OLYMPIA – The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet in Clarkston on June 2 and 3 to make decisions on land transactions and hear briefings on Snake River fish issues, Wooten flood plain management, and hunter education.
The commission, a nine-member citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), will convene June 2 in the Mahogany Room of the Quality Inn, 700 Port Drive, in Clarkston. The meeting, open to the public, begins at 8 a.m.
Public input is welcome at the beginning and end of the June 2 meeting. A complete agenda for the meeting is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/
WDFW is proposing to purchase three small floodplain properties in the Sunnyside area in Yakima County and 18 acres of access points to Ebey Island in Snohomish County. These transactions would allow the department to preserve habitat for numerous fish and wildlife species and provide public access for outdoor recreation. The department also is recommending the renewal of a long-term lease on a small piece of property for a signal beacon in Jefferson County.
A briefing on fish passage at the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River will be presented by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fisheries biologist. A briefing on the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan, an effort to minimize salmon and steelhead losses at dams, will be presented by managers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nez Perce tribe, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and WDFW.
Commissioners will hear a status report from WDFW staff on implementation of the Wooten Flood Plain Management Plan to restore and enhance habitat for protected salmon, steelhead and bull trout in the 17 miles of the Tucannon River that flows through the W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area in Columbia County.
The commission will also receive an update on WDFW’s Hunter Education program.
On Saturday, June 3, commissioners are scheduled to tour WDFW lands in Asotin County.
