Director’s Bulletin | Jan./Feb. 2025
It’s that time of year again: Each year from February to April, state, federal, and tribal fishery managers gather to plan the northwest’s recreational and commercial salmon fisheries. This salmon season-setting process is known as North of Falcon (NOF) — a name that refers to waters north of Oregon’s Cape Falcon, which marks the southern border of Washington’s management of salmon stocks. This includes Puget Sound, Columbia River, and coastal Washington stocks.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)’s priority during this process to be thoughtful and thorough in our decision-making by using the best available science in close cooperation with tribal co-managers, federal fishery managers, stakeholders, and the public. We know Washington anglers look forward to fishing seasons each year, with many people planning trips well in advance.
It’s also important to us that you have opportunities to provide feedback about WDFW’s work, and part of that is about ensuring we’re reaching folks with information about topics they care about. We recently revamped our North of Falcon content online to make it easier for people to find the information they need during the salmon season setting process — thanks to feedback from our advisory group members, long-time anglers, and others.
The updated webpages now serve as a main hub for up-to-date forecasts, public input opportunities, resources, and general background about the annual process. They also more prominently display upcoming in-person, hybrid, and virtual open public meetings scheduled in March and April to discuss Washington salmon fisheries.
While we’re excited to better serve website viewers with these updates, it’s worth noting that our website remains just one of the tools we use to share updates throughout the salmon season setting process. The public can also connect with us via our The Salmon Fishing Current blog, a series we launched last year, to provide anglers with key information throughout the season setting process. Additionally, the blog keeps anglers informed of any in-season fishing rule changes, emergency closures or other related developments in Puget Sound, the coast, and Columbia River. This is all part of our continued effort to expand opportunities for public involvement and transparency.
WDFW will consider input from recreational and commercial anglers and those interested in salmon fishing, while state fishery managers work with tribal co-managers to craft 2025–2026 fisheries. We anticipate announcing proposed fishing seasons later this spring in parallel with the Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting occurring from April 9–15.
To learn more about the salmon season setting process, please refer to our website. Thank you for your continued engagement around North of Falcon. We look forward to connecting with you — online or in person — around this year’s seasons.
Sincerely,
Kelly Susewind, Director
Habitat restoration project in Skagit estuary supports salmon and hunting access
In October, WDFW and partners completed the Milltown Island Estuary Restoration Project. Covering approximately 200 acres, the project included lowering dikes and levees, excavating tidal channels and headwater ponds, and building low-angle watercraft landing sites and raised mounds to support public access for waterfowl hunting, kayaking, and bird watching.
The newly restored intertidal estuary at Milltown Island will benefit Chinook salmon by providing critical rearing habitat for juveniles as they migrate from freshwater to the salty waters of Whidbey Basin and Puget Sound. At the same time, hunters are accessing new landings and other sites that support outdoor recreation. Refer to our new blog post for more information on the Milltown Island project. Or visit our website to learn about estuary restoration projects on WDFW lands.
Monitoring a ferruginous hawk fledgling
WDFW biologists continue to follow hawk 264292, a ferruginous hawk fledgling banded in spring 2024 that we’ve been tracking on her annual migration. In our blog Take two: the continued travels of hawk 264292, find out how 264292 has made some different choices than other hawks and how her parents are teaching us what prey these endangered birds need to survive.
Public comment open for Washington hunting season, wildlife feeding proposals
WDFW is now accepting public comments on proposed hunting season rule changes as part of the Department’s annual hunting season setting process. The Department is also accepting public comment on proposed rules meant to limit the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD), including a proposal to implement a statewide deer, elk, and moose feeding ban in Washington. Refer to the Department’s news release for more information.
WDFW’s mounted patrol
How do you enforce laws and ensure safety for users of vast roadless forest areas? WDFW’s mounted patrol is the Department’s secret weapon when it comes to patrolling areas that are too rugged and offroad for even ATVs. Meet the horses and donkey that make up the patrol in this blog on a unique approach to wildlife management, law enforcement, and protecting Washington’s wilderness for future generations.
Protecting our waters from invasive quagga and zebra mussels
In early January, WDFW removed 21 gallons of invasive quagga and zebra mussels — the largest volume ever removed from a single vessel — from a tugboat intercepted at the Spokane watercraft inspection station. Had the boat not stopped for an inspection, these invasive mussels could have ended up in Washington’s waters. Learn more about this first detection of 2025, what WDFW is doing to protect our waters, and how you can help on the WDFW blog.
Washington’s coastal commercial Dungeness crab season underway
Dungeness crabs support Washington’s most valuable commercial fishery and are a major source of economic activity in coastal communities such as Westport and Ilwaco. The value of state landings for the 2023–24 coastal commercial Dungeness crab season was $66.8 million, surpassed only by an $88.2 million record set during the 2021–22 season.
The 2024–25 state coastal commercial Dungeness crab season opened Jan. 15 from Klipsan Beach on the Long Beach Peninsula south to Cape Falcon, Ore., including the Columbia River and Willapa Bay. It started Feb. 11 from Klipsan Beach north to the U.S.-Canada border, including Grays Harbor.
The Washington, Oregon, and California fish and wildlife departments decide season openers each year as part of a tri-state agreement to cooperatively manage the West Coast Dungeness crab fishery. Opening dates are based on test fishing to determine crab condition. Learn more about WDFW’s test fishing process in our blog post.
WDFW is proposing rule changes to the commercial Dungeness crab fishery to address marine life entanglements, improve monitoring, and clarify current rules. The proposed rule changes are available now for public review, with a public comment period open until noon Monday, March 24. Learn more in our news release.
Cowlitz River recreational smelt fishery tentative schedule
Eulachon, or Columbia River smelt, support a popular dip-net fishery in southwest Washington, drawing tens of thousands of people to the Cowlitz River when fisheries are announced. Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, smelt require careful management, and fisheries do not occur every year. When they do occur, they are brief — only a single day or a few hours — with fisheries announced only days in advance.
The short notice and brief duration of fisheries, combined with growing participation, has created logistical challenges for anglers, local communities, and enforcement. The recent addition of a fishing license requirement for smelt fishers emphasized the need for better planning and communication to support the fishery.
To address these challenges, WDFW announced a tentative schedule approach for the Cowlitz River recreational smelt fishery. The proposed dates, Wednesdays and Saturdays from Feb. 5 to March 22, will be confirmed based on weekly smelt run evaluations. This approach is designed to give fishers advance notice of approved dips, improve compliance, and streamline fishery management.
For more details, refer to our news release or the Cowlitz River smelt fishing webpage.
Southern Resident killer whale conservation
As of Jan. 1, new regulations are in place to protect the endangered Southern Resident killer whale population in Washington waters. These regulations require boaters to stay 1,000 yards away from Southern Residents, stay at or below a speed of 7 knots within 1,000 yards of a Southern Resident while attempting to move away and out of the path of the animals, and disengage their engines if within 400 yards of a Southern Resident. With a remaining population of 73 individuals (as of a July 2024 census) it is more important than ever to give these iconic orcas the space they need to survive and thrive. Visit wdfw.wa.gov/orca for more information about these laws, best practices for boating in orca habitat, and to learn about WDFW’s killer whale conservation efforts.
Steelhead fishing opens on the Skagit and Sauk rivers
WDFW and co-managing tribes have forecasted that 7,019 wild steelhead will return to the Skagit River and its tributaries this year — the highest forecast in recent years. The 2025 forecast is sufficient to open a state-managed recreational fishery on portions of the Skagit and Sauk rivers, as well as fisheries operated by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, and the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe.
Anglers are reminded to keep wild steelhead partially in the water at all times, and to cooperate with WDFW catch samplers and police whether at boat launches, bank access sites, or during on-the-water patrols. Please also respect tribal fishers.
Responsible catch-and-release fishing, monitoring, and enforcement are essential under the 10-year Skagit Basin Steelhead Fishery plan. Refer to WDFW’s news release for details. More information on Skagit steelhead management is available on this WDFW webpage, including a recent report on the Quicksilver Portfolio, a collaborative plan for restoring Puget Sound steelhead and fisheries.
Recovering the northwestern pond turtle and northern leopard frog
Washington’s wetlands are home to a wide diversity of wildlife, including everything from aquatic invertebrates to amphibians and migratory birds. Two of Washington’s iconic wetland species, the northwestern pond turtle and the northern leopard frog, are listed as endangered in the state. In the face of habitat loss, invasive species predation, disease, and population isolation, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and many partners have been working to help recover these species through habitat restoration, invasive species management, disease treatment, and headstarting programs. Refer to WDFW’s blog post for more information.
