Volunteers gather to trap, band geese

Goose banding News

From Fish and Wildlife Seasonal Waterfowl Banding Biologist Warren Becker:

Sorry for the change, but I have just come back from Moses Lake scouting for geese and we have been given permission to trap geese on the Moses Pointe golf course.

We will still meet at 05:30 a.m., but we are now going to meet at Blue Heron Park's entrance on West Shore Drive.

The address is: 111 West Shore Drive NE, Moses Lake and the coordinates are:

N 47 6' 19"

W 119 19' 55"

Directions: Exit 175 to Westshore drive (Heading I-90 west). Turn right and the park is on your right

OR: Exit 174 to Mae Valley/Hansen road (Heading I-90 East). Right S frontage rd/right Hansen rd/Right Westlake which then becomes Westshore drive.

Contact Warren at 754-4624 ext. 237.

Father's day weekend

OK, what are you going to do for good old Dad on Father's Day Weekend?

One option is to take him fishing on Park Lake. Read on and good luck.

Triploids to be planted for Father's Day weekend

Fish and Wildlife fish hatchery crews will be stocking 10,000 triploid rainbow trout in 20 lakes just before Father's Day weekend, June 15-16.

"This is the second straight year we've stocked trout before Father's Day, and this year we've doubled the number of fish and added six more lakes to the list," said Chris Donley, WDFW Inland Fish Program manager. "A fishing license is a great Father's Day gift and catching these big fish will make for some wonderful memories."

The triploid trout, which average one-and-a-half pounds each, were purchased from contracted private fish growers. The 10,000 trout are in addition to about 42,000 triploids stocked in more than 100 lakes across the state earlier this year.

In the North Central Region the lakes include: Grant County's Park Lake with 400 scheduled to be planted, Alta Lake in Okanogan County with 350 fish and also Conconully Reservoir, with 750 fish.

Draw not run yet

Hunters who have submitted permit applications for the special hunt permits have been patiently waiting for the results. Or not so patiently in my case. Just for the fun of it, I have been checking daily.

Fish and Wildlife has indicated the results will be available by the end of June, which is fair enough, but checking has become a daily routine for me at this point. The only info received so far is the statement by each permit which says, "Draw not run yet."

What's more, I have indicated on my applications for Fish and Wildlife to notify me of the results by e-mail. This means an e-mail of the results will most likely be in my inbox before I check the website the next day.

Either way, I'm anxious more than ever this year for some reason. Reminds me of a little kid on the night before Christmas.

Master hunter open enrollment period

The next open enrollment period for the Master Hunter Permit Program will begin Jan. 1, 2014 and remain open through Feb. 15, 2014.

This is a chance to get a head start on some of the requirements. The first is to begin working on your volunteer hours by helping with specific projects listed on the master hunter webpage or by obtaining approval from appropriate Fish and Wildlife field staff for work meeting the criteria listed on the Conservation Projects section of the webpage. A minimum of 20 hours are required to be certified.

Written proof of volunteer work done during calendar year 2013 must be kept. On a one-time basis, your volunteer time, even though put in during 2013, will be accepted if you apply for certification during the 2014 open enrollment period.

Questions about this process can be directed toward me at 762-5158.