from members of Columbia basin tribes, who have long considered the eel look-a-likes a cultural icon on par with the salmon. Read More...

PARTIES HOPE TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE PACIFIC LAMPREY CONSERVATION PLAN Posted on Friday, February 08, 2008 (PST)

The Pacific lamprey has little or no economic value, and is little sought after by the fishing public. And they aren't pretty, having a round, elongate, flexible cartilaginous body, skin with no scales that is slimy to the touch and down-turned mouths adapted for clinging and sucking. Read More...

OREGON COHO LISTED AGAIN; SCIENCE REVIEWS, STATE EFFORTS KEY ISSUES Posted on Friday, February 08, 2008 (PST)

A West Coast salmon stock that has been put on and then knocked off the Endangered Species list -- based on legal opinions -- was this week again provided federal protections, albeit with tepid endorsement from NOAA's Fisheries Service. Read More...

WASHINGTON GOVERNOR APPOINTS NEW MEMBER TO COUNCIL Posted on Friday, February 08, 2008 (PST)

Gov. Chris Gregoire this week announced the appointment of Dick Wallace to the Pacific Northwest Power and Conservation Planning Council. The three-year term is effective Feb. 16. Read More...

WET STORMS, COLD WEATHER KEEP BUILDING UP BASIN SNOWPACK Posted on Friday, February 08, 2008 (PST)

The odds for a bountiful Columbia River basin water supply this spring and summer are mounting as wet storms continue to pound the region and build mountain snowpack. Read More...

SPOKANE TRIBE JOINS PARTNERSHIP ON LAKE ROOSEVELT WATER DELIVERY Posted on Friday, February 08, 2008 (PST)

The Spokane Tribe of Indians has joined a partnership that intends to provide new water for irrigators and cities in the Columbia River Basin and support stream flows for endangered fish. Read More...

COMMISSIONS MULLING HARVEST ALLOCATIONS BETWEEN RECREATION, COMMERCIAL Posted on Friday, February 08, 2008 (PST)

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has scheduled a conference call today (Feb. 8) to take action on new allocation guidelines for the Columbia River spring chinook sport and commercial fisheries after failing to settle on a plan last week. Read More...

JOHN PALENSKY ENSHRINED IN NATIONAL FRESH WATER FISHING HALL OF FAME Posted on Friday, February 08, 2008 (PST)

A man with an unrelenting passion for catching salmon -- and for assuring there will always be Columbia River basin salmon to catch -- last month joined an elite list that includes Izaak Walton, Ernest Hemingway, Ted Williams and Ole Evinrude. Read More...

F&W DIRECTORS ENDORSE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR WESTERN NATIVE TROUT INITIATIVE Posted on Friday, February 08, 2008 (PST)

The directors of western states' fish and wildlife agencies endorsed the strategic plan and future operations of the Western Native Trout Initiative at their recent winter meeting in San Diego. Read More...