The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet in Salem on Friday, Feb. 7 to consider establishing a control zone at the mouth of Youngs Bay that would prohibit recreational salmon fishing. The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. at the ODFW headquarters building at 4034 Fairview Industrial Dr. SE in Salem. The full agenda and meeting materials are available on the ODFW website. The proposed Youngs Bay Control Zone would prohibit recreational fishing from Aug. 1 through Sept. 15 in order to reduce the interception of hatchery fish returning to the Youngs Bay commercial fishery. The closure, along with several other changes to fisheries management, emerged during the 2012 process to restructure sport and commercial fisheries on the Columbia River. The 2013 Oregon Legislature included a required area closure in Senate Bill 830, which made statutory modifications necessary to implement the fishery changes. The Commission also will be asked to approve fish screening exemptions and fish passage waivers for two proposed hydroelectric projects on the Warmsprings Dam in Malheur County and on the Mason Dam in Baker County. The Commission first took up these issues at its Jan. 10 meeting but delayed a decision and tabled both actions.
