If you are a hunter and inclined to apply for special hunting permits, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is reminding them they have through May 22 to apply for permits for deer, elk, mountain goat, moose, bighorn sheep, and turkey seasons.
Permit winners will be selected through a random drawing by the department in late June. Instructions and details on applying for special-permit hunts can be found in the 2013 Big Game Hunting Seasons and Regulations pamphlet.
Dave Ware, WFDW game division manager, is reminding hunters to update their e-mail and mailing address in the system when purchasing their special permit applications and licenses. Each year, hundreds of special hunting permits are returned due to invalid addresses.
  
New chinook record?
            
Joe Hymer, supervisory fish biologist for Pacific States Marine Fishery, reported last week that a possible new record has been set for spring chinook jacks counted at Bonneville Dam. Through May 9, a total of 18,032 spring chinook jacks were counted at the dam. The record (since at least 1960) was 18,119 fish in 2009. That year, nearly 82,000 jacks were counted through June 15 (the end of the spring chinook count at the dam). With the difference of 100 fish to date, we may have set a new record.
Speaking about Columbia River fisheries, the 2013 northern pikeminnow sport-reward fishery, funded by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), opened May 1 on a high note. Early reports indicate a potential banner year for pikeminnow fishing and payouts for participating anglers, said fish managers. A weekly field activity report (May 1-5) showed 999 anglers caught 3,299 pikeminnows, plus six tagged fish (worth $500 each). At Kalama, 33 anglers caught 146 pikes, and at Marine Park 182 pikeminnows were caught by 18 anglers. Fishing was slightly better at Washougal, where 57 anglers caught 261 pikeminnows.
Reducing the number of pikeminow is an important tool in our effort to reduce predation on juvenile salmon and steelhead heading to the ocean. That’s where the Pikeminnow Sport-Reward Program and public come in, said John Skidmore, policy analyst for BPA.
Pikeminnow predation accounts for roughly 80 percent of all fish that kill juvenile salmon.
 
Frogs and bats

WDFW is seeking public comments on a draft recovery plan for Washington’s native population of Oregon spotted frogs and a separated plan to conserve 15 species of bats residing within the state.
Oregon spotted frogs were once common from northern California to southwest British Columbia, but today the species is known to persist in only six river drainages
Because the Oregon frog is not expected to recover without help, the draft plan outlines a variety of measures to curtail the animals decline. Key recommendations include protecting wetland habitat while maintaining short vegetation in seasonal wetlands and coordinating efforts to control bullfrog predation and other invasive species.
None of the state’s 15 species of bats are listed as threatened or endangered, although the Keens myotis and Townsend’s big-eared bats are under consideration for additional state protection. The draft plan for bats is designed to guide future studies of population trends, habitat requirements, potential risks and other considerations for all bat species in the state.
Eric Gardner, manager of the WDFW Wildlife Diversity Division, said, “This is the first conservation plan written for bats in Washington. Among other things, bats play a major role in controlling agricultural damage by pests, and we want to make sure their future is secure. It is always easier to protect wildlife species while they are still viable than to bring them back when they are already in trouble.”
WDFW will accept written comments on the draft recovery plan for Oregon spotted frogs through Aug. 9 and the conservation plan for bats through June 20.
 

Kids grow up and move on – and sometimes stop writing newspaper columns. Both apply to Lydia Nyhuis and Corrie Morgan.
Readers have become accustomed the last few years to the sisters’ names and their interesting perspectives that they shared in the Teen Focus column every week. They took turns – alternating week to week – writing about life, people, family relationships and their own self-admitted quirks. Most recently, they’ve been sharing a lot of their thoughts about heading into young adulthood, including rites of passage such as driving and getting a job.
Which leads to this: Both young ladies have told us that May is the last month they’ll write for The Dispatch. It’s time to move on, they say, and I couldn’t be happier for them. It’s an exciting time of life they’re starting.
“I’ve enjoyed writing immensely, and I hope to be able to continue at some point, using what I’ve learned through writing these articles,” Lydia said. But, she added, “I’m only going to be a teen for another year, regardless.”
In her own case, Corrie noted she’s finishing high school in June “and moving from part-time to full-time work hours.”
“It’s been a pleasure writing,” she said. “I look forward to contributing my last few articles.”
So do we, and we feel the same way about Lydia. Reader comments I’ve received on their columns have been nothing but positive – and for good reason. Lydia and Corrie write with a wisdom and awareness that seem beyond their years. Through their well-turned words, they demonstrate a self-effacing wittiness, deep thinking and a keen ability to engage readers in young but mature viewpoints. If you haven’t read their stuff, I highly recommend taking a moment to catch them before they’re done.
Time flies. The photos below of Lydia and Corrie were taken in 2010, the year they started penning Teen Focus. Now their focus is elsewhere, and I wish them all the best.
If another teen wants to pick up where they’re leaving off, The Dispatch would be happy to give him or her the same oportunity Lydia and Corrie have used so well.