WSR 19-12-096
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 19-58—Filed June 4, 2019, 1:38 p.m., effective June 15, 2019]
Effective Date of Rule: June 15, 2019.
Purpose: Amend recreational sturgeon fishing rules for Lake Roosevelt.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 220-312-050.
Under RCW
34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Reasons for this Finding: This rule is necessary to open a harvest fishery for white sturgeon in Lake Roosevelt. Fishery managers in Washington state and British Columbia began sturgeon hatchery programs in the early 2000s in response to a decades-long decline in the white sturgeon population in Lake Roosevelt. Survival rates for those hatchery-produced juvenile sturgeon were much higher than was anticipated. As a result, there is a surplus of these fish available for harvest from Lake Roosevelt. There is insufficient time to adopt permanent rules.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: March 29, 2019.
Kelly Susewind
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-312-05000CFreshwater exceptions to statewide rules—Eastside.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-312-050:
Effective June 15 until further notice, it is permissible to fish for sturgeon in waters of Lake Roosevelt from Grand Coulee Dam upstream to the China Bend Boat Ramp (including the Spokane River from Highway 25 Bridge upstream to 400' below Little Falls Dam, Colville River upstream to Meyers Falls and the Kettle River upstream to Barstow Bridge):
(a) Daily limit: 1 sturgeon; minimum fork length 53 inches, maximum fork length 63 inches. Annual limit 2 sturgeon. Anglers are allowed to continue catch and release fishing for sturgeon after the daily limit is retained and after the annual limit is retained.
(b) Anglers may fish for sturgeon with two poles with the purchase of a Two-pole endorsement.
(c) Night closure is in effect for sturgeon.
(d) All other statewide rules for white sturgeon apply.