DOE Seeks Help & Wolf Numbers

At 9 am last Tuesday things were fine, by noon 11 dead Chinook salmon smolts and more than 100 dead pink and chum salmon were found in a smolt trap at Hovander Park when the trap was checked by biologists. Water quality samples collected after the finding showed a significant drop in the water’s ph level. Water quality samples were taken again at the same site on Wednesday afternoon and Lummi Natural Resources Department staff reported a distinct evergreen chemical cleaner odor from the bank of the river near the boat launch at the Marine Drive Bridge, and detected very acidic water with a pH meter. Anyone who might have witnessed anything suspicious being dumped down a storm drain or into the river during that time frame are asked to contact the Department of Ecology’s Bellingham field office.

The sound of a wolf howling is both eerily beautiful and strangely terrifying. It’s also a sound that strikes trepidation in the hearts of animal ag producers. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife thinks there may be more wolves roaming the state than previously thought. Many ranchers have been trying to convey that fact to the agency for months now. In March, the WDFW announced it now has an online reporting system for receiving information from the public about the state’s growing wolf population, and that anyone who believes the’ve seen a wolf, heard one howl, or found other evidence of wolves anywhere in the state is encouraged to file a report on WDFW’s website.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.