Idaho wildlife officials have approved an agreement with conservation groups and sport anglers to keep most steelhead fishing areas open.
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission on Friday voted unanimously to support the deal on the same day steelhead seasons were scheduled to expire.
Portions of the South Fork of the Clearwater River and the Salmon River will remain closed, as those are areas where wild steelhead are known to congregate.
The commission last month voted to suspend the steelhead fishing season because of a possible federal lawsuit by conservation groups contending the state’s steelhead regulations harm federally protected wild steelhead. The Idaho fish were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1997.
While wild steelhead caught by anglers must be returned to the river unharmed, about 3 percent die as a result of the catch-and-release. For Idaho to allow the incidental capture and deaths, the federal government has to approve its Fisheries Management and Evaluation Plan. The state applied for a new plan following the 2010 expiration of the previous plan, but hasn’t yet received one, leaving the state vulnerable to litigation.
This year’s return of steelhead to Idaho is one of the worst on record. (AP, Lewiston Tribune)
