Outdoors Notebook | Larger sockeye run on Cedar is on the horizon

A bigger Cedar River sockeye run is one step closer to reality. The run could be large enough to support a sport fishery nearly every summer in Lake Washington.

On June 3, the state Supreme Court ruled against an effort led by Roz Glasser, a retired King County manager who has fought a five-year legal battle against a proposed hatchery.

Frank Urabeck, a hatchery advocate, said the development is a "major breakthrough."

"It was a well-thought hatchery project program that was proved through science, and it prevailed in the end," he said. "I am excited that this allows us to proceed with the hatchery as fast as they can."

Urabeck hopes the new hatchery will be operational for the 2010 sockeye broodstock.

This decision exhausts all legal remedies for appealing the State Environmental Policy Act, and allows the city of Seattle to proceed with the permitting and construction of the hatchery.

"It has been obvious since 2000 that there would be no lake fisheries without hatchery supplementation of the natural production in the Cedar River and north Lake Washington tributaries," Urabeck said. "Under average lake and marine conditions, we need about 35 to 40 million fry from the Cedar River to have a sockeye fishery three years later."

The permanent hatchery will be at Landsburg on the Cedar River, and the accompanying fishtrap facility will be immediately upstream of the Interstate 405 bridge in Renton.

"We have definitely seen the temporary hatchery contribute to the lake's fisheries, and we'd like to see this new fish weir in place which is a better source of collecting sockeye broodstock," said Brodie Antipa, the state Fish and Wildlife Cedar River hatchery complex manager. "A really significant amount of fish spawn below us and this gives us more access to fish, compared to the current weir that is higher upriver" — several miles above the Maplewood Golf Course in Renton.

The planned fishtrap should achieve the near-term 17 million egg take capacity of the temporary hatchery, which has been at Landsburg since 1991.

Last year, only 2.8 million eggs were taken, in large part because of an inadequate temporary fish weir. The new hatchery will also have the capacity for 34 million eggs.

The city of Seattle has the design for the new fishtrap in Renton pretty much finished, and hopes to have all the permits approved, and the trap built and operational by this fall.

"It is imperative we have the new broodstock facility on line for this fall's spawners in order to begin digging ourselves out of the hole dug by Mother Nature resulting in the poor marine survival of sockeye over the last several years," Urabeck said.

The forecast this year is 105,575 sockeye, and 350,000 are needed to open any type of fishery. In-season sockeye counts at the Ballard Locks started Thursday.

"I was down there [on June 11] and there was a few sockeye already coming through," said Steve Foley, a state Fish and Wildlife biologist. "We should see the early numbers by next week."

The in-season counting is funded by the Muckleshoot Tribe and state Fish and Wildlife. To view the daily counts, go to wdfw.wa.gov/fish/sockeye/counts.htm.

Notes

• Photographer/author Alan Bauer is hosting a free book signing and will provide tips on day hiking on Mount Rainier 7 p.m. Monday at the Mountaineers Club Foothills King County Library Branch, 960 Newport Way N.W. in Issaquah. Bauer is the co-author of the book "Day Hiking Mount Rainier." Details: 206-284-8484 or www.mountaineers.org.

• The Eastside Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers meeting is 7 p.m. Wednesday at the North Bellevue Community Center, 4063 148th Ave. N.E. in Bellevue. Randy Doucet with Northwest Salmon Charters will discuss summer chinook fishing in central and northern Puget Sound. Details: 425-562-9180.

• The Cama Beach State Park Grand Opening is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and is located at 1880 S. West Camano Drive on Camano Island, west of Stanwood about 19 miles from the freeway.

Displays and activities will be available throughout the day, and food vendors will be on hand.

The park has a day-use area and cabins, including 24 waterfront cabins and seven deluxe cabins with shower bathrooms, available for rent.

The Center for Wooden Boats, a partner at the park, plans to provide rental wooden dories and hands-on history programs and activities at the park. Details: 360-387-1550.

• The Slug Fest is June 21-22 at the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park in Eatonville. Participate in super-slimy slug races, get a degree in slugology and learn gardening tips on ways to discourage the slugs from munching on plants and vegetables. Details: 360-832-6117 or www.nwtrek.org.

• The Puget Sound Anglers South King County Chapter meeting is 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Des Moines Masonic Temple, 2208 So. 223rd St. There will also be a vendor's extravaganza and swap meet at 5 p.m. Details: 206-755-8409 or www.pugetsoundanglers.net.

• The Kingston Puget Sound Anglers Chapter meeting is 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Kingston Cove Yacht Club, 25915 Washington Blvd. N.E. Keith and Val Beck from McKay's Pots will discuss Puget Sound crabbing. Details: 360-930-3223.

• The Buoy 10 Salmon Challenge is Aug. 21-22 at the Lower Columbia River mouth. All activities will be held at Warrior Hall at Camp Rilea in Astoria. Derby is limited to 245 entrants. Cost is $270 for a team of three anglers. Details: 503-631-8859 or www.nsiafishing.org.

• The Goodell Creek Campground will be closed Wednesday through July 2 for paving projects. Access to the Goodell Creek raft launch and picnic shelter will be maintained, but restrooms will not be accessible.

The nearby Newhalem Creek Campground is open. Reservations are available. Details: www.recreation.gov.

The North Loop of the Colonial Creek Campground is also currently closed to accommodate paving projects, but could open as soon as June 23. After it reopens, the South Loop of the Colonial Creek Campground, the main parking area, and the boat launch will also experience temporary closures to accommodate paving projects the week of June 23. Details: www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/car-camping.htm.

• Beginning June 21, Mount Rainier National Park visitors will be able to ride a shuttle from Ashford, six miles from the park's Nisqually Entrance, to Longmire on weekends.

Shuttles will depart from Ashford every 30 minutes from 9:15 a.m. through 10:45 a.m., and every 75 minutes from noon to 5 p.m.

Although the shuttle itself is free, visitors will be required to pay the park entrance fee of $5 per person (no more than $15 per car load). Details: 360-569-2211, ext. 2301.

• If you thought skiing and snowboarding are over, then you might want to recheck your summer plans and head to Whistler-Blackcomb Resort where the Horstman Glacier is open, and the area is also doubling its terrain park features and upgrading to a Superpipe.

Grooming and parks crews have been building the summer Superpipe under the Glacier Express chair. The pipe wall will feature three to four medium jibs and will be groomed nightly. As the build-out continues, the bottom of Showcase T-bar will become jib central with six rails and boxes, varying in difficulty from small to large, and four medium-sized booters. Regular skiing and riding lanes will also be open to the public.

Access to the Horstman Glacier is at the base of Blackcomb Mountain via the Wizard Express and Solar Coaster to the Rendezvous. Guests will then take a shuttle bus to the 7th Heaven Express Chair, which will bring them to the top of the glacier. Lift access to the glacier is via Horstman and Showcase T-bars.

Horstman Hut will be open and offers patio BBQs and light refreshments. Chair upload from the valley is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. for sightseers and 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. for skiers and boarders. Glacier skiing is open from noon-3 p.m. and runs through July 27. Details: www.whistlerblackcomb.com.

• Warmer weather has arrived, but the surrounding areas at Mount Rainier National Park are still covered with lots of snow.

Places that would normally open this and next month will not be open for a few more weeks or longer.

Paradise at 5,400 feet received 898 inches of snow so far this winter, and there is still more than 15 feet of snow on the ground, and at Longmire 27 inches of snow still remains on the ground.

The Stevens Canyon Road connecting the east and west sides of the park will most likely open in mid-June. The public opening for the Sunrise Road is July 3.

No opening date has been announced by the state Department of Transportation for State Route 410 east over Chinook Pass.

Some campgrounds that are normally free of snow by Memorial Day are still covered.

The Ohanapecosh Campground has reopened, but the Cougar Rock Campground will not open until June 6. The Ohanapecosh Visitor Center will open June 13.

Hikers are warned that snow covers all the trails above 3,000 feet, and backpackers headed to the Wonderland Trail should anticipate a lot of travel on snow throughout July.

Paradise Inn has reopened, and offers lodging, dining, and a gift shop. In addition, the National Park Inn located at Longmire is also open for lodging, dining, a gift shop and small store. Details: 360-569-2275.

Before heading to the park, call 360-569-2211 or www.nps.gov/mora.

• The Mount Rainier National Park Education Program is offering two middle-school teacher workshops this summer.

The Living with a Volcano in Your Backyard -- Mount Rainier workshop is July 22-25, and is designed for middle school teachers who teach about volcanoes, volcanic process, product, and hazards. Teachers will receive copies of the curriculum and additional resources to use with their students, and earn three quarter credits or 31-35 clock hours.

The Curriculum Review Workshop for Mount Rainier-Mount Fuji Sister Mountain is Aug. 7-8. Teachers can provide feedback on the draft materials developed to date for this international interdisciplinary middle school curriculum project. Teachers will receive copies of the draft materials to pilot test with your students for further feedback, and earn one quarter credit or 12 clock hours.

Advanced registration is required, and the deadline is July 1. Details: 360-569-6039 or email anne_doherty@nps.gov or www.nps.gov/mora/forteachers/professionaldevelopment.htm.

• The Lake Chelan National Recreation Area is celebrating its 40th Anniversary, and the Stehekin and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area are providing plenty of opportunities for family fun this summer.

Stehekin is accessible by foot, air, or passenger ferry. Hike down the Pacific Crest Trail from Highway 20 or over Cascade Pass and along the Stehekin River to arrive in Stehekin. The Lake Chelan Boat Company operates two boats (www.ladyofthelake.com) and Chelan Airways flies floatplanes (www.chelanairways.com).

Hikers of all ages and abilities can trek through nearly 400 miles of trails and more than 100 backcountry campsites accessible to hikers, boaters, and stock users are available. Details: 360-854-7245 or www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit.htm or www.stehekin.com.

• The Washington Sea Grant, part of the University of Washington's College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences, is offering a First Aid at Sea Course 8 a.m.-4 p.m. June 12 at the Nordby Building, at Fishermen's Terminal in Seattle.

Topics include cardiopulmonary resuscitation, patient assessment, shock, trauma, burns, fractures, hypothermia, cold-water near-drowning, immobilization, backboards, first-aid kits, and more. Cost is $80. Details: 206-543-1225 or email sfisken@u.washington.edu.

• The North Cascades National Park Visitor Center, near the town of Newhalem, is open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The center features exhibits, theater presentations, and is staffed by park rangers and volunteers. The center has access to the scenic Sterling Munro Overlook and a network of easy hiking trails such as the 1/3 mile Rock Shelter Trail and the 1.8 mile River Loop Trail.

The Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount is currently open daily from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The center offers trip planning information and is the main location for backcountry users to obtain permits required for all overnight stays. Details: www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/hiking.htm. Reservations for campgrounds can be made at www.recreation.gov.

• Due to a lack of funds Mount Rainier National Park could be faced with selling land to developers inside the park's borders.

Mount Rainier National Park is one of 55 national parks with vital land now on the public market. Mount Rainier itself has 800 acres within its boundaries for sale at an estimated cost of $4.5-million.

To try and stop development inside park boundaries and enable the Park Service to purchase these so-called "in-holdings" from willing sellers, the National Parks Conservation Association is encouraging Congress to provide the Park Service with at least $100 million this year from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Plus, additional funding in the years leading up to the Park Service's centennial in 2016. Details: www.npca.org/landforsale.

• The Summit for Salmon climb of Mount Rainier is Aug. 22-25, and Save Our Wild Salmon is looking for participants that raises funds to help protect and restore healthy, sustainable wild salmon in the Columbia and Snake River basins. Experienced guides from Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. will lead the group. Details: 206-286-4455 or www.wildsalmon.org.

• The National Alpine Ski Camp is offering a summer snow camp for children and young adults of all ages at Mount Hood in Oregon.

The camp offers six- and ten-day sessions in the summer for children of all ages. There is also a masters program for those over age 20. Race training is the foundation for the camps, with an emphasis on free skiing and free skiing drills. Designated for intermediate and advanced skiers, campers must have basic ski skills to attend.

Ski training is conducted in the morning, followed by windsurfing, rock climbing, rafting, swimming, hiking, mountain biking and go-cart racing in the afternoon. Details: 800-453-6272 or www.skicamp.com.

• The Wilderness Awareness School in Duvall holds numerous outdoors events, including a monthly "Tracking Club," that meets in Sultan on the third Saturday of each month now through May from 9 a.m. to noon.

The program is open to naturalists, hunters and people curious about learning to identify, follow and understand stories written in tracks left by animals on the Skykomish River shoreline. Details: 425-788-1301 or www.wildernessawareness.org.

• The Washington Trails Association offers statewide trip reports and trail conditions. Details: www.wta.org.

• The Northwest Fly Anglers offers various public classes through the year. The public also is invited to club meetings on the third Thursday of each month, at the Haller Lake Community Center, 12579 Densmore Ave N., in North Seattle. Details: 206-684-7524.

• The Emerald Sea Dive Club offers year-round activities including the big buddy program and weekly and monthly dives. The club meets on the first Wednesday of every month, 7-9 p.m. at Alfy's Pizza, 4820 196th S.W. in Lynnwood. Details: 425-775-2410 or www.emeraldseadiveclub.org.

• The Seattle Audubon Society offers field trips and classes every month. Details: 206-523-4483 or www.seattleaudubon.org.

• Northend Bassmasters is accepting new members who want to learn more about bass fishing. The group meets on the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Crystal Creek Cafe, 22620 Bothell-Everett Highway (Canyon Park) in Bothell. Details: 206-789-4259 or e-mail Gary Millard at glmillard@comcast.net.

Mark Yuasa: 206-464-8780 or myuasa@seattletimes.com