For fans of the white stuff, here is an image that should make you smile. It is from the Webcam inside the Henry M. Jackson Memoral Visitor Center at Paradise. I guess summer really is over. Sighhhhhhh.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife opened a new wheelchair-accessible fishing site at the department's Hoodsport Hatchery.

The Hood Canal site includes an ADA-compliant ramp, grated walkways and a new fishing platform with a gate, fencing, handrails and fishing slots.

Only persons with disabilities who permanently use a wheelchair and/or those who have a designated harvest card are allowed to use the site and to fish adjacent waters inshore from the yellow marker buoys to the mouth of Finch Creek, according to a press release.

A designated harvest card issued by the department allows a licensed fishermen with a disability to receive assistance from another licensed individual. Persons with disabilities who permanently use a wheelchair have priority over others if the site becomes crowded.

Able-bodied anglers are allowed to fish in other designated areas at the hatchery.

All anglers are required to have appropriate fishing licenses and follow fishing seasons and rules for Marine Area 12.

Wheelchair-accessible parking and restrooms also are available at the hatchery. Anglers should be aware that space is limited at the new site, which can accommodate only two or three wheelchairs at a time. The new site is available on a first-come, first-served basis during hatchery hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., seven days a week. People may call the hatchery at 360-877-6408 for more information.

The Hoodsport hatchery is located on the east side of Highway 101, 200 feet north of the intersection of Highways 101 and 119.

The Senate late yesterday confirmed Jonathan Jarvis, a former Mount Rainier National Park superintendent, to be the new director of the National Park Service.

“This is a great day for the National Park Service and for the American
public,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a press release. “Jon Jarvis is a career professional who has consistently stood up for protection of national parks. He brings great wisdom and three decades of experience to the job.”

Jarvis, a 30-year veteran of the National Park Service, has served since
2002 as regional director of the agency’s Pacific West Region, where he was responsible for 54 national parks in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands of Guam, Saipan and American Samoa, as well as a host of NPS community revitalization programs that serve those states.

"America's National Park System is a gift from past generations to this and succeeding generations. I look forward to working with Secretary Salazar, the Congress, our partners, and the extraordinary employees of the National Park Service as we prepare for the next century of stewardship and excellent visitor experiences," Jarvis said in the release.

Jarvis has served as superintendent of Mount Rainier, Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska. A trained biologist, he was also Chief of Natural and Cultural Resources at North Cascades National Park. Jarvis is currently the co-leader of the Children in Nature taskforce with the National Association of State Park Directors.

A native of Virginia, Jarvis has a B.S. in biology from the College of
William and Mary and completed the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Program in 2001.

From GPNF:

This year’s celebration of National Public Lands Day at Mount St. Helens will include the long awaited reopening of the Lava Canyon Trail on the south side of Mount St. Helens. Repair of the trail, which was closed by extensive flood damage, has involved the replacement of a washed out bridge, construction of new steps and walkway, and replacement of damaged railings. Completion of the repair marks the end of a two-year effort financed by an $185,000 grant in 2008 for bridge replacement and a $54,000 grant in 2009 to complete the walkways, railings and bridge approaches. Funding was received from federal payments to counties allocated through the citizens’ Resource Advisory Committee for the South Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

National Public Lands Day volunteers and Forest Service officials will gather at Lava Canyon Trailhead at 2:30 p.m. to celebrate the reopening. For details concerning National Public Lands Day volunteer projects at Mount St. Helens and how you can get involved, download our National Public Lands day event flyer at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volunteering/documents/2009NationalPublicLandsDayFlyer_000.pdf

or contact the friendly folks at the Mount St. Helens Institute at (360) 449-7887.

I've been talking to folks about the premiere of the upcoming Ken Burns documentary on national parks. I have been asking them which is their favorite park and what national parks mean to them in general.

Here are some comments from folks I interviewed at the Puyallup Fair Tuesday, as well as from Randy King, acting superintendent at Mount Rainier National Park.

If you would like to share your thoughts, you can go to the comment section or send them to me at jeff.mayor@thenewstribune.com.

Favorite national park: Mount Rainier. There’s no more beautiful mountain in the world, and we’ve traveled to places around the world.
What national parks mean to you: Wilderness, peace and quiet. It’s almost reverential in the mountains. National parks should offer places where you can just be quiet. Beauty, every park is just beautiful.
Candy Tingstad, Lakewood

Favorite national park: Zion. It’s unparalleled beauty. I feel like, in some ways, that that part of the country hasn’t been touched by so many visitors. It’s amazing.
What national parks mean to you: It’s a respite, I think, from our daily lives.
Mary Watkins, Bremerton

Favorite park: Mount Rainier. But I’ve only been to one.
What national parks mean to you: Permanent opens space that will stay that way. If you look at the parks are set aside now, and how big they are, I don’t thik that you’d see that happen today.
Dan Tilley, Tacoma

Favorite park: The one I¹m in at the current time. I have never been in a park that wasn’t special. They are all special. I started at Yellowstone (National Park), and worked there on and off 13 years. That¹s where I started my career and my family. I call it my heart park.
What national parks mean to you: It obviously has been my life. Parks represent my avocation as well as advocation. They represent a tremendous heritage that we all share. As much as anything, it’s one of the ties that binds us a people. It connects us as people and our history. They’re irreplaceable. I can’t imagine life without them.
Randy King, acting superintendent Mount Rainier National Park

Here is the story I just filed for Sunday's newspaper.

The state Fish and Wildlife Commission voted Saturday to hire Phil Anderson as director of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission. A 15-year veteran of the department, Anderson has served as interim director since Jeff Koenings resigned in December.

The commission is recommending Anderson be paid $141,000 a year to lead the department with about 1,380 employees and a budget of more than $350 million.

The commission voted 5-4 to offer the job to Anderson.

The 59-year-old Anderson takes over a department that is still dealing with a $30 million cut in its 2009-11 budget. That forced Anderson and the agency to eliminate 76 jobs through layoffs and leave vacant another 67 positions.

“I’m relieved, I’m humbled by the incredible support I’ve received from so many people across the state,” Anderson said. “What I told the commissioners after I accepted the offer, is one of the greatest thing I get to do is work with the really fantastic employees at the Department of Fish and Wildlife.”

Looking ahead, Anderson identified three priorities.

“One of my first priorities is to continue my efforts to establish the conservation of our fish and wildlife resources,” he said.

Anderson also wants to enhance fishing, hunting and wildlife watching opportunities across the state, including maximizing public use of the more than 900,000 acres the department owns.

He also wants to continue to make sure the agency uses sound business practices.

“I’m delighted and honored to have this opportunity,” he said.

"We've had a healthy discussion on the future of the Department of Fish and Wildlife and we're confident that together the commission and Phil will set the priorities to guide the department in its vital mission of protecting Washington's natural resources," commission chairwoman Miranda Wecker said in a news release.

Anderson joined the department in 1994 and was promoted to deputy director for resource policy in 2007. Prior to taking over for Koenings, Anderson’s most prominent role was serving as the state’s lead negotiator in the North of Falcon process during which federal, state and tribal officials set salmon fishing seasons.

Anderson beat out five other candidates to become director. The names of the other candidates were not released.

The commission voted 5-4 to hire Anderson, after defeating a motion to offer the position to the other finalist.

“I’ve known Phil for 35 years. We’ve worked together and fished alongside each other. When it comes to knowledge of the job, how do you compete with Phil Anderson,” said Tony Floor, director of fishing affairs for the Northwest Marine Trade Association.

“He has earned his stripes and we look forward to working with him,” added the recreational fishing advocate and former department employee.

Helen Engle, a long-time Tacoma conservationist and avid birder, said she was glad to see someone familiar with the issues get the job.

“When you get a new director from somewhere else, it takes them so long to get up to speed,” she said. “This man already knows everybody and he knows the issues.”

Anderson came to the department after serving seven years on the Pacific Fisheries Management Council as a private citizen, including serving as vice chairman and chairman. Anderson began his professional fishery career more than 30 years ago as owner and operator of a charter fishing boat business. He attended Grays Harbor College.

Anderson and his wife, Chris, have two sons. Anderson is an avid hunter, fisher and birdwatcher, and has served as a school board member of the Ocosta School District.

This story was just posted on the National Park Service's Web site. It tells a tragic accident all because a fish took a rod overboard and the anglers were not wearing lifejackets.

The Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area is run by the Park Service.

Roger Dudley, 67, and a friend headed out from the Seven Bays marina area in their boat to go trout fishing around midday on Aug. 25. They were trolling at just over a mile an hour when Dudley got a bite. The fish pulled his pole overboard and he immediately jumped overboard in an attempt to recover it.

After a few moments, Dudley, who was not wearing a lifejacket, told his friend that he needed help and began struggling in the water. His friend jumped into the water, also without a lifejacket, and soon found himself in trouble, with their boat floating away. He was able to get back onboard, though, and attempted to throw a rope to Dudley. Dudley was unable to reach it and soon stopped struggling and went under.

After hearing calls for help, passing boaters attempted to pull Dudley from the water. Efforts to do so proved unavailing, so a rope was tied to him and he was pulled back into the marina. One of the passengers on that vessel began CPR immediately after getting him to shore.

Rangers, local sheriff’s deputies, ambulance personnel and Medstar paramedics soon arrived on scene and took over care. They were unable to revive him, though, and he was pronounced dead after about 90 minutes of resuscitation efforts. There was no throwable personal floatation device on board the vessel, and other lifejackets were stored in an area not readily accessible for use in an emergency situation. Dudley was in the water for less than five minutes before he drowned. The weather and wake conditions were calm at the time of the incident.

Submitted by Adam Kelsey, Acting Chief Ranger

From the Associate Press:

CARAVACA DE LA CRUZ, Spain — American rider Tyler Farrar (of Wenatchee) won the 11th stage of the Spanish Vuelta, and Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde remained the overall leader.

Farrar, who rides for Garmin-Slipstream, finished the 124.3-mile leg featuring several difficult mountain ascents in 5 hours, 11 minutes, 10 seconds.

Belgian rider Philipe Gilbert was second in the same time, ahead of Marco Marcato of Italy.

Valverde finished 14th in the same time to maintain his 7-second overall advantage over Cadel Evans, who was 12th. The Caisse D'Epargne rider's overall time is 45:37:51.

Robert Gesink of the Rabobank team is 36 seconds back in third, while Farrar's American teammate Thomas Danielson trailed by 51 seconds.

Italian rider Ivan Basso remained in the hunt, the Liquigas cyclist trailing Valverde by 53 seconds.

Frank Schleck retired from the race without starting the stage because of a knee injury. The Luxembourg rider, who finished fifth at this year's Tour de France, was running 61st and nearly 24 minutes behind Valverde.

Riders have a rest day Thursday before Friday's 111.4-mile stage from Almeria to Alto de Velefique.

The state Department of Natural Resources has released a draft management plan that would guide future of recreation in Ahtanum State Forest, 76,000 acres of forested state trust land 30 miles west of Yakima.

Here is the rest of the release:

As a working forest, Ahtanum provides revenue to state trust beneficiaries, including public schools. It’s also a popular recreation area, attracting visitors from both sides of the Cascade Mountains. The recreation plan will help guide how best to balance both the need to provide healthy forests and grazing lands for the trusts while allowing for a variety of recreational opportunities.

To develop the plan, DNR worked closely with a group of citizens who represented diverse motorized and non-motorized recreation uses. DNR staff and the Ahtanum Recreation Planning Work Group reviewed scientific data to learn about which areas of the forest were considered most suitable for recreation activities. They also conducted a survey of recreation users and held a series of meetings to gather public input prior to developing their recommendations.

The plan identifies essential recreation projects and lists them in order of priority. DNR would like to know what the public thinks about the findings and recommendations in this plan. DNR is providing this public comment opportunity in conjunction with the official State Environmental Policy Act process. The public comment period ends 5 p.m. on Oct. 8.

How to comment

Download the draft Ahtanum State Forest Recreation Plan

Written comments:

Department of Natural Resources
SEPA Center
PO Box 47105
Olympia, WA 98504
sepacenter@dnr.wa.gov

Public meeting:
Sept. 22 6:30 to 8 p.m.
West Valley Fire-Rescue Station #5
10000 Zier Rd. Yakima, WA
509-966-3111

For more information, contact Eric Watrud, at 509-925-8510 or eric.watrud@dnr.wa.gov.

For background on the Ahtanum State Forest recreation planning process.

OK, you got a bit of a wait still (almost two weeks of summer left still), but if you've seen Mount Rainier this week you've probably noticed that the weather is changing in the mountains. (Keep this in mind when you're hiking.)

Over the weekend Rainier transformed from it's rocky summer look to its snow-covered winter garb.

And this morning at 3:18 I got my first e-mail from a Northwest ski area - Mount Hood Meadows - saying it got it's first dusting of snow.

For the record it's 49 degrees there right now, but so you can start getting excited here's a pic from the Meadows webcam:

Two Guest Services Inc. employees from Mount Rainier National Park were injured Thursday morning when their vehicle went off Nisqually Road near Paradise and fell about 350 feet.

“I think it’s safe to say they are both lucky to be alive,” said park spokeswoman Lee Taylor.

The injuries are significant but not life-threatening, Taylor said.

The names of the employees have not been released. The employees were a male and female who were not working at the time of the accident, said David Wilde, managing director of Guest Services.

An investigation is ongoing, Taylor said.

One of the employees was airlifted from the scene and the other left by ambulance, Taylor said. One victim has been released from the hospital.

The road was closed during the rescue. Park staff was first on the scene. The incident, which took place near Glacier Hill on a section of road with no guard rail, was reported by a 911 call.

The slope drops sharply from the road to the Nisqually River. The vehicle came to rest above the river, Taylor said.

The state released this notice a while ago:

Action: Marine Area 1 will reopen to salmon fishing seven days a week starting Monday.

Effective date: Monday through Sept. 30, 2009.

Species affected: Chinook, coho and pink salmon

Location: Marine Area 1 from Leadbetter Point to Cape Falcon, Oregon.

Reason for action: The Marine Area 1 coho sub-area quota has enough coho left over to provide more angling opportunity.

Other information: Marine Area 1 will remain open through Sept. 30, unless the quota is reached before that date.

From the Associated Press:

NORTHPORT, Wash. - State Fish and Wildlife officials say a 5-year-old Canadian boy was hurt when a cougar pounced on him while he and his family were hiking a remote trail in northeastern Washington.

Department spokeswoman Madonna Luers says the big cat jumped the boy while he was hiking Wednesday with his parents and sister on the Abercrombie Mountain trail in the Colville National Forest. She says his mother began beating the cougar with a water bottle and the cat ran off.

Luers says the parents, from Rossland, British Columbia, told wildlife agents the boy was treated and released at a hospital for head wounds and is expected to completely recover.

She says wildlife officials and contract hunters found blood and cougar tracks at the site. She says that when the cat is found it will be killed.

Several of you noticed that Sturtevant's Ski Mart on South Hill closed earlier this year.

However, Sturtevant's absence is only temporary.

The Seattle-based company is opening a new Ski Mart on South 38th. According to an e-mail from the company the new shop will open in October.

Nordic skiers, snow machine drivers, sledders and others will see the price for a day pass at Sno-Parks double this winter if Washington State Parks has its way.

At its Oct. 1 meeting, State park officials will vote on a proposal for various fee increases including raising the $10 per vehicle day rate to $20, parks spokeswoman Linda Burnett said.

“The reason for the increase is to encourage people to buy an annual pass,” Burnett said.

The proposal calls for increasing the price for a season pass from $30 to $35. Special grooming permits (required at some Nordic ski parks) would also increase from $30 to $35.

A new $35 fee for out-of-state snow machines would be added under the proposal, Burnett said. Washington snow machine users already pay the Sno-Park fee when they register their vehicles, Burnett said.

Sno-Park passes go on sale Nov. 1.

From Seattle U.

Seattle University assistant cross country and track and field coach Uli Steidl has been selected to represent Germany at the 25th World Mountain Running Championship on Sunday, Sept. 6, at Valchiavenna.

Steidl, participating in this competition for the fifth time, will be among 152 competitors from 34 different countries running in this annual event. The senior men’s race will be three loops of the 4.34-kilometer course for a total distance of 13.02 kilometers, with a total altitude change of 825 meters during the race.

The eight-time Seattle Marathon winner is no stranger to international competitions, as he finished in 37th place at the IAAF World Marathon Championships in Osaka, Japan, in 2007. In 1991, Steidl won the junior men’s race at the World Mountain Running Championships, which led to his participation representing Germany in the U-20 races at both the World Cross Country Championships and the European Junior Championships.

The Idaho Fish and Game agency released this report on the first day of its wolf hunting season, which was Monday:

Idaho’s first wolf hunts began Monday with few hunters afield and reports of three wolves taken.

Wolf hunters are required to report kills within 24 hours and show the skull and pelt to Idaho Fish and Game authorities within five days.

Deputy director Jim Unsworth noted that the successful hunters followed the rules and that the system for reporting harvest worked smoothly.

Idaho began selling wolf hunting tags for the first time Aug. 24 but no glitches in the licensing system were reported despite a one-week volume of more than 11,200 tags sold.

Conservation officers in the field for the first day of the hunt reported no violations and a light turnout of hunters, according to Chief of Enforcement Jon Heggen.

So far, two wolf harvest reports have come from the Lolo wolf hunting zone and one from the Sawtooth zone. These are the only zones of the 12 Idaho wolf zones to open Monday and are the zones where the impact of wolves on elk herds are documented to be particularly severe. Two other zones open Sept. 15 and the rest on Oct. 1. A harvest limit of 220 wolves has been set for Idaho.

Joe Hymer, a state fish biologist just sent out this note:

Preliminary: During Aug. 1-31, salmonid anglers made 47,100 trips on the lower Columbia with 5,663 adult chinook and 6,000 summer steelhead kept, plus another 3,700 steelhead released.

The total effort, fall chinook and steelhead catch numbers are all record highs for the month of August since records began in 1969. The previous records for August were 5,133 fall chinook in 2002 while 4,525 steelhead were kept in 2007.

For comparison, the fishery peaked in 2003 when anglers made 113,000 angler trips during an entire uninterrupted fishery. Last year, the lower Columbia was closed for chinook retention in August.

You can now find this type of information on the state Department of Fish and Wildlife's Twitter site.

This press release came in late yesterday. Olympic National Park officials last weekend re-opened about 30 miles of trails on the east side of the park that had been closed because of nearby wildfires.

The following trails have been re-opened for public use due to low potential for fires in the upper Dose Drainage.

-- The Constance Pass Trail from the Dosewallips Trail to the park boundary.

-- The Main Fork Dosewallips Trail from the junction of Gray Wolf Pass to the Dose Forks and

-- The West Fork Dosewallips Trail from Honeymoon Meadows to Dose Forks.

Two trails are still closed due to fire related hazards and are likely to
remain closed for several weeks or longer.

-- The Duckabush Trail is closed from LaCrosse Pass junction to the park boundary because of its proximity to the 750 acre Ten Mile Fire.

-- Hiker use of the Dosewallips Road is closed from the Olympic National Forest's Elkhorn Campground to the Dosewallips Trail at Dose Forks, one mile west of the Dosewallips Ranger Station. The 440 acre Constance Fire is burning nearby in steep terrain; burning logs and debris are rolling downslope onto the road/trail.

Additionally, the backcountry campfire ban put in place Aug. 3 will be lifted on Wednesday at 11 p.m. Fire danger conditions have abated thanks to recent rains and the forecast calls for cooler, moist conditions. Campfires in the park’s established front country campgrounds are allowed as usual in established fire grates; where campfires are allowed on the coast, they must be located below the high tide line. Campers still need to ensure that their campfires are out before leaving the campsite.

The Heatwave Complex is comprised of 12 lighting-ignited fires
discovered in Olympic National Park since June, five of which remain
active, creating a mosaic of burned and unburned vegetation across the
landscape. Naturally caused wildfires have occurred in the Olympic
Peninsula for thousands of years, and are an integral part of the area’s
ecosystem. Evidence of past wildland fire is found throughout the park in
fire scars on trees and the mosaic of forest patterns.

Click here for additional Heatwave Complex fire information, maps, and photos.