Spring chinook fishing season will be topic of meetings next week
Idaho Fish and Game officials plan to hold public meetings starting next week to gather comments on the spring chinook fishing season.
Attendees can snack on pizza during the meetings at which fisheries managers will give a recap of last year’s spring and summer chinook fishing seasons and offer information about the expected strength of this year’s run and possible season structures.
The state typically attempts to offer fishing seasons that target hatchery chinook in the Clearwater River and its tributaries, the Snake River in Hells Canyon, and the Lower Salmon, Little Salmon and South Fork Salmon rivers.
Meetings will be held at the Riggins Community Center on Feb. 11, Idaho Fish and Game Office in Lewiston on Feb. 12 and Clearwater Hatchery near Orofino on Feb. 13. All of the meetings start at 5:30 p.m. local time.
Cross-country ski event planned at Palouse Divide
PALOUSE DIVIDE — Registration is open for the Bald Mountain Loppet cross-country ski event to be held here Feb. 22.
The 18-mile loop takes an average of about six hours to complete and the race will start between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
According to a news release from the Palouse Divide Nordic Ski Club, in Scandinavia, a loppet is a long-distance, non-competitive group ski. The club describes the loppet as fun and challenging for experienced skiers. It is limited to 40 skiers. Participation is free but the group does accept donations.
Registration is available at form.jotform.com/250225717112143.
Volunteer anglers sought to help with steelhead spawning program
KOOSKIA — The annual program that enlists volunteer anglers to catch steelhead to be used in a special spawning program has begun.
Every year, Idaho Fish and Game officials and anglers team up to catch steelhead from the South Fork of the Clearwater River. The fish are temporarily held in special tubes submerged in the river and then transferred to a hatchery. Once at the hatchery, fish from the South Fork are segregated from those that return to the main Clearwater or its North Fork. The idea is to create a localized broodstock — a group of fish that are programmed to return to the South Fork Clearwater.
The program is expected to run through April or until enough fish are collected to meet spawning goals. More information is available at bit.ly/3CHet05.
Mountain Film Tour coming to Moscow theater
MOSCOW — The Selway-Bitterroot Foundation will host a showing of the Mountain Film Tour at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centr, 508 S. Main St., starting at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 19.
The traveling festival features films about outdoor recreation and culture. The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the show will start at 6:30. The event will include a raffle. Proceeds will benefit the nonprofit foundation that does trail maintenance and other stewardship work in the Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church River of No Return wilderness areas. Tickets can be purchased at bit.ly/4hgDM8e.
