Wildlife director hears local voices on salmon, elk hoof rot issues

Administrators of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife visited Wahkiakum County commissioners and citizens Tuesday and left with an ear full of comments on salmon allocations and elk hoof rot.

Director Jim Unsworth and Regional Director Guy Norman spent over two hours discussing the issues with commissioners and Wahkiakum residents.

They left with a better understanding of local views on the issues, and they left participants with a better understanding of the department's approach to the issues.

Both sport and commercial fishers should have good opportunity to go after chinook salmon on the Columbia River, Norman said, but an expected below average run may curtail fall fishing for coho.

And at the end of the year, the fish and wildlife commissions of Washington and Oregon will evaluate the success of the Kitzhaber Plan which boosted the share of salmon for recreational fishers and pushed gillnetters off the main channel of the river.

Meanwhile, the department continues to study elk hoof rot to gain a complete understanding of the disease so that it can develop a sound response to it.