Sports - Sports News

POSTED: Thursday, Feb. 05, 2009

HUNTING AND FISHING: Winter clam digs under way

With the requisite clearance from state health authorities, the last of the ocean beach winter razor clam digs is underway on the Washington Coast.

Slated to run from today through Sunday Feb. 8, clammers have access to Twin Harbors, Copalis and Mocrocks beach sectors all three days and Long Beach Saturday, Feb. 7 and Sunday, Feb. 8 only. Kalaloch Beach on the Olympic National Park's Coastal Strip will be closed for this dig.

Recreational diggers may grope about beach sands for razor clams between noon and midnight each day. Low tides are early enough these three days that digging will be in the daylight.

Following a tally of the recreational harvest for this and the January opening and an assessment of clam populations, if enough sport allocation remains and there are plenty of larger clams, spring digging opportunities, if any, will be announced.

CLOSURES PROTECT ELK

About 44,000 acres of state fish and wildlife department land in Central Washington northeast of Ellensburg will be closed to motor vehicles until the end of April so elk there won't be disturbed on their wintering grounds.

The ban took effect Sunday, Feb. 1 on the Whiskey Dick and Quilomene wildlife areas roughly bounded by the Vantage Highway on the south, the Quilomene Ridge Road to the north and between the Columbia River and the Wild Horse Wind Farm, east and west, respectively.

Wildlife managers say increasing recreational activity on these elk wintering grounds in recent years forced the animals to leave their off-season home prematurely, as early as mid-February.

Biologists say it is important to the herd's nutritional health and productivity that they stay in their wintering locale through the first month of spring until green-up begins on public lands at higher elevations.

In the past when they have departed state-owned wintering habitat early, the elk have intruded on nearby private land grazing on forage intended for cattle, knocking over fences and damaging spring crops.

Officials will evaluate the two-year spring closure to gauge its benefit to the animals and determine if it reduced agricultural damage before deciding to annually impose it.

Similar spring closures are invoked on elk winter habitat on the state's Oak Creek, Wenas and L.T. Murray wildlife areas.