It is difficult to think about the fall hunting season when the spring weather is just beginning to show signs of warming, but hunters need to pay attention.

Those of us who apply for special hunting permits recognize this as the time to begin studying the new hunting pamphlet in a serious manner.

The special hunt permits deadline is midnight May 18, but, as with last year, much study is required. Again we will be able to apply for various permits involving fall deer, elk, mountain goat, moose, bighorn sheep, and turkey seasons.

Fish and Wildlife will select permit winners by random drawing in late June. The special permits qualify hunters to hunt at times and places beyond those authorized by a general hunting license.

Applications may be purchased from license vendors statewide or on the Fish and Wildlife website. The cost for each application is $6.50 for residents, $60.50 for non-residents, and $4.10 for youth under 16 years of age.

Last year was the first time hunters could apply for many more special hunts. For example elk hunters could apply for a branched bull hunt as well as an antlerless-elk hunt. 

There are over eight deer permit hunts, seven elk hunts, six moose hunts, four sheep hunts and a variety of other hunts. Of course not all of us will be qualified for all of the hunts.

Dennis qualifies for five out of the eight deer hunts, four of the seven elk hunts, three of the six moose hunts and two of the four sheep hunts. He is expected to apply for all of the hunts where he meets the qualifications.

The rest of the opening day fishing reports

We didn't have room for all of the opening day fishing reports, so we will present them today. Some of the information is for lakes outside the Columbia Basin, but destination of interest of Basin residents.

Warden Lake

Total anglers 44, total fish harvested 208, total fish released 14, combined harvested and released fish 222 which equals 4.7 fish per angler.

Fishing at Warden Lake was excellent on opening day. Angler harvest and catch rates were phenomenal with near limits recorded during the creel. Wind was not a problem during the morning as with the Sun Lakes. Fish size was also phenomenal with yearlings averaging 13-14 inches in length. Trout up to 17 inches were recorded during the creel.

The fish per angler does not include the fish released.

Chelan County

Wapato Lake: Total anglers 39, total fish harvested 92, which equals 2.36 fish per angler.

Okanogan County

Alta Lake: Total anglers 131, total fish harvested 266, which equals 2.03 fish per angler.

Fish Lake: Total anglers 45, total fish harvested 156, which equals 3.47 fish per angler.

Pearrygin Lake: Total anglers 43, total fish harvested 76 for a 1.77 fish per angler total.

Wannacut Lake: Total anglers 12, total fish harvested 46, which equals 3.83 fish per angler.

Douglas County

Jameson Lake: Total anglers 53, total fish harvested 100, which equals 1.89 fish per angler.

Lincoln County

Fishtrap Lake: Total anglers 38, total fish harvested 164, which equals 4.32 fish per angler.

Raffle permit hunts

The raffle permit hunt deadline is July 22. Stay tuned for more information about these hunts.

Pygmy rabbit recovery effort renewed in Basin

Renewed field efforts to recover endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits are under way this spring in eastern Washington shrub-steppe habitat.

Up to 100 pygmy rabbits, from captive-breeding facilities and from the wild in Oregon, will be released on the Fish and Wildlife Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area in Douglas County beginning this month.

The captive-reared rabbits from partners at Washington State University, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and the Oregon Zoo, will first be kept in a wire mesh enclosure on the wildlife area to help them transition to life in the wild and to protect them from predators.

Keeping the rabbits in enclosures until they become familiar with the site is expected to increase their chance of survival, according to Fish and Wildlife biologists. An earlier effort to release 20 captive-bred pygmy rabbits at Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area in 2007 was not successful because most fell victim to predators.

Both federal and state authorities have listed the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit as an endangered species. Sixteen of the last-known wild Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits were captured in 2002 and placed in breeding programs at WSU, Northwest Trek, and Oregon Zoo. The captive rabbits were bred to provide rabbits for future releases, but the breeding programs struggled with disease and other limitations of inbreeding from the relatively small founder stock.

Although the captive breeding program has conserved the genetics of the Columbia Basin population, it may be discontinued due to its limitations and high costs.

Warren said wild rabbits from Oregon are being included in the current reintroduction to increase initial numbers and to breed with captive-reared rabbits. Cross-breeding of Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits with those from other states has been approved by USFWS.

Most neighboring land owners have entered into what is termed Safe Harbor Agreements with federal and state agencies, which will hold them harmless under the Endangered Species Act if rabbits disperse to their property and are accidentally injured or killed during routine land uses. 

The Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit is the country's smallest native rabbit and the only rabbit to dig its own burrows, which makes it dependent on deep soils in shrub-steppe habitat in eastern Washington. It was listed as a state endangered species in 1993. After the state population dropped to fewer than 40 rabbits in Douglas County by 2001, it was listed as a federal endangered species in 2003.