CENTRAL

Hefner: Crappie good on small jigs along the dam. Report submitted by Blake Pearson, game warden stationed in Oklahoma County.

Overholser: Channel catfish slow on stinkbait. Report submitted by Blake Pearson, game warden stationed in Oklahoma County.

Information on the 2008 fall trout stocking program has been posted on the NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife website. This fall marks the third year of stocking only big, two-year old trout. In addition to these large trout, even older and larger broodstock fish will also be stocked again for the fall season. This adds up to 21,000 trout measuring 14 - 21 inches and weighing 1½ to 5 pounds for New Jersey fall trout anglers. These trout will be stocked in 16 streams and 16 lakes throughout the state over a two week period in October .

The main stem of the Columbia River from Tongue Point to Bonneville Dam will open to fall chinook harvest on Monday, Sept. 1. Managers are predicting a total fall chinook run of 377,000, which is about average but significantly better than the 2007 return of 219,000 fish.

COLUMBUS, OH - The Michigan Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources confirmed the state's first case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a three-year old white-tailed deer from a privately owned cervid facility in Kent County, Michigan.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
have teamed up to develop the Quail Habitat Restoration Initiative. The QHRI is offered in certain areas of the state that have a higher likelihood of success based on existing native habitat.

Channel catfish are opportunistic feeders and will eat almost anything. With this in mind, you might ask yourself why would you want to purchase fish food to give to channel catfish? The answer is quite simply that you can increase the growth rate of your catfish by ten to 25 percent.

Have fun while learning how to live with Missoula’s urban bears on Saturday, Sept. 6. The Grant Creek/North Hills Bear Fair runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s visitor center, 5705 Grant Creek Road (north of the I-90, Reserve Street interchange).

UPCOMING LICENSE AND DRAWING DEADLINES

* Black Bear license purchase by August 31
* General Mountain Lion license purchase by August 31 – OR
* Special Mountain Lion license over-the-counter, apply by August 29, or Internet by August 31

As Montana seeks to manage the risk and stop the spread of brucellosis, hunters and landowners will be working together this fall.

Last year, cattle in a herd near Bridger tested positive for brucellosis. The infection was suspected to have originated in a herd from Emigrant in the Paradise Valley 25 miles north of Yellowstone National Park.

Cities and towns across the nation face several urban wildlife issues. Deer management is one widespread issue that is difficult and contentious to manage in most locations. The town of Colstrip has taken a proactive approach to deer management, adopting a Deer Management Action Plan (DMAP), approved by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in 2005. The following is an information update to the DMAP.