Prep girls basketball roundp: West Valley rolls past Kennewick

January 31, 2012 by  

YAKIMA, Wash. — Holding Kennewick to two points in the opening period, West Valley charged away for a 54-29 victory over the Lions in CBBN 3A girls basketball Tuesday night.

Ashley Gray made 7 of 11 shots for a game-high 15 points and teammate Mariah Reyes made two 3-pointers as part of her 12 points for the Rams, who led 30-10 at halftime.

West Valley leveled its conference record at 6-6 with two games left this week against Eastmont and Southridge.

 

HANFORD 64, SUNNYSIDE 35: At Sunnyside, Wash., Collette Gall had 17 points and Hanford pulled away late. Leading by three with three minutes left in the third quarter, the Falcons outscored Sunnyside 24-6 the rest of the way.

 

CBBN 4A

DAVIS 51, MOSES LAKE 42: At Moses Lake, Alexis Perez scored 10 of her 18 points in the second period when the Pirates outscored Moses Lake 22-2 to surge away.

Freshman Katie Fowler added 11 points for Davis (4-6, 6-11), which finishes the regular season with back-to-back home games against Richland on Friday and Wenatchee on Saturday.

 

SCAC

 

ZILLAH 56, GOLDENDALE 47: At Zillah, Monica Villegas had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Alexis Salcedo added 10 points to lead the Leopards (6-3, 10-7) in the West Division game.

Lexi Cameron led the Timberwolves with 12 points.

 

NORTH CENTRAL 2B

KITTITAS 45, ENTIAT 44: At Kittitas, Dakota Adams provided a triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals for the Coyotes, who rallied in the second half by holding Entiat to 19 points.

 

RIVERSIDE CHRISTIAN 68, WATERVILLE 17: At Waterville, Wash., Breezy Byrne had 13 points, Kendra Staymates 12 points, and Micki Lenderman and Tori Carpenter 10 points each for Riverside Christian, which got all the points it needed with a 20-point first quarter.

 

GREATER COLUMBIA 1B

TROUT LAKE-GLENWOOD 51, BICKLETON 39: At Bickleton, Wash., freshman Ashley Sampson and sophomore Caitlin Scott combined for 38 points and 14 steals for TLG, which pulled away with an 18-9 final period.

Jamie Venema had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Bickleton.

 

NON-LEAGUE

SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN 41, DESALES 32: At Walla Walla, Wash., Marisa Broersma’s 13 points powered the second-ranked Knights to win that pushed their season record to 16-1.

Sunnyside Christian will play its third game in three days tonight in a home makeup game against Klickitat.

 

CLE ELUM 49, MOSES LAKE CHRISTIAN 47: At Cle Elum, Wash., Carlee Creager had a huge game with 30 points, nine steals and eight assists to power Cle Elum.

1/31/12 Prep basketball Summaries

January 31, 2012 by  

BOYS
CBBN 4A
Walla Walla 53, Eisenhower 37 FINAL
WALLA WALLA — Josh Eggers 13, Porter 4, Locati 1, Handcox 3, Peasley 8, Lesmeister 1, Arias 5, Jameson 2, Cranor 11, Ferenz 5, Parnicky 0, Rowley 0.
EISENHOWER — Backes 5, Nickens 4, Tony French 21, Soto 7, Hernandez 0, Cassel 0, Jones 0, Partlow 0, Gomez 0, Cooper 0.
Walla Walla
 19  13  9  12  53
Eisenhower  5  6  15  11  37
Highlights: French (E) 6 rebs. 
 
Davis 86, Moses Lake 61 FINAL
MOSES LAKE — Hirz 3, Bryce Perez 15, Phillips 9, Ulyanchuk 4, Kevin Bennett 18, Rubio 2, Baker 2, Chavez 0, Sutherland 8. Totals 22-43 12-20 61.
DAVIS — Cooper Kupp 13, Ray Navarro 18, Luckett 8, David Trimble 17, LeVonte Allen 4, Carlos Vijarro 10, Lizotte 5, Wright 4, Acosta 3, Knox 2, Gasseling 2, Jones 0. Totals 35-54 9-13 86.
Moses Lake
 12  12  17  20  61
Davis  21  24  19  22  86
Shooting percentages — FG: Moses Lake .512, Davis .463; FT: Moses Lake .600, Davis .692. 3-point goals — Bennett 5, Kupp 1, Navarro 4, Lizotte 1, Wright 1. Rebounds — Moses Lake 31 (Perez 6); Davis 22 (Luckett 7). Turnovers — Moses Zake 35, Davis 18.  
 
CBBN 3A
Kennewick 55, West Valley 47
KENNEWICK — Pocasangre 8, Bryce Leavitt 14, Smith 0, Santiago 8, Reggie Clinton 13, Plew 0, Domach Domach 12, Ramos 0.
WEST VALLEY — Jalen Peake 17, Cluff 4, Wallace 0, Pettingill 2, Jason Dresker 13, Strock 9, Gilliam 0, Juarez 2.
Kennewick  13  15  7  20  55
West Valley
 10  14  12  11  47
Highlights: Leavitt (K) 7 reb.; Dresker (WV) 6 reb.
 
Hanford 60, Sunnyside 43
HANFORD — Jones 14, Braich 9, Sutey 5, DeVine 9, Serkowski 3, Watson 9, Douglas 9, Dobken 2.
SUNNYSIDE — Medina 0, Israel Manzo 12, Leija 3, Fernandez 3, Daley 2, Serl 9, Lugo 0, Salomeron 4, Amaro 0, Greg Spini 10.
Hanford  10  10  18  22  60
Sunnyside  7  10  11  15  43
 
SCAC
Zillah 54, Goldendale 52
GOLDENDALE — Golding 0, Milliren 0, Devon Casey 10, Folkner 3, Enstad 0, Brady Conway 13, Ross 0, Jordan Foley 26.
ZILLAH — Robert Slack 10, McKay 5, Ames 6, Cuellar 6, Mengarelli 0, Widner 5, Calhoun 2, Villanueva 6, Derrell Pascal 14.
Goldendale
 7  18  15  12  52
Zillah  13  8  14  19  54
Highlights: Pascal (Z) 7 rebs; Casey (G) 10 rebs, 7 asts; Foley (G) 11 rebs.  
 
River View 54, Mabton 51
RIVER VIEW — Anderson 6, Brown 6, Bartlett 8, Joe Scott 10, Tyutyunnik 0, Hand 11, David Flores 12, Brisby 2.
MABTON — Ruiz 0, Josh Sanchez 17, Chavez 2, Lopez 0, L. Sanchez 6, An. Gutierrez 6, Espinoza 7, Carrasco 0, Ad. Gutierrez 0, Alex Reyna 11.
River View
 15  12  11  16  54
Mabton  11  12  14  12  51
 
North Central 2B South
Riverside Christian 75, Waterville 37
RIVERSIDE CHRISTIAN — Van Tuinen 6, Gartrell 2, Vickers 9, Bender 6, McNeil 6, Tucker Jones 13, Josh Cowin 11, Stein 3, Cates 6, Sterling Haas 13.
WATERVILLE — Tate Newcomb 10, Clemens 4, Parcells 9, Meyers 5, Hamley 9, Peterson 0, Edgar 0.
Riverside Christian
 23  18  21  13  75
Waterville  8  18  10  4  37
Highlights: Jones (RC) 15 rebs; Haas (RC) 11 rebs; Cowin (RC) 4 stls; Nate Van Tuinen (RC) 3 stls; Luke Vickers (RC) 5 rebs.
 
Kittitas 62, Entiat 32
ENTIAT — Brisk 0, Tran 9, Quezada 2, Merillo 2, Hughes 5, Davis 8, Ramirez 1, Buckingham 5.
KITTITAS — Leaton 4, Driver 4, Forman 5, Guisti 7, Kyle Grindrod 10, McIrvin 1, Michael Dohrman 14, Poole 8, Eslinger 2, Johnson 7.
Entiat  9  1  9  13  32
Kittitas  19  15  15  13  62
Highlights: Dohrman (K) 10 reb.; Johnson (K) 8 reb., 5 asts; Grindrod (K) 5 stls.  
 
Greater Columbia 1B
Lyle-Wishram at Yakama Tribal
 
Road          
Home          
 
 
NON-LEAGUE
Moses Lake Christian at Cle Elum, 7:30 p.m.
 
Moses Lake Christian
         
Cle Elum          
 
 
Sunnyside Christian 58, DeSales 34
SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN — Trevor Wagenaar 28, Puterbaugh 8, Haak 2, Hoff 2, Bosma 0, Brandon Broersma 16, Martin 0, Scheetra 2.
DESALES — Roach 0, Hayman 9, Frazzi 9, Richman 3, Wales 4, Leahy 0, Cox 9, Galloway 0, P. Elmhurst 0, T. Elmhurst 0.
Sunnyside Christian
 12  14  18  14  58
DeSales  12  9  10  3  34
Highlights: Brandon Broersma (SSC)  5 blks.  
 
GIRLS
CBBN 4A
Eisenhower at Walla Walla, 7:30 p.m.
 
Eisenhower          
Walla Walla          
 
 
Davis 51, Moses Lake 42
DAVIS — Juarez 8, Alexis Perez 18, Salazar 2, Alvarado 8, Ceja 2, Katie Fowler 11, Morales 2, Johnson 0.
MOSES LAKE — Overland 4, Kungara 8, Garcia 5, Bishop 3, Lenning 0, Koon 3, Olson 6, Wilks 0, Clark 0, LeFave 4, Stevens 2, Neilsen 7.
Davis  6  22  8  15  51
Moses Lake  11  2  10  19  42
 
CBBN 3A
West Valley 54, Kennewick 29
KENNEWICK — Osmundson 0, Valerio 0, Hicks 0, Sanders 0, Whistocken 6, Kump 2, Lester 0, Harrod 11, Taimani 10.
WEST VALLEY — Weber 8, Mariah Reyes 12, Faubion 2, Gibson 6, Kinloch 0, Vincent 0, Webb 0, Nathe 2, Ashley Gray 15, Albrecht 9.
Kennewick  2  8  13  6  29
West Valley
 14  16  12  12  54
Highlights: Gray (WV) 5 rebs; Albrecht (WV) 5 rebs, 3 asts; Whistocken (K) 6 rebs; Harrod (K) 6 rebs; Weber (WV) 4 stls.
 
Hanford 56, Sunnyside 35
HANFORD — Stewart 6, Hall 6, Shintaffer 3, Steele 8, Roueche 2, Herman 2, Lexi Rutherford 12, Foraker 0, Colette Gall 17, Winsor 0.
SUNNYSIDE — Vargas 3, Morales 2, Alvarez 5, Fernandez 3, Sanchez 1, Hernandez 4, Bazan 7, Perez 1, Rubalcava 0, Palencia 0, Jordan Rodriguez 9, Torres 0, Nunez 0.
Hanford  14  8  23  11  56
Sunnyside  9  13  7  6  35
Highlights: Rodriguez (SS) 4 asts.   
 
SCAC
Zillah 56, Goldendale 47
GOLDENDALE — Lexi Cameron 12, Counts 5, Keffler 2, Lewis 5, Hoffman 6, Kartes 2, Graff 9, Montgomery 6, Swift 0.
ZILLAH — Nelson 6, Winters 8, Patterson 5, Higgenbotham 2, Stump 0, Alexis Salcedo 10, Monica Villegas 12, Purdy 4, Ruggles 9.
Goldendale
 8  15  9  15  47
Zillah  13  16  16  11  56
Highlights: Villegas (Z) 11 rebs; Kassidy Ruggles (Z) 9 rebs; Alexcis Higgenbotham (Z) 9 rebs.; Lexi Patterson (Z) 5 stls. 
 
River View at Mabton, 6 p.m.
 
River View
         
Mabton          
 
 
North Central 2B South
Riverside Christian 68, Waterville 17
RIVERSIDE CHRISTIAN — Cleveringa 0, St. Hilaire 0, Lenz 2, Roberts 8, Micki Lenderman 10, L. Carpenter 2, Tori Carpenter 10, Herrera 2, Bjur 5, J. Carpenter 2, Breezy Byrne 13, Kendra Staymates 12, Kinder 2.
WATERVILLE — Browning 0, A. Toomey 3, Clements 3, Landon 4, Davilla 0, K. Toomey 0, Gormley 2, Thompson 5, Day 0, J. Toomey 0.
Riverside Christian
 20  22  20  6  68
Waterville  8  4  1  4  17
Highlights: T. Carpenter (RC) 5 reb.; Lexi Carpenter (RC) 7 reb.  
 
Kittitas 45, Entiat 44
ENTIAT — Larson 10, Mandy Southard 22, Parks 0, Woodridge 0, Sanford 4, Edwardson 2, Swearingen 3, Davis 3.
KITTITAS — Sabin 0, Kilgore 0, Baker 0, Larson 0, Caitlin Steiner 10, Moreno 2, Dakota Adams 13, Lentz 4, Hayes 2, Tori O’Shaughnessy 14.
Entiat  10  15  10  9  44
Kittitas  8  13  12  12  45
Highlights: Adams (K) 11 rebs, 10 stls.  
 
Greater Columbia 1B
Lyle-Wishram 45, Yakama Tribal 15
LYLE-WISHRAM — Lacock 0, Freemantle 2, Wells 2, Suzanna McConville 11, Casey 0, Solomon 2, Smith 4, Knowles 7, D. Doolin 0, Beck 0, Kirsten Hilton 17, H. Doolin 0.
YAKAMA TRIBAL — Ayala 2, Johnson 0, Stewart 2, Wahtomy 0, John-Reyes 0, Hicks 1, Wyena 0, Heath 4, Wallahee 3, Wong 3.
Lyle-Wishram  7  19  9  10  45
Yakama Tribal  3  7  5  0  15
Highlights: Mariah Hicks (YT) 11 reb.; Letecia Ayala (YT) 5 stls.  
 
NON-LEAGUE
Cle Elum 49, Moses Lake Christian 47
MOSES LAKE CHRISTIAN — Yamane 8, Ladive 2, Wamarte 4, Tuder 2, Walker 22, Sanberg 5, Yarbrough 4, Garrett 0.
CLE ELUM — Carlee Creager 30, Andrus 3, Allen 6, Owens 2, Burchak 0, Ferguson 8, Gutierrez 0, Fraser 0, Winebrenner 0.
Moses Lake Christian
 8  9  14  16  47
Cle Elum  11  8  16  14  49
Highlights: Creager (CE) 8 reb., 9 stls, 2 asts; Ferguson (CE) 6 reb., 3 stls; Allen (CE) 6 reb.; Burchak (CE) 2 blks. 
 
Sunnyside Christian 41, DeSales 32
SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN — Haak 3, DeGroot 0, Long 5, den Hoed 8, Brouwer 0, Marisa Broersma 13, Van Belle 8, Wavrin 4.
DESALES — Konan 3, Higgins 7, B. Lyons 0, Lesko 0, Balne 3, Wujek 1, Leahy 0, Crawley 2, A, Lyons 7, Ferrell 9.
Sunnyside Christian
 6  16  6  13  41
DeSales  8  6  7  11  32
Highlights: Haak (SC) 12 rebs.  
 

Several fish-run predictions are plenty optimistic for 2012

January 31, 2012 by  

YAKIMA, Wash. — One year after sport fishermen pulled out a record number of hatchery spring chinook salmon from the Yakima River, state fish managers and the people who predict fish runs are cautiously optimistic for an even bigger year in 2012.

Some of them, anyway.

While the NOAA Fisheries Service has predicted a mainstem Columbia River run of 160,000, the state and tribal representatives on the U.S. vs. Oregon Technical Advisory Commission (TAC) are significantly more optimistic.

TAC’s forecast of 314,200 upriver springers would be the fourth-largest on record, meaning the popular Columbia and tributary spots so popular with Yakima-area anglers — like Drano Lake and the mouths of the White Salmon and Klickitat rivers — may be even busier than usual.

As for the Yakima, things could be really good … or even better than that.

“The forecast is for 12,040 fish, and of that, 5,680 are the Cle Elum hatchery fish. That’s a good return,” said John Easterbrooks, regional fish program manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “The (2011 spring chinook) forecast was lower than that — it was 10,320 — and we ended up with 13,400 adults to the mouth of the Yakima.”

Thanks in part to the popular Boundary Reach bordering the Yakama Reservation being open for last year’s spring chinook fishery, sport anglers on the Yakima River reeled in 1,579 hatchery-origin adults and jacks. That harvest was the highest on record, exceeding even the 2001 season when a phenomenal run of 21,220 to the Yakima resulted in a 1,252-hatchery fish catch — a total which wasn’t exceeded until last year.

And the 2012 run to the Yakima could easily surpass the 12,040 prognostication, much as the 2011 forecast did, said Bill Bosch, data manager for Yakima Klickitat Fisheries Project.

“There’s some reason to be optimistic that we’re being nicely conservative,” Bosch said. “Things could come in better than forecast.”

Bosch’s reasoning is based on some changes he’s made to his forecast model for the Yakima River.

Previously, YKFP forecasts gave greater credence to jack abundance, but Bosch noted that “over the last 10 years or so, the jack counts haven’t quite panned out as a strong predictor. There’s been some years where we’ve ended up with egg on our faces after having these optimistic prognostications and then the actual runs have come in much lower than expected.”

Beginning in 2010, Bosch began giving greater weight to such factors as smolt estimates at the Chandler facility at Prosser, juvenile survival estimates for natural and hatchery-origin fish from Roza to McNary and ocean conditions. Using all of those factors, Bosch said, would call for a projected return of 16,790 age-4 spring chinook and 1,260 age-5 fish for a total return of 18,050 adult springers to the mouth of the Yakima.

Given the unpredictable relationship of jack counts to age-4 returns in recent years, though, Bosch’s prediction model for the 2012 run took into account the average over-forecast errors of recent years and came up with the 12,040.

But, of course, that 18,050 number is still out there as a possibility. Better to be conservative and be pleasantly surprised, Bosch said, than predict a great year and then be disappointed by a good year.

“It’s a lot harder to cut fisheries back if you overforecast,” Bosch said, “than it is to expand them if you underforecast.”

The 314,200 forecast for upriver spring chinook in the Columbia far surpasses the 2011 projection of 198,400, and the lower river is already open to boat and bank anglers on a daily basis from Buoy 10 near the mouth upstream to the Interstate 5 bridge.

Under the new rules adopted last week, the sport fishery will expand March 1 upriver to Beacon Rock, where it will run through April 6 except for three Tuesday closures (March 20, March 27 and April 3) to accommodate commercial fisheries.

The Columbia will open to boat and bank anglers above Bonneville Dam on a daily basis March 16 through May 2.

Harvest guidelines on sturgeon fisheries in the lower Columbia will entail a 38-percent reduction from last year, with this year’s catch being limited to 9,600. This reduction follows 30- and 40-percent reductions in each of the last two years, in response to a decline of nearly 50 percent of legal-size white sturgeon since 2003.

Granger girls hand La Salle first SCAC West loss

January 31, 2012 by  

YAKIMA, Wash. — Like clockwork, the postseason is approaching and the Granger girls basketball team is hitting its stride.

Monday night, the ninth-ranked Spartans handed No. 3 La Salle its first conference loss as a member of the SCAC West. Granger won 58-53 at the West Valley freshman gym.

Fantasia Reyes scored 20 of her game-high 24 points in the second half — including 13 in the fourth quarter — and Lyndsay Oswalt had 22 points and 15 rebounds for Granger (8-2 SCAC West, 15-3 overall).

The Spartans play just seven players, including three freshmen.

“Our young kids are getting better, better and better,” said Granger coach Andy Affholter, who has led the Spartans to top-four finishes at the last four Class 1A state tournaments.

La Salle (9-1, 14-2) was led by Kate McGree and Deanna Avalos, who each netted 15 points.

Despite the loss, the Lightning will still repeat as conference champions with wins Thursday against Zillah and next Monday at Goldendale.

Granger wraps up league play by visiting Cle Elum on Friday and Zillah on Saturday.

GRANGER — Oliveros 1, Villa 6, John 2, Lyndsay Oswalt 22, Parrish 0, Blodgett 3, Fantasia Reyes 24.
LA SALLE — Patterson 0, E. Avalos 0, Martin 3, Kate McGree 15, Andringa 8, Sattler 0, C. McGree 3, Boutillier 0, Deanna Avalos 15, Standley 0, Kaschmitter 9.
Granger    12    12    14    20    —    58
La Salle    14    9    14    16    —    53
Highlights: Oswalt (G) 15 reb.

Yakima County Farm Bureau opposes state’s wolf plan

January 31, 2012 by  

YAKIMA, Wash. — As far as Mark Herke is concerned, the occasional cougar was bad enough. He’s lost cattle on his Ahtanum ranch in 2005, 2007 and 2010 — a bull and a cow the first year, a calf in each of the latter two, each time killed by a cougar.

But a cougar, he said, “is happier to get the deer.” And it hunts alone.

Wolves are pack hunters. “That,” Herke said, “is a hellacious tool.

“This wolf is not going to be a game-changer. It’s going to be game over.”

That’s why Herke and the other members of the Yakima County Farm Bureau last week came out in opposition of Washington’s state wolf management plan, thus echoing the sentiment of Okanogan County commissioners who last summer petitioned to remove all protections from the state’s wolves.

The farm bureau’s press release said the state’s elk fences would enable wolves “to trap and slaughter” large numbers of elk. “It seems ironic,” the release went on, “that we, as tax payers, paid to have elk introduced into this area, paid to have the wildlife fences built, pay to feed the wildlife, and now are paying to have wolves eat the wildlife.”

The state also pays hunters — by way of landowners’ damage permits — to keep elk from gorging on private croplands. That’s how a hunter and his 9-year-old son had an intriguing Nov. 26 encounter with the Teanaway wolf pack roaming the hills of northwest Kittitas County.

Don Wood of Kent was hunting on an antlerless elk permit on a friend’s property off Teanaway Road when a wolf approached within 20 yards and watched them for quite a while.

“It came up to a bush that the leaves had fallen off of, so it was just kind of sticks and we could see it,” Wood said. “It was staring directly at us for probably a good three or four minutes.”

Wood said he was fascinated but, with his rifle in his arm, was not afraid, “just cautious. My son was standing right beside me; I told him, ‘Look, it’s a wolf.’ He was like, ‘Whoa.’ We didn’t really say much because wanted to be quiet.”

Eventually the wolf trotted off, and Wood’s son, Kenny, walked over to look at its tracks. After a couple of minutes, though, four other wolves — one of which wearing what appeared to be one of the state’s radio-collar units — approached from the same direction.

“I was telling (Kenny) to stop, and I went over to him because he didn’t realize what was going on. At that point, I was a little more concerned,” Wood said.

Still, though, he was more curious than nervous, and instead of raising his rifle, he raised his smart phone to take some photographs of the wolves until they ambled off.

“I had the phone in one hand and the rifle in the other,” Wood said. “(The wolves) stayed spread apart. I think they were coming down looking for breakfast and trying to determine if we were breakfast or not. At the time, I was alert and just trying to assess the whole situation, wasn’t really concerned. A couple of days later, at home in my bed, I was got to thinking, ‘Hey, that really could have gone the other way.’”

Herke, the Yakima County Farm Bureau member, is concerned about what will happen with greater number of wolves in the state. Though the Washington Farm Bureau and the Washington State Sheep Producers have come out in support of the state’s wolf management plan, Herke calls the plan’s goal of 15 breeding pairs “an unsustainable number” and said some YCFB board members would prefer to see no wolves whatsoever in Washington.

“But we’re way past that point now,” he said. “That horse is out of the barn.”

Washington’s wolf population is at least 27 now, including three breeding pairs, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s year-end survey of the state’s five confirmed wolf packs.

“That (wolf number) is a minimum. We know there are other wolves,” said WDFW spokesperson Madonna Luers. “I can’t tell you how many phone calls I’ve taken since that (survey) went out, and it’s always, ‘We’ve got more wolves.’”

Seven of them are believed to be in the Teanaway pack, roaming the rolling hills of northwest Kittitas County. That pack has yet to be involved in any livestock predation, though several pack members feeding on the carcass of a female sheep — killed by a cougar — injured a shepherd dog belonging to the Martinez family sheep-ranching operation based in Moxie.

The state paid for the dog’s veterinary bills; $650 was also paid to the owner of a calf killed by wolves in Stevens County in 2007, the lone verified case of domestic livestock predation by wolves in Washington so far. At that time wolves were still federally endangered in Eastern Washington and Defenders of Wildlife had a program to compensate for livestock losses to wolves.

Now, the state’s compensation money comes from $30,000 in an account funded half by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and half in matching funds from Defenders of Wildlife — a circumstance that Washington Cattlemen’s Association vice president Jack Field called “a conflict of interest.”

“The folks who are funding this do not share the same goals the livestock producers have in wanting to manage and control problem wolves,” Field said. “It is (the state’s) responsibility, not some outside entity’s responsibility, to fund it.”

But not all private landowners around the state, even those in rural areas, are particularly averse to the wolves’ arrival. Typical of that response is that of Dan Studley, one of the property owners on the land Wood was hunting when he and his son encountered those several members of the Teanaway pack.

“(The wolves) came on their own. They weren’t planted,” Studley said. “I look at them like the bear and the cougar and the elk and everything else around us. They’re just wildlife. I don’t oppose them at all. If they became a problem and (state officials) had to trap some and movement, then they’ll do that.

“I just don’t see that they’re going to impact our lives that much.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect the correct year, location of and circumstances surrounding the state’s only verified livestock kill by wolves.

Phillips: Focus shifts from hunting to fishing

January 31, 2012 by  

YAKIMA, Wash. — With waterfowl hunting ending this past Sunday, most of Washington’s main hunting seasons have come to a close and many folks will be turning their atten-tion to the up-coming fishing seasons.

Some of those, such as the early trout fishing seasons, are now only a month away and with a stellar spring salmon forecast for the Columbia, many anglers are already getting their gear ready to go.

In between now and then, there are some sportsman shows available to help with the preparation for spring outdoor pursuits.

For some of us with fishing on our minds, it’s hard to get back into the hunting mode so soon. But if you have always wanted to hunt out of state — say, with an outfitter in Montana or Wyoming or some other game-rich Western state — now is the time to start those plans.

Again, a sportsman show is a good place to begin that planning. Many guides and outfitters have booths at the shows and you can talk with them about all aspects of the hunts they offer.

While hunting with an outfitter is definitely an option, other hunters prefer to plan their out-of-state hunts on their own. A lot more preparation goes into a do-it-yourself hunt, but it can be great fun, is definitely more economical and can be very rewarding.

In my experience, hunting in other states will offer you the chance to hunt in areas with far fewer hunters than we see here in Washington, and with the opportunity to see more game than on a typical hunt here.

After hunting big game in Washington for over 20 years, getting a chance to hunt in some other states was a real eye-opener for me. It didn’t take me long to figure out there are actually some places in the West where you can go and not feel the pressure of shooting the first legal buck or bull you see.

Hunting out-of-state is not all that difficult. Yes, it is getting more and more expensive, but with a little preparation, planning and saving, you could be hunting in one of the nearby states this fall.

All the Western states offer tags for out-of-staters, but to get one you have to apply. Depending on the state, you’ll need to get your application and fees into the drawing within the next few months. Other states, such as Idaho, offer licenses and tags on a first-come, first-served basis over the counter.

Again, over the past few years, all of the states in the West have raised their license and tag fees considerably. When I first started hunting in Montana in the 1990s, a deer license and tag was only about $175. This past year the deer-only license and tag was over $560.

Most states have more applicants than they have tags. So, unless you can purchase them over the counter, it is never a sure thing. But virtually all states offer a bonus-point or a preference-point process to increase the odds of any hunter who keeps applying. None of the bonus-point systems are perfect but, frankly, they all seem to be more equitable than the system Washington uses.

Of course, it all depends on how many hunters are applying for tags each year, but most states will give you some kind of an idea how many bonus points you will need to get drawn. In most cases, such as in Montana, you should be drawn in two to three years. Last year we got drawn with one bonus point.

In other states, such as Colorado, they will basically tell you how many bonus points it takes to get drawn for certain units. Oregon gives similar information.

All the states offer maps and information about hunting on public lands, and some, such as Montana, have programs allowing hunters to access private lands as well. A little time and research will get you the information you need to figure our where to go and when to hunt.

Most of the states now have their 2012 out-of-state hunting information and applications available on line. Some have application deadlines coming up within the next month, so now is the time to start planning and preparing if you are thinking about hunting in another state.

Even though it is still months away, with a little preparation and a little luck, you could be enjoying a dream hunt in one of the nearby states this fall.

Rob Phillips is a freelance outdoor writer and partner in the advertising firm of Smith, Phillips & DiPietro. He can be reached at rwphillips@spdadvertising.com.

Prep basketball roundup: Granger boys roll on

January 31, 2012 by  

YAKIMA, Wash. — Granger opened a 10-point halftime lead and rolled past La Salle 66-51 in SCAC West boys basketball action Monday night at the West Valley freshman gym.

The fourth-ranked Spartans (8-2 SCAC West, 15-3 overall) were led by the 16 points of Christian Ochoa. Esua Cervantes added 14 points and Andrew Reddout chipped in 11.

Matt Maki had 21 points on seven 3-pointers and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Lightning (3-6, 7-9).

GRANGER — Pacheco 2, J. Castro 0, Rodarte 9, Brandon Castro 6, Oswalt 6, Ely 0, Andrade 0, Christian Ochoa 16, Esua Cervantes 14, Andrew Reddout 11, Mendoza 2.

LA SALLE — Garza 7, Andringa 0, Chambard 0, Smith 0, Stohr 0, Lighty 0, Bonny 8, Hoon 5, Matt Maki 21, Glazier 0, Pesek 4, Oldham 6.

Granger 18 12 19 17 — 66

La Salle 8 10 14 19 — 51

Highlights: Maki (LS) 7 3s, 10 rebs; Chambard 7 rebs, 5 assts.

 

HIGHLAND 58, CLE ELUM 50: At Cowiche, Wash., Faustino Uriostegui scored a game-high 21 points and Tanner Christenson and Antonio Gonzalez each added 13 as the Scotties (2-8 SCAC West, 4-13 overall) held off the Warriors for victory.

Griffon Alexander had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors (0-9, 2-14)

CLE ELUM — Newman 4, Kostonko 1, Allen 5, Tyler Kretschman 10, Andre Braxton 12, Griffon Alexander 16, Wallace 2, Fogelberg 0, Dellinger 0.

HIGHLAND — Ruiz 4, Stohr 7, Tanner Christenson 13, Faustino Uriostegui 21, Antonio Gonzalez 13, Trepanier 0, Wise 0, Nogales 0.

Cle Elum 10 19 2 19 — 50

Highland 17 16 15 10 — 58

Highlands: Alexander (CE) 12 rebs, Christenson 8 rebs.

 

Late Saturday game

La Salle 68, Cle Elum 58

LA SALLE — Garza 6, Andringa 1, Chambard 3, Smith 5, Lighty 2, Bonny 4, Matt Hoon 11, Maki 6, Glazier 0, Pesek 4, Bret Oldham 22, Stohr 4.

CLE ELUM — Weigert 0, Newman 9, Kostenko 2, Allen 5, Kretschman 6, Braxton 18, Fogelberg 4, Alexander 5, Dellinger 0, Wallace 9.

La Salle 12 10 32 14 — 68

Cle Elum 18 6 18 16 — 58

Highlights: Oldham (L) had 16 pt. in 3rd qtr.; Hoon (L) 7 rebs; Bonny (L) 5 assts.

 

CBBN 4A

WENATCHEE 51, EISENHOWER 50: At Yakima, Wash., Nathan Allison led all scorers with 17 points and Dillon Suggs added 14 as the Panthers (4-5 CBBN 4A, 7-9 overall) held on to beat Eisenhower.

Down one with six seconds left, the Cadets (0-11, 1-18) had a chance to win the game, but missed a shot.

Andy Soto led Eisenhower with 14 points, and teammates Austin Backes and Tony French added 11 points, respectively.

“We played with great energy, heart and passion tonight,” Ike coach Colton Monti said.

WENATCHEE — Brock Fuller 10, McGinnis 0, Hopkins 0, Siberius 3, Dillon Sugg 14, Faulkner 0, Driver 1, Chandler 0, Nathan Allison 17, Simms 6, Garcia 0.

EISENHOWER — Cassel 2, Cooper 0, Austin Backes 11, Jones 0, Nickens 8, Harris 4, Tony French 11, Partlow 0, Gomez 0, Andy Soto 14.

Wenatchee 15 17 13 6 — 51

Eisenhower 15 8 15 12 — 50

Highlights: Soto (E) 6 reb; Don Nickens (E) 8 reb.

 

GREATER COLUMBIA 1B

SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN 59. BICKLETON 22: At Bickleton, Wash., Trevor Wagenaar scored a game-high 22 points and Brandon Broersma added 13 as the Knights (6-0 GCB, 11-6) rolled.

The Pirates fell to 0-4 in league and 4-9 overall.

SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN — Trevor Wagenaar 22, Puterbaugh 4, Haak 1, Driesen 2, Van Wingerter 4, Bosma 2, Brandon Broersma 13, M. Broersma 4, Scheenstra 7.

BICKLETON — Berk 2, J. Roberts 5, Bates 5, Brown 4, N. Powers 4, Lowe 2, Cardenas 0, Clinton 0, Strader 0, M. Powers 0, Underwood 0, T. Roberts 0.

Sunnyside Chr. 13 17 14 15 — 59

Bickleton 2 5 5 10 — 22

 

GIRLS BASKETBALL

SCAC WEST

CLE ELUM 50, HIGHLAND 36: At Cowiche, Wash., Carlee Creager led the Warriors with 20 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, and Sara Ferguson added 14 points as Cle Elum (2-9 SCAC West, 6-11 overall) won.

Tavi Wise led the Scotties (0-10, 1-16) with 16 points and Olivia Newman added 14.

CLE ELUM — Winebrenner 0, Carlee Creager 20, Andrus 7, Allen 6, Burchak 1, Owens 2, Sara Ferguson 14.

HIGHLAND — Smith 0, Madrigal 0, Preston 1, Angel 1, Rice 4, Perez 0, Lopez 0, Olivia Newman 14, Tavi Wise 16.

Cle Elum 12 10 13 15 — 50

Highland 5 10 14 7 — 36

Highlights: Creager (CE) 10 rebs, 5 steals, 3 blocks; Ferguson (SE) 15 rebs, 4 stls; Allen (CE) 6 rebs, 3 assists.

 

GREATER COLUMBIA 1B

SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN 59, BICKLETON 18: At Bickleton, Wash., Marisa Broersma scored nine points to lead a balanced attack for the Knights (7-0 GCB, 15-1 overall).

The Pirates fell to 2-4 in league and 4-6 overall.

SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN — Haak 8, Williams 5, DeGroot 6, Long 8, Den Hoed 7, B. Broersma 8, M. Broersma 9, Van Belle 5, Wavrian 1, Dalrymple 2.

BICKLETON — O’Banion 2, Lindsley 0, Ha. Goodnight 4, Venema 9, Brown 3, McBride 0, He. Goodnight 0.

Sunnyside Chr. 23 13 15 8 — 59

Bickleton 0 7 4 7 — 18

Local report — CWU second in GNAC preseason softball poll

January 30, 2012 by  

YAKIMA, Wash. — Central Washington’s two-time defending conference champion softball team was voted second in the GNAC preseason poll.

The Wildcats received two first-place votes in the poll and finished just behind Montana State-Billings in the ranking, which is voted upon by the seven conference coaches.

MSUB received three first-place votes, while Western Washington also received two first-place votes and was third in the poll.

Simon Fraser, Northwest Nazarene, Western Oregon, and Saint Martin’s rounded out the poll.

 

Track and field

Boyes named Athlete of the Week

YAKIMA, Wash. — Central Washington junior Brennan Boyes was named the GNAC male athlete of the week for indoor track and field on Monday.

Boyes cleared a height of 6 feet, 83?4 inches at the UW Invitational in Seattle on Saturday, tying for fifth in the event. More importantly, Boyes met a provisional Division II national-qualifying standard in the event and posted a tie for the second-best indoor high jump in the history of the GNAC.

 

College Wrestling

North Idaho College 45, YVCC 3

125: Jaquin Calderon (NIC) d. Jesse O’Camb (YVCC) 17-7.

133: Konner Hopkins (YVCC) d. Blake Adams (NIC) 4-0.

141: Jarrett Morrill (NIC) pinned Chris Pena (YVCC) 1:22.

149: Derek Booth (NIC) d. Jimmy Wilson (YVCC) 8-0.

157: Ryan Zumwalt (NIC) pinned Kolton Palmer (YVCC) 6:48.

165: WV Meyer (NIC) d. Levii Duvall (YVCC) 15-4.

174: Kyle Sweedman (NIC) pinned Mikey Ayala (YVCC) 1:36.

184: Kaleb Revira (NIC) pinned Chris Burnett (YVCC) 2:52.

197: Justin Korthius (NIC) pinned Daniel Agao (YVCC) 4:18.

HVY: Justin Gillespie (NIC) d. Steve Taylor (YVCC) 12-3.

1/31/12 Outdoors What’s Happening

January 30, 2012 by  

District may extend spring trail closures

Officials at the Naches Ranger District, already facing an uproar over the prospect of some system trails falling to the wayside in light of the loss of trail-maintenance funding, are considering raising even that decibel level.

In hopes of minimizing resource damage to motorized trails by early-season riding on rain-saturated trails, district officials are looking into closing all motorized trails (four-wheel-drive, ATV and single-tread motorcycle) to all uses every April and May.

Although there have been annual Forest Orders that have in some heavy-rain springs similarly closed those trails until June 1, the district is proposing to go through the environmental- and social-analysis process that would make that closure rule an every-year thing.

Under the proposed action, those motorized trails would be closed not only to the wheeled-vehicle riders, but to all users.

Mailed official comments can be addressed to Michelle King, NEPA planner, at the Naches Ranger District. Emails can be sent to comments-pacificnorthwest-wenatchee-naches@fs.fed.us.

 

BIRD ALERT

A West Valley resident noticed the yard birds scattering and looked out to see a large prairie falcon perched in a tall cottonwood tree. The resident noted it had been several years since the last winter visit from a prairie falcon and thinks the deep snow has a lot to do with it showing up now.

Searching the neighborhoods north of Englewood on 47th Avenue, a local birder noted a birch tree (above a house with feeders) that held 30 American goldfinches, a couple of pine siskins and one preening bird high in the tree that turned out to be a common redpoll. Also seen: a merlin, two varied thrushes and four western scrub jays.

A half-day spent birding the Yakima Training Center produced a good list of hard-to-find birds in our area including greater sage grouse, gyrfalcon, Lapland longspur, snow bunting and gray-crowned rosy finch.

A Yakima Valley Audubon Society field trip from Toppenish west to Fort Simcoe tallied 42 species, including nine species of raptors (four of which were falcons). They saw bald eagle, northern harrier, Cooper’s hawk, red-tailed hawk, rough-legged hawk, American kestrel, merlin, peregrine falcon and prairie falcon.

Roosting owls were easy to see at one Parker Heights residence, where there was a barred owl in some dense junipers, a northern saw-whet owl in a row of pine trees south of the entry lane and a great horned owl high in a dense spray of incense cedars.

Call your bird sightings into the Yakima Valley Audubon phone line at 509-248-1963.

— Kerry Turley

 

AROUND AND ABOUT

W.K. BUTTON SHOOT: Joel Froehlich broke the day’s high score at Sunday’s fifth week of the W.K. Button Shoot with a 24×25 to take home the first button in the men’s division. The second men’s button went to Craig Lee after a lengthy seven-competitor shootoff. Bob Grey took home the senior button with a 23, while Dale Hoffman topped the super seniors and new shooter Damien Anderson took home the button in the juniors.

DNR OPEN HOUSE: The Department of Natural Resources will hold an opoen house at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Snoqualmie Middle School to discuss the future of recreation on 53,000 acres of DNR lands along the Snoqualmie corridor.

BOAT SHOW: Can’t stand the 21?2-week wait for the Central Washington Sportsmen Show at the SunDome? Check out the Seattle Boat Show at one of its two locations, at South Lake Union or CenturyLink Field, running through this Sunday.

 

ON THE CALENDAR

TODAY: The Cascadian Tuesdays will head out to a destination to-be-determined at 8 a.m. from the 40th Avenue Bi-Mart parking lot for whatever cross-country ski/snowshoe trek looks the best. Come prepared for anything and bring a lunch.

THURSDAY: Cascadian Pokies a change from the newsletter, if the weather cooperates, XC/snowshoe at North Fork of the Tieton Road, call Jim Hertel at 509-469-4458. Non-snow people, call Jeanne Crawford 509-966-8608.

SATURDAY: The Cascadians will lead a ski/snowshoe outing in the Bumping Lake area. For meeting time and place, call 509-658-2553.

Parsons takes third in Best Trick

January 29, 2012 by  

ASPEN, Colo. — Yakima’s Joe Parsons added a bronze to his collection of Winter X Games medals in the Best Trick competition on Sunday evening.

Heath Frisby won the gold medal by pulling off the first front flip in the X games.

Colten Moore, who won Thursday’s Freestyle gold medal, was second.

Parsons’ jump, described on ESPN.com as a no-footed can-can backflip was given a score of 88.0 by the judges. Frisby’s winning jump earned a 96.66.

The bronze medal is Parsons’ ninth in Winter X Games competition.

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