The bird hunting seasons are coming to an end, but other seasons continue for a few more days to a couple of months. Read on.

Birds

The duck and Canada goose hunting season will close at 4:50 p.m. this Sunday, Jan. 29. Also closing Sunday are the seasons for coots and snipe. This closure date includes the Falcon season.

Animals

The bobcat, fox, raccoon, cottontail rabbit and snowshoe hare seasons will continue open through March 15. The crow season will close Jan. 31.

The cougar season in the Columbia Basin and some other parts of the state, continues through March 31.

Sportfishing rules;

multiple season hunting permits increase considered

The Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider adopting a new package of sportfishing rules for 2012 and 2013, as well as an increase in the number of multiple season hunting permits issued each year, during a public meeting Feb. 3-4 in Olympia.

The commission will convene for its regular meeting Feb. 3-4 in Room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St. S.E. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. both days.

During the two-day meeting, the commission will consider adopting 18 sportfishing rules, which were developed with public input and discussed at the commission's December and January meetings.

The proposals range from closing steelhead fisheries earlier in a number of rivers in the Puget Sound area to allowing anglers to fish with two poles on the Pend Oreille River and the lower Spokane River.

In other action, the commission will consider a bid to increase the number of multiple season hunting permits issued each year. Since 2006, Fish and Wildlife has conducted annual drawings for multiple-season hunting permits, which allow a certain number of hunters to participate in all general hunting seasons for deer and elk. Without the special permit, hunters must choose among archery, muzzleloader or modern firearm seasons.

Fish and Wildlife has proposed increasing the number of deer permits from 4,000 currently to 8,500 and the number of elk permits from 850 to 1,250. State wildlife managers told the commission in January that increasing permit levels will expand hunting opportunities without posing a risk to deer and elk populations.

Also during the February meeting, the commission will consider a 165-acre land acquisition in Okanogan County for fish and wildlife habitat.

Wildlife area closure intended to protect elk, reduce private land damage

For the fifth consecutive year, about 44,000 acres of state wildlife land east of Ellensburg will be closed to motor vehicles Feb. 1 through April 30 to protect wintering elk from disturbance and in turn reduce elk damage to adjacent private lands.

The Fish and Wildlife will temporarily close the Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area and a portion of the Quilomene Wildlife Area in Kittitas County. The area to be closed is north of the Vantage Highway, south of Quilomene Ridge Road, east of the Wild Horse Wind Farm and west of the Columbia River.

Reducing vehicle traffic on the wildlife area may encourage wintering elk to remain on the public land rather than straying to nearby private lands, according to wildlife biologists. The effectiveness of the seasonal road closure is being evaluated by monitoring the movements of elk equipped with tracking collars.

About 2,000 elk, nearly half the Colockum elk herd, winter on the Whiskey Dick and Quilomene areas. Forty-three of the elk are fitted with global positioning system devices to track their movements. Biologists use the data to assess the animals' response to the closure.

Continuing to track elk this winter will help judge the effectiveness of the closure. Based on data previously collected could result in a recommended permanent seasonal vehicle closure.

This is the fifth year of seasonal closures on the Ellensburg-area wildlife lands. The three-month seasonal closure is consistent with winter-range closures elsewhere in the state, including the Oak Creek, Wenas and L.T. Murray wildlife areas. Seasonal closures also occur on critical big-game winter ranges in several other western states, including Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Wyoming.

Research from across the western United States indicates vehicle traffic can disturb elk and significantly reduce their use of habitat near roads.

Legislation to make federal duck stamps easier to obtain

A U.S. House of Representatives vote recently could mean permanent easy access for hunters looking to buy their federal duck stamps online. The e-Duck Stamp program, started four years ago on a trial basis, allows hunters 16 and older to purchase temporary duck stamps online until their physical stamps arrive in the mail. 

Prior to this pilot program, waterfowl hunters were required to buy federal migratory bird hunting and conservation stamps, or duck stamps, at post offices and sporting goods stores. The trouble came when suppliers ran out of stamps early in the season or small rural post offices didn't carry the stamps at all.

Originally enacted in 1934, the Federal Duck Stamp was created as a federal waterfowl hunting license and a means to conserve waterfowl habitat. The program has generated more than $800 million to protect more than six million acres of waterfowl habitat in the United States, land now part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System. The stamps now cost $15 per year, with 98 percent of revenue going straight to land purchases, easements and leases.

Now that the House has responded positively to this push for the program, with a 373-1 vote, Ducks Unlimited is asking the Senate to do the same. If the Senate vote is successful, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would have the authority to make the program permanent and extend it to all states.

Ducks Unlimited is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, DU is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, with special events, projects and promotions across the continent. Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 12 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.

March meeting

The March 9 and 10 Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting mentioned above is scheduled to take place in Moses Lake. Attending meetings is most distasteful, but this one may be interesting. At least it will be close to home.

Sturgeon decline means catch reduction

Washington and Oregon Fish and Wildlife directors have agreed to reduce the catch of white sturgeon on the lower Columbia River, where the species has declined in abundance in recent years.

Under the new agreement, the total allowable harvest of white sturgeon below Bonneville Dam will be reduced from 22.5 percent of the legal-size fish to 16 percent in 2012.

The new harvest rate will hold the combined catch by sport and commercial fisheries to 9,600 sturgeon measuring 38 to 54 inches long. Last year's guideline for those waters was 15,640 fish, although only 14,488 were actually harvested.

This year's agreement will reduce the sturgeon harvest in the lower Columbia River by 38 percent, following a 30 percent reduction in 2011 and a 40 percent reduction the previous year.

The abundance of legal-size sturgeon has declined nearly 50 percent since 2007, according to surveys by both states. Factors often cited for the decline include increased predation by sea lions and a drop in the abundance of smelt and lamprey, which contribute to sturgeons' diet.

Concerned by these trends, the fish and wildlife commissions charged with setting policy for each state called for significant catch reductions in 2012 during separate meetings last week. The responsibility for negotiating a common catch rate fell to the fish and wildlife directors of each state.

Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon will meet Jan. 26 in Portland to set this year's fishing seasons for sturgeon and spring chinook salmon on the lower Columbia River. Later in the year, the states' plan to begin a public process involving fishermen to fully review current sturgeon management strategies on the Columbia and Willamette rivers prior to the 2013 fishing season.

Master Hunter application period now open

The Master Hunter Permit Program application period is now open and will continue through Feb. 15. All requirements of the program must be completed by Nov. 15 of this year.

Discover Pass

The Discover Pass must be displayed on a vehicle when visiting state recreation lands managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The fine for not displaying the pass is $99.

The Discover Pass allows you to enjoy nearly 7 million acres of Washington state-managed recreation lands - including state parks, water-access points, heritage sites, wildlife and natural areas, trails and trailheads.

A one-day pass to these areas is $10 plus transaction and dealer fees. The Discover Pass may be purchased online; in person from any of nearly 600 recreational license vendors where state fishing and hunting licenses are sold; by phone at 866-320-9933; when you renew your vehicle license or at State Parks headquarters and region offices, and at state parks when staff is available.

WDFW will accept applications for ALEA volunteer grants

Fish and Wildlife is now accepting grant applications for projects that benefit the state's fish and wildlife.

The grants, funded through the state's Aquatic Land Enhancement Account, provide reimbursement for organizations and individuals who conduct volunteer projects that conserve fish and wildlife or promote public appreciation of species ranging from steelhead to sage-grouse.

Fish and Wildlife currently expects to award about $180,000 in ALEA grants this year.

Five major types of projects are funded through the program: habitat restoration, research, education and outreach, facility development and artificial production. Other projects consistent with Fish and Wildlife goals and objectives also may be considered. Grants may not be used for salaries, wages or stipends.

Eligible applicants include individual citizens, non-profit organizations, tribes and political subdivisions of the state, such as public utility districts, schools and universities. State and federal agencies are not eligible.

Applications must be received or postmarked by Feb. 29, 2012. Application materials will be available for download from WDFW's website by Dec. 1, at http://wdfw.wa.gov/grants/alea/index.html. Those without adequate internet access can request a compact disc containing the application materials by contacting Fish and Wildlife at 360-902-2700.