Spring turkey hunts in sight, open Sunday and April 15

Two spring hunting seasons are within sight. The first, a

two-day youth turkey hunt for hunters under 16 years of age, will

be held tomorrow and Sunday, April 4 and April 5.

Two spring hunting seasons are within sight. The first, a two-day youth turkey hunt for hunters under 16 years of age, will be held tomorrow and Sunday, April 4 and April 5.

This season is open in all Game Management Units. Only shotgun, 10 gauge or under capable of holding three or fewer shells, muzzleloader with shot, or bow and arrow is allowed.

A total of three turkeys may be taken in the spring, but only two of those are allowed in Eastern Washington and only one of those may be taken in Chelan, Kittitas and Yakima counties combined. Only turkeys with visible beards may be harvested. Additional turkey tags may be purchased at any time. Where allowed, two turkeys are allowed to be harvested in one day.

If you have a youth hunter under the age of 16 in your family or extended family, it is not too late to participate in this hunt. This is a magnificent opportunity and should not be missed.

Adult hunters are anxious to get into the field also. Their opportunity to harvest two birds in Eastern Washington will begin on April 15 and continue through May 31.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife offer the following points about safe and ethical turkey hunting, pay attention and seriously consider these recommendations. Always ask permission to hunt on private land. Most landowners are cooperative if you ask. Do not attempt to stalk a turkey. That gobbler you're stalking may be another hunter.

Never wear any red, white or blue clothes - these are the colors of the gobbler's head, which is the primary target of the turkey hunter. Never presume what you hear is a turkey. Many hunters are convincing callers.

Select a calling site that gives at least 40 yards of vision in all directions and sit with your back to a large tree. If another hunter is working a bird, don't spoil it by calling or spooking the bird. Make sure the gobbler is within sure range of the shotgun and shoot only the neck and head.

Be absolutely positive of your target. After you pull the trigger, it's too late. Should you see another hunter, especially if he/she is close to your line of sight, call out to the hunter in a loud, clear voice.

General fishing season

This is the month for beginning of outdoor seasons. The general fishing season begins on April 25.

Fish and Wildlife estimates more than 300,000 anglers of all ages will participate in the opening weekend. The most popular lakes in the Columbia Basin will be Blue and Park.

Readers who have never taken a drive to Sun Lakes State Park and back on the opening day should consider such a trip. On a typical opener there will be campers, travel trailers, large recreational vehicles and tents end to end along state Route 17.

Last year we didn't make the drive and we have heard there weren't as many anglers/campers as in past years. Perhaps the price of gas last year is to blame. Except for the gas, angling is an inexpensive sport.

Statewide, Fish and Wildlife has planted 41,429 triploid trout averaging one and a half pounds each, 69,450 2-year-old jumbo and surplus hatchery broodstock trout, more than seven million trout planted last year as 2- to 3-inch fry, more than 8.5 million kokanee fry and more than 4.1 million 8- to 12-inch trout.

Sage grouse released

Fish and Wildlife has released sage grouse on public land in Lincoln County for the third time in two years. The objective is to establish a third population of the bird, which is a state threatened species.

A total of 28 sage grouse, 15 males and 13 females, were released March 28 and March 29 on the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area and Bureau of Land Management property south of Creston. The birds were collected from healthy populations near Lakeview, Ore.

Before release each bird was fitted with radio-telemetry equipment to enable biologists to monitor their survival and movements, including whether they join birds that were previously released.

Fish and Wildlife released 17 sage grouse last spring and 24 others last fall at the same location. Some of those birds remained in the area and some were killed by predators, according to Fish and Wildlife.

There are two other populations of sage grouse in Washington. About 450 sage grouse are in shrub-steppe and Conservation Reserve Program habitat in Douglas County, mostly on private land. Another 190 birds inhabit shrub-steppe land on the federally managed Yakima Training Center in Kittitas and Yakima counties.

The greater sage grouse was listed as a threatened species by Washington state in 1998. In 2001, the Washington population of the sage grouse also became a candidate for federal listing as a threatened species, under the federal Endangered Species Act.

In Washington, sage grouse historically ranged from the Columbia River to Oroville and from the eastern Cascades foothills to the Spokane River. By the early 1900s, sage grouse had disappeared from much of that area.

Sage grouse have survived in parts of Douglas County that were not converted to agriculture, and on the Yakima Training Center, a military reservation where development did not occur.

The birds will be considered sufficiently recovered for removal from the state threatened species list once the average breeding-season population reaches 3,200 birds for a period of 10 years, and active breeding areas are established in six or more designated management units. Currently the state sage grouse population is estimated at 640 birds.