Fishing Regulations Remain in Limbo on the Yakima River
Local legislators and anglers expected new rules to open the river to seining, but state authorities say the matter is still under bureaucratic review.
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Altho the new game laws enacted at the last session of the legislature provided for several changes in both fishing and hunting regulations, it seems the restrictions on fishing in the Yakima River are about as they were before. It was the understanding of the legislators from this and Yakima counties that seining for salmon was to be permitted in the Yakima to within one mile of the Prosser dam. Apparently, however, the opening of the river for this purpose is left to the fisheries commission. In a letter to County Game Warden M. D. O'Connell, State Game Warden L. H. Darwin says: 'The law provides that the Yakima river shall remain closed as formerly until such time as it is opened to fishing by whites and Indians for their own consumption, under rules and regulations to be prescribed by the fisheries department. These rules and regulations have not as yet been prescribed.'
“The law provides that the Yakima river shall remain closed as formerly until such time as it is opened to fishing by whites and Indians for their own consumption.”
Conflicts over fishing rights and the management of the Yakima River between state agencies, local settlers, and Indigenous groups have been a constant thread in the region's history. Today, the balance between economic interests and ecological preservation continues to shape local policy in the Tri-Cities.
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