Hatchery steelhead fisheries will close Sunday on the Methow, Wenatchee and upper Columbia rivers to protect wild steelhead, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife just announced.

Steelhead fishing will close Sunday on the three rivers an hour after sunset.

The closures are necessary to comply with provisions of a federal permit that authorized steelhead fishing in those rivers, said Bob Leland, steelhead program manager. The permit prescribes strict limits on the incidental catch of wild steelhead, which are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

“We expect the fisheries in those rivers to meet their allowed incidental catch by the closure date,” Leland said.

The region’s sport fisheries for hatchery steelhead target an abundant return of hatchery fish that exceeds the number needed to meet spawning goals, Leland said. The fisheries also help with recovery efforts of ESA-listed steelhead by removing hatchery-origin fish, allowing a greater proportion of wild steelhead onto the spawning grounds.

The closures do not affect hatchery steelhead fisheries under way on the Okanogan and the Similkameen rivers. Those fisheries are scheduled to remain open through March.

Click here for more information on those fisheries, as well as rule changes for the Methow, Wenatchee and upper Columbia River.

I got to ski the women's downhill course this morning before the race. It was during pre-race inspection and skiing is a bit of an overstatement. Really those of us who were on the course - coaches, officials, athletes and media - were slipping the course checking out the features.

Some athletes were getting last minutes coaching and others where trying to visualize the runs.

The course was icy - just the way the skiers like it. I bit it just a few seconds after entering the course thanks to a pair of skis in major need of a tune. I had no problems the rest of the course, but if some the pictures and video below look a little blurry it's because of the snow in my camera.

When the state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced the next clam dig, set for March 7-12, it didn't account for daylight savings time.

If the digs are approced, these are the low tide times:

EVENING TIDES
March 7, 6:21 p.m., +0.3 feet, Twin Harbors only
March 8, 6:58 p.m., +0.5, Twin Harbors and Long Beach only

MORNING TIDES
March 9, 8:28 a.m., +0.3: Twin Harbors and Long Beach only
March 10, 9:12 a.m., 0, Twin Harbors only
March 11, 9:59 a.m., -0.1, Twin Harbors only
March 12, 10:51 a.m., 0.0: Twin Harbors only