Now that ‘June-uary’ is coming to a close and summer has returned to Washington, I hope that you’ll take advantage of the numerous opportunities to get outside and enjoy all that our state has to offer. Take a look at the ‘Weekender’ for a great summary of activities currently underway. …

Fishery managers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) are launching an angler reporting tool early this summer to gather valuable data from Kapowsin Lake and Ohop Lake in Pierce County — and we need your help. This online data reporting tool is quick to use and allows…

Three family-friendly activities to celebrate pollinators this summer — Pollinators need us, and we need pollinators. Bees, birds, bats, butterflies, beetles, and other insects and small mammals play a very important role in our ecosystem and food production. In fact, pollinators bring us three-quarters of our food! They also keep our ecosystems healthy by helping plants reproduce. Share a photo for free seeds!

A raccoon kit (baby) found at a park in Franklin County has tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus H5N1 2.3.4.4 strain. It was one of four kits found; two were dead and two euthanized due to showing obvious signs of being sick. …

For 16 years now, June has marked the annual Orca Action Month — a month-long celebration of all the ways we can come together to make a difference for endangered orcas. …

By learning to correctly release salmon, anglers can do their part toward the recovery of Washington’s wild fish populations — Selective fisheries for hatchery-produced salmon and catch-and-release fisheries are increasingly important to providing recreational fishing opportunities around Washington. To ensure these salmon fisheries are successful long-term, it is vital that anglers do their part to comply with all regulations, especially how to properly release unmarked, sublegal (undersized) and out-of-season fish…

Record shad returns over the past decade have turned this into one of the most consistent and easily accessible sport fisheries along the Columbia River — There’s a fishery for a fish species referred to as shad along the Columbia River each spring and early summer that has become very popular, and there’s no guilt in how many you can catch in a day! Anglers are harvesting huge numbers of shad along the Lower Columbia River…

In this last of a four-part weekly series, we’ll dig deep into details on the fabled geoduck and the non-native varnish clam that can be harvested on some Puget Sound and Hood Canal beaches — Here in Washington, we are lucky to live somewhere where we can forage delicious, healthy seafood from publicly owned tidelands. With over 350 open areas and about 275 low tides per year, there are endless opportunities to harvest shellfish on public lands. Bivalve shellfish are a nutritious local protein.

New research published this spring is shining a light on the importance of community science in fisheries management, with one Seattle based fishing club helping to champion decades of meaningful data on salmon size and abundance. The study, Multidecadal Trends in Body Size of Puget Sound Chinook Salmon: Analysis of…