I went to the latest WDFW Commission meeting in Spokane. Over 3000 local anglers signed a petition asking for the Wenatchee and Entiat Rivers to be reopened for limited fisheries based on the great returns of salmon and steelhead over the last four years.

The WDFW Biologist, Heather Bartlett, put on a very good power point presentation that essentially said - no go on the Wenatchee for a salmon fishery - maybe in two years on the Wenatchee for a steelhead fishery (since they only started clipping hatchery fish this year) and unlikely on either river - in the lower portions - for trout.

I lobbied for the small portion of the Wenatchee (around Leavenworth) that was open until the mid-90s to re-open based on the strong returns of chinook and an earlier opening of steelhead fishing based on total returns as opposed to how many fish they decide to clip on a given year.

I got the impression I lost this argument. Don't count on any portion of the Wenatchee re-opening for salmon this season.