Starting this morning (Wednesday, May 16), the lower river is now open for salmon fishing  from the Interstate 182 bridge in Richland to the Grant Avenue bridge in Prosser.

Saturday’s expected opening of the river’s upper portion, from Union Gap to the railroad bridge just below Roza Dam, was also approved by the WDFW’s Olympia headquarters.

Regional fish program manager John Easterbrooks said he expects the lower river to remain open through the end of June, while the upper river would likely be open through July, considering the lateness of this year’s run.

About 5,000 adult hatchery spring chinook are expected to return to the Yakima River.

Daily limit will be two hatchery chinook, identified by a clipped adipose fin. Wild salmon (those with an intact adipose fin) must be released unharmed without ever removing them from the water.

– Scott Sandsberry

But for anglers waiting not-so-patiently for the slowest and latest spring salmon run on record to get serious, that time finally seems to be coming around.

Wednesday’s count of 18,436 at Bonneville Dam was the fifth-largest daily count in more than 40 years, maybe even going as far back as 1938, according to Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission biologist Stuart Ellis.

And that was just the highlight of a week that has finally started to see the gridlock open up at Bonneville. Through last weekend, there hadn’t been a daily count above 5,000 all spring; then Monday’s count topped 9,000, Tuesday reached 12,000 and then Wednesday’s shot through the roof.

Meanwhile, Prosser Dam had had but a single spring chinook come through all season, and that one was so early — April 5 — that it might have been misidentified. Prosser had 54 springers come through on Tuesday and another 50 on Wednesday, and Thursday’s early count was 33.

Looks like things are finally starting to move. Won’t be long now before the Yakima season gets rolling.

Now if only the river will clear up …

– Scott Sandsberry

This Saturday, though, it will be pretty much an all-day thing at the Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge. Or, at least, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

That’s when the refuge will officially celebrate International Migratory Bird Day, with all kinds of bird-related activities — including a bird banding demonstration, lots of bird watching and a live raptor program, raptors being a bird even non-birders can get excited about.

For the banding demonstration, you’ll have to be there early — it begins at 7 a.m. A bird-watching walk follows at 8, and a program with live owls and hawks will be presented by the Raptor House Rehabilitation Center at 10.

The refuge headquarters will have children’s games and learning materials to keep the kids occupied, and they should also enjoy the event-ending hayride. The event is free and is co-sponsored by the Yakima Valley Audubon Society.

International Migratory Bird Day, held annually on the second Saturday in May, was created to draw attention to the nearly 350 bird species that migrate between their nesting habitats in North America and their non-breeding grounds to the south in Mexico, Central and South America.

The refuge is located at 21 Pumphouse Road, off Highway 97 southwest of Toppenish. For more information, call the Mid-Columbia River National Wildlife Refuge Complex at 509-546-8300.

– Scott Sandsberry

The likelihood of this May 1-June 15 closure of motorized trails shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as the subject has been in the wind for months and has been the focus of much discussion among user groups at Trails and Wilderness Interest Group (TWIG) meetings and on motorized-use online forums.

District Ranger Irene Davidson said the decision came “after considerable effort to communicate our intentions to the public,” and that the closure is intended to minimize damage to trails and reduce the demand for maintenance.

Since a significant amount of the district’s motorized trail system is still under snow or wet from the recent rainy stretch, the closure — at least for the time being — shouldn’t raise much of a ruckus among even the most vociferous of trail users.

The district is honoring one very important request of many of the area’s conscientious user-group clubs, that “officially sponsored” volunteer groups be allowed to perform trail maintenance during the closed period. Those groups received the same exemption during last year’s similar spring closure.

“Our volunteers are very conscientious,” Davidson said. “They all refrained from working on trails in wet conditions last year.”

– Scott Sandsberry

I’ve gone to this event — dubbed GISS for short by another acronym-loving group, KEEN (Kittitas Environmental Education Network, which sponsors the thing) — a couple of times over the years. The first time was to see what it was all about (and get a story out of it); the second time was to take the grandkids on an outing to something they’d really enjoy.  And they had a blast.

And, frankly, so did I.  It’s fun getting out and looking for snakes and lizards, or checking out frogs and pond life, or listening to somebody who’s really into birds talk about how the black one in that tree is different than, say, the black one in that other tree. It’s fun checking out beaver dams — without bothering the busy beavers, of course.

Frankly, it’s fun just getting outside, and it becomes a lot more fun when you can do it in the company people who know a lot more about the outdoors than you do. You might find out birds, or bugs, or frogs or even snakes are more interesting, and perhaps less scary or icky, than you thought they were.

For my money, the coolest stuff to check out is the array of field trips centered at the Umtanum recreation site, but there’s also field trips at Helen McCabe State Park farther up the canyon and even stuff slated for downtown Ellensburg. Check this out for a full schedule of what’s going on when and where.

Check it out.  And bring the kids.  (Or the grandkids.)  Even if you don’t love it, they will.

– Scott Sandsberry

Forest Road 52, commonly known as the Skate Creek Road, runs from Packwood northwest to a junction with State Route 706, which travelers can then follow to the Nisqually entrance to the park and on up to Paradise.

Park visitors from the east and southeast can also reach Paradise by taking State Route 123 to the Silver Falls entrance and following Stevens Canyon Road, but the latter typically isn’t open until later in the season.

Travelers on Skate Creek Road will still need to be wary of downed trees, snow patches and the potholes left over from another rough winter on their way to Mount Rainier.

– Scott Sandsberry

They can find themselves on call, simply by answering a knock on their camper door, at the oddest of hours. (“Excuse me, but the people in the tent next to our site are snoring really loud. Can you do something about that?” The correct answer: Uh, no. Why didn’t you bring earplugs?)

They have to provide their own living quarters. (Their own RV, usually.)  Sounds like the worst of all possible gigs, right?

Yeah, right. That must be why so many campground hosts keep coming back for more of the same abuse.

“We have hosts who come back year after year, and come back a lot of times to the same parks,” said Cindy Jorgensen, who coordinates Washington State Parks’ volunteer program. “We have snowbirds who go south for the winter and then come back to their parks for the rest of the year.”

But because the vast majority of campground hosts are retirees who eventually get around to retiring from hosting as well, every year around this time the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission puts out the word that it’s seeking “enthusiastic and interested volunteers” to serve as campground hosts at its parks around the state.

For the record, I’ve met a lot of campground hosts, and while there might be the occasional grousing — usually about overly demanding or inconsiderate campers — on the whole these folks seem to be genuinely happy about what they’re doing. They love being in the great outdoors or they wouldn’t do it, and let’s face it, a state park is generally set in a pretty nice place to be outdoors. That’s why somebody made it a park in the first place, right?

So, you’re thinking, what do these people have to do?

OK, let’s get right to the question you really want answered. NO, THEY DON’T CLEAN TOILETS.

(Audible sighs all around.)

Hosts do different things at different parks — but, again, no toilet-cleaning. Some are meeters and greeters; some get into knowing the topography, history or other interesting facts about the park and its surroundings and enjoy doing “interpretive” talks with campground guests; some might do general maintenance, help staff with minor carpentry or, in some cases, help man a park store.

Hosts do receive free camping and hookups for their RV/camping equipment (which each host has to provide). A typical host assignment is 30 days, but it can be extended up to 90 days at the park manager’s discretion.

For a list of volunteer and host openings, visit http://www.parks.wa.gov/volunteers/hosting, or stop by the State Parks booth at the Puyallup Fair, May 3-6. If you want to give campground hosting a shot, contact Jorgensen at 360-902-8612 or Cindy.Jorgensen@parks.wa.gov or Laney McIntyre at 360-902-8617 or Laney.McIntyre@parks.wa.gov.

– Scott Sandsberry

The Cascadians’ monthly general meeting at the auditorium (215 N. 40th Avenue) will feature a photographic presentation by David Nott entitled “Trekking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal with my Son.” Nott’s program will begin at 7 p.m., following a 6:30 p.m. swap meet of hiking, camping, biking or other outdoor gear.

The event is free and open to the public.

– Scott Sandsberry

Well, apparently we do.  Even on something as seemingly simple as putting out our campfires — COMPLETELY — before we head into our tents for the night or back home at the end of our camping trip.

 Over the past four years, campers neglecting to do just that have caused nearly 700 wildfires on Department of Natural Resources-protected lands in Washington state. Think about that: Nearly 200 wildfires a year, in this state alone, caused by negligent campers. Another 100 campfires were left burning might well have turned into wildfires but they were reported and put out before they caused any damage.

And all because people were too lazy or too forgetful to do something little kids learn (thanks to Smokey Bear) before they’re out of the second grade: If what’s left of the campfire that you think you’ve extinguished is too hot to touch, it’s too hot to leave. It’s not out.

there have been nearly 700 wildfires that resulted from negligent campers leaving their fire pits smoldering and unattended. Another 100 campers left campfires burning without first making sure they were fully extinguished. Fortunately, those were reported and put out before they escaped.

The DNR will be at the Ahtanum Campground this Sunday morning and early afternoon to help educate early-season campers about campfire safety. Apparently, a lot of still need to listen up.

– Scott Sandsberry

And, of course, it’s not.

A bit of wind kicks up an ember or three. A half-burned stick on the edge of the fire pit sparks up again. A little fire grows into a bigger one, and becomes the latest in the seemingly endless line of wildfires caused by poorly tended or improperly extinguished campfires.

Not surprisingly, it’s Wildfire Awareness Week. Or was, or will soon be, depending on where you live and on what state or federal land management agency’s land you recreate. (I did an online search. Wildfire Awareness Week was last week in one state, it’s next week in another and, with Washington State public lands, we’re in the middle of what is actually a 16-day, April 21-May 6 “wildfire awareness week.”)

Maybe we here in Washington need the extra time to get it straight, because clearly some of us haven’t quite gotten the message. (A small fire that broke out in the Nasty Creek area was believed to have started from an unattended campfire. Same ol’, same ol’.)

So if you happen to be recreating out in the Ahtanum State Forest this weekend, you can check out the Department of Natural Resources’ wildfire-awareness and campfire-clean-out event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Ahtanum Campground.

Smokey Bear will be present, so bring the kids. We’re marginally certain they won’t be able to tell the difference between a bear and a guy in a bear suit and, besides, the original Smokey wasn’t much of a public speaker anyway. Besides, if the kids can learn how important it is to put campfires dead out, maybe they can help their forgetful elders remember to do the same.

Volunteer crews will also be in the Ahtanum cleaning out designated fire pits in the area in preparation for the upcoming busy camping season.

– Scott Sandsberry

Brothers David and Brad Sharp have been dominating the Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Hillclimb Association (RMSHA) pro masters divisions for years. David has owned this year more than perhaps any other — with one event to go, he’s leading the season standings in all three pro masters classes (stock, modified and improved) — with Brad not far behind in any of the three.

David’s son, David Jr., is a 19-year-old graduate of East Valley who, at the tender age of 16, became the youngest racer in RMSHA’s history — and the first semipro ever — to be named the tour’s racer of the year. Now he’s in the pro classes, ranked in the top five in four of the RMSHA’s most competitive (and most populous) classes, ranked second in two of them.

What does this look like, this going uphill on a snowmobile really fast?

It looks like this.

The video on that link is from last weekend’s Beaver Mountain Hillclimb in Logan, Utah, where David Jr. had the fastest run of the entire day — any class, any snowmobile engine size, any division.

That young man was moving. If you’re looking for a vicarious thrill — yeah, there’s some helmet-cam stuff in there — check it out.

– Scott Sandsberry

The Wenas Valley Muzzleloaders have been ramrodding this volunteer clean-up effort for years, always in cooperation with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife — which manages the wildlife area but simply doesn’t have the manpower to keep the place clean.

Anyone who has been out to the range for target practice knows what needs to be cleaned up, and it’s not just those thousands of spent shells. Too many people have taken to using the range as their personal dumping area, in some cases to create de facto targets and probably also because they’re too lazy or cheap to drive their garbage to the county dump. With the WDFW looking at management options related to the shooting range, anybody who wants to see that it stays open might want to spend some time keeping it clean.

So, yeah, volunteers are needed. If you’ve got the energy, the time and the drive, show up at 8 a.m. at the Sheep Company Road entrance onto the wildlife area. (That’s six miles north of Selah on North Wenas Road; turn right at Sheep Company Road.)

Bring rakes, shovels, gloves and drinking water. WDFW will provide dumpsters to put the trash into. While working on the project, volunteers will be covered by state L&I. Master Hunters or anyone looking to turn in approved volunteer hours towards a goal (such as earning a Discover Pass) should be sure to check in with the project coordinator to insure your hours will count toward your volunteer requirements.

Discover Passes or WDFW access passes will be required of anyone involved in the cleanup, and anyone who doesn’t have either can pick up a temporary Discover Pass (free to volunteers) at the entrance gate.

For more information, call the clean-up project coordinator, Don Witke, at 509-697-6378.

– Scott Sandsberry

If you want to sign up for the class, click here to enter the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s registration process, then click on the “Register Now” link under Traditional Class, go to the date of the class you’d like to join — in this case, April 9, but you can also see if there are other classes coming up that are more convenient to your schedule — and follow the prompts.

Class fee is $5, payable at the first class. Classes will be held at the Pomona Gun Club, but walk-up registration is not allowed. You’ve got to take care of it in advance online. Class instructor is Dave Pittman.

– Scott Sandsberry

Some time over the next few months, or even weeks, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Region 3 folks hope to schedule what may be the first of several meetings — or hearings, or public-input sessions, whatever you want to call them — to figure out how best to make that part of the Wenas Wildlife Area a safer place to hike, ride, bird-watch, sight-see, hunt and, yes, target shoot.

The meetings will need to include representatives from the Department of Natural Resources, which also manages large blocks of land in the areas of the wildlife area that still have that century-old checkerboard ownership pattern.

The main issue at the Sheep Company Road shooting range for many years was simply the excessive garbage left behind by discourteous target shooters. In recent years, though, it has been the significant number of shooters who don’t use backstops behind their targets or, in some cases, simply seem to shoot indiscriminately in any direction and from anywhere.

“There’s a lot of careless target shooting out there,” said Bob Badgley, a member of the Wenas Valley chapter of the of the Backcountry Horsemen. “Some people don’t realize they need to use a backstop and, when they don’t, the bullet just keeps on going. And sometimes it flies right by our heads as we’re riding by on our horses.”

“We’ve got some safety concerns out there, because of the target shooting — people shooting with no regard for backstops,” Jody Taylor, assistant manager of the Wenas Wildlife Area. 

That’s what the tentatively planned meetings will entail, Taylor said.

“We’ve got hikers and birders and horseback people out there that need to be safe out there, and we’re just trying to look at possibilities,” he said. “We’re not going to close down target shooting. We’re just to look at different options.”

For anybody who has ever felt like a target out there, that day can’t come soon enough.

– Scott Sandsberry