Meeting Closed due to Weather

Due to extreme weather conditions across the state, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting scheduled for Jan. 9-10 will not take place as planned.  Instead, the commission will meet at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 9 via telephone conference call to discuss future scheduling of key agenda items.

The commission, which sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), will discuss - but not take action on - proposed fishery management plans for Columbia River spring and summer chinook salmon.  That discussion, set to occur early in the Jan. 9 conference call, will include consideration of when to schedule commission action on the two fishery management plans.

The public can listen to the commission's Jan. 9 conference call via speakerphones at WDFW offices in Olympia and Vancouver, Wash.:

• Olympia:  Natural Resources Building, Room 172, 1111 Washington St. S.E.
• Vancouver:  2108 S.E. Grand Blvd.

A public hearing was held on management plans for spring and summer chinook salmon during a commission meeting Dec. 13 in Olympia.  Other discussion items during the Jan. 9 conference call may include:

• Gov. Gregoire's proposed budget for the department in 2009-11.
• An analysis of the economic value of recreational and commercial fisheries in Washington state.
• A pilot-grazing project on lands owned by WDFW in Asotin County and a separate partnership, established under the Wild Horse Coordinated Resource Management Plan, with landowners in Kittitas County.
• The status of a timber salvage and thinning operation on portions of the Olympic and Johns River wildlife areas near Grays Harbor.

Questions about the change in meeting plans may be directed to Susan Yeager, executive secretary for the commission, at (360) 902-2267. 

Best Regards,
Capt. Jerry Brown
Columbia River Fishing
http://www.columbia-river-fishing-guide.com
206-920-2428