Starting April 1, anglers who fish for salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and its tributaries will be required to purchase a new endorsement to help maintain and improve fishing opportunities throughout the basin.
The Columbia River Recreational Salmon and Steelhead Pilot Program endorsement is authorized by Senate Bill 5421 that was approved by the 2009 Legislature.
The total charge of the endorsement, after transaction and dealer fees, will be $8.75. The endorsement and recreational fishing licenses for the licensing year that begins April 1, 2010, can be purchased beginning Tuesday.
This new endorsement was one of several license fee changes approved by the Legislature to help offset a $30 million cutback in state funding for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Funds generated from the Columbia endorsement fee will support the evaluation of selective fisheries in the Columbia River Basin, said John Long, statewide salmon and steelhead fisheries manager. Selective fisheries allow anglers to catch and keep hatchery fish, but require that they release wild fish.
Funds also will be used for fisheries enforcement, data collection, monitoring and other programs.
The endorsement will be required, along with a fishing license, for anglers 15 years of age and older to fish for salmon and steelhead on the Columbia River and its tributaries when open to fishing for those species.
WDFW, working with the Columbia River Salmon and Steelhead Recreational Advisory Board, has proposed a list of rivers, lakes and other waters in the Columbia River basin where the endorsement will be required. That list, at wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/crss_endorsement, is one of more than 100 proposed sportfishing rules for 2010-12.
The News Tribune
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