Cindy Carpenter provides update on YOU program

How do new worthwhile programs get started? Cindy Carpenter will

give you an inside look. Read on.

How do new worthwhile programs get started? Cindy Carpenter will give you an inside look. Read on.

From Cindy Carpenter on Jan. 4:

"Hey Dennis and Garnet,

"Just wanted to give you a few updates. We ended up changing the name for our youth program to Y.O.U. for Youth Outdoors Unlimited and with a motto of "It's all about YOU."

"We are starting to really move along. Heide and Jason Backus are working on our Web site and I am meeting with them next week. Chris Newhouse is going to be our accountant and serve on our board as our Treasurer, Yeah.

"Met Ken Kernan on New Years and he is excited to help us. We are presenting our program to the Bass Club meeting on Thursday, tonight, at 7 p.m. and next Wednesday at the Walleye club at Papas.

"Pretty exciting stuff. We'll have kids on fishing trips this spring and ready for hunts in the fall."

From Cindy on Jan. 6:

"We are speaking about our Youth program at the Bass Club meeting tonight. Ken Kernan put it together. .

"Also talked to Chuck Ray yesterday and he's pretty excited to support us with this exciting adventure. We have secured three more hunting places yesterday, so just need to take care of a few more details then find our kids."

So what is this new program all about?

"Our Purpose: To provide a free dream hunt or fishing trip to children who have been diagnosed with life threatening illnesses and also handicapped children.

"To give those with a passion for hunting and fishing an opportunity to give to others and also share the common joy and experience of hunting and fishing with these special children and their families.

"To foster faith, fun and fellowship among hunters and fishermen in Washington and all of America.

"To protect and provide the rights of all Americans, so they can enjoy our wonderful outdoors.

"To use this opportunity of giving to build the interest and awareness about hunting in the great state of Washington."

"As we move forward into this next hunting season, 2011, we are looking for volunteers to help become involved and help in a variety of ways. We are currently in need of a logo, we are working on a Web site and we are looking for an accountant who would be willing to do some charity work for us.

"Of course, one of our largest hurtles will be securing property for the youth to hunt. Let us know if you have time or property to volunteer to this cause.

"We have lots to do but together we will be able to spread the joy and excitement of hunting and fishing."

Contact Cindy at 509-431-1604.

Great idea Cindy. Sounds as if you are getting plenty of help from a bunch of people who will see this project through. We will help as much as we can. Keep us informed. Put us down as the official scribes, not secretary, mind you, but scribes. Potential volunteers should give Cindy a call.

Master Hunter applications

Fish and Wildlife is currently accepting enrollment applications through Feb. 15 for the Master Hunter program.

Master hunters are enlisted to participate in controlled hunts to remove problem animals that damage property or threaten public safety. To qualify for the program, applicants must demonstrate a high level of skill and be committed to lawful and ethical hunting practices.

"This program was designed to create a pool of highly qualified hunters who can help the department manage wildlife in sensitive situations," Lt. Eric Anderson manager of the Hunter Education Division said. "This is a great opportunity for conscientious, committed hunters to assume a leadership role among their peers."

Hunters enrolling in the program must to pay a non-refundable $50 application fee, pass a criminal background check, sign a Master Hunter Code of Ethics form and provide at least 20 hours of volunteer service on projects that benefit the state's wildlife resources. They must also pass an extensive written exam based upon the program's curriculum.

Anderson encourages hunters who enroll in the program to study the materials thoroughly to prepare for the test, because applicants are allowed only one chance to re-take the exam.

Applicants must also demonstrate shooting proficiency, witnessed and notarized, with one of the following hunting implements: Archery, crossbow, muzzleloader, shotgun shooting shot, shotgun shooting slugs, rifle or handgun.

Those who successfully complete the enrollment process will receive a certificate, master hunter patch and identification card, and will be eligible to participate in depredation hunts.

Hunting report deadline Jan. 10

Jan. 10 is the deadline for hunters to file reports about this year's hunting activities for black bear, deer, elk, or turkey to Fish and Wildlife. If a hunter meets the deadline, they have a chance to win one of nine 2011 special hunting permits.

Those who meet the deadline will be included in a drawing for five deer permits and four elk permits in various areas of the state. Those permits will be valid from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31, 2011.

To qualify for the drawing, hunters must submit a report for each black bear, deer, elk, or turkey tag they purchased in 2010.

All hunters, whether successful or not, are required to submit hunting reports for those species by Jan. 31.

This all sounds great and we will comply, but it is interesting for Fish and Wildlife to drop the hammer in the next sentence with a threat. Failure to meet the deadline can result in a $10 fine, payable before a hunter can purchase a 2011 license.

These annual hunting reports are an important source of information for managing the resource and developing future hunting seasons. We agree and file our reports on time, correctly and truthfully.

New this year, Fish and Wildlife is requiring hunters to file separate reports for general-season hunting activities and for special-permit hunts for deer, elk, black bear and turkey. That change will give game managers more information about hunters' success during both kinds of seasons.

Whether reporting online or over the phone, hunters should follow the prompts until they receive a confirmation number for each report.

Brant goose hunt scheduled on coast

We know there are goose hunters who would like to go after brant. Well here is your chance. Read on.

Brant goose numbers in Skagit County are high enough to allow an eight-day hunt later this month, according to Fish and Wildlife. Brant hunting is scheduled Jan. 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 26, 29 and 30 with a bag limit of two geese per day.

The hunting season was adopted by the Fish and Wildlife Commission in August, contingent on a count of at least 6,000 brant in Skagit County. A total of 8,519 brant were counted Monday morning during an aerial survey of Fidalgo, Padilla and Samish bays.

"Numbers of brant wintering in Skagit County are up from last year," said Don Kraege, waterfowl section manager. "We are also seeing significant numbers elsewhere in northern Puget Sound, including nearby Whatcom County, where we counted an additional 6,877 birds during the aerial survey."

This year's count in Skagit County is about 860 more birds than the 10-year average. Last year, Fish and Wildlife biologists counted slightly more than 6,000 brant in Skagit County. About 16,200 brant, the largest number in 14 years, were counted during aerial surveys in 2009.

To participate in the Skagit County brant season, hunters must have written authorization and a harvest record card from Fish and Wildlife. After taking a brant, hunters are required to record their harvest information immediately, and report their harvest to Fish and Wildlife by Feb. 15. Hunters who fail to report by Feb. 15 will be ineligible to hunt brant in the 2011-2012 season.

Info about the brant goose:

The brant goose is similar to the Canada Goose, but is smaller with a shorter neck and is darker, lacking the white cheek patches. The color is dark brown above with a black head and neck; the neck has a white collar. The west coast birds have a darker belly than those of the east and were once considered a separate species.

This species breeds in coastal Alaska and the Canadian Arctic and winters along the Pacific coasts south to California and the Carolinas. While breeding, they prefer tundra and coastal islands; winters are spent in salt marshes and estuaries.

The Brant Goose feeds mainly on eelgrass and other marine plants, so they rarely stray from salt water. They spend the winters in large flocks, feeding on mudflats. Migration takes place in irregular bunches rather than in lines like other geese. 3-5 eggs lay in nests made of moss and down. Although a great number are shot by hunters, the biggest danger is the steady loss of winter habitats to encroaching civilizations.

Commission to consider new sturgeon plan

The Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider adoption of new management guidelines that address the declining abundance of Columbia River white sturgeon during a public meeting today and tomorrow.

The commission, which sets policy for the Fish and Wildlife, also will discuss Puget Sound crab-fishing seasons and hold a public hearing on a proposed fishing moratorium associated with the removal of two dams on the Elwha River.

The commission will convene at 8:30 a.m. both days in Room 172 on the first floor of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St. S.E., in Olympia.

On the second day of the meeting, the commission will consider adopting a policy to guide Fish and Wildlife in negotiating a joint three-year management agreement with Oregon for sturgeon fisheries on the lower Columbia River.

Fishery managers from both states have expressed concerns about declines in sturgeon abundance in recent years, and have recommended a 30 percent reduction in harvest levels for sport and commercial fisheries below Bonneville Dam from 2011 through 2013. Final decisions on harvest levels and fishing seasons are expected in early February.

Meanwhile, with two major dams on the Elwha River scheduled for removal starting in 2011, the commission will accept public comments on a proposed fishing moratorium designed to support restoration of native salmon and trout populations in that watershed.

Barbed hooks allowed on lower Columbia River beginning tomorrow

The use of barbed hooks for salmon and steelhead recreational fishing will be allowed beginning tomorrow, Jan. 1, 2011. The area will be on the lower Columbia River, from the mouth to McNary Dam

The reason for the change is Washington's sport fishing rules in this area of the Columbia River are not similar to Oregon's. To avoid confusion for sport anglers, the implementation of the barbless rule will be delayed.

General cougar season

The general cougar season for any weapon will continue through March 31, 2011 in several GMUs, through Dec. 31 in others and through Nov. 30 in still others. Again it is imperative hunters study the pamphlet.