Field Reports: Fish and Game names Lewiston supervisor
David Cadwallader, 52, of Lewiston, has been named as regional supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s Clearwater Region.
Cadwallader replaces Cal Groen, the former Clearwater supervisor who was appointed Fish and Game director in January.
Born in Ellensburg, Cadwallader lived most of his life in Idaho, with a couple of short stints in Alaska as a fishing guide.
Then in 1982 he was hired as a conservation officer for Fish and Game. His first patrol area was Garden Valley.
“I think it’s pretty neat my oldest son, Ben, is a conservation officer for Fish and Game as well,” Cadwallader said. “And as fate will have it, his first patrol area is also Garden Valley.”
Cadwallader hopes to continue the efforts the Clearwater officers have established in areas such as mentored youth hunting and fishing, he said.
Associated Press
FISHING
Yellowstone cutthroat continue decline
Figures on the population of native Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the heart of the park show a steep decline continuing, with numbers the lowest since record keeping began in 1945.
Counts taken at Clear Creek on the edge of Yellowstone Lake found 471 cutthroat last spring. The count at that location in the 1970s exceeded 70,000, later plunging to four figures and then three in 2005 and 2006.
Predatory, nonnative lake trout get much of the blame for the decline, with drought and disease also influences.
“We’re deeply concerned, but we’re working hard and trying to hold the line,” said Todd Koel, chief fisheries biologist at Yellowstone.
National Park Service crews last year caught and killed a record number of lake trout that were in Yellowstone Lake. The number removed topped 60,000. Officials say about 198,000 of the nonnative trout have been removed since 1998.
The efforts, costing about $400,000 a year, are scheduled to continue this summer. The goal is to give cutthroat enough of an edge to begin rebounding, Koel said.
About 40 species, including grizzly bears, bald eagles and otters, feed on cutthroat.
The fish inhabit about 6,300 miles of streams in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming and are found in areas of Utah and Nevada, as well, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Associated Press
OUTDOORS
Devote a day to being an outdoors woman
Instruction on skeet shooting and fly fishing plus some friendly fun and adventure are planned for the Becoming an Outdoors Woman Clinic, June 9, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., at the Coeur d’Alene Skeet and Trap Club
The event, open to women 14 and older, is sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Federation. Cost: $50 or $80 for mother with daughter, covers it all, including lunch.
Info: Beth Reinhart, (208) 665-5767, e-mail idahooutdoor women@yahoo.com
Rich Landers