Washington is the first and only state to outlaw recreational fishing and spring hunting in an effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic. This was done to comply with Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” mandate emphasizing social distancing and discouraging travel away from home to limit the spread of COVID-19. With the arrival of mild spring weather though, boats of all types (motor powered, human powered and sailboats) have all been operating on waterways from area lakes to the Columbia River to Puget Sound.
I contacted the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife about the illogical stance of allowing recreational boating on our waterways but not fishing from those same boats. Carrie McCausland, the Public Affairs Director for WDFW, repeated the agency’s stated reasons for the closure of fishing. As for boating, McCausland said, “Some decisions are within WDFW’s authority, and some are not”, indicating WDFW does not have the regulatory ability to open or close recreational boating.
The Governor’s Office, however, certainly does. On April 6th Governor Inslee sent a letter to several Republican state representatives denying their request on behalf of anglers to reopen fishing. I contacted Jon Snyder, Governor Inslee’s policy advisor on outdoor recreation, and asked him the same question about why recreational boating is allowed but fishing from boats is not. Snyder declined to answer my question about allowing one activity but not the other where the risk of spreading the coronavirus is exactly the same. Instead, he sent me the same letter Governor Inslee sent to the concerned State Representatives two weeks ago outlining his reasons for keeping fishing closed.
As of mid-April, boating from open county and private access sites and launches remains permissible, but fishing is not. This is one of the reasons anglers planned protests for Saturday the 18th against Washington’s “No Fishing” rule at several locations to include Columbia Point in Richland. An online petition by this same group, “Let us Fish” is also circulating on social media and increasing numbers of people are reaching out to their state representatives and senators as well as to WDFW and the Governor’s Office asking them to open angling opportunities again.
We’ll get an idea how successful these efforts are as we approach the end of WDFW’s stated closure date of May 4th, at which point they promise to reassess this situation. It’s also worth noting WDFW has convened meetings with select stakeholders trying to figure out how to open up fishing and hunting seasons again. It is possible everything will simply open up at once, the thinking being this will spread pressure evenly across the state. On the other hand, this action could result in a stampede to popular boat ramps, lakes, rivers and hunting areas which could trigger an immediate closure again. Other thoughts include a general opening but limitations on where you can fish or hunt, the thought being you would initially only do these activities in the county or region you live in to limit overcrowding.
At least there’s
backyard birding
Until we can go fishing and hunting again, or access our state lands and developed federal recreation sites to hike and camp, there’s always backyard birding. It does provide some enjoyment and it’s also a good way to sharpen your bird identification skills and maybe even your photographic prowess. If you so desire you can do what I did last week. I set up a bird feeder, filled it with wild bird seed, set up a bird bath and for good measure, a bird house too!
So far, the bird house is not occupied but the bird feeder sure has been busy. The first birds to visit were chickadees, followed by white crowned sparrows and house finches. Oregon juncos put in a daily appearance and on several occasions, I’ve seen nuthatches too. On top of this we’ve had some California valley quail in the cypress trees above the feeder and a pair of Eurasian collared doves that paid a visit on a recent morning to feed on the birdseed spilled onto the ground below the feeder.
Also seen in the backyard…Several neighborhood cats attracted to all the new bird activity. Fortunately, my springer spaniel Georgia loves to chase cats and has kept them from staying too close to the bird feeder.
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