When I was a child I had a pet turtle that I kept in an aquarium in my room. As an unabashed fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series I had gone so far as to name my very first reptilian companion in the same vein as the more famous amphibians from the television.
Where the crime fighting turtles on TV were named after famous artists like Leonardo, MIchelangelo, Raphael and Donatello, my first addition to my very own terapane crime fighting team was given the name Botticelli so that he would fit right in with the rest of the crew once he made the big time.
The turtle, a variety known as a box turtle, is native to the eastern swath of the United States. An old retired neighbor from down the block had brought back a truckload of them from Arkansas one summer after their mass migration across a highway forced traffic to stop in both directions. Rounding up a sizable collection of tiny turtles he loaded them up in his truck and brought them home, where he spent hours upon hours perfecting their living arrangements inside his meticulously organized garage.
After paying that neighbor many visits to peer at his turtles, one day he offered a turtle of my own and I jumped at the opportunity. When I brought Botticelli home, my dad helped me set up a similar living arrangement for my new turtle friend that included a plastic basin for a swimming pool and a rounded rock to lounge about and dry off on. When those preparations were completed I was left with nothing much more to do than watch Botticelli and imagine the adventures that we would have.
As one might imagine, staring at a lazy turtle inside the confines of a glass container was less thrilling than my seven year old mind had envisioned. So, after a failed attempt to will Botticelli into action through the glass, I made the only rational decision my first grade mind could conjure in the moment — I decided to take the turtle into the wild world outside.
The thing is, my plan backfired right from the get go. As it turns out, when an excited child rapidly grabs for a vulnerable turtle the inevitable result is that the turtle will hideaway deep inside the cocoon of his shell. Undeterred, I took my hideaway turtle out to the backyard, set him down in the tall green grass, and then slowly backed away.
A minute passed as I intently watched for a sign of movement from Botticelli. Nothing. Then another minute passed, and another. Nothing still. Soon they were falling away in pairs as I racked my brain for an idea to jump start our adventures.
As boredom began to take root over my body the turtle still steadfastly refused to move and, like the minds of little boys are wont to do, mine began to wander. Feeling confident that my frozen turtle would remain statuesque I ran inside the house in order to fetch something I assume was of great importance. Perhaps it was a popsicle. Maybe it was a cookie. Or, just as likely, I had run off to put together my most convincing Ninja Turtle ensemble in the hopes of inspiring Botticelli into radical action.
In any case, once I went inside and was confronted with the comforts of home my mind continued to wander even farther away from the unsupervised turtle out on the lawn. Today, all I can remember is the incredible sense of ease that I was basking in only moments before I remembered my mistake. I had lost track of time, and in doing so, I had lost track of my new turtle friend.
Rushing up the stairs like a motivated monkey on my hands and knees I hoped that Botticelli had yet to wake up from his afternoon siesta. When I reached the backyard though my worst fears were confirmed. Botticelli was nowhere to be found.
Panicked, my heart tried to escape my body but became lodged in my throat. With adrenaline pumping and dread washing all over my body I raced around the yard in search of my turtle. I looked for trails in the grass and looked for his orange speckled shell to be sitting like a rock in some shadowy corner. But my searching did no good, and my fretting was even more useless, so after what seemed like an hour-long search all by my lonesome I realized it was time to fess up to my father about my self-imposed misfortune.
To my great relief my dad reacted with compassion instead of disappointment, frustration or anger. He could see the tears welling up in my eyes and instead of lambasting me for my irresponsible decision, he quickly set out to help in the search and rescue effort.
We drew up Lost Turtle fliers and posted them around the neighborhood and knocked on doors to see if anyone had run into a turtle on the lam. Thinking logically, as a true Ninja Turtle aficionado of course, I made sure to stop at every manhole cover and sewer grate as we made our way around the neighborhood so that I could call out for Bocelli into the dark unknown below the city where uncommon turtles are known to roam. Each time I would call out into the sewer and wait with baited breath for a response. While no response ever emitted from the underground labyrinth below the city, I must admit that even as an adult I still offer my subterranean salutations in good faith from time to time when the notion strikes me.
Sadly, we never did learn where that turtle snuck off to, but I learned the first part of a valuable life lesson: Sometimes the things that move the slowest of all can be the hardest to keep track of.
To be continued...
FISHIN’
How’s the fishing?
Cast that question in any direction and you’re bound to hit an angler who will give quickly give you a one-word answer — SLOW.
“It’s slow to say the best,” said Andy Coleman, pisocatorial proprietor of Andy’s Angling Adventures, a guide service that primarily plies the waters of the Cowlitz.
Coleman says he’s seen an average of just three fish per day caught among about 35 boats recently. He noted that twenty of those boats are fully loaded guide boats with plenty of experience to find the fish if they were there and ready to be found.
“Most of these fish that we are catching right now are going to be out in front of Blue Creek in the flats,” relayed Coleman. He says that more salmon should be showing up within the next few weeks and conditions are looking better this week since river flow dropped a bit over the weekend.
“When the flows get so high the fish tend to get up in the slower water which is kind of up in the brush and under the trees where guys can’t really get to them,” explained Coleman.
A sampling of anglers on the Cowlitz conducted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife last week somehow reads even more dire than the returns Coleman reported. Of 32 bank rods surveyed below the I-5 Bridge a keeper steelhead was the only fish caught. Upstream 53 bank rods had no catch at all while 96 boat rods showed eight keeper steelhead, with two steelies and a cutthroat trout released.
At the salmon hatchery separator last week employees recovered just four winter-run steelhead adults. River flow at Mayfield Dam was reported at 5,120 cubic feet per second at the beginning of the week with water visibility of eight feet and a temperature of 42.1 degrees. A note from the WDFW warned that, “River flows could change at any time so boaters and anglers should remain alert for this possibility.”
Another impending change on lower Columbia River tributaries that anglers should be aware of is that March 15 will mark the last day anglers can fish for hatchery steelhead on Abernathy Creek, Cedar (Clark County), Mill Creek (Cowlitz County), Germany Creek (including all tributaries), Rock (Skamania County), Salmon (Clark County), and Skamokawa creeks, as well as on the Coweeman, Elochoman, Grays, East Fork Lewis, South Fork Toutle, and Washougal rivers.
In another disappointing note, this year, while anglers wait for the tide to turn on salmon prospects they will not be afforded the opportunity to bide their time by dipping for smelt. After stringing dippers along to start the year, the WDFW announced last week that no sport dipping opportunities would be offered due to a low return of Columbia River eulachon smelt.
Returns from a commercial fishery last month were used in order to determine the merits of a sport season, and fish managers say fish abundance has proven too low to warrant any recreational openings. Prior to the commercial fishery, managers stated that they would consider a sport opening if commercial boats averaged at least 250 pounds each. According to Laura Heironimus, a fish manager at the WDFW, gillnet boats managed to land a collective total of less than 130 pounds of smelt after eight days of fishing.
“We also didn’t see the frenzied activity by birds and sea lions last month that usually occurs during a healthy smelt run,” said Heironimus said in a press release.
Eulachon smelt have been listed as an endangered species since 2010. Sport smelt fisheries were previously closed on the Cowlitz River between 2011 and 2013. From 2015 to 2017, the fisheries were limited to just a six-hour window on one day.
“We know people really enjoy this fishery, but we can’t open it in good conscience knowing the abundance is so low,” Heironimus said in a release. “The smelt population appears to be declining again after gaining some ground, so it’s hard to say whether we’ll be able to open a fishery next year.”
Down on the lower Columbia the reports are like an echo chamber.
“A little SLOW!” wrote Joe Hymer, fish biologist for WDFW, in an email with statistics detailing just how slow things really were on the mighty Columbia last week.
Fish officials contacted 710 anglers from the mouth of the river to Bonneville with no salmon and just six winter steelhead, five of which were kept. To date the WDFW has sampled two spring Chinook caught by sport anglers. New fishery regulations will take effect on March 16, at which point hatchery steelhead will only be available for harvest on days when, and in areas where, the hatchery Chinook fishery is also open.
HUNTIN’
Anyone with an inkling to take advantage of all the different windows of opportunity that deer and elk seasons have to offer will need to submit their applications before the end of March.
Applications received on time from eligible hunters will be entered into a drawing for 2018 multiple-season tags. According to the WDFW those tags can “can greatly increase the opportunity for success in the field.”
The drawing is scheduled for mid-April. A total of 8,500 multiple season tags for deer will be handed out along with 1,000 multiple-season tags for elk. Winners will be allowed to purchase special tags to participate in archery, muzzleloader, and modern firearm general hunting seasons for deer or elk in 2018. Additionally, winners who purchase the multiple season elk tag are allowed to participate in general elk hunting seasons in both eastern and western Washington.
“This is a great opportunity for hunters to extend their hunting season this fall,” said Anis Aoude, game division manager for WDFW, in a press release. “The multiple season tag allows more flexibility, since winners do not need to choose one hunting method over another.”
The deadline to purchase the multiple-season tag is July 31. Hunters can apply only once for each species and are limited to harvesting one deer or elk. Applications cost $7.10 for residents and $110.50 for nonresidents. A hunting license is not required to submit an application, but winners of the drawing must obtain one before they can purchase a multiple-season tag.
Waterfowl hunters are some of the only game stalkers on the prowl right now. Even then, water birds are only fair game through Saturday in Area 2 as a month long extended season winds down for good.
After that a statewide youth-only turkey hunt will be the next excuse to go bagging birds. That hunt is set to take place on April 7-8. Then, the general turkey season will open on both sides of the mountains from April 15 through May 31.
For those hunts the combined limit is three birds for the season, of which only two may be taken from Eastern Washington, with the exception of Chelan, Kittitas, and Yakima counties where only one gobbler may be killed per person. A one turkey limit is also applicable in Western Washington, although two turkeys may be taken in Klickitat County. Only male turkeys, or those with visible beards, are legal for hunting.
Hunters with a penchant for peculiar prey will need to beware of the upcoming Ides of March as snowshoe hare, cottontail rabbits, bobcat, fox and raccoon are all slated to end after March 15. Cougar hunts will continue in most units until April 30, but hunters should check for closures in units with harvest limits before bagging a big cat, but, of course, coyote hunting season never ends.
CLAMMIN’
Razor clam diggers will likely have to wait just another week before getting another chance to round up the succulent bivalves on coastal beaches. The WDFW currently has a tentatively scheduled two-day dig beginning next Friday, as well as a four-day dig set to begin in mid-April.
Final approval for those digging dates will be dependant upon marine toxin testing conducted by the Department of Health. Digging dates are currently schedule on the following dates, beaches, and tides:
• March 16, Friday, 7:03 p.m.; +0.2 feet; Copalis, Mocrocks
• March 17, Saturday, 7:36 p.m.; +0.2 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Copalis, Mocrocks
• April 19, Thursday, 9:46 a.m.; -0.9 feet; Mocrocks
• April 20, Friday, 10:37 a.m.; -0.7 feet; Mocrocks
• April 21, Saturday, 11:34 a.m.; -0.4 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks (digging hours will be extended to 1 p.m.)
• April 22, Sunday, 12:38 p.m.; -0.1 feet; Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks (digging hours will be extended to 2 p.m.)
State law allow diggers to harvest up to 15 clams per day, but no high grading is allowed. All clams must be kept regardless of size or condition. Additionally, each digger is required to carry their quarry in their own personal container. Diggers age 15 and older are required to have a license.
RELOCATIN’
The WDFW and U.S. Forest Service have scheduled a series of meetings this month in order to discuss the details surrounding a plan to move mountain goats from the Olympic Peninsula to the North Cascades. Those relocation efforts are currently slated to take place this summer, and again in 2019.
Members of the public are invited to the meeting in order to hear detailed presentations on the plan. Opportunities will also be available to speak with representatives of the USFS and WDFW.
The National Park Service has been working with those two agencies in order to prepare a draft environmental impact statement in regard to the relocation plan. That plan hinges on the idea that the goats, which are non-native and destructive in the Olympics, would be better suited to their native range in the Cascade Mountains. The plan is intended to protect native vegetation as well as public safety.
Currently, the preferred plan is to relocate mountain goats from the Olympic Peninsula to the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests. A final decision is expected to be announced by the NPS this spring.
Meetings are scheduled for:
• Tuesday, March 20, 7 to 9 p.m.
Mt. Baker Ranger District Office, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, 810 State Route 20, Sedro Woolley
• Wednesday, March 21, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Darrington Library Meeting Room, 1005 Cascade St., Darrington (Note: The presentation will be made during the last segment of the meeting of Darrington Strong)
• Thursday, March 22, 7 to 9 p.m., Snoqualmie Ranger District Office, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, 902 SE North Bend Way, North Bend
• Monday, March 26, 7 to 9 p.m., Sultan City Hall Meeting Room, 319 Main St., #200, Sultan
DISCOVERIN’
In recognition of the 105th “birthday” of State Parks, no Discover Pass will be required for visitors to those state lands on March 19.
That day will be one of 12 State Park “free days” offered this year. In all, the state offers more than 100 parks and recreation sites. The implementation of those free days follows the legislature that created the Discover Pass, which costs $30 for an annual pass or $10 for a day pass to state recreational lands.
The remaining 2018 State Parks free days are:
• Saturday, April 14 — Springtime free day
• Sunday, April 22 — Earth Day
• Saturday, June 2 — National Trails Day
• Saturday, June 9 — National Get Outdoors Day
• Sunday, June 10 — Free Fishing Day
• Saturday, Aug. 25 — National Park Service Birthday
• Saturday, Sept. 22 — National Public Lands Day
• Sunday, Nov. 11 — Veterans Day
• Friday, Nov. 23 — Autumn free day
A Discover Pass covers daytime access requirements to state lands but overnight visitors are assess extra for camping and other accommodations. Free days do not cover Sno-Park locations. Additional information can be found online at www.DiscoverPass.wa.gov.
SNOWIN’
Significant gains in snowpack that stacked up last week at White Pass have held up well and even added a few inches to the top early this week.
About six inches of new snow fell on Monday before temperatures bottomed out for a couple of bluebird days Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Wednesday the official White Pass Ski Area report read, “Word is that these are some of the best cords you'll ever carve!”
Temperatures were hovering around 20 degrees fahrenheit at the summit and about 25 degrees around the base of the slopes on Wednesday. Precipitation moved in overnight and could mean more snow up at the mountain beginning Thursday morning.
The base is currently holding 73 inches of snowpack while the summit has 129 inches of snow. Lifts are running seven days a week from 8:45 a.m. until 4 p.m.
