Hunter education training needed by most first-time hunters

Each year there are people who want to hunt, but are not allowed because they didn't complete a Hunter Education Course. But there is a way to complete the course. Read on.

Hunter education training is required in Washington State for all hunters born after January 1, 1972. The Department of Fish and Wildlife offers two distinct types of hunter education training opportunities, including:

Traditional Class Fish and Wildlife strongly recommends the traditional hunter education class. One or more instructors typically offer detailed classroom instruction, practical exercises and live-firing activities to prepare successful students.

Online Class This hunter education course has the same hunter safety content as the Fish and Wildlife classroom course. Completing this course will prepare you for the Field Evaluation Course.

Dennis note: A traditional class is scheduled for next Monday in Moses Lake, but the class is full. The online class is possibility the only way to go, unless the prospective hunter wants to travel to another city.

Elk area 3911 meeting in Ellensburg on July 31

Master Hunters and area landowners are invited to attend a meeting July 31 in Ellensburg to discuss a recent boundary change and other issues in Elk Area 3911, located near Ellensburg in Kittitas County.

Hosted by Fish and Wildlife and the Master Hunter Advisory Group, the meeting is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Central Washington University Student Union Building, Room 210 (Theater).

The meeting will focus on the new northeastern boundary of Elk Area 3911 that was approved by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission in April. Other topics will include hunting opportunities in the elk area for certified state Master Hunters and how to hunt in the area, which is mostly made up of private lands.

Hunting in Elk Area 3911 is limited to Master Hunters, enlisted by WDFW to participate in controlled hunts to address property damage or public safety issues. The area is made up primarily of private lands, many of which are subject to property damage caused by elk.

Deadline for hunting opportunity in Okanogan County Aug. 14

Eighteen lucky hunters will have an opportunity to hunt for deer this fall on the 6,000-acre Charles and Mary Eder unit of the Scotch Creek Wildlife Area in northeastern Okanogan County.

Hunters can submit an application for the limited-entry deer hunt on the Fish and Wildlife website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/permits/scotchcreek/ or by contacting the WDFW Northcentral Region Office at (509) 754-4624 or headquarters at (360) 902-2515.

The deadline to apply is midnight Aug. 14.

Eighteen applicants will be chosen during a random drawing and will receive access permits to the Charles and Mary Eder Unit of the Scotch Creek Wildlife Area near Oroville.

This drawing is open to the general public without any additional fees beyond the cost of a hunting license and the standard tags. Of the 18 access permits available this year, six will be reserved for bow hunters, six for muzzleloaders and six for hunters using modern firearms.

Hunters are allowed to take only one deer, as authorized by their general hunting license.

Deer-hunting seasons for the area are Sept. 1-30 for bow hunters, Oct. 3-11 for muzzleloaders, and Oct. 17-27 for hunters using modern firearms.

The results of the drawing will be available on the Fish and Wildlife website the last week of August. Hunters who are drawn will receive an access permit and a boundary map in the mail.

Columbia River salmon season extended; new catch limit

Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon have extended the summer salmon fishery on the lower Columbia River by three weeks and approved a new daily catch limit for waters above and below Bonneville Dam.

Anglers can continue to catch summer chinook and sockeye salmon through July 31 from the Astoria-Megler Bridge upriver to Bonneville Dam, where the season was previously scheduled to end July 7.

In addition, the daily catch limit has changed for salmon fisheries on the Columbia River upstream to the Oregon/Washington border, 17 miles upriver from McNary Dam.

The new catch limit holds anglers to one adult chinook salmon per day, whether or not it is marked as a hatchery fish, as part of their overall catch. Since mid-June, anglers have been allowed to catch two adult chinook a day, but were required to release those not marked as a hatchery fish by a missing adipose fin.

The new catch limit is designed to reduce the number of chinook salmon that are hooked and released during unusually warm water conditions.

Water temperatures in the Columbia River have risen above 70 degrees, which can affect survival rates for released fish. With the prospect of more hot days to come, Fish and Wildlife wants anglers to keep the first chinook they catch and move on to the other fishing opportunities available in the river.

Despite warm water conditions, returns of both summer chinook and sockeye salmon are currently the second-highest on record. Summer steelhead are also beginning to move into the lower river in large numbers.

In all, the new catch limit will allow anglers to take a total of six salmon or steelhead per day, including two adult salmon, two adult hatchery steelhead, or one of each, but only one adult chinook salmon. As before, anglers must release any unmarked steelhead they catch and sockeye will be counted as part of the adult daily limit. Chinook jacks also remain part of the overall daily bag limit, but anglers can retain both marked and unmarked fish.