[{"_1":2,"_86":-5,"_87":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6263280,"mediaKeyId","3108026-972ec6d5cabbda32344ba893ea1320a8","parentId",3108026,"title","WDFW gives Cowlitz County overview of Region 5 priorities: fish passage, habitat projects, deer collaring and hoof-disease work","audioSeconds",3207,"startMs",393000,"endMs",3600000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3108026-972ec6d5cabbda32344ba893ea1320a8&start=393&end=3600","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3108026-972ec6d5cabbda32344ba893ea1320a8/thumbnail_393000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6263280/Cowlitz-County/Washington/WDFW-gives-Cowlitz-County-overview-of-Region-5-priorities-fish-passage-habitat-projects-deer-collaring-and-hoof-disease-work","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6263280-ed5adf713e8313b8fe43ef8e91e27bea/orig.mp4?Expires=1771017731&Signature=GSEijTHnqlQalk1XdzavFRvCWh6OotZX8Ngze2S7OciQJltRoGm9wNeBN0959dyXU15TLveTFtaHv2jM6bARnUBdj~NryQMxAa6WpOPLXRA0lpfbF8fqABL976heyRvkenYDoDoa245kBtrOEgY~MKKrJeOeEoex8QUboAmjELsyB21qm1Cpv8m07HsGWqR-l4uzZ0w8icSCwWICis8TiLtpqwSFDLfm0VJv1dwgQ~aDIf~ETQ4Q3HD8eivzQFIDqD1~HabMVlX~99SUsUNniYXbtMXiwO3iljlIM~-rLrXz1dKxBQhUqm2r2KtxHJ1SzQ9tXNU6Es9v7SKog6-QIg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Cowlitz County Commissioners, Washington","date","2025-04-24T08:24:59.807Z","article","Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Southwest Region officials briefed Cowlitz County commissioners on regional fish, wildlife and habitat priorities and fielded county questions about license fees, hatcheries, elk hoof disease and predator trends.

Ryan Salee, WDFW Southwest Region director, opened the workshop with an agency overview and introduced program leads from fish, wildlife, habitat and enforcement. He said the region manages a broad portfolio of programs across diverse landscapes, including the Columbia River and multiple tributary fisheries, and works with tribes and federal partners on fish passage and recovery.

WDFW staff described several items of direct relevance to Cowlitz County. On the North Fork Toutle River, WDFW and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are updating the Toutle Fish Collection Facility; WDFW said the project is at about 60% design and construction is scheduled for 2026–27, and that design work is intended to improve collection efficiency, transport survival and to include lamprey passage. Staff noted that the Army Corps retains ownership of the sediment retention structure while WDFW owns and maintains the collection facility.

Staff also discussed land acquisition and access work. They said the agency is proceeding with purchase of roughly 7,500 acres in the Hofstad area (planned acquisition in the coming year) and that the region now manages more than 75,000 acres of lands open through private-lands access agreements and other partnerships.

On wildlife monitoring, WDFW said it plans to collar up to 80 black-tailed deer to improve population estimates where aerial surveys are difficult. “So what we're trying to do … we're putting collars on the animals and we're putting out camera stations to detect when a collar is near,” said Dr. Saundra Jonker, WDFW wildlife program manager. She said collaring plus remote detection will provide a detectability correction to improve population estimates beyond harvest data alone.

Commissioners raised concerns about a widely reported 38% increase in license fees. WDFW staff said the fee proposal originated in the Legislature rather than as an agency request and described a proposal to reduce the department’s general fund allocation by an amount equal to projected license revenue, which the department said would leave the agency with no net budget gain under that scenario.

WDFW staff also outlined hatchery and recovery work. They said Region 5 operates 14 hatchery facilities, six of which are in Cowlitz County, and described two hatcheries currently proposed for reduction from the operating list (identified in the briefing as North Tewdell Hatchery on the Green River and Skamania Hatchery). Staff noted that federal Mitchell Act funding and permit constraints affect hatchery funding and allowable production when populations are ESA-listed.

On fishery programs, staff highlighted the Northern Pikeminnow sport-reward program, which WDFW said averages about 165,000 fish harvested annually and has removed some 5,590,000 pikeminnow since 1991. The region also described ongoing salmon and steelhead monitoring and habitat-restoration work in cooperation with local partners and the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board.

WDFW officials addressed wildlife-health issues and management tools. On elk hoof disease, Dr. Jonker said Washington State University leads laboratory research and WDFW has implemented an incentive program that encourages hunters to deliver elk hooves for testing. “Once it’s on the landscape, it’s not going to leave,” Jonker said, describing why eradication is unlikely and why management focuses on monitoring and targeted removal where helpful. She said research is ongoing and that studies on impacts to elk productivity will be released this summer.

Commissioners asked about predator trends and how cougar and bear populations affect elk and deer. WDFW staff said the agency is conducting rotating bear density studies across regions and that updated cougar management rules are being implemented to incorporate additional sources of take (including depredation removals) into harvest models.

Region 5 enforcement and habitat staff described patrol priorities, regulation compliance work, and collaborative local efforts including the Tule and Spirit Lake collaborative (which addresses floodplain development, sediment management and fish passage following the Mount St. Helens eruption) and an early-stage Interstate 5 wildlife-passage planning effort to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Staff invited follow-up and deeper briefings on any of the topics raised by commissioners and said they would return with more detailed presentations if the county requested them.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Wednesday Business Meeting & Work Session - 04.23.2025","oneSentenceSummary","Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Southwest Region staff told Cowlitz County commissioners they are advancing fish-passage, habitat, and wildlife-health work in the region, including upgrades to the Toutle Fish Collection Facility and a deer-collaring study to improve population estimates.","taxTitle","Cowlitz County, Washington","taxId",5122,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6263285,"Cowlitz County staff to seek direct sale of small tax-title parcel to Longview for Columbia Heights road project",0,765000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3108026-972ec6d5cabbda32344ba893ea1320a8&start=765&end=765","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3108026-972ec6d5cabbda32344ba893ea1320a8/thumbnail_765000.jpg","/articles/6263285/Cowlitz-County/Washington/Cowlitz-County-staff-to-seek-direct-sale-of-small-tax-title-parcel-to-Longview-for-Columbia-Heights-road-project","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6263285-9926615adcaa976ba07cc825ee5e0980/orig.mp4?Expires=1771017731&Signature=nfHi8-8hMApWyU2KBCr66L~xG4w4Cb16sw4-o2pBo4X8X5vXTlg3RglAYc0mtkq~F3~62IfrAjL6Y5bvr9jdwDJomzjPPpUR6nrkuJk1S-jiH9A4DWjdElA4gK-r1s9afYJfIq4AslfDEj1ClLWj9FEccWElY3V2zw4FtIwOWxfcDFO2dsbhLvx0GEWTqXyCDaMBd0v6mTWGTUrcV-YDy2wmiiul3Y1n7Gi9Y3fc6jn-6NleIN3t-w2zaZMcIMGkzPcuurXzZMXb5HEhBV6jifWcC8aqmAGCxr2pyn2wbbKI1XWEd9ItyQ8gZS3zRwFogTFs1CKGJarZYibhtN~J4w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Susan Eugenis, Cowlitz County engineer, told the Board of County Commissioners at an afternoon session that the county will place a resolution on Tuesday’s consent agenda to sell a small tax-title parcel to the City of Longview for use in a Columbia Heights roadway project.

Eugenis said the sale would be done by direct negotiation rather than the standard tax-title auction process because the buyer is a municipality and the parcel’s unpaid-tax balance is small. “You will see on your agenda on Tuesday a resolution, stating all the RCWs about why we can sell it in this manner and sell it with direct negotiation to the City of Longview for their use in this particular roadway project,” she said.

The county engineer told commissioners the parcel is “very small,” described as a sliver needed at the intersection of Columbia Heights and Maplewood, and that the county would sell it for the amount owed. When a commissioner asked, “What is the cost of the parcel?” Eugenis replied, “It is right around $2,000.”

Eugenis said the parcel has been held in tax title for some time, has been offered at auction twice without bidders, and therefore appears to have no recourse for a prior owner. She told the board staff would provide additional details by Monday, including exact size and ownership history, before the Tuesday agenda. She also said the resolution will cite the applicable Revised Code of Washington provisions (RCWs) supporting a direct sale to a public entity.

Commissioners did not raise objections at the afternoon session and Eugenis confirmed the item will be placed on the consent agenda for the Tuesday meeting for formal consideration; no vote was taken at the afternoon session.

The county will provide full parcel details and the text of the Tuesday resolution ahead of the consent vote.","County engineer told commissioners a resolution will appear on Tuesday’s consent agenda to transfer a very small tax-title parcel by direct negotiation to the City of Longview for a Columbia Heights roadway project, for the cost owed (about $2,000).","actionData","errors"]

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WDFW gives Cowlitz County overview of Region 5 priorities: fish passage, habitat projects, deer collaring and hoof-disease work

Cowlitz County staff to seek direct sale of small tax-title parcel to Longview for Columbia Heights road project