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Ecology and salmon related articles

Brief Mentions: Endangered Rivers,
Invasives, Pikeminnow

by K.C. Mehaffey
NW Fishletter, May 6, 2019

David Vasilchuk pulls in a net containing a pikeminnow that he quickly caught while bounty fishing on the Columbia Rive (Amanda Smith photo) The Willamette River in Oregon and the South Fork Salmon River in Idaho are on American Rivers' list of America's Most Endangered Rivers for 2019. Released April 16, the annual list identifies 10 rivers that face imminent threats, according to its news release. The Willamette River is listed fifth because dams block access to salmon and steelhead spawning areas--13 of them operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which recently began a new environmental impact statement process. The South Fork Salmon River is listed as seventh, at risk from a proposal by a Canadian mining company to reopen an open-pit mine.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks employees intercepted a boat with dead invasive mussels at its Anaconda watercraft inspection station near Butte, Mont., on April 15. The boat was being transported from the Great Lakes area to Bellingham, Wash, and had been in dry dock since October after its last use in Lake Huron, a news release from the agency says. Inspectors decontaminated the boat before releasing it, and officials in Idaho and Washington will follow up with their own inspections. All motorized or nonmotorized boats being transported in Montana must be inspected prior to launching.

Fishing season for northern pikeminnow opened on the Columbia and Snake rivers on May 1, along with a reward programs that pays anglers who catch them. Funded by the Bonneville Power Administration, the program doled out $1.4 million last year to 3,000 anglers who captured 180,271 pikeminnows . The program pays between $5 and $8 for each pikeminnow at least 9 inches long, and 1,000 specially tagged pikeminnows are each worth $550. The season and rewards run through Sept. 30. Information on how to register, along with maps and how-to videos, can be found at pikeminnow.org.


K.C. Mehaffey
State Officials Close Columbia River to All Salmon Fishing
NW Fishletter, May 6, 2019

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