Coho Conservation Plan Reviewed Tuesday

The Oregon Coast Coho Conservation Plan (OCCCP) is the topic Tuesday, December 13 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. in Lincoln City. Dan Avery, the Coastal Implementation Coordinator for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fish Conservation Plans, will discuss the background, goals, and proposed implementation for the plan. The OCCCP is part of the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds, and the Native Fish Conservation Policy. Catherine Pruett, Executive Director of the Salmon Drift Creek Watershed Council (SDCWC) said the purpose of OCCCP “is to ensure the continued viability of the Oregon Coast Coho Evolutionary Significant Unit and to achieve a desired status that provides substantial ecological and societal benefits.”
 Avery’s career as a biologist has focused on how physical habitats support organisms and how various land use affects habitat. The presentation is free and open to the public at the SDCWC Office in the Old Taft Elementary School. Directions: Turn east at the traffic light Lincoln City at 51st Street S.E. Follow 51st around the corner to the old elementary school, park in the parking lot and look for the SDCWC signs. For information, call 541.996.3161 or email.

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Ocean Crabbing Will Open December 15

Commercial crabbing will begin December 15 as anticipated, according to Oregon fishery managers. The decision was made December 8 to open the Oregon coast from Columbia River to just north of Gold Beach. The ocean commercial Dungeness season normally opens December 1, but was delayed because crab did not meet minimum pre-season quality testing. As the commercial rigs go out, the recreational boats will be right behind, weather permitting as that season opens December 15 as well. The small section of coast from Gold Beach to the California border opens to both sport and commercial harvest January 15, 2012. Commercial crabbers are allowed to set their gear three days before the season opens, so ocean watchers will see the lights of crab boats off most of the coast as early as Monday, December 12. For local information on crabbing, call 541-867-0300 ext. 244.

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2012 Groundfish Season Set

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has set the 2012 groundfish seasons with an eye toward more predictable seasons and reducing the number of early season closures. Once change restricts harvesting groundfish to waters less than 30 fathoms from April to September. In the past, the groundfish fishery was restricted to less than 40 fathoms from April to September in order to reduce impacts on yelloweye rockfish. Another change closes the cabezon season during the winter months of January through March and October through December. There will be two in-season management lines in 2012, one at Cape Lookout and one at Cape Blanco. In the event that in-season action is needed in the fishery to reduce impacts to yelloweye rockfish, those lines may be used to provide relief to areas on the coast that are disproportionately impacted by depth restrictions. The Commission also approved $485 thousand in funding for restoration and habitat enhancement projects recommended by the Fish Restoration and Enhancement Program and the Access and Habitat Program.

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State Touts Hunting and Fishing Licenses for Christmas

Oregon’s 2012 hunting and fishing licenses went on sale December 1, with ODFW suggesting they are “gifts that last all year.” Sports Pacs and parking permits are also available now. They can be purchased on the ODFW website, some agency offices and from license agents. Buying a license as a gift requires having the hunter’s or angler’s full name and date of birth. If the person has previously had a license, the ODFW hunter/angler ID number, at the top of their license is also required. If you are purchasing a license for someone who has never had a license, you will need that person’s social security number to comply with Federal and State laws. ODFW said Sports Pacs are popular. The Juvenile Resident Sports Pac lets 12- to 17-year olds fish, hunt crab and clam for $52. The adult Sports Pac saves $69.75 off the cost of individual licenses. Another gift idea from ODFW is a donation to the Nongame Wildlife Fund, which funds conservation of the 88 percent of Oregon wildlife that are not hunted, trapped or fished. The Fund has benefited species including the peregrine falcon, bald eagle, western snowy plover and yellow-legged frog, and native habitats on both private and public lands.

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Hunter Representative Wanted by ODFW

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wants someone with experience in hunting and/or wildlife conservation as a Hunter Representative on the Access and Habitat Program’s South Willamette Advisory Council. People in Lincoln County are eligible for this post, and are encouraged to apply. Applications are available online and due at the Corvallis ODFW office by Feb. 17, 2011. For more information or for application materials by mail, call 541-757-5237. The Hunter Representative is a volunteer position requiring participation in up to four public meetings per year to review project proposals and conduct other council business. Some travel is required. Duties also include collaborative work with landowners, sports groups, ODFW staff, and representatives of other government agencies to facilitate the A and H Program.

The program was created by the Oregon Legislature in 1993, and is funded primarily by a $4 surcharge on hunting licenses. Funds raised by the program are distributed through grants awarded to individual and corporate landowners, conservation organizations, and others to cooperatively fund wildlife habitat improvement and hunter access projects in the state.

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