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The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission has initiated a new program to prevent delays during the transport of watercraft destined for the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. The program, “Call Before You Haul,” provides a toll-free phone number boat transporters can call prior to transporting watercraft from outside the Pacific Northwest to one of the states. The program is currently being piloted in 10 states and is intended to be expanded to all states in 2022.

The year 2021 was marked by extremes across the U.S., including exceptional warmth, devastating severe weather and the second-highest number of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters on record. 

Alex Dietz of Bend was fly fishing with an egg pattern on the Deschutes River outside Warm Springs on Dec. 19, 2021 when he hooked a 5 pound 12 oz, 24-inch long mountain whitefish with a 14 inch girth.

The Department of the Interior announced today that it is seeking nominations for members of the new Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names. The committee will identify geographic names and federal land unit names that are considered derogatory and solicit proposals on replacement names.

NOAA Fisheries is seeking information about the sunflower sea star, a large sea star native to the West Coast. The agency is trying to determine whether the species warrants listing under the Endangered Species Act.

Thank you for your concise summary of a busy year in the region’s long-running efforts to recover salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin.  I share your view that Congressman Simpson did us a great service by coming forth with a bold proposal to remove the lower Snake River dams and invest in alternative ways of providing the dams’ benefits, and I am grateful for his leadership.

Canada and the United States met on December 9 to advance talks on the modernization of the Columbia River Treaty. During this round, the United States and Canada discussed ecosystem priorities, post-2024 flood risk management, and Canada’s desire for more operational flexibility.

The Bureau of Reclamation is launching a new prize competition for improved snowpack water forecast techniques throughout the West. Developing better techniques to determine the amount of water stored as snowpack provides water managers more accurate information to make better water management decisions.

Rewards topped $43,000 this week for information on poisoning of the Catherine wolf pack in Oregon earlier this year.