Green, or would it be red, or white, thumbed scientists have been working for two years on a gardening project that’s out of this world.
Researchers here on earth have been using soils collected from the moon and from Mars to grow a series of ten test vegetable crops, and the results have been promising. The actual growing substrate is a recreation of those celestial soils, since there are understandably limited quantities of the actual moon and Mars potting soils available, a return trip to those particular nurseries is astronomically expensive. Still, scientists have been steadily watering and weeding peas, tomatoes, radishes, potatoes, green beans and carrots among other fodder in order to see what the space dust might yield.
One of the main concerns of scientists was how, and if, heavy metals found in the Martian soils would transfer into the flesh of the vegetables. Preliminary results, however, have shown that at least some of the vegetables have been registering marks at, or even below, the accepted concentrations levels found here on Earth.
Photos of the space based cornucopia can be found online and the produce is decidedly delicious looking.
As we head straight for the dog days of summer, the make or break time for any garden bounty, feel free to let your mind wander to the great abyss of space and ponder exactly how alien soils might help your beleaguered earth garden to grow.
FISHIN’
In a development that’s not fresh from outer space but is out of leftfield, or the left coast if you will, a Columbia River angler in the Longview area reported catching and releasing an Atlantic salmon last week. In the official words of the WDFW, “What the heck?”
Records from the WDFW show that scoop traps on the Chehalis and Cowlitz rivers have been sporadically catching Atlantic salmon for years. Additionally, in the 1980’s the WDFW observed “a few” Atlantic salmon at the McNary juvenile fish collection facility. Those fish were attributed to net pens located in Rufus Woods Reservoir on the mainstem of the Columbia in north-central Washington. There is no indication where last week’s Atlantic salmon catch may have wiggled in from.
Monday, Aug. 1 was the first day for the fall (Pacific) salmon fishing season on the Columbia River and its tributaries and wide ranging preseason run forecasts put a new spinner on the season.
The WDFW announced last week that because of an anticipated depression on the steelhead return anglers will only be permitted to harvest one steelhead per day below Bonneville Dam during the fall fishery. Most years anglers are allowed two steelhead per day.
The single steelhead limit on the Columbia River will extend upriver to McNary Dam on Sept. 1 and then again up to the Highway 395 Bridge in Pasco on Nov. 1. In accordance with WDFW regulations, only hatchery steelhead with a clipped fin and healed scar may be harvested.
Additionally, coho runs are expected to return at just 27 percent of the 10-year average. Due to that poor projection fishery managers have dropped the daily hatchery coho limit on Columbia River tributaries from six fish adult per day to just two. All unmarked coho must be released. The new daily limits apply to fisheries on the Cowlitz, Cispus, Tilton, Green, Toutle, Kalama, Lewis, Elochoman, Grays, Deep and Washougal rivers.
Bucking that downturn is an anticipated swell of fall Chinook. About 960,000 fall Chinook are projected to return to the Columbia River this year, which is well over the 10-year average.
“A big part of the challenge this year is to conserve coho and steelhead, while providing a full fishing season for chinook salmon,” said Ron Roler, a Columbia River fishery manager for the WDFW, in a press release. “As always, we want to protect wild salmon and steelhead populations, while providing great fishing opportunities for abundant hatchery fish.”
The popular Buoy 10 fall fishery on the final 16-mile stretch of the Columbia River will come with a caveat this year as well. In order to meet federal conservation guidelines for imperilled Chinook runs that are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, anglers will be required to release wild Chinook on Sundays and Mondays. Fishery managers anticipate that almost 48,500 Chinook will be harvested before Labor Day in the Buoy 10 area alone.
The fall salmon fishery also has a new rule in regard to fish with a clipped ventral fin. Those fish, released from the Youngs Bay off-channel fishing zone in Oregon, have been found straying into natural spawning areas in the Columbia Basin. The new regulations permit the harvest of adipose or ventral clipped Chinook through Dec. 1 in order to help eliminate the stray hatchery fish. That regulation is in place from Buoy 10 upstream to Bonneville Dam.
In other stray news, during the fall, salmon fishery anglers will be allowed to retain hatchery Chinook and hatchery coho during designated hatchery steelhead seasons on numerous lower Columbia River tributaries. That new rule was also implemented in order to help keep stray hatchery fish out of natural spawning grounds.
Complete fishing regulations for Washington in 2016-17 can be found online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/.
Last week’s angling efforts on the lower Columbia River produced a fair return. Boat anglers in the estuary averaged 0.39 Chinook per boat while boat anglers in the Camas area averaged just 0.15 steelhead per vessel. Anglers in between Vancouver and Cathlamet brought in only 0.08 summer Chinook and 0.79 steelhead per boat.
Sturgeon fishing, while off limits to harvest, has also been keeping anglers busy on the mighty river as of late. Last week on the lower river below Bonneville Dam the WDFW sampled 11 boat anglers with 14 sublegal, 16 legal and one oversize river monster.
Additionally, walleye fishing has been good around Camas. Sampling by the WDFW last week found 19 walleye in the box for seven bank anglers wetting a line from three boats. In The Dalles Pool bank anglers averaged one walleye each with 12 boat anglers keeping 54 walleye and released another score.
HUNTIN’
General bear hunting seasons opened up in numerous zones around the state on Aug. 1, including the Coastal Zone and the South Cascades Zone is set to follow suit on Aug. 15. While it is rare for hunters to hit the field primarily in search of a bear to bag it is far more common for deer, elk and other big game hunters to start familiarizing themselves with the backcountry during the dog days of August. During those scouting expeditions hunters sometimes encounter berry-hungry bears, at which point the bear hunt becomes a matter of convenience, if not life and death.
In order to hunt bears a person must possess a current hunting license. Kill or be killed scenarios will be subject to investigation by the WDFW and it is unlikely that a person would be allowed to keep any parts of the animal in order to prevent uncouth, unlicensed killings.
Each hunter is allowed as many as two bear kills per general season but only one of those hunts may be consummated in eastern Washington. Upon harvesting a bear hunters are required to submit a bear tooth to the WDFW in order to determine the animal’s age. As a matter of course, hunters should refrain from shooting sows with cubs.
"This is a good time to locate game animals and get the lay of the land, particularly if you're planning to hunt a new area," said Mick Cope, WDFW deputy assistant wildlife director, in a press release. "But it can get hot out there in August, so it's important to stay hydrated and be aware of fire danger."
Bear hunters will share the field with Master Hunters chasing deer and elk in some areas in August. The vast majority of ungulate hunters will have to wait until at least September for their chance to take a shot though. Deer hunters hoping to expand their opportunities in the field have until Aug. 14 to apply for a special permit to hunt the 6,000-acre Charles and Mary Eder unit of the Scotch Creek Wildlife Area in northeastern Okanogan County. A total of 18 applicants will be chosen via random drawing for the “limited-entry” deer hunt. Six permits each will be pulled for modern rifle, bow and muzzleloader hunters.
Elsewhere, hunters with a penchant for pig may want to consider heading to the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area in Grant County in September. The WDFW has closed the Desert Unit of the Wildlife Area for the duration of August as they attempt to eliminate a population of wild hogs that have been frequenting the area for a year now. Officials will set up bait stations and attempt to shoot the animals from a helicopter.
Once the WDFW is finished with their pig punishing efforts hunters should be free to try their hand at the hooved animals. The WDFW noted that since pigs are not wildlife there are no hunting regulations that dictate when, where, or how they may be hunted. Hunters interested in hounding hogs in the Columbia Basin Wildlife Unit should be sure to call the Grant County Sheriff’s office in order to check on specific access, weapons or campfire regulations. The USDA warns that wild pigs may harbor diseases not found in domestic pigs, or native wild animals and they do not endorse hunting wild pigs in Washington.
As always, coyotes can be hunted year round in Washington.
WILDLIFERS
In effort to help revitalize one area of Puget Sound salmon habitat the WDFW breached a dike at the Fir Island Farms Estuary in northwest Washington last week. In a press release the WDFW noted that it is the first time water has filled the 131 acre estuary in “recent memory.”
The WDFW and their partners opened up the 3,110 foot long dike in an effort to restore habitat for juvenile Chinook salmon. The project, which was initiated in 2009, was designed to simultaneously protect agricultural land and preserve an established snow goose reserve.
“The dike breach was a pivotal moment for salmon in the region,” said WDFW Hydrologist and project manager, Jenna Friebel, in a press release. “We expect this work to contribute to chinook recovery in Puget Sound for years to come, as well as provide new opportunities for bird watchers and other nature enthusiasts.”
By allowing the Puget Sound waters to move freely, natural tidal processes that distribute water, sediment and nutrients into the marsh will be restored.
“We also worked to ensure the project provides a high level of flood protection and drainage for the adjacent farmland, and we retained land for snow geese,” noted Friebel.
Speaking of birds, while we are still square in the bullseye of the dog days of summer, shorebirds are already anticipating the season change and beginning the first leg of their trek south for the winter. Tens of thousands of birds, including sandpipers, yellowlegs, dowitchers and other species have recently been observed migrating to Washington’s coastal areas from their summer breeding grounds in the Arctic. Sandpipers have been especially prevalent from Ilwaco to Ocean Shores.
Scientists note that the fall migration is a haphazard affair compared to the beeline flight of spring. Adult birds regularly abandon their chicks before they are fully fledged in order to join other groups of departing birds. The birds typically travel at a more lackadaisical pace in the fall as well, with their departure dates ranging from July to October.
TALKIN’
The WDFW Fish and Wildlife Commission has scheduled a pair of public meetings for Aug. 5-6 in Olympia. During those meetings the citizens panel will discuss and take public comments on catch limits for trout in Lake Roosevelt, protections for Columbian white-tail deer, management of halibut fisheries and Washington hatchery programs, and the creation of two new types of recreational fishing licenses.
One of the newly proposed fishing license options would allow anglers to fish both fresh and saltwater, use two poles, harvest Puget Sound Dungeness crab and catch both salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and its tributaries. The other combo license would be available for Washington residents 70 years of age and older. The council is expected to take action on these proposals on Friday.
Another topic of discussion will be protections for the Columbian white-tailed deer and Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies. Both animals are currently listed as endangered species in Washington.
The meetings will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday and 8:30 a.m. on Saturday in Room 172 of the Natural Resources Building, located at 1111 Washington St. SE, Olympia. A complete agenda is available onlien at http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/.
