By Ann McCreary Water temperatures in Methow Valley rivers and streams have returned to near normal seasonal temperatures, and as a result the “hoot owl” fishing restriction imposed last month by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has been lifted effective Wednesday (Sept. 16). In the Methow Valley, the hoot owl restriction prohibited fishing […]
Fish
Rescue effort relocates fish stranded in Methow, Twisp rivers by drought
State fish and wildlife officials rescued almost 2,000 fish last week that were stranded in pools of water as stretches of local rivers go dry in the drought. About 300 fish — juvenile spring Chinook, steelhead, and bull trout — were rescued and relocated from the upper …
Warm waters may lead to fishing restrictions in local streams, rivers
With water temperatures in Methow Valley streams and rivers warming to levels that are harmful for fish, local biologists are monitoring conditions to determine if restrictions on fishing may be needed.
“We’ve narrowly avoided implementing a hoot-owl fishery,” said Ryan Fortier, district fisheries biologist for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in Okanogan County.
Record low river levels bad for irrigators, fish
With rivers and streams dropping to seasonal record low levels due to drought, irrigators in the Methow Valley and around the state are facing water cutoffs much earlier than normal this year. The dropping water levels may also be bad news for fish returning to the Methow watershed to spawn. About 60 irrigators …
Salmon crossing cracked dam, one way or another
By Marcy Stamper
Engineers, fish biologists and construction teams who scrambled to meet an April 15 deadline to devise a way to move the first of an expected 20,000 spring Chinook salmon over the fractured Wanapum Dam say they have met their initial goals.
Construction workers have retrofitted the fish ladders at the dam, 150 miles from …
Salmon crossing cracked dam using modified fish ladders
By Marcy Stamper
Engineers, fish biologists and construction teams who have scrambled to meet an April 15 deadline to devise a way to move the first of an expected 20,000 spring Chinook salmon over the fractured Wanapum Dam believe they have met their initial goals. Construction workers have …
Local biologists await fix at Wanapum Dam to allow fish passage
By Marcy Stamper
It’s a 150-mile swim from Wanapum Dam to Winthrop, but fish biologists in the Methow Valley are keeping careful tabs on proposed fixes that will enable salmon to get through when the first spring Chinook reach the dam next month, en route …
Project will re-create a historic Methow River channel
By Ann McCreary A project designed to restore salmon habitat by re-creating a historic side channel of the Methow River northwest of Twisp is expected to get underway this summer. The “1890s Side Channel Restoration” project will restore a channel that once carried water along the valley wall parallel to Highway 20 north of Twisp. […]
WDFW proposes to monitor fish in Methow streams, rivers
By Ann McCreary Submerged antennas would be placed in up to 19 streams and rivers in the Methow Valley to monitor endangered fish species through a project proposed by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The Methow Valley Ranger District is proposing to issue a five-year special use permit to WDFW to install and […]
Methow steelhead fishery will continue
By Mike Maltais
The fishery for hatchery steelhead in the Methow River can continue for the time being, but with caveats.
