2015-07-30

2015-07-29

2015-07-26 River gained .25 inch of rain today.

Stillaguamish River, threatened fish species weather silt, slides and drought

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20150726/NEWS01/150729266/1172/Stilly-under-siege

Mark Mulligan / The Herald

Robert Lamb, a fisheries technician with the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians’ Natural Resources Department, peers between boulders in the North Fork Stillaguamish River looking for fish. Lamb and biologist Jason Griffith counted 75 Chinook, 77 bull trout and 15 steelhead during a survey of a four-mile stretch of the river July 16.

2015-07-19

River CLOSED to fishing until FURTHER Notice

Ask the RAIN GODS to pour on us, we need it!!!!

203 CFS
1.80 Feet

2015-07-16

Drought conditions prompt fishing closures, restrictions on numerous rivers

Region 4 – North Puget Sound
Closed to fishing

• Raging River (King Co.) from the mouth upstream.
• Skykomish River (Snohomish Co.) from the mouth upstream closed to all fishing, except the section around Reiter Ponds remains open from the Gold Bar/Big Eddy Access (Hwy. 2 Bridge) upstream to the confluence of the North and South forks.
• Wallace River (Snohomish Co.). From the mouth upstream including all tributaries.
• Stillaguamish River (Skagit/Snohomish Co.) From Marine Drive upstream including the North and South forks and all tributaries.
• South Fork Nooksack (Whatcom Co.) From the mouth to Skookum Creek, and from Wanlick Creek to headwaters including Wanlick and all tributaries.
• Suiattle River (Skagit Co.) Tributaries Buck, Downey and Sulpher Creeks.

Hoot-owl restrictions:

• North Fork Skykomish River (Snohomish Co.) From the mouth upstream including all tributaries.
• South Fork Skykomish River (Snohomish/King Co.) From Sunset Falls upstream and all tributaries, including the Beckler, Foss, Miller and Rapid rivers and their tributaries.
• Sauk River (Skagit/Snohomish Co.) Above the Suiattle River including the North Fork to the falls and the South Fork to headwaters.
• Samish River (Skagit Co.) From I-5 to headwaters, and Friday Creek upstream.

Region 4, Annette Hoffman, (425) 775-1311, ext. 120

2015-07-16

 1.98 feet

197 cfs

Notice of NOAA Intent to Prepare an EIS and Hold Public Workshops

Notice of NOAA Intent to Prepare an EIS and Hold Public Workshops on Puget Sound Steelhead Hatcheries 

In March 2015, NOAA Fisheries released for public comment a draft environmental assessment (DEA) for three hatchery programs producing early-returning (“early”) winter steelhead in Puget Sound (in the Dungeness, Nooksack, and Stillaguamish watersheds). Based on public comments, NOAA Fisheries is performing additional environmental review, which will lead to a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). The DEIS will also review two other early winter steelhead hatchery programs (in the Skykomish and Snoqualmie watersheds). NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments on the scope of the DEIS (e.g., potential issues, impacts, and alternatives to be considered). 

As part of developing the EIS, NOAA Fisheries will hold public workshops on the DEIS in two locations in the Puget Sound area. At the workshops NOAA Fisheries representatives will discuss the steelhead project and answer questions.

Scoping comments may be submitted by email to EWShatcheriesEIS.wcr@noaa.gov, or by regular mail to the mailing address provided at the project website identified below. Comments must be received by NOAA Fisheries no later than 5 p.m. on August 13, 2015.  Workshop attendees may also submit comments by leaving them at the workshops.

Information on the project is available online at http://www.westcoast.fisheries.noaa.gov/hatcheries/salmon_and_steelhead_hatcheries.html

Public workshop dates, times, and locations are:

Monday, July 20                                  

6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Skagit Public Utilities District

Aqua Room

1415 Freeway Drive

Mt Vernon, WA

Tuesday, July 21

6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Lynnwood Convention Center

Room 2BC

3711 196^th St SW

Lynnwood, WA 

2015-07-14

1.83 ft

Check out the everett hearld today

http://www.heraldnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=%2F20150712%2FOPINION01%2F150719811&template=MobileArt

2015-07-11

the water temp finaly dropped to 60 degrees.

2015-07-09

When is hot, too hot? By Camp Water

http://royaltreatmentflyfishing01.businesscatalyst.com/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=12800&PostID=703807&A=Trackback

2015-07-08

Drought conditions harming fish and wildlife, disrupting some fisheries.

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/
July 8, 2015
Contact: Teresa Scott, (360) 902-2713
Drought conditions harming fish and wildlife,
disrupting some fisheries
OLYMPIA - State fishery managers are taking steps to protect fish that are affected by drought conditions, and are asking anglers to do their part as well.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has restricted some fishing opportunities and will need to restrict others. In addition, the department will likely release some hatchery fish early and transport salmon and steelhead that are unable to make it upstream to spawning grounds.
This year's low snowpack and warm weather have raised water temperatures and reduced flows in rivers and streams across the state to levels that can be lethal to fish, said Teresa Scott, WDFW's drought coordinator. 
"We're seeing some really challenging conditions for fish in streams and rivers, especially for this early in the summer," Scott said. 
WDFW already has curtailed fishing on a section of the Sol Duc River to protect returning chinook. The department also closed fishing for spring chinook on the Grande Ronde River due to low river flows. Additional closures or restrictions will be posted on the department's webpage, said Craig Burley, WDFW fish program manager.
In the meantime, Burley suggested anglers should limit fishing to the morning hours to reduce stress on fish, immediately return fish to be released back to the water, and land fish quickly.
"These few precautionary steps will help protect fish during drought conditions," Burley said.
Higher water temperatures and low stream flows also are creating problems at WDFW's fish hatcheries. Warm water temperatures at hatcheries make fish more susceptible to disease and stress, which means fewer fish survive.
WDFW has prepared contingency plans for operating fish hatcheries most vulnerable to drought conditions. Those plans, which can vary for each facility, include steps ranging from pumping water from deep wells to trucking returning salmon to hatchery facilities.
The department is also responding to cases in which salmon migrating upstream have been stranded because of river conditions, Scott said.

Scott urged the public to report sightings stranded fish, or other wildlife distressed by drought, by visiting the department's website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/drought/. She also asked people to refrain from building recreational rock dams in streams, creating barriers for migrating fish. 

Public input sought on wild steelhead management zones in Puget Sound rivers

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/
July 7, 2015
Contact:  Annette Hoffmann, (425) 775-1311 ext. 120
Public input sought on wild steelhead
management zones in Puget Sound rivers
OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking public input on the selection of at least three Puget Sound rivers where hatchery steelhead would not be released by the department in an additional effort to conserve wild fish.
WDFW will designate at least one wild steelhead management zone or "gene bank" in each of three Puget Sound regions:

• Hood Canal and Strait of Juan de Fuca; 
• Central and South Puget Sound; 
• North Puget Sound (North Cascades rivers).

Studies have shown that steelhead produced at a hatchery can compete with wild steelhead, and that interbreeding can reduce survival rates for wild steelhead, said Jim Scott, director of WDFW's fish program.
"We're seeking public input on which rivers within each region should be selected for establishing a wild steelhead gene bank," Scott said.
More information is available online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/fisheries/steelhead/gene_bank/ , where a comment form will be available by July 13. Comments provided at public meetings or through the online form by Aug. 13 will be used by WDFW to inform the selection of the wild steelhead management zones.
Gene banks are one of a number of management strategies identified by the department's Statewide Steelhead Management Plan, adopted by the Fish and Wildlife Commission in 2008. Last year, the department designated three tributaries of the lower Columbia River as wild steelhead gene banks.
An informational workshop will be held from 5 to 9 p.m., July 13 at the Phinney Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle. At the workshop, the public can learn more about the Statewide Steelhead Management Plan, WDFW's hatchery programs and the status of Puget Sound steelhead.
The department also is hosting three public meetings in July to discuss the proposal and take public comments. Each meeting will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on the following dates at these locations:

• Seattle - July 21, Phinney Center (room 7), 6532 Phinney Ave. N.
• Mount Vernon - July 27, Skagit PUD, 1415 Freeway Dr.
• Sequim - July 28, Trinity Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave.

The department will make a decision later this year after reviewing public comments and discussing the proposals with tribal co-managers. 

2015-07-07

Ralph Wahl, original flies

2015-07-02