Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 143
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Biden Administration and environmental activists formalized an agreement Dec. 14 on plans to manage and improve salmon populations on the Snake River. A “memorandum of understanding” was filed with U.S. District Court in an attempt to curtail lawsuits over salmon and efforts by environmental activists to breach the four Lower Snake River dams. The agreement was formally announced Thursday, Dec. 14, by the Biden Administration, more than two weeks after a leaked document was released to the public by 5t...
Aren’t you sick and tired of hearing Gov. Jay Inslee and his ilk routinely blame Columbia and Snake River dams for the decline in Puget Sound salmon and orca populations? Despite voluminous information to the contrary, Inslee, Sen. Patty Murray and other extremist environmental politicians continue to push a narrative on salmon decline that is patently false. There should be penalties for being so disingenuous. While there isn’t a penalty for false statements made to app...
In 1992, a single male sockeye salmon managed to swim 900 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River to Redfish Lake located deep in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains---the end of his migratory journey. Biologists dubbed the sole survivor, “Lonesome Larry.” By 2010, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council happily reported record-setting runs for sockeye —387,000 had climbed the fish ladders at Bonneville Dam. Last year, 751 sockeye were trapped at Redfish Lake Creek and taken t...
By virtually all key metrics, Washington’s environmental policies are failing. And yet, when was the last time politicians, environmental activists or the media expressed concern about policy failures? Speeches and news stories are filled with demands that we save the planet, describing threats to salmon, orca, forests and the climate. And yet, there is a remarkable lack of curiosity when real-world efforts fail to address those problems. One common thread is that environmental policy generally, and climate policy in p...
Netia passed away June 27, 2023. She was born in Kalispell, Mont., to Irene Elizabeth Ann (Gray) and Elmer Ruben Ridenour, Netia was flanked by a prim and proper older sister, Carley Ridenour, and a playful, peppy younger sister, Julie Connolly. Like all sisters, they loved each other to the moon and back (just not as much in the back seat of the car). Netia contracted polio at age 4, just as Elmer harvested the first ears of sweet corn from the family garden. She desperately...
BURBANK¾ Several members of the congressional House Energy and Commerce Committee spent Monday in Eastern Washington, specifically to learn about the importance of dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. Committee Chairwoman Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, was joined by as Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Chairman Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, and Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, for a tour of Ice Harbor Dam, the lower-most Snake River Dam The congressional delegation and others met to see the...
To supporters of the four Lower Snake River Dams, the latest news that President Biden continues to pursue dam breaching is not shocking, but surprising, considering the growing shortfall in electricity predicted in the western states and his desire to dramatically reduce carbon emissions. Biden’s March 21 announcement started another “Whac-A-Mole” game to determine the dams’ future. The news was reported in a Wall Street Journal commentary by Faith Bottum titled “Biden...
MEDICAL LAKE – School District Superintendent Tim Ames will close the books on a 38-year career in education June 30 when he retires. And like in Boy Scouts, where the goal is to leave the outdoors a better place than when entering, Ames said he is confident his nine-year run here has done just that. It's much more, too, than the new sign outside district headquarters. Ames has had a winding road in both life and his career. It first followed his parents in the U.S. Air F...
LIBERTY LAKE – Want to go fishing at one of the area lakes but don’t have a license? Well, this weekend you’re in luck as “Free Fishing Weekend” opens state waters for anglers who don’t have a license. But if you don’t have a license, be careful what you catch this Saturday and Sunday, June 10-11. Game wardens will be on the lookout for fishermen catching salmon, sturgeon and steelhead in Eastern Washington waters without a license. That’s because state bureaucrats in Olympia have changed the rules relating to Free Fishing...
CHENEY – Want to go fishing at one of the area lakes but don’t have a license? Well, this weekend you’re in luck as “Free Fishing Weekend” opens state waters for anglers who don’t have a license. But if you don’t have a license, be careful what you catch this Saturday and Sunday, June 10-11. Game wardens will be on the lookout for fishermen catching salmon, sturgeon and steelhead in Eastern Washington waters without a license. That’s because state bureaucrats in Olympia have changed the rules relating to Free Fishing Weekend...
Although New Zealand and Washington are located a half-a-world apart, they have lots in common---beautiful seashores, majestic mountains, crystal clear streams and lakes, and vibrant salmon and trout fisheries. Both are struggling to rid their air sheds of CO2 and other greenhouse gases coming from the burning of carbon fuels (coal, natural gas, gasoline, and diesel) in vehicles, home heating and electric-power generation. New Zealand and Washington share a common goal to be carbon-neutral by 2050. The good news is both are e...
KAHLOTUS – The Snake River spring Chinook salmon fishing season is open. Below Little Goose Dam, fisherman can catch Chinook on Tuesdays and Fridays only. Below Ice Harbor Dam, the salmon fisher is open on Wednedays and Thursdays. The seasons opened May 2 and 3, respectively, and are expected to remain open until the catch quota limits out, state Department of Fish and Wildlife officials said. Below Little Goose Dam, Chinook fishing is allowed from the Texas Rapids boat launch upstream to the boundary below the dam. Below I...
PASCO — Fishermen can expect more Coho, Chinook and sockeye salmon to return to the Columbia River and its tributaries this season. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s forecast is based on environmental indicators such as ocean conditions, numbers of juvenile salmon that migrated to marine waters and numbers of adult salmon that returned in past years. About 84,800 Upper Columbia River summer Chinook are forecasted to return in 2023, representing about 120 percent of the 10-year average return and higher than las...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Association of Wheat Growers is objecting to a biased report designed to push Democratic efforts to breach dams on the lower Snake River. In comments opposing the dam-breaching effort and one-sided report, Wheat Growers CEO Chandler Goule said the organization is concerned about the push by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Shoreline, and Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island. “The dams play a vital role in providing a safe, efficient and affordable way for wheat farmers to get their product to mar...
TOPPENISH – The Yakama Nation has recognized two Democrats for their efforts to breach Snake River Dams. On Tuesday, Aug. 30, the tribe recognized U.S. Sen. Patty Murry and Gov. Jay Inslee in connection with a report on the feasibility of breaching the dams as a way to improve salmon and steelhead runs. “Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee have seen that the salmon, steelhead and other anadromous fish of the Columbia Basin are in serious trouble. We appreciate their recognition that the status quo is not a responsible option if we...
Last week, Fairchild Air Force announced it was erasing Col. George Wright because the history surrounding him is considered by some as divisive. In place of his name being associated with a housing area and street, the military opted for “Lilac Village” and “Willow Loop,” respectively. The move comes two years after Spokane canceled the highly decorated Army leader, as well – Fort George Wright Drive was renamed to Whistalks Way, in recognition of the wife of Spokane tribal w...
Late summer of my 12th year delivered two life changing moments. The first was a brief and thrilling encounter with a mighty chinook salmon, whose massive form ascended the Skykomish river and bit the garden worm I was drifting for trout. The second occurred on the first day school when I witnessed the summer transformation of the girls I'd known since kindergarten. Like a mint bright chinook, the girls were suddenly mysterious and alluring, stunningly beautiful and...
If you want a glimpse of parched river bottoms behind “would be breached” lower Snake River dams, look at recent photos of European rivers and lakes. On parts of picturesque Rhine River there is often more dry land than flowing water. Europe is in the clutches of another drought—the second since 2018. It is so severe that countries across the continent are imposing water restrictions. There are massive fish kills and desiccated croplands. Shipping is endangered on the Rhine...
WENATCHEE – Amid a record return of sockeye salmon to the Columbia River, sockeye fishing in Lake Wenatchee and the Wenatchee River is opening. As of July 22, more than 23,000 sockeye passed over Tumwater Dam on the Wenatchee River, state Department of Fish and Wildlife North-Central Fish Program Manager Chad Jackson said. Fishing in Lake Wenatchee will be open from July 28 through Aug. 31, with a daily limit of four sockeye (minimum size 12 inches). Anglers must release a...
By Mark Schoesler Senator A draft of the “Lower Snake River Dams Benefit Replacement Report,” requested by Washington’s U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee last fall, recently was released to the public. While intended to make the case for breaching the four dams between Clarkston and the Tri-Cities, the report ironically makes a good case for keeping the dams. The report estimates it will cost between $10-$27 billion to replace the benefits provided by the four dams. Knowing how government projects usually go over...
I’ve loved fishing for over 60 years. Just as I’ve evolved as a human, so have the reasons why I enjoy the pursuit so much. In my youngest years, it was the excitement of just hooking and landing a fish. Later, it was successfully applying a growing body of skills and knowledge. More recently, I’ve loved putting others on fish they’ve been previously unable to catch or showing them a little something that will help them become better anglers. The one constant, however...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eastern Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, helped get legislation approved by the U.S House of Representatives on Wednesday night that includes language to protect four Lower Snake River dams. “Salmon and dams can-and-do co-exist,” she said Thursday. “Study after study has shown the critical benefits the Lower Snake River dams provide to our region: affordable and reliable hydropower, low-emissions transportation of goods, and irrigation for farmers in Washington who feed the world....
Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray, both Democrats, issued a draft report which estimates that breaching the four lower Snake River dams and replacing their electricity and other benefits would cost between $10 and $27 billion. Meanwhile, the lone Idaho Republican, Congressman Mike Simpson, supporting dam removal---impoundments located in a neighboring state--is willing to pony up $33 billion tax dollars. That’s a lot of taxpayer money even today when President Biden and C...
Fishermen won’t need a license, vehicle pass or two-pole endorsement this coming weekend if they head to the water. That’s because Saturday and Sunday, June 11 and 12, are a “free fishing weekend.” The free weekend is required by the state law that also implemented Discover Pass vehicle access requirements. The free weekend coincides with National Get Outdoors Day on Saturday, June 11, and Free Fishing Day on Sunday, June 12. During both days in Washington state, fishermen are not required to have a license to fish. Nor are...
TEKOA — Better fishing and other recreational opportunities may be on the horizon for Little Hangman Creek. Last month, the Terry Hussman Account awarded a $50,000 grant to the Pine Creek Conservation for fish restoration, bank stabilization and habitat improvements. The funds will be used to help clean up bacteria in Little Hangman Creek that make the water risky for people to swim, wade, float or fish in. Moneys will also be used to create a better forested habitat in an 8...
