Outdoor briefs for Sept. 26

DNR plan addresses trail development

The state Department of Natural Resources is asking the public to comment on a draft policy that will guide the future development of recreation trails on department-managed lands.

The agency oversees about 5.6 million acres of state land, much of which offers opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking and off-road vehicle riding. These lands must also generate sustainable revenue for public school construction and maintain Washington’s rich natural heritage, according to the state constitution.

To view the draft policy and learn more, go to dnr.wa.gov/TrailsPolicy. Comments are being accepted through Monday by sending an email to trailspolicy@dnr.wa.gov,online survey.

The agency is expected to adopt a final version of the policy by Oct. 31.

Salmon, steelhead projects reviewed

Michael Schmidt, program director for the Salish Sea Marine Survival Project, will give a presentation Thursday at the Puget Sound Anglers South Sound Chapter meeting.

The project leverages human and financial resources from the United States and Canada to determine the primary factors affecting the survival of juvenile salmon and steelhead in the Salish Sea, according to a club news release.

Schmidt specializes in the development and implementation of large-scale projects. He also oversees the eight field projects being run by Long Live the Kings to stabilize salmon and steelhead populations.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m., with the program at 7:10 p.m. at the Lacey Community Center, 6729 Pacific Ave. SE, Lacey. The meeting is free and open to the public. Learn more at sschapterpsa.com.

State honors Nisqually Land Trust

The Nisqually Land Trust has received the Bravo Award from the state Recreation and Conservation Office for the trust’s project to protect the shoreline and salmon habitat on the Mashel River in Eatonville.

The land trust’s project was the top ranked project in the riparian protection category of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program.

Using a $1.1 million grant from the program, plus $2.8 million in local and tribal grants, the trust plans to conserve important shoreline property forever. The project proposes to acquire property that connects two substantial blocks of Mashel River shoreline already protected, creating nearly 6 miles of protected river corridor.

With the grants, the trust proposes to buy more than 1,000 acres, including 3.1 miles of the Mashel River, 6.2 miles of feeder streams, 884 acres of shoreline and 128 acres of the surrounding forest near Eatonville.

The salmon recovery plan for the area names these sections of the Mashel River as the highest priority for protection. The river is used by chinook salmon and steelhead, both listed as threatened with extinction under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Bluetongue outbreak in eastside deer

An outbreak of bluetongue disease in white-tailed deer in Eastern Washington is not expected to affect this fall’s hunting seasons.

Kristin Mansfield, veterinarian for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said bluetongue is a common virus transmitted by biting gnats at water sources where deer congregate during dry conditions. Every year in late summer and early fall, some white-tailed deer die of bluetongue and a similar virus known as EHD (epizootic hemorrhagic disease).

Mansfield said the department does not know precisely how many deer have been affected, but reports are more widespread and numerous than in the past, probably because of the severe drought across the region.

Such outbreaks usually end with the arrival of colder, wetter weather, when deer move away from gnat-infested areas, or by the first hard frost, which kills the disease-carrying gnats.

Symptoms include lameness, discharge or bleeding from the nose, and swollen lips and tongue.

People who see suspected bluetongue or EHD in white-tailed deer are asked to call the agency’s eastern regional office in Spokane at 509-892-1001 or the department’s dead wildlife hotline at 800-606-8768.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 10:25 PM with the headline "Outdoor briefs for Sept. 26."