Posts Tagged ‘wdfw’

Gifts for Outdoor Enthusiasts Offer Months of Enjoyment (Washington)

WDFW NEWS RELEASE
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091
http://wdfw.wa.gov/

December 8, 2009
Contact: WDFW Licensing, (360) 902-2464

Olympia, WA – Gift shopping for a fish or wildlife enthusiast? The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) offers a variety of items for outdoor buffs on any gift list.

Shoppers can purchase recreational licenses and permits online, by telephone or at independent license vendors statewide. Applications for wildlife-themed license plates also are available online.

An annual resident adult freshwater fishing license is $26; a saltwater fishing license is $24.20; a shellfish/seaweed license is $14; and a combination fishing license is $48.20.

Resident hunting licenses vary with package options, ranging from a small-game license at $38 to a deer/elk/cougar/bear combination license for $81.20. Transaction and dealer fees are included in the price.

Fishing and hunting license fees include vehicle-use permits for access to 800,000 acres of wildlife lands in 32 wildlife areas and more than 600 water-access sites throughout Washington. Vehicle-use permits for access to these areas also can be purchased separately from recreational licenses for $14.

All annual licenses and permits are valid from April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011.

WDFW licenses and permits can be purchased on a secure Internet site at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/ , or by calling 1-866-246-9453. Recreational licenses and permits also can be bought at hundreds of license vendors throughout the state. Vendor locations are listed at http://wdfw.wa.gov/lic/vendors/vendors.htm . Shoppers will need the license holder’s WILD identification number, name and date of birth to purchase a fishing or hunting license.

Applications for wildlife-related license plate backgrounds or personalized plates for motor vehicles also are on-line at http://wdfw.wa.gov/license_plates/ . License plate background options include images of a bald eagle, killer whale, elk, mule deer or black bear. The wildlife-themed license plates cost $40.

Personalized license plate inscriptions, with a choice of up to seven letters or numbers not already in use, can be purchased for $49.75. A personalized license plate combined with any of Washington’s themed backgrounds is available for $89.75. These prices are in addition to standard vehicle-licensing fees. Proceeds from personalized and wildlife-themed license plates go to endangered-species recovery, habitat restoration and wildlife-management and protection programs.

Other WDFW products for holiday gift-giving include:

• Tickets for WDFW’s quarterly drawings for a lifetime of hunting and fishing privileges. Tickets are $7.05 for state residents and $13.59 for non-residents and are valid for all drawings within 365 days of purchase. For ordering information, see https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/
• Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary information on landscaping, supplemental feeding, nest boxes and other ways of creating year-round habitat for birds and other wildlife. The information packet costs $5. For ordering information, see http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/backyard/
• WDFW wildlife books-”Living with Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest,” a 392-page guide to living and dealing with a variety of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and “Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest,” a 320-page guide including specialty gardens for butterflies and hummingbirds, ponds and waterways, nest boxes and feeders and more. Each book costs $28 (including tax, postage and handling), and can be ordered at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/books_link.htm .

Visit the WDFW News Release Archive at: http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/newreal/

Public Comment Sought on Proposed Land Exchange Between WDFW and WDNR (Washington)

NEWS RELEASE
600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091

November 18, 2009
Contact: Jennifer Quan, 360-902-2508

Olympia, WA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) invites public comment through Dec. 16 on a proposal to exchange additional land in eastern Washington with the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).

In the second phase of a major land exchange proposed by the two agencies, WDFW would acquire approximately 25,849 acres of shrub-steppe and lower-elevation forest habitats, while WDNR would acquire approximately 12,424 acres of higher elevation forest habitat.

The proposed exchange would affect properties in Kittitas, Okanogan, Klickitat, Yakima, Asotin and Chelan counties.

“This proposal continues our work with WDNR to more efficiently and effectively manage lands for wildlife that have been fragmented for more than a century,” said Jennifer Quan, WDFW lands division manager.

WDFW and other agencies involved in the proposed land exchange are accepting comments on a joint Environmental Assessment document that addresses both state and federal regulatory requirements.

Because the proposed land exchange is administrative in nature, WDFW has proposed a determination of non-significance (DNS) in the Environmental Assessment under provisions of State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service, which provided funding for some of the lands involved in the exchange, are also accepting public comments on the proposed action under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

A copy of the joint Environmental Assessment, which includes a description and maps of the proposed land exchange, is available on the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/hab/sepa/sepa.htm. Comments on the document can made through Dec. 16 on that webpage, by FAX (360-902-2946), or by postal mail to WDFW SEPA Desk, 600 Capitol Way N., Olympia, WA 98501-1091.

In the first phase of the land exchange, finalized in August, WDFW acquired 9,000 acres and WDNR acquired 5,100 acres.

Quan said much of the public land owned by the state in eastern Washington is arranged in a checkerboard pattern, due to the way lands were distributed after statehood in 1889. That left wildlife habitat fragmented, increasing both the cost and the difficulty of effectively managing those lands over the long term.

In one large area of central Washington, WDNR and WDFW own or manage every other square mile across a 170,000-acre landscape with different management goals and legal mandates. Exchanging lands would allow each agency to better address its specific management goals without reducing the total amount of public land available for wildlife or recreation, Quan said.

The primary benefits of the exchange would:

• Protect and enhance habitat for big-game species (e.g. elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep), shrub-steppe species (e.g. sage grouse, sage thrasher, sage sparrow, Brewer’s sparrow), and forest species (e.g. goshawk, pileated woodpecker, white headed woodpecker, forest grouse).
• Maintain public access and recreation on public lands.
• Generate revenue for WDNR trust beneficiaries such as public schools.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/newreal/release.php?id=nov1809b

New Public-Conduct Rules for Department Lands Managed by WDFW

PORT ANGELES/December 10, 2007 – At a public meeting here Friday, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved a package of new rules for public conduct on lands managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and deferred action on others.

The proposed rules, developed by WDFW after an extensive public-input process, addressed dumping, camping, commercial use, fire-building, firearm use and other activities on WDFW wildlife areas and water-access sites around the state. The rules will go into effect by Jan. 31, 2008.

The nine-member commission, which sets policy for WDFW, deferred action on three rules dealing with livestock grazing, resource removal and vehicle use. The commission requested initiation of a new rule-making process to further revise those rules and gather additional public input.

In the interim, the current state regulations pertaining to livestock grazing, resource removal and vehicle use on department lands remain in effect.

The complete public-conduct rule package is available on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wac232/.

Read more at http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/newreal/release.php?id=dec1007a