Instream Flow Rule Open House, FSA Reminders & Fish Ladder Modifications

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

The Washington State Department of Ecology will be hosting an open house May 14 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the CenterPlace Regional Event Center in Spokane Valley to explain the preliminary draft instream flow rule for the Spokane River and the Spokane Valley Rathdrum Prairie aquifer system. Rusty Post, Watershed lead with Ecology, spoke with landowners earlier this month about the proposed instream flow rule.

POST: It just covers the aquifer and the river itself. It does not apply to any historical uses or existing water rights. It only goes from this point forward in time for any proposed new water uses. It will help keep water in the river so that the river doesn't keep getting lower and lower each year.

To get more information and to provide input on the preliminary draft rule visit Ecology's website at www.ecy.wa.gov.

The USDA Farm Service Agency would like to remind those producers who plan on conducting any spot-mowing or spot-spraying on their established stands of CRP lands between now and July 1st, the primary nesting season, that they need to request permission from FSA prior to any such activity taking place.  Also, all spring planted crops need to be reported to your local FSA office by July 15th.

So far so good when it comes to modifications done last week to the Wanapum Dam fish ladders after a crack in the dam and the resulting reservoir drawdown left the original fish ladders impassable for migrating fish. At last count on Friday a total of 31 spring chinook and 102 steelhead had successfully climbed up and over into the reservoir above.

That's Washington Ag Today.

I'm Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.