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Methow Valley News November 4, 1999 Endangered Species Coverage Fishing ban on agenda Sport fishermen counter with "catch and release" proposal by Lee Hicks Methow Valley fishermen are mobilizing to fight a plan that would indefinitely ban much stream fishing in the basin. Word of the proposal by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife reached a local flyfishers club just before its Oct. 26 meeting. The Valley fishermen were angry that the ban comes at a time when the Methow Valley is gaining a reputation as premium sport trout fishery. The Methow Valley Flyfishers club is developing a proposal to re-consider the potential fishing ban by allowing catch and release of fish in some streams that would be shut down. The Fish and Wildlife proposal to ban fishing in the Methow River and its major tributaries is a response to endangered fish listings. The Entiat, Wenatchee and little Wenatchee rivers would also face major closures while the Okanogan would be affected to a lesser extent. The question of rafting activity on the streams has not been addressed, officials said. In other areas of the west, including the Salmon River in Idaho, commercial and private rafting activity has been restricted to mitigate damage to salmon redds, or spawning areas. The state Fish and Wildlife Commission, which sets agency policy, will consider the proposal Nov. 12 and 13, according to Jeff Tayer, supervisor of the agency’s Ephrata regional office. That session will not include public comment, officials said. The commission is then set to meet Dec. 10 and 11 to take action on the potential ban, which if approved could be adopted in February of 2000 and published in next year’s fishing regulations. In a telephone interview, Tayer and Ross Fuller, chief of the department’s management division, said the ban would be in response to pressure from National Marine Fisheries Service not to allow "fishing over" streams with endangered species. As applied in this situation, a shutdown is warranted in streams in which more than 50 percent of the fish population is a listed species or a genetically similar fish, the officials said. The major concern is that ESA-listed steelhead trout, which are ocean-migrating rainbow, are part of the rainbow species that makes up more than half the fish in basin streams, according to agency biologists. The ESA authorizes listing agencies to, "treat any species as an endangered species or threatened species even though it is not listed....(if it is determined that).. such species so closely resembles in appearance... that enforcement personnel would have substantial difficulty in attempting to differentiate between the listed and unlisted species." Many biologists say that it is difficult, and nearly impossible in some cases, to distinguish between rainbow trout and anadramous, or ocean-going, steelhead because of their genetic similarities. Heather Bartlett, Okanogan County district biologist for state Fish and Wildlife, said she had not seen the complete draft of proposed regulations which were being prepared this week by the agency. But Bartlett said she had been involved in studies and recommendations that would form the basis for the 2000 fishing regulations. In general, the proposal would close all river and tributary stretches where anadramous, or ocean-going, fish migrate to spawn, up to barriers on the streams. No lakes in the Methow basin would be directly affected. But some tributaries of the Methow, Chewuch and Twisp rivers would be closed. As an example, Bartlett said she had recommended that the main stem of Buttermilk Creek be closed, but not the east and west tributaries. Wolf Creek would be closed from its mouth to the headgate of the Wolf Creek Reclamation District’s ditch, but open above that point. Another example of a closure in the Gold Creek drainage, Bartlett noted, would be Foggy Dew from its mouth to the barrier falls, and open above the falls. The status of Lost River appeared uncertain and copies of the draft regulations were not available to the News at this week’s press deadline. Bartlett said she expected the Okanogan River would be closed to trout fishing above the Malott bridge, but open below. The state agency has been told by NMFS it needs to designate "sanctuary streams" for the fish listed under provisions of the 1973 Endangered Species Act. Tayer said the agency has been trying to work with NMFS to have hatchery steelhead "de-listed," which would allow fishing for the artificially raised fish and, biologists believe, aid recovery of wild stocks. However, he said, "it is illegal to have a ‘target fish’ (in fishing regulations) on the listed species. So we’re having a heck of a time finding an alternative. "Finding a fishery in the upper Methow that doesn’t catch rainbow in the process is difficult. It’s a problem and frankly I’m not sure how we’re going to get that addressed in the short term," Tayer said. Local flyfishers have previously asked the state to designate local streams "catch and release," and Tayer acknowledged, "that’s a good growing fishery up in the Winthrop area for catch and release." But, Tayer and Fuller said the problem with an "endangered" listed species is that policy must be aimed to benefit the species. Some biologists take the conservative view that fish are put at risk even if caught and released. A statement under the heading, Citizens for a Methow Valley Trout Fishery, said that closing the fishery would come at a time when tourism, including fishing, is replacing mining, timber and agriculture in the Valley economy. "Sports fishing is a significant portion of the new income and employment. To compromise this...as well as recreation, is imprudent." The statement, distributed by Ben Dennis of the Methow Valley Flyfishers Club, argued that, "if a sanctuary (for endangered fish) is insisted upon," that closure be in the lower 10 miles below Methow. The balance of the Methow, Chewuch, Lost and Twisp rivers and tributaries could be catch and release with only single barbless hooks on flies or artificial lures. Catch and release fishermen can serve to provide information on the fishery for research and education and also help discourage poaching, which is a major problem in a watershed with more than 100 miles of streams, 10 plus lakes and only one game agent, the statement said. Opinion | Sports |
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