By Gene Woodwick
Miserable, cold weather sure didn’t keep the local clam diggers off the beaches. Thank heavens. Who wants to be cooped up in a house listening to kvetching about the “so-and-so” State Department of Fish & Wildlife?
Fees foes
Bet Dan Ayres is also happy the dig was open. Especially since the beachers treat him like their favorite uncle who should solve problems like major fee increases in fishing and hunting licenses. You can bet he will be hearing a lot of groaning over a new fee of $10 for each annual catch record. And, he better get ear plugs for the blunt comments on the nearly 100 percent increase for clam diggers.
Egad! Nothing stirs the ire of beachers over having to pay for something that never used to cost a penny. So now the coffee drinkers in cafés will have something else to talk about than the recent election.
Crabbers and Coast Guard
Folks whose homes ring the Pacific shoreline have sure missed their annual pleasure of a nice cuppa Joe in the mornings and evenings, lights in the house turned down, a good pet on their lap while watching the crabbers lights offshore. Westport “coasties” have the assistance of the USCG Sector Columbia River MLBs (Motor Life Boat) Invincible. All four of this type of vessel are stationed in the Pacific Northwest where harbor bars and seas are vicious this time of year from Coos Bay to the northern straits.
Between 80-90 percent of the season’s crab catch is brought in during nasty conditions, but this year the crabber’s strike over prices for 11 days kept the fishers at the docks.
Bottom fishing delay
The ocean stocks are sure in a whirl with bottom fishing off Ilwaco, Westport, LaPush and Neah Bay closed until March 10. Surely that will be grumped about in local fishers’ homes.
Comment on Columbia River Basin future
In other water-related news, the public comment period has been extended for input by individuals regarding the future of the Columbia River Basin. Local fishers like to sneak off every once in a while, especially during sturgeon fishing season, to enjoy different waters.
Many folks forget that Grays Harbor and its basin are a part of the vast Columbia River Basin that includes the Snake River. We are joined together with water from British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and short stretches of rivers from other states. So, what happens on the Columbia doesn’t stay on the Columbia.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration operate 14 federal projects on the Columbia that concern not just fishing, but also flood, navigation, power generation, irrigation and wildlife recreation. These issues involve treaty rights, vast power users, farmers and environmentalists. Beach folks still have the old logging ability of problem solving dirt and water concerns. They could add some horse sense to the situation.
If you don’t mess around with computers, you can mail handwritten comments to CRSO, EIS, P.O. Box 2870, Portland, OR 97208-2870 before Feb. 7.
Dan Evans honored
For such cold weather, there’s still no paucity of outdoor news. For those who knew Dan Evans, the renaming of the Olympic National Park Wilderness for Evans was supported by the Quinault Indian Nation in Congress and approved by President Obama. For those who appreciated the former governor’s calm, pragmatic approach to many of the state’s concerns under his leadership, it is a measure approved equally by both political parties.
Endangered birds
In December some of the beach’s favorite birds — eagles and Peregrine falcons — have been delisted by the Fish & Wildlife Commission’s list of sensitive species. And for our newer bird — the White pelican — it has been reduced from endangered to threatened. So, all is not such a mess in nature as some people worry about.
Pine needle possibles
For those not rushing to throw out the Christmas tree, just think of the possible uses of those needles scattered all over the floor. You can make a cleaning mixture by putting a ½ cup of needles in a jar of white vinegar, cap it up and set it under the sink for a few weeks. Dip out the needles and clean the countertop or all the coffee cup marks in the car.
If the Old Man has been walking around in stinky socks after too much clamming, fishing or tromping in the wet woods, throw a cup of needles into a gallon of hot water. Steep it for 20 minutes and cool it down. Then soak those socks — and those stinky feet — in the water. Such a deal!
So, there you are. Something for everyone these cold weather days of January.
