In this June 22, 2015 photo, Melissa Erkel, a fish passage biologist with the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, looks at a culvert, a large pipe that allows streams to pass beneath roads but block migrating salmon, along the north fork of Newaukum Creek near Enumclaw, Wash.
It’s not uncommon for the Bureau of Land Management and the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department to field questions from new anglers, floaters or others seeking to responsibly explore the Yakima River’s many recreation possibilities.
More than 350,000 people each year visit the four BLM access sites in the Yakima River Canyon, according to BLM recreation planner Diane Priebe. Still more enter the water at various wildlife department sites in Kittitas County to enjoy the outdoors and find respite from the summer heat.
Priebe and others saw decade-old signs with rules and regulations beginning to deteriorate, but they needed help to take on a long overdue project. More than a year later a project spearheaded by Yakima Fly Fishers Association resulted in new, clearer signs posted at 12 sites along the Yakima River.
“The rules on the river have been around for a long time and I think people who fish there are pretty well aware of them,” Yakima Fly Fishers Association secretary Tim Gavin said. “The concern is for poaching and maybe for visitors who are not familiar with the river.”
He joined 12 others last weekend to visit eight sites and put up signs for anglers to complete the $3,100 renovation efforts, with the exception of one sign Gavin said the wildlife department will put in later at King Horn Slough between Cle Elum and Easton. The majority of funds came from a $1,700 Yakima Fly Fishers and Trout Unlimited Embrace a Stream Grant, supplemented by donations from Fly Fishers International, Columbia Basin Fly Casters, Cabela’s and an individual donor.
The wildlife department’s regional fish program manager, Marc Divens, said the fishing signs clarify old regulations and identify new ones, such as the repeal of limits on the eastern brook trout. Gavin said it can be a challenge to tell them apart from the native and endangered bull trout that must be released from the Roza Dam up to the Easton Dam.
“There’s a little (saying) that we try and teach people,” Gavin said. “If there’s no black, throw it back because eastern brook trout will have black spots.”
Most sites also feature slightly smaller new signs for floaters, reminding them of proper etiquette and safety tips. Priebe said it’s also important for people to know river levels, along with the information on the signs put up by BLM at its four sites earlier this summer.
“I think they’re more readable now,” Priebe said. “It might be less information on the signs to people might be willing to stop and read it.”
Gavin praised the wildlife department for taking extra time to rewrite the signs to improve readability and ensure simple, concise language. Divens said even with the updated signs, it’s still important to check for special regulations — he suggests using the new Fish Washington app — before any fishing trip.
As fishing rules change slight adjustments could be made with the approval of the wildlife department, but Gavin expects the signs to last for several years. They’re another example of the wildlife department partnering with stakeholders to find funding sources to ensure safe, responsible outdoor recreation.
“We couldn’t do these projects without them,” Divens said. “It’s a huge contribution to help us get the word out with regulations and safety.”
