DEVELOP, INTEGRATE AND DISSEMINATE SOUND FISH, WILDLIFE AND HABITAT SCIENCE.

Razor Clam Project: The coast-wide razor clam stock assessment continues. This work began in early May and will continue through mid-September. To date the Long Beach Peninsula and the Copalis assessments are 100% complete. In the coming week our crew will conduct the final intensive assessment of the Long Beach Razor Clam Reserve. This work is part of the specific plan developed by the WDFW Fish Program Quantitative Assessment Unit designed to produce a better understanding of the rate of natural mortality in razor clams. They will also work with the crew from the Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) to complete the Mocrocks assessment.

This week, WDFW staff working on the razor clam natural mortality study met with technical staff from QIN to discuss study results to date and plan additional work. The decision was made to continue the study into 2005-06. An additional assessment of clam stocks within the Long Beach and Copalis razor clam reserves will be attempted in the January - February time period, weather permitting.

Landscape PHS Guidance: Staff conducted the first in a series of all-day science team workshops for each the following taxonomic groups: birds, mammals, fish, and herptiles. Information from the workshops will contribute to a PHS-series guidance publication for developing landscapes. The workshops pull together premier scientists from within and outside WDFW to address the most relevant conservation issues that land use planners face in developing landscapes.

Outer Coast Marine Mammal Surveys: Staff assisted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA's) Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in conducting at-sea marine mammal surveys from the NOAA Ship McArthur II as part of their annual effort to monitor key resources on the Washington outer coast. The data collected provides essential baseline data for a wide variety of state, federal, and tribal resource managers.

Sea Otter Surveys: Staff participated in annual sea otter surveys on Washington's outer coast. This effort is headed-up by the Marine Mammal Investigation Team of the Wildlife Program and involves participation by personnel from the Olympic Coast Sanctuary, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Makah Tribe, Olympic National Park, and others. This annual monitoring program is a key part of the state's Sea Otter Recovery Plan and also provides important baseline data to evaluate the potential impacts of a coastal oil spill.

Wildlife Health: Kristin Mansfield worked with Yakima Public Health on a die-off of evening grosbeaks. There is no strong indication that West Nile Virus is responsible - the epidemiologic picture just doesn't fit. More likely, it is something like salmonellosis. Specimens have been sent to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin, and we are awaiting a diagnosis.

5-Year Plan Review of the Summer Chum Salmon Conservation Initiative: Continued preparation of information for inclusion in a 5-year plan review of the Summer Chum Salmon Conservation Initiative, an implementation plan to recover summer chum salmon in the Hood Canal and Strait of Juan de Fuca regions. A 5-year plan review will assess whether progress towards recovery is being achieved and whether the results of monitoring and evaluation studies indicate a need to revise assumptions and/or strategies and actions. Distributed draft of the stock assessment section to technical workgroup in preparation of discussion at meeting on July 6. Stock assessment section includes data on escapement, run size, genetic stock identification, age composition, length composition, mark recovery, total natural-origin vs. supplementation-origin returns, straying, productivity, return rates to supplementation programs, and an extinction risk update.

Wild Turkey Management Plan: The draft Wild Turkey Management Plan was sent out for a 30-day SEPA review comment period the week of June 27. This review period is in addition to a 30-day review that took place during the months of April and May. If there are no major issues raised during this review, the plan will be finalized in mid-August.

Rare Plant Confirmed on Sinlahekin Wildlife Area: Wildlife Area Manager Dale Swedberg spent a couple of hours with Peter Zika, one of the world's top experts on sedges, looking for an extremely rare sedge previously found by Dan Visalli when he conducted a previous plant inventory on the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area. The sedge was found, and Peter took a voucher specimen - this is the first verified observation of Carex tenera in Washington State.

First International Symposium on the Management and Biology of Dogfish Sharks: IRM staff attended a symposium on dogfish held in Seattle. The symposium had speakers from the West Coast, East Coast, Canada, and Europe. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the past, present, and future of the spiny dogfish and fisheries. The implications of global over harvesting and poor management of dogfish were among the topics discussed. Declining stocks are a problem in both the North Pacific and North Atlantic. Relatively little is known about dogfish migration habits and whether there are separate stocks. The global experience has been that dogfish populations do not withstand fishing well and that recovery can take decades.

PROTECT, RESTORE, AND ENHANCE FISH AND WILDLIFE POPULATIONS AND THEIR HABITATS.

Gillnetting Suspects Arrested: Officers received numerous calls about a netting problem on WDFW property adjacent to the Chehalis River in Oakville and subsequently organized and planned a multi-night surveillance involving eight officers. The suspects had a boat and net hidden in the area. Officer Zimmerman created surveillance, arrest, and support teams. On the first night of the patrol, the suspects set out a gillnet with black corks in the river. Their activities were monitored with InfraRed optics. The surveillance team directed officers into the shack where the subjects were waiting. Both were arrested without incident and booked in the jail on felony charges. Both had warrants, one had a felony warrant from a net case earlier in the year. The small, aluminum boat they were using had faint WN number outlined on the side and a check found the boat to have been recently stolen in a burglary in Oakville. Officers did an outstanding job of coordinating and executing the multi-night surveillance.

Pattison Lake Trout Caper: In May we reported on two Pattison Lake suspects who had taken upwards of 90 fish per day and logged their catch in ledgers. Both subjects have been found guilty of (8) eight counts of 1st Degree Unlawful Recreational Fishing, receiving heavy fines, suspended jail-time, and a court ordered forfeiture of the boat and gear.

Illegal Deer and Fish Poaching: While preparing to conduct a late night sturgeon patrol on the Columbia River, Officers responded to a report of illegal deer poaching in progress in the Siouxon. They contacted the reporting party and looked for the suspect as well as the deer the suspect had shot. They located him coming back to the area where the deer had been shot and cited him with a loaded gun in the truck. He had hunting knives and a fillet table in the back of the truck. The deer was not located. The same officers next checked the N.F. Lewis River Hatchery at Cedar Creek using the newly acquired night vision equipment to observe two subjects fishing a closed area. Both subjects were cited for fishing without a license and fishing after legal hours. One subject was arrested and booked into Clark County Jail for possession of methamphetamine and multiple misdemeanor warrants (DWLS 3rd x2, DWLS 2nd, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia).

Columbia Basin Water Transaction Program: WDFW is participating with the Okanogan Valley Land Council and the Methow Land Conservancy on identifying volunteer opportunities to protect riparian habitat and restore stream flows necessary for ESA listed species. WDFW staff recently attended a tour of the Okanogan and Methow watersheds with local sponsors in the Methow Valley and discussed the possibility of establishing conservation easements of some of the high quality riparian habitats and springs. The tour continued into the Okanogan with the viewing some potential easements/purchases that would protect cold water springs in addition to large sections of unaltered riparian habitat. WDFW staff provided input on the importance of these habitats to fish and wildlife.

Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHNV) at Cowlitz Hatchery: Losses in juvenile late stock winter steelhead at the Cowlitz Trout Hatchery have been confirmed to be the result of an infection of IHNV. The infected fish are confined in the incubation room. Losses approaching 90% have occurred in some shallow troughs and the current program loss has exceeded 10%. The total loss will not be known until the epizootic has run its course, but losses to date will have an adverse impact in the hatchery's ability to meet program goals of the effected stocks. Infected juvenile steelhead have been isolated as much as possible at the facility and any water being used by these fish is now being discharged directly into Blue Creek and not being reused. Water used in the incubation room is regulated pathogen free well water. Four possible routes of infection have been identified, but the cause of the infection is unknown at this time.

Native Olympia Oysters: Intertidal shellfish enhancement staff performed an exploratory survey of the beach along the railroad embankment, trestle and lagoon on the western shore of Discovery Bay, where major salmon habitat restoration has been proposed. Native Olympia oysters were found attached to the trestle site at the lower tidal elevations, as well as attached in equal numbers to the riprap that comprises the base of the trestle. Further exploration within the lagoon revealed two extremely dense patches of Olympia oysters adjacent to a derelict building on piles and the outflow of a large steel culvert connecting to a smaller lagoon. The smaller lagoon was found to harbor dense subtidal "reef-like" assemblages of very large Olympia oysters. In all cases, multiple year classes were found. This is the only known occurrence of native oysters in Discovery Bay and may represent unique genetic stock. In addition to the native oysters, very dense numbers of native and Manila littleneck clams were found along the embankment and at the trestle site.

While assisting intertidal shellfish management staff with a clam population survey at the Potlatch DNR beach, intertidal shellfish enhancement staff discovered a considerable number of native Olympia oysters attached to relic Pacific oysters over several hundred yards of the lower intertidal. Multiple year classes were present, including young-of-the-year. Several very large 50 mm specimens were observed. Based on the presence of old relic shell these native oysters had been present at this site for some time.

River Flows on the North Coast and Straits: Flows in the Dungeness and Elwha rivers, located along the eastern and middle Straits, are experiencing near record low flows due to the largely missing snow pack and a lack of periodic rains. On the Western Straits and North Coast, however, flows have been buoyed by periodic rains, and are currently above normal flows for this time of year.

NRCS Habitat Restoration Projects: Landowner Incentive Program Manager Ginna Correa and Private Lands Biologists Don Larson and Mark Schuller have completed the wildlife habitat development plans for 36 habitat restoration projects receiving NRCS funding. Projects range from wetland enhancement, fish passage, and riparian habitat improvements to prairie restoration, Spartina control, and livestock exclusion fencing, and are scheduled for implementation in 2006.

Pygmy Rabbit Captive Management: On July 12, 2005, ten pygmy rabbits were moved from the Washington State University captive rearing facility: seven to Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and three to the Oregon Zoo. Captive breeding results are much improved this year over previous years, with 69 kits produced to date.

Mountain Goat Research: In mid-July, WDFW staff completed the mountain goat surveys and sightability evaluation flights for the Goat Rocks, Tatoosh, Smith Creek, and Dark Divide. We counted 327 mountain goats in the Goat Rocks (may be the highest count ever), 21 in Tatoosh (typical), 35 in Smith Creek (typical), and 71 in Dark Divide (typical). As at other locations around the state, recruitment is high this year with some evidence of twinning.

Lake Washington Warm Water Fish Survey: Eight (8) sampling crews from across the state sampled the littoral zone fish community of Lake Washington during the week of June 27 - July 1, 2005. Approximately 40% of the available shoreline was sampled primarily by electrofishing (120 out of 301, 400m sections), and gill nets (64 sets) and fyke nets (64 sets) were also utilized.

A total of 20 species of fish were sampled, including: sculpin, threespine stickleback, Chinook, coho, sockeye, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, pumpkinseed, bluegill, green sunfish, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, black crappie, yellow perch, largescale sucker, northern pikeminnow, common carp, tench, peamouth, and oriental weatherfish. The vast majority of the fish sampled were yellow perch and threespine stickleback. No walleye were captured in our survey. Also of note in our survey was a reptile, the snapping turtle, which were seen in a few locations around the lake.

Our electrofishing permit (section 10) allowed for a "take" of 100 juvenile wild Chinook. Our take was only seven (7) wild Chinook, three (3) of which were killed. Our netting permits (4d rule) allowed for 50 fish per net type, though less than ten (10) wild Chinook were sampled total by the nets combined. Habitat in the lake can best be described as "severely impacted". The majority of the shoreline is residential bulkheads and docks, with a few large marinas and areas of waterfront industrial use.

WDFW/DNR Land Exchange: Mark Quinn met with DNR to discuss the next steps involved in the land exchange. Both agencies are still very much interested in the exchange and will again be looking for legislative assistance to help with the appraisals and other transactions costs. The new owner of the Boise Cascade Timber Land in Kittitas County, and now owner of 23,000 acres of Perpetual Timber Rights (PTRs) on WDFW lands, has shared a recent cruise of those lands with us. We now have some idea of what it will take to reconcile the PTRs with the Department's underlying ownership. We are still looking at ways to include this in our overall exchange with DNR.

Western Pond Turtles: Forty-three rare western pond turtles - many with tiny radio transmitters glued to their shells - were released into a pond in Mason County as part of an ongoing effort to prevent the species from disappearing from Washington State. Fourteen additional turtles were returned to the South Puget Wildlife Area, where they had been collected as hatchlings to be head-started in captivity to improve their chance of survival. The recovery program for this state endangered species is a cooperative effort that involves WDFW, Woodland Park Zoo, Oregon Zoo, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and others who have been working since 1990 to restore this native species. Fifteen of the turtles released were captive-bred at the zoo. Most of the other turtles were collected from wild sites and nurtured at the zoo until they were large enough to prevent predators such as bullfrogs and largemouth bass from swallowing them whole.

Drought Response: The drought declaration is still in effect across the state, except conditions are near normal for the extreme north Olympic Peninsula, south Grays Harbor County, Pacific County, and portions of Clark County. We have submitted an amendment to the Ecology contract to fully allocate $1 million for drought response projects ($200K was already approved for early action projects, this amendment is for the remaining $800K). The contract amendment should be signed by the first week in August. Drought team staff continues to obtain permits and/or permit exemptions from state, local, and federal agencies for our minor fish passage contingency projects. Steve Keller, Drought Coordinator, attended an open house sponsored by the Governor's Executive Water Emergency Committee near Spokane on July 27. At issue is probably drought-related curtailment of water rights in the Little Spokane River.

Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for West Coast Groundfish: At its mid-June meeting, the Pacific Fishery Management Council identified EFH, designated Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPCs), and established areas that would be closed to bottom trawl gear as habitat protection measures in an effort to meet requirements in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act for EFH. With regard to the areas designated as EFH, the Council chose all waters (i.e., includes water column and sea bottom) within the exclusive economic zone (from 3 to 200 miles offshore) that are less than 3,500 meters (m) deep, as well as a subset of that area to include all waters for which a calculated habitat suitability probability is greater than zero for all groundfish species, and the addition of offshore seamounts.

HAPCs include the following areas: estuaries, canopy kelp, seagrass, rocky reefs, Washington's coastal state waters (from shore to 3 miles offshore), all seamounts off Oregon and California within 200 miles offshore, Daisy Bank (off Oregon), Monterey Canyon, and specific areas within the California Cowcod Conservation Area, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, Cordell Bank, and Mendocino Ridge. The Council also included 13 oil platforms in Santa Barbara Channel off California as HAPCs.

The Council adopted a multitude of areas that would be closed to bottom trawl gear, and a few areas that would be closed to all bottom-tending gears (including longlines and fish pots). Areas off Washington include one very large closure off Cape Flattery (known as Olympic 2), which falls within the waters of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, and three biogenic areas known to have several species of corals and other invertebrates, and an area encompassing most of Grays Canyon. The Council also chose to "freeze the footprint" of the bottom trawl fishery to prevent expansion of bottom trawl fishing into areas deeper than 700 fathoms to provide protection for deep-sea corals. Areas closed to all bottom-tending gears include Thompson Seamount and President Jackson Seamount off Oregon, and portions of Cordell Bank and specific areas off the Channel Islands off California.

The Council also adopted the following gear restrictions that would apply coastwide from the shore to 200 miles offshore: 1) prohibition of beam trawl gear; 2) prohibition of dredge gear; 3) a maximum bottom trawl footrope diameter of 19 inches; and 4) a maximum bottom trawl footrope diameter of 8 inches shoreward of 100 fathoms.

ENSURE WDFW ACTIVITIES, PROGRAMS, FACILITIES, AND LANDS ARE CONSISTENT WITH LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL REGULATIONS THAT PROTECT AND RECOVER FISH, WILDLIFE, AND THEIR HABITATS.

Coastal Patrol: Coastal officers conducted a three-day boat patrol with the use of the P/V Corliss, covering Salmon Management Areas 2,3 and 4. Over 119 vessels were boarded and 318 people were contacted leading to 26 arrests, 1 written warning, and 28 verbal warnings. Violations included wild Coho, cutting the adipose fin off of Coho, overlimit Chinook, fish in unlawful condition, no license, unlawful gear, vessel registration, salmon closed season, attempt to exceed limit of salmon, barbed hook and fail to record. We are already getting grief over what constitutes a clipped adipose fin. A more liberal definition change before the season is anticipated to cause more problems. A current summary of compliance in three of the four coastal salmon management areas is as follows (includes non-salmon violations discovered during North of Falcon (NOF) salmon patrols):

• Area 2 overall compliance 85.9%; 512 contacts; 72 violations
• Area 3 overall compliance 44.8%; 29 contacts; 16 violations
• Area 4 overall compliance 87.1%; 264 contacts; 34 violations

Mission Ridge Agreement Signed: The WDFW Commission recently approved a 28-year agreement between Mission Ridge LLC (ski resort) and WDFW for the wintertime operation of the ski hill located in Chelan and Kittitas Counties on WDFW property. After working closely with the ski resort on fully mitigating any impact to wildlife species in the area, WDFW issued a SEPA determination of non-significance (DNS) for a chair lift replacement and snowmaking reservoir located on WDFW property. The Regional Habitat Program Manager, Chris Parsons, has met with the U.S. Forest Service and discussed updating a joint agreement between the two agencies on how WDFW and Forest Service properties will be co-managed. The next step will be to involve our property management program with reviewing and finalizing this agreement.

Coastal Sardine Experimental Fishery: The coastal sardine fishing season opened on May 15, but the first landing occurred on June 20. So far, a total of four vessels have participated in the fishery, with three vessels fishing regularly (two out of Westport, and one out of Ilwaco). The fishery is managed under a coastwide harvest guideline set by the Pacific Fishery Management Council, which is allocated north and south of Pt. Arena, California. For 2005, the coastwide harvest guideline is 136,179 metric tons (mt), with a northern allocation of 44,939 mt. Through July 9, landings into Washington total 536 mt. IRM staff are coordinating the management of the fishery and biological sampling with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and providing weekly updates to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the states of Oregon and California, and interested stakeholders. Landings updates are also posted weekly on the WDFW website.

Puget Sound Chinook Post-Season Report: WDFW and the Puget Sound Treaty Indian Tribes submitted our annual post-season report regarding the conduct of 2004-05 Puget Sound salmon fisheries to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The report is required pursuant to NMFS' acceptance of the Comprehensive Puget Sound Chinook Harvest Management Plan under ESA section 4(d). NMFS approved the plan in January 2005 for the period from May 1, 2005, through April 30, 2010, (the 2005 through 2009 fishing seasons). The post-season report will soon be available via the WDFW website.

Crab Updates:

North Sound Crab Patrol: Officers conducted a follow up emphasis to last weeks opening weekend crab emphasis in Area 7, 8-1 and 8-2. On opening weekend 508 violations were discovered in this area alone, with a discouraging 40% compliance rate with crab regulations (based on 1,258 officer contacts with people who were crabbing - an additional 85 violations related to fishing, drugs and other things were discovered and was not factored into the compliance rate). Hundreds of closed season crab pots were counted and renewed efforts were made to educate the public through press releases. All crab gear found to be fishing during the closed season was hauled and seized. Officers removed 65 illegal crab pots from Area 8-1 and 8-2 with WDFW#1. Officers hauled about 60 more from Area 7 with WDFW #6. Seven citations were issued for closed season crabbing. Patrols were able to cover only about 50 percent of the fishing grounds. All of the crab gear whose ownership can be determined will be stored at Lake Terrell Wildlife Area pending follow up. Vessel clean up, gear transportation and investigation follow up is expected to take about five officer days this upcoming week for the entire North Sound Detachment.

Strait Crab Update: As for closed season crab pots, some better news from the Strait. Officers conducted a follow-up boat patrol to look for illegal pots remaining in the water during the closure. Only 7 crab pots and 1 shrimp pot were located over a run of about 136 miles. That count has decreased by about 90% from the previous week. Officers and a Deputy conducted a similar boat patrol from Port Angeles to Discovery Bay, and return with the same kind of results.

Northern Hood Canal Crab: Not so good news on compliance with other crab regulations though. Officers conducted an "Open Season" crab patrol in Northern Hood Canal. During the patrol, 21 citations were issued for various violations ranging from fail to record, illegal gear, and possession of female crab, undersize crab and over limit. The violation that stood out as the "icing on the cake" was one in which a vessel had 13 Dungeness crab aboard and 11 were illegal. The boat had 9 female Dungeness crab and 2 undersize Dungeness males (and 2 legal Dungeness males), and to top it off, none of the crabs were recorded. Needless to say, proper paperwork was issued.

Albacore Tuna Charter Logbook Program: As required by the Pacific Fishery Management Council's Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Highly Migratory Species (HMS), West Coast charter boats must complete and submit logbook information for albacore tuna fishing. Prior to implementation of the HMS FMP, the states of Oregon and Washington had not required their charter recreational fishing fleets to complete a fishing logbook. As such, a pilot HMS Charter Recreational Logbook program has been developed and implemented for these fleets. The management area includes the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (3-200 miles) off California, Oregon, and Washington and adjacent high seas areas (> 200 miles offshore). The data collected in the logbooks include catch, effort, fishing location, and incidental catch. IRM staff will collect and enter the Washington charter logbook data and provide it to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which will maintain the coastwide charter logbook database.

INFLUENCE THE DECISIONS OF OTHERS THAT AFFECT FISH, WILDLIFE AND THEIR HABITATS.

Public Meeting Attended: Officers attended a Greenbluff Grange meeting with Regional Wildlife Program Managers and Research Biologists. Several ranchette landowners were trying to generate support for a No-Shooting Zone in the area that would restrict high-powered rifles. The Greenbluff area is a high-density orchard area with significant deer, elk, and moose damage problems. Any shooting restrictions in the area would be a significant impediment in WDFW's ability to control deer and elk damage along with a significant loss to hunters. Commercial orchard owners' concerns with shooting restrictions and the associated loss of management of depredating animals seemed to overshadow the ranchette owners perceived concerns of safety.

Agreement Reached on Elk Access Permit: Officers and Regional Wildlife Biologists met with an Asotin County landowner group representing 25 landowners and over 33 thousand acres of private property. An agreement was negotiated to provide one cow elk access permit to each landowner in exchange for the property being opened to public hunting and holding the agency harmless for elk damage. This is truly a win-win situation with the State, landowners, and hunters all benefiting.

Elk Area 3721 Landowner Damage Access Permits Update: No elk harvested this week. The AHE hunters hunted both public and private lands in the Rattlesnake Hills without success. They are having a problem with getting shots with spike bulls. Landowners have started harvest on wheat and time is limited with regard to helping with the hunters. We should start having a better harvest in another week when antlerless permits will start for both 3721 & 3722.

• Landowner damage access permits: 16 bulls harvested.
• Bud Hamilton has harvested 2 bulls (1 spike and 1 small branched)
• Neal Ice has harvested 2 bulls (1 small branched and 1 large branched)
• Marshall Anderson harvested 4 bulls (2 small branched and 2 large branched)
• Jan Blair harvested 4 bulls (1 small branched and 3 large branched)
• Darwin Crosby harvested 2 bulls (1 spike and 1 small branched)
• Janet Crawford harvested 2 bulls (1 small branched and 1 large branched)
• Kill permits: 3 bulls harvested. Marshall Anderson 2 bulls, Jan Blair 1 bull

Macauley Creek Flood Control District Hydraulic Project Application: The District applied for an HPA for maintenance dredging of Smith and Mitchell creeks that drain to the Nooksack River near Deming. An additional application to dredge is expected for Macauley Creek. All three projects are planned in a 100-foot alluvial aggradation area in each stream, considered bedload "trap" areas. The District believes dredging will help prevent future flooding in the vicinity and downstream. Although the streams (10-20 feet in width) dry up, seasonal coho, chum, and trout spawning occur in all the "trap" reaches. The District had previously obtained HPAs to dredge these areas, as recently as 2002. WDFW has become concerned that such dredging of gravels may adversely affect spawning gravel quantity and quality in the project reaches and downstream. Recent letters were sent to the District by WDFW that stated new monitoring and reporting of streambed elevations, and spawning gravel quantity and quality would be required in an HPA. Additionally, contingent mitigation would be required if the work was determined to adversely affect spawning gravel quantity or quality. Both the Nooksack and Lummi tribes have expressed concerns about these dredging projects. Region 4 Habitat staff will meet with the tribes on August 2 to discuss these concerns. The 45-day HPA decision time is up August 5.

Family Forest Fish Passage Program: The application window for Round 3 funding closed June 30. This year we received 108 applications to evaluate 168 potential fish barriers statewide. This brings the total number of fish barriers enrolled in the program to 415. Twenty-eight projects are slated for construction this summer; 26 were installed last year. Another 8 funded projects will be built in 2006. Combined, these open 72 miles of habitat. For Round 3 we anticipate funding an additional 50 projects for construction next summer. The program is on track to use its $4 million appropriation for the biennium; the amount of money available is matching up well with the number of high priority projects.

Small Forest Landowners: The Forests and Fish Small Forest Landowner Workgroup made significant progress on negotiated development of an alternate plan template to deal with eastside forest health issues within riparian zones. In addition, modifications to the Overstocked Stand Template already approved by the Forest Practices Board have been agreed to and will go to the Board in September for approval. These templates provide small landowners an easy avenue to deviate from the current F&F Forest Practices Rules for common field situations.

Forests and Fish (F&F) Adaptive Management & Policy: The F&F Policy Perennial Initiation Point (PIP) Subgroup has reached consensus on a recommendation to the full policy group on a course of action in response to results of the Perennial Initiation Point research project conducted by the Cooperative Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (CMER) committee. The recommendation has been discussed by the full policy committee, and will again be on the August 4 meeting agenda. It is anticipated that the policy committee will take the recommendation to the Forest Practices Board on August 10, where rule making will likely be initiated. This is one of the two CMER adaptive management projects to go through the full adaptive management process and to the Board.

Marbled Murrelet Forest Practice Appeal: The Campbell Group appealed a Stop Work Order issued by DNR. The appeal involves The Campbell Group's interpretation of the Forest Practices Rules as they relate to definition of "suitable marbled murrelet habitat." Their interpretation of the rule would lead to no survey being required within the suitable habitat. Since the Forest Practices Rules only protect known occupied sites, murrelet surveys in suitable habitat are critical for protection. The probability of settlement appeared to be low after a May 24 pre-hearing conference. However, The Campbell Group and DNR (in consultation with WDFW) are discussing settlement options.

Lower Columbia (WRIA 25-28): East Fork Lewis River (WRIA 27), Stordahl Gravel Mining Proposal - Staff filed a brief summary of proposed testimony in the appeal of shoreline permits for this riverine gravel mining project. The testimony addresses the technical issues of the location of the floodplain, the potential for channel changes (avulsions) into the proposed gravel pits, and potential baseflow effects of mining in the hyporheic zone (due to groundwater continuity). An exhibits list is due by July 29. A recent action by the Clark County Commissioners to deny a zoning change for a portion of the mining area may delay finalization of the shoreline permit. Sheila Lynch (ATG) will review testimony for interagency consistency and specific items. The hearing is scheduled for mid-August if the permit is not remanded before then.

High Flows and Mesohabitat Study: Staff compiled a summary of surface water data-collection sites and the 1998 inventory of dams (including the federal dams list) in Washington State. The inventory of dams was plotted on the statewide hydrolayer showing which rivers have dams and potential for modification of natural hydrologic regimes.

Ordinary High Water Training: This training program is a cooperative effort between agencies with instructors from WDFW (Alan Wald, hydrogeologist), WDOE (Erik Stockdale, wetlands ecologist), and logistical support from WDFW (Steve Boessow, water rights biologist). Their recent class through the Northwest Environmental Training Center in Seattle was well attended and quite informative for professionals in the public and private sectors. We will offer the same training directly to our headquarters and regional biologists and engineers, including area habitat biologists, TAPPS, Forest & Fish staff, and others. Each class will be two days (includes field work) in September with a combined eastside class in Wenatchee and a Westside class in Olympia.

Pierce County Master Planning: On Thursday, July 21, Director Koenings and staff met at the Pierce County Environmental Services Building in University Place with Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, Jim Waldo, Fran McNair (DNR Aquatics Land Steward) and several other representatives from Pierce County. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Chambers Creek Trap rebuild and how it relates to the Pierce County Master Plan Development near the site. Joe Scorcio, Pierce County Special Assistant to the Director gave an overview of the Pierce County Master Plan and the tie in with the Fish and Wildlife site.

Joe expressed a need for a footbridge to span Chambers Creek in order to tie in the trail on either side of the Creek near the current Trap site. In order to fully build a quality replacement facility at Chambers, more land than we presently own is needed. Joe shared that Pierce County is willing to exchange enough property for us to fully build Chambers Creek for a footbridge installed across the Creek. Rich Eltrich presented information about the current fish production facilities and the chinook program in Chambers Creek, described limitations of the current site, recommendations of the HSRG and the Fishpro Feasibility study, and shared estimated cost.

John Ladenburg and Pierce County representatives expressed a strong desire for our Agency to be committed to a facility upgrade at Chambers Trap to fit into their Master Plan. Both Director Koenings and Deputy Director Peck expressed a strong desire to support and aggressively pursue funding for this project. Pierce County representatives indicated that they would fully support our efforts in the legislature with lobby assistance.

Don Larsen Appointment: The Western directors of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies are pleased to announce their unanimous selection of Sal Palazzolo (AZ) and Don Larsen (WA) as their representatives to serve on IAFWA's 2007 Farm Bill Working Group. Don works for WDFW and is co-located with the Natural Resources Conservation Service employees in Spokane. This gives Don the unique opportunity to significantly influence future policy making related to the new farm bill. Congratulations Don.

Washington Ocean Policy Council Update: The Washington Ocean Policy Council has yet to have its second meeting, but it is anticipated it will be scheduled within the next two weeks. In the interim, WDFW staff met the week of July 18 to review the recommendations affecting Washington, which are contained in the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy's final report. We, collectively, decided which ones fall under the purview of WDFW and, to address those recommendations, we set up internal teams comprised of 3-4 staff members from IRM and the Fish Program. These teams will review the current situation as it relates to the U.S. Commission's recommendation, and any pertinent state laws and agency policies for the initial report (due December 31, 2005). The teams will then develop a recommended course of action for changes to these laws and policies towards meeting the objectives of the U.S. Commission's report, to be published in the second Ocean Policy Council report (due December 31, 2006).

Interagency Committee Board Meeting (IAC): Mark Quinn attended a 2-day IAC board meeting in Issaquah to discuss the IAC strategic plan, which among other things will include renaming the IAC - something that's been talked about for 25 years. Also included in the discussions were an overview of Washington State Trails Planning and a review of new WWRP legislation. The latter includes the need for new policies to address changes in the law, specifically to address new funding categories: farmlands preservation, riparian protection, and stewardship projects on state WDFW and DNR lands. These new categories will be funded in the 2007-9 biennium, but the application period will be next year, so policies need to be in place.

Growth Management Act (GMA) Interagency Work Group (IAWG): The IAWG met on June 21 to discuss issues related to Island County and also to Snohomish County, which like Island County, is dealing with agricultural impacts to critical areas. Snohomish County is seeking guidance from the state to develop ways that the County can deal with this issue. The IAWG has generated some answers to questions posed by the County and representatives from WDFW, the Department of Ecology, and the Department of Community Trade and Economic Development met with the County on June 27 to discuss topics and determine how the County can move forward with its GMA update.

MINIMIZE ADVERSE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HUMANS AND WILDLIFE.

Okanogan County Report of a Bear Attack: The victim was interviewed while in the emergency room of the North Valley Hospital in Tonasket. He was bitten in his calf and had puncture wounds from a single bite. Apparently the victim's dogs had winded the bear across the county road and up the hill from their residence about a quarter mile away. The dogs proceeded to go after the bear and begin fighting with it. The victim subsequently went to the site with his rifle and found the bear was fighting with the dogs about 25 feet from him and was not paying any attention to him. The victim proceeded to shoot the bear from behind in the lower back. The bear turned on the victim and began to charge him. The victim shot the bear again, but the bear continued its charge. The victim then began to run for his truck making it about ten steps before being taken to the ground by the large male black bear biting his calf. One of the victim's dogs bit the bear again and it let go of the victim. He then shot the bear with the muzzle of the gun pressed against the neck of the bear. Officers examined the bear and incident site, and delivered the bear's head to the health department for rabies analysis.

Officer Reports to Longview Hospital in Response to Bear Attack Victim: A WDFW Officer interviewed the victim and two of his friends after photographing the wounds and found that both the details of the attack and of the location being given by the young men were not matching. Through excellent investigative and interview skills, the Officer quickly turned this into a very complicated and potentially far-reaching criminal investigation involving six suspects so far. In two days, Officers have nearly 80 hours in this case. More interviews will take place.

Recreational Halibut Fishery in Westport: IRM staff participated in a conference call the week of July 11 with representatives of the International Pacific Halibut Commission and National Marine Fisheries Service to review the results of the coastal recreational halibut fisheries. It was determined that there was insufficient quota remaining to reopen any of the coastal areas for a directed halibut fishery in the offshore area; however, there was sufficient quota to reopen the northern nearshore area in Marine Area 2 (Westport). During the offshore season, this nearshore area is open 7 days per week, primarily for the purposes of accommodating incidental catches of halibut caught when anglers are targeting bottomfish. However, because the remaining quota is a small amount, we decided to reopen this area on Fridays and Saturdays only (beginning July 15), which will allow us to closely monitor the quota attainment.

PROVIDE SUSTAINABLE FISH AND WILDLIFE-RELATED RECREATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES COMPATIBLE WITH MAINTAINING HEALTHY FISH AND WILDLIFE POPULATIONS AND HABITATS.

Updated Status Sheet for Private Landowner Agreements: Paul Dahmer summarized the status of private landowner agreements for the June 13, 2005, Coordination Team Meeting. Upland restoration staff has contacted 808 of 819 total cooperating landowners (99%). The Lands Division estimates that 630 to 670 contracts will be finalized in the program. Six hundred and fifty (650) contracts are either active (328) or pending (322) in CAPS. Those contracts that are pending are either waiting for private landowner signatures (82%) or are in the internal approval process in CAPS (18%).

2006-08 Hunting Season Development: The public process for the next three-year hunting season package began the week of July 11, 2005. A list of issues, identified by the Game Management Advisory Council and WDFW's Wildlife Program staff, will be provided for the public to review and prioritize. The public will also be encouraged to add any issues they would like addressed. The "scoping" process will end on August 25.

The information gleaned from the scoping process will be used to develop options for addressing each of the priority issues. The options will be available for public discussion this fall. Those options will be narrowed into two or three alternatives for public comment at a series of seven public meetings from January 16 to the January 26. At that point, recommendations will be developed for the Fish and Wildlife Commission to consider at their April meeting.

IMPROVE THE ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF WASHINGTON BY PROVIDING DIVERSE, HIGH QUALITY RECREATIONAL AND COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES.

Hagfish Fishery: The first reports of the experimental commercial fishery for hagfish are now coming in. This is a fishery using specially designed pots to capture hagfish. For the month of June, consistently good fishing was reported with no bycatch of other species.

Coastal Crab: Coastal commercial crab landings total 24.4 million pounds for the season through early July; the season is closed on September 15. Summer shell condition monitoring began the week of June 20-24, results from the first two weeks of sampling showed that the majority of crabs sampled are still hard-shelled. Week one samples from the Westport area were collected from depths ranging from 35-40 fathoms while crab sampled off Long Beach was collected at depths ranging from 4-8 fathoms. There was a larger percentage of soft crab sampled at the deep water sites compared to the shallow water sites, this information supports the July 1 closure of the waters outside 4-miles (18-25 fathoms and deeper). Staff met with the Coastal Dungeness crab Advisory Board to discuss implementation of a buoy tag program for the non-treaty coastal commercial season.

Update on Dungeness Crab Creel Study: Sampling implementation during the fifth week of the Dungeness crab validation pilot study at Everett and Cornet Bay ramps continued to proceed smoothly and successfully. Sampling supervisors at both ramps reported that crabbing effort was low on Wednesday and Thursday, with foggy and windy weather conditions particularly on Thursday. There was a moderate increase in effort on Friday. On Saturday, crabbing effort was very busy. Samplers reported that the crabbers were cooperative and patient during the interview process. Generally we were able to collect all of the creel survey data with cooperation from the public.

The following table shows the total number of crab interviews and total number of Dungeness crab counted during the creel census at Everett and Cornet Bay ramps during the first four weeks of the crab fishery. These are preliminary raw numbers, after initial field verification and summarization by sampling supervisors:

PROVIDE EXCELLENT PROFESSIONAL SERVICE.

Officers Receive Applause: Officers worked Rattlesnake Lake on Saturday and issued 10 citations for selective gear rules violations and fishing without a license. Many law-abiding citizens fishing by the rules applauded them for their efforts. Not only are the regulations very clearly stated in the fishing pamphlet, but also posted with signs in several places by the City of Seattle Watershed employees.

Hidden Clams: Officers combined efforts while working a low tide on Chuckanut in Skagit County. Their surveillance of 7 different suspicious subjects in 3 different cars hiding clams and leaving the beach at different times paid off. Because the suspects were driving more vehicles than the officers had, they asked Washington State Patrol (WSP) for help in stopping and holding one of the vehicles. It turns out that one of the vehicles had 1,700 clams in it, a second vehicle had 700 clams in it, and the remaining defendants on the beach had another 400 clams. A total of nearly 3,000 clams dug and possessed by only 7 people! Seven citations for over limit in the first degree were filed and the officers are working on additional health and commercialization violations.

Bomb Builder Charged: Officers learned from a confidential informant that the individual from Warden who threatened Sergeant Anderson and his family last year at Wal-Mart, was making pipe bombs at his home and telling the informant that he intended to get even with Warden Police Officers, Washington State Fish and Wildlife Officers, and his soon-to-be ex-wife. According to information county deputies had received, the suspect was making bombs and detonating them in his yard spraying a couple of surrounding residences with shrapnel. The Grant County Drug Task Force secured a search warrant based upon the information from the informant. The suspect was not at home when the warrant was served; however, officers recovered shrapnel lodged in several of the surrounding homes, some bomb making materials, and a small marijuana grow operation. Task force officers then waited until the suspect returned home and arrested him. The suspect was charged with 7 counts of reckless endangerment and 1 count of manufacturing marijuana. Officers will be following up with Federal ATF agents on the bomb building issue. The suspect was booked, but released by the court the next day.

Woman Faces Life Threatening Emergency: Due to one of our Officer's alert observations and being in the right place at the right time, a woman lived through a life threatening medical emergency. While returning home an Officer wondered why the cars he was following were only driving 30 M.P.H. in a 55 M.P.H. zone. The Officer observed that a small car at the head of the pack (5 cars ahead) was going very slowly and swerving back and forth. The car went several time into the oncoming traffic and then back almost into the ditch. The Officer used his cell phone to call WSP and report a possible D.U.I. A WSP trooper was available, but over 10 miles away so the Officer advised that he would stay on the line and follow the vehicle as best as he could to report its location and possibly get it stopped before it caused an accident. The Officer followed the car for several miles and across the Hood Canal Bridge, when the car pulled over on its own at a wide spot on the shoulder of the very busy highway. The line of cars that had been following the problem vehicle quickly roared past without a second glance. The Officer pulled in behind the vehicle and advised WSP of the vehicle registration and his location. The Officer contacted the driver of the vehicle and found that it was a woman who was in a very disoriented state and instead of being intoxicated, appeared to be having medical problems. The woman was able to convey to the Officer that she was a cancer patient and had recently just completed a chemotherapy treatment. After he identified himself, the Officer had the woman put the car in park and shut off the ignition, which turned out to be fortuitous. As the Officer was speaking with the woman, she went into a violent, uncontrollable seizure and then lost consciousness. The Officer informed WSP, who immediately called for an aid unit. The Officer monitored the woman for pulse and breathing until aid arrived. The woman regained a semi-conscious state with the EMT's tending to her and she was transported to a Jefferson County hospital alive and very lucky that our Officer had taken the steps that he had.

RECRUIT, DEVELOP AND RETAIN A DIVERSE WORKFORCE WITH HIGH PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS.

FWO 1 Applicant Examinations Held in Olympia: Seventeen candidates participated in Fish and Wildlife Officer (FWO) 1 testing on July 7 and 8. Applicants completed the oral testing process consisting of a writing exercise and pre-exposed and impromptu situational questions that were scored by a panel. Candidates were fingerprinted, completed a lengthy psychological test battery, and completed a pre-polygraph interview with a detective. Scores from the oral testing will be combined with previous written scores to determine placement on the ranked FWO 1 Register.

Training: Staff attended a two-day training workshop on natural-channel design in Lacey, which was relevant to instream-flow, IMW/PHS, and fish-passage work. A summary/synthesis of this class was written for colleagues. Staff also reviewed a short habitat-restoration proposal for the Washougal River (WRIA 28) as a logical follow-up to this course.

Freshwater Mussel Symposium: Staff attended the 3rd Annual Freshwater Mussel of the Pacific Northwest Symposium at The Evergreen State College. Experts from the USA and Scotland presented information on life histories, age analysis, sampling strategies, and the ecology of mussels, as well as public outreach methods for spreading the word about these important animals.

HPA Training: Several Staff Attended HPA Training in Olympia that was put on by Gayle Kreitman and Steve Jenks. The instructors did an excellent job accomplishing this task with a very vocal group of trainees. It quickly became apparent how useful and informative this training was. Some excellent discussions resulted from going over the information that is critical in making sure we have some consistency across the program. We even had time to pull up HPMS and go over some needed changes. It was very worthwhile and pointed out the amount of detail we are expected to know in order to complete our job tasks.

DEVELOP INFORMATION SYSTEMS INFRASTRUCTURE AND COORDINATE DATA SYSTEMS TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO SERVICES AND INFORMATION

GoHunt Update: In September, Wildlife Program plans to publish an updated version of the "private lands hunting opportunities" layer and functionality within the GoHunt Internet mapping application. Revisions will include point locations of private lands access sites, limitations on use/access to these lands, public access dates, and species available to hunt. The data development and formatting are currently underway. Data conversion, GoHunt application testing, and data review are planned for August.

PROVIDE SOUND OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT OF WDFW LANDS, FACILITIES AND ACCESS SITES

Successful Boat Patrol Conducted: Officers patrolled from the Straits down to Grays Harbor. The recreational halibut season was in progress and officers monitored the bottomfish closure, which has been put in place to protect yellow-eye rockfish, a species designated as "overfished." Multiple violations were detected, including: Overlimit Rockfish, Overlimit Halibut, Fail to Submit Catch and Fishing Closed Area. Officers contacted one vessel with three men on board who were fishing about .25 miles inside of the closure. Two of the three men had fish on at the time. The men claimed that they had just drifted into the closure. Unfortunately for them, the drift was not going in the direction necessary to validate their claim. They also already had their limit of halibut on board and claimed that they were fishing for lingcod. The problem with this story was that, first of all they were not in lingcod habitat (fishing on a sandy bottom) and second of all they were still using their halibut gear (spreaders, 12" squid jig, etc.).

It was obvious that they intended to exceed the limit or they were high-grading fish. All three men were cited. Officers came across one other vessel fishing over a mile inside of the closure. The boat attempted to outrun the agency's Corliss vessel, but to no avail. The fishermen admitted to fishing in the closure and they were cited and all of their fish were seized. Officers came across a third boat fishing within the closure. There were two men on board of this vessel. They were in the process of landing one halibut. Officer Hopkins asked them what was in the large white cooler on the floor of the boat. They said that they had two halibut and some black cod. Officers asked to see them. One of the men went to open the cooler and one small halibut jumped out and landed at the feet of the second man. Thinking that the Officer didn't see this, he quickly kicked the fish behind the inboard motor cowling so that it was obscured from the Officers view. The Officer asked the first man to hold up the two halibut in the cooler. The man held up one and placed it on the floor. The Officer asked to see the other. The man opened the cooler and lifted up the tail of another halibut. The Officer asked the man if there were any other fish in the boat. The man said no, just black cod in the cooler. The Officer asked the second man about the fish that he was standing on (the one that jumped out of the cooler). He said that he was just getting ready to release that one. They lied to the Officers about the amount of fish onboard. The boat was boarded and five halibut were found on board along with several black cod. All of the fish were seized and the two fishing poles with electric reels were seized for forfeiture. Both men were cited for Fail to Submit and First-degree Unlawful Recreational Fishing.

Crab Pot Violators: Officers issued 4 citations for crab violations, 2 for barbed hook and 26 warnings in Area 7. The most interesting contact was a subject found pulling someone else's crab pot. The man also had two other licenses besides his own, one belonging to his wife and another to a second adult. The man could not understand that a "cabin pot" was not legal for group use. While officers pulled off to write the citation, the man pulled another pot not belonging to him AND kept an undersize crab! About ½ hour after clearing the contact, an upset female ran her boat up and she demanded the officers identify themselves immediately and was quite upset. The officers attempted to calm her down. She stated that she was a senator and accused the officers of harassing good fisherman. The subject they had cited was her neighbor and she felt the officers were not following the "spirit of the law". The senator stated that we were lucky the locals even get licenses because they think of the crab as "theirs" yet. She also said she and all her neighbors routinely share pots and that it shouldn't be illegal. The senator also complained that she had called a few weeks ago about a tribal boat tied to her buoy and WDFW did not respond.

Lake Kapowsin Access Development: Ray Berg, P.E. plans to construct a public boating access at Lake Kapowsin. The project is located on the north shore of Lake Kapowsin at 29405 Orville Road East, Pierce County. Estimated Project Cost: $ 405,000. The Bid Opening for this project will be August 16, 2005.

IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY OF WDFW'S OPERATIONAL AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

Oiled Wildlife Rescue Training: Final contract agreements have been reached with the Island's Oil Spill Association (IOSA) to develop and provide "Oiled Wildlife Rescue/Response/Rehabilitation Training" through June 30, 2009. The WDFW has provided this training for over a decade; however, the new training will provide a means by which individuals can be trained and certified for various levels of Oiled Wildlife Response. Additionally, this contract will include annual refresher training and provide for the development and maintenance of a current list of individuals who can provide a "First Response" during spills.

WILD - New Vendor for Automated Licensing System Announced: WDFW has selected Outdoor Central as the new vendor for WDFW's automated licensing system. The contract with the new vendor, Outdoor Central, has been finalized and is being reviewed with OFM. Approval by OFM is expected by August 9, when work on the new system will start. The new automated licensing system installation date is approximately mid-summer of 2006. Benefits of the new licensing system will include:

• Reduced operation costs and a lower transaction fee to resident purchasing hunting and fishing licenses.

• Increased efficiencies in issuing recreation licenses

• In state management of Telephone and Internet sales.

New Temporary Combination Fishing Licenses Available for Sale July 25, 2005: The Licensing Division now offers 1 to 5-day temporary fishing licenses. The new 1 to 5-day temporary license will have a resident and non-resident fee schedule, and will replace the $6 2-day temporary license for resident and non-resident. Fees for the new temporary fishing licenses range from $7 to $17 for residents, and $14 to $34 for non-residents. An additional $2 dealer fee will apply when purchasing these licenses. The 9.5% automated license transaction fee is included for all temporary license fees. Individuals wanting to harvest Puget Sound Dungeness Crab will need to pay an additional $1 for any temporary license.