Volunteering not only makes the person involved feel good, but it helps the organization sponsoring the project as well. We have a project taking place tomorrow. Yes this is short notice, but those interested should simply show up at the work site by following the directions below or trying to call Rich Finger. Cell coverage is spotty at the work site, so a phone call may not be possible. Read on.

Gloyd Seeps work party

From Dick Price of the Washington Waterfowl Association:

On Saturday April 20, at 9 a.m. there will be a work party to finish up the shrub planting project on the Gloyd Seeps Unit. To reach the project site go North on Stratford Road to Road 16 NE and turn Left. Go West on Rd. 16 and cross over the culverts. Just past the culverts is a dirt road on the left that goes South, this is a rough road and at about a mile, or a little more, you will reach the job site.

The Washington Waterfowl Association will furnish lunch and refreshments. Work will consist of cutting holes in the weed fabric and pulling through the shrubs that were planted last fall. This is a pretty intensive hands and knees project and the total project involves about a mile and a half of shrubs.

The second project will be a meeting on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ephrata annex office to get a briefing on several different projects in the works for the areas managed by Fish and Wildlife in the Basin. We will have a chance to review and make input into upcoming habitat projects and learn about upcoming waterfowl banding opportunities.

Bring a snack item if you wish to share with fellow attendees.

Thanks Dick.

Contact Rich Finger at 754-4624 ext. 229 during working hours or Cell: 750-0618, but remember, cell coverage at the worksite is lacking.

Online Reservation System Ready

Since last summer, Fish and Wildlife has worked to develop an online reservation system for selected private lands enrolled in access agreements. This tool is now ready for your use, starting with a limited number of private lands open for the spring turkey season in eastern Washington.

These hunting opportunities are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Hunters can make up to three reservations, up to three weeks in advance. To create an account, you will need to enter your Wild ID, e-mail address, name, address, and phone number and create a password.

Please read all of the system rules and responsibilities, conditions and terms, which will help you understand how the program works as well as your responsibilities as a user.

You can access the system through the hunting access portion of Fish and Wildlife's website at: http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/hunting_access/private_lands.

We will continue to add new private lands open to hunting throughout the year and make improvements to the site. By this fall, we expect to be able to conduct drawings for reservations as more hunters begin to use the system.

Dennis note: Now this sounds interesting...we will see how it plays out.

Commission approves hunting rules

The Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted 17 new hunting rules at a recent meeting. The commission approved the new hunting rules after holding a public hearing March 1 in Moses Lake and reviewing written comments received earlier this year.

One new regulation approved by the commission will allow bow hunters to use electronically illuminated arrow nocks, which can be helpful in finding and retrieving arrows. Other new rules will:

Restore archery hunts for antlerless elk in Yakima County, specifically in game management units 352 (Nile) and 356 (Bumping). Expand the boundaries of Elk Area 4941 to help address elk-damage issues in the Skagit River Valley.

Rescind the five special hunting permits previously available for the Tieton bighorn sheep herd, which Fish and Wildlife recently eliminated to prevent the spread of a deadly outbreak of pneumonia.

Restrict importation of dead game animals from Missouri, Texas and Pennsylvania, which are among a number of states with deer and elk populations known to harbor chronic wasting disease.

All 17 hunting rules approved by the commission will be included in the 2013 Big-Game Hunting pamphlet, which will be available in sporting goods stores and other license vendors late this month.

Dennis note: The other rule changes, the rest of the 17, were not readily available as this report was written. Stay tuned for more info.

Congratulations

Congrats to the Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers who caught the %#@^&*(*%# persons who were netting fish at Lake Lenore. Those were fish in the small stream leading to the spawning area. And those were fish for the ethical to catch and release again and again.

At least the fish did not go to waste. The Moses Lake Food Bank handed them out the following Monday and, I understand, the entire 242 didn't stay in the refrigerated truck for long.

From Alan Heroux:

Fishing event June 1

It looks like we have most everything covered for the fishing event at this point with the exception of the money. Several of your groups have committed donations, but we have not received any of them yet.

I sent out the donation request form in an earlier email, so if you need something else please let me know. If you don't, please send your donations to the Chamber of Commerce office as soon as possible.

Remember, we will also need volunteers the day of the event so please let me know who we can count on and in what numbers.

Thanks, Alan

Dennis note: This must be the annual Fishing Kids Day. If so, this is a wonderful event with bunches of youth catching the first fish of their lives. Volunteer if you can. There are plenty of volunteer positions besides bait a hook and taking a fish off a hook.