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Out & About, 10/13

The Columbian
Published: October 12, 2016, 11:18pm

RMEF awards grant for Mount St. Helens

TOUTLE — The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has awarded almost $270,000 in grants for 24 projects to benefit elk in Washington, including work at the Mount St. Helens Wildlife Area.

At Mount St. Helens, thinning will be done on 300 to 500 acres of the Hoffstadt and Mudflow units to promote a healthy forest on parcels used heavily by elk during winter.

Money and volunteer manpower also will be provided to plant trees and shrubs to improve riparian habitat along three miles of Bear Creek in the Mudflow unit. Noxious weed treatment will be applied on 150 acres in the Toutle River drainage, including the Hummocks area.

Money also will be awarded for education efforts at the visitor centers in the area.

Oregon to build fishing pond for youth

BEND, Ore. — Work begin this week on a new youth fishing pond on the grounds of the former Spring Creek hatchery site near Camp Sherman.

The half-acre pond, once completed, will be stocked with rainbow trout and open only to anglers age 17 and younger. Construction likely will continue into November.

The pond is being called Spring Creek Pond, but may be renamed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Comments sought on endangered species

OLYMPIA – State wildlife managers are seeking public comment on their recommendations to keep woodland caribou, western pond turtles and sandhill cranes on Washington’s list of endangered species.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife periodically reviews the status of protected species in the state to determine whether each species warrants its current listing or deserves to be reclassified or delisted.

The public can comment through Dec. 23 on the listing recommendations and periodic status reports for woodland caribou, western pond turtles and sandhill cranes. The draft reviews for all three species are available online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/endangered/status_review/.

Written comments on the reviews and recommendations can be submitted via email to TandEpubliccom@dfw.wa.gov or by mail to Hannah Anderson, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091.

Staff members are tentatively scheduled to discuss the reviews and recommendations with the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission at its January 2017 meeting in Vancouver

The western pond turtle is one of only two freshwater turtle species native to Washington. It inhabits lakes, wetlands, ponds and adjoining upland habitats.

In recent years, the species’ population has increased to an estimated total of 800 to 1,000 turtles statewide due to various recovery actions, including reintroductions of turtles, including in Skamania and Klickitat counties.

Boating safety class registration opens

Registration is open for two boating safety classes scheduled for Oct. 22 at the Clark County Public Works and Maintenance and Operations Conference Center, 4700 N.E. 78th St. Room B-1.

A basic boating safety course will be offered from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.. It will cost $10. The class prepares students to obtain a boater safety card in Washington or Oregon and can reduce the cost of boat insurance.

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 78 along with the Clark County Marine Patrol and U.S. Power Squadron offers the class.

A course on nautical chart reading is scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. It also costs $10 per boater. To register, call 360-574-5044 or 360-609-2630.

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