WSCFFI Club Conservation Award
The Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club of Spokane wins the Club Conservation Award from the Washington State Council of Fly Fishers International for 2021 for its outstanding leadership acquiring and permanently conserving 8 acres of public fishing access on the Grand Ronde River. Known as the Ebsen Fishing Access site, the private lot had been operated by WDFW for public use for years. When the Inland Empire club learned the owner wanted to sell but WDFW was unable to purchase the site, the Inland Empire Club moved swiftly to create a partnership with the Wild Steelhead Coalition and put down earnest money to keep the land off the market. Inland Empire then swiftly reached out to the Washington State Council of Fly Fishers International for help raising the cash to finance the purchase.
Thanks to the hustle of the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club of Spokane, the partnership of Seattle’s Wild Steelhead Coalition and the generosity of fly fishers statewide, eight acres of prime river access are permanently in public hands. Special credit goes to Inland Empire member Jim Athearn who was at the center of every step in the transaction, and club President Jon Bowne who kept the club squarely behind the effort. Credit also goes to landowners Lynn “Radar” Miller and his wife Kay. The couple has admired the rugged Grande Ronde for years and wanted future generations to enjoy it as well.
The Inland Empire club put up $2,000 in earnest money to secure the land. The Wild Steelhead Coalition pledged another $2,000 to launch fundraising. More than a dozen clubs and individuals –most of them affiliated with the Washington State Council of Fly Fishers International and many of them members of the IEFFC—donated $30,000 that covered the purchase price and legal fees surrounding the transfer to state control. Donors included eight Washington fly clubs; the Spokane Fly Fishers, Evergreen Fly Fishing Club, Puget Sound Fly Fishers, Columbia Basin Fly Fishers, Northwest Fly Anglers, Clark Skamania Flyfishers, Wenatchee Valley Fly Fishers, Dry Side Fly Fishing Club and the Kelly Creek Fly Casters of Lewison, Idaho. In addition, the Washington State Council of Fly Fishers International donated and two national organizations pitched in, the national board of Fly Fishers International and Back Country Hunters and Anglers.
Another key person who made a huge contribution to the Grande Ronde project was Mark Pinch. Without his technical knowledge and guidance on the real estate aspects of the project, we would have not been able to pull this off. He was always there to answer questions and look over our shoulders to make sure we were squared away with the all the intricacies of the real estate transactions.
“There was regional support for this,” said Jim Athearn. “Now it will be a regional asset forever.”
Steve Jones, President of the Washington State Council of FFI was present at the Ebsen Fishing access site dedication to present the award to the club.
Jim with President Emeritus Leon Buckles
Steve Jones presenting the plaque to Jim Athearn
WDFW Regional Director’s Award
At the Faha Ebsen Access dedication ceremony, Jim Athearn received the “Regional Director’s Award” from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for his work on Faha Ebsen project.
Jim worked closely with Josh Mills of the Wild Steelhead Coalition, Bob Dice, Chris Donley, Greg Heingartner, Jerrod Ploof and Jeremy Trump to successfully purchase the land for public access to the Grande Ronde River.
Jim’s dedication to this project was key in making it a success. As stat
Jim Athearn
ed on the plaque “For your dedication and persistence in procuring funds to purchase the Ebsen property and in your subsequent donation to WDFW. Your efforts have secured public fishing access at this popular site in perpetuity. Thank you!”
We all know how hard Jim worked on this project and this award is certainly well deserved.
Congratulations.
Frank Faha-Ebsen Access Dedication
A large group gathered on October 15th, 2021 to dedicate the Frank Faha Ebsen Fishing Access Site near the mouth of the Grande Ronde River. The group included numerous members of the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club. Among those present were the many members who generously donated to the project and IEFFC member Jim Athearn, who was the project lead.
Members of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife were present as well as officers of the Washington State Council of Fly Fishers International to make the dedication. A monument honoring IEFFC member Frank Faha and a monument honoring the monetary commitment of numerous individuals and groups was unveiled at the ceremony.
The acquisition of this property was an example of extreme cooperation by numerous caring individuals and those involved are to be commended. The IEFFC was joined by the Wild Steelhead Coalition in a partnership that worked closely with WSDFW and WSCFFI to make this access site a reality. Numerous individuals and groups contributed to the purchase of the land, many of the individuals being members of the IEFFC.
Another key person who made a huge contribution to the Grande Ronde project was Mark Pinch. Without his technical knowledge and guidance on the real estate aspects of the project, we would have not been able to pull this off. He was always there to answer questions and look over our shoulders to make sure we were squared away with the all the intricacies of the real estate transactions.
A special thanks to the following IEFFC members donating to the acquisition: Jim Athearn, Leon Buckles, Bob Burton, Keith Kuester, Hubert Langenhorst, Bill Papesh, Mark Pinch, Chet Allison, Doug Arndt, John Bennett, Scott Fink, Jerry Harms, Bob Johnson, Jerry McBride, Jim McDevitt and Randy Shaber.
Included in those present at the dedication were members Frank Faha’s family, including his wife Gayle, pictured below.
Dedication Crowd
Frank’s wife Gayle
Fall Fin Clipping
A mighty group of IEFFC warriors headed to the hatchery on September 27th and 28th to perform adipose fin-ectomies on thousands of tiny fish. This is one of our most difficult projects and the ex
treme weather didn’t make it any easier. The rain on Monday was an absolute downpour, but our members stayed the course and upwards of 50,000 little trout had their fins clipped.
For those of you not familiar with the process, it starts with the fish being anesthetized. While they are briefly immobile a group of amateur surgeons carefully take the fish in their hands and trim off the adipose fin with micro scissors. Speed is essential because the fish gain mobility quickly and a squirming two inch fish is likely to lose more than an adipose fin. It takes courage to perform this function knowing that their lives are literally in your hands.
The members volunteering were Jerry McBride, Skip Cavanaugh, Bill Papesh, Guy Gregory, Jim Athearn, Phil Beck, Floyd Holmes, and Mark Pinch.
Thank you all for your efforts.
Fall Projects Listed – By Jerry McBride
Bayley Lake Spawning Channel Cleanup September 25
Background
Many years ago the IEFFC put in weirs (low dams) and laid down gravel in the ponds formed by the weirs to create spawning beds in the short, channel-like stream that flows out of Potters Pond into Bayley Lake. The idea was to enable rainbow trout to come up in the channel in early spring and spawn with the females getting rid of their eggs enabling them to live a year or two longer than the normal three years. This of course, meant more large fish in Bayley that we could fish for. Normally, the water temperature in the channel gets too high for the fertilized eggs to hatch so there isn’t much if any natural reproduction.
Present
During the summer the grass along the channel grows almost chest-high and then droops into the channel tending to restrict the flow. Also, the gravel gets moved around and is sometimes covered with sand.
Just about every year a group of eight to ten members from the IEFFC has gone up in September or October to cut the grass and clean it out of the channel. We also renew the gravel as required. Most years the channel is dry so it is fairly easy to do the work and usually takes about two hours. The Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge provides the gravel.
September 25, 2021
Members of the IEFFC are going to go up on the Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge northeast of Chewelah on Saturday, September 25, 2021 to clean up the Bayley Lake spawning channel. We will have five “veterans” who have done this work before that have boats paired up with five other members. The other members will meet up with the “veterans” and ride up to Bayley with them. Once we have completed the work which usually takes about two hours we will go fishing in Bayley Lake which can be very good in the fall. The pairs will meet up at Zips in Chewelah at 8 am with the IEFFC buying our breakfast.
For those of you that have never fished Bayley this is a great opportunity to fish it with someone who knows the lake and how to fish it.
Fin Clipping at WDFW Hatchery September 27 and 28, 2021
Again this year the IEFFC will join other groups at the WDFW Spokane fish hatchery to clip adipose fins from fish that will be planted in Lake Spokane. This project takes two days. The IEFFC has committed to furnish six people each day. At this point it is not clear what if any Covid-19 restrictions will apply. In past years WDFW has furnished lunch to all of the participants. Volunteers need to show up at the hatchery before 8 am.
Grande Ronde – Ebsen Access Preserved
The final step in preserving the Ebsen Fishing Access on the Grand Ronde closed last week when WDFW took control of the property.
Thanks to the hustle of the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club of Spokane, an acquisition plan by Seattle’s Wild Steelhead Coalition and the generosity of fly fishers statewide, eight acres of prime river access are permanently in public hands. Credit also goes to landowners Lynn “Radar” Miller and his wife Kay. The couple has admired the rugged Grande Ronde for years and wanted future generations to enjoy it as well.
Miller owns other property in the area and for years he has looked across those eight river-side acres “and it was always nice to see the river and not a bunch of buildings,” Miller said last year when the land transfer began. “I wanted it to stay that way.”
The area between the north bank of the Grand Ronde and Snake River Road has been public fishing access since the early 1980s when the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife acquired a recreation easement from Miller. It’s summer steelhead water about three miles up-stream from the confluence with the Snake River. The main feature of the property is a stony shoreline between two fishing spots known as the Turkey Run on the downstream end and the Shadow Hole on the upstream end of the property. There is a pull off onto the property and a pit toilet installed by WDFW. At its widest, there is only 250 feet between the river and the road.
Last year, Miller decided he needrd to sell the property and offered it to WDFW, but the agency didn’t have money for acquisitions. The agency turned to the Inland Empire Fly Fishers in Spokane for ideas and club member Jim Athearn thought there had to be a way to preserve the fishing access. After a few conversations, Athearn and Miller settled on a price of $25,000. The Wild Steelhead Coalition of Seattle agreed to act as the non-profit transfer agent so private donors could receive tax benefits for their gifts. Now that land is in the hands of WDFW for ongoing management.
The Inland Empire club put up $2,000 in earnest money to secure the land. The Wild Steelhead Coalition pledged another $2,000 to launch fundraising. More than a dozen clubs and individuals –most of them affiliated with the Washington Council of Fly Fishers International—donated $30,000 that covered the purchase price and legal fees surrounding the transfer to state control. Donors included the Spokane Fly Fishers, Evergreen Fly Fishing Club, Puget Sound Fly Fishers, Columbia Basin Fly Fishers, Northwest Fly Anglers, Clark-Skamania Flyfishers, Wenatchee Valley Fly Fishers, Dry Side Fly Fishing Club and the Kelly Creek Fly Casters of Lewison, Idaho. In addition, the Washington State Council of Fly Fishers International donated and two national organizations pitched in, the national board of Fly Fishers International and Back Country Hunters and Anglers.
“There was regional support for this,” said Jim Athearn who spearheaded the effort for Inland Empire. “Now it will be a regional asset forever.”
Amber Lake Project 2021
To quote Tennessee Ernie Ford:
“You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.”
On Monday, May 24, 2021 a work crew comprised of Dan Dzieken from WDFW, four members of the Spokane Fly Fishers and four IEFFC members spread and compacted 16 tons of crushed rock at the Amber Lake boat launch. In addition, a large rock that was in the water alongside the launch was moved so there will be less of a chance of hitting it while launching or taking out.
The IEFFC members involved were Jerry McBride, John Bennett, Guy Gregory and Lee Funkhouser.
The IEFFC and SFF split the cost of the crushed rock and the rental of the plate compactor and IEFFC provided donuts and coffee for breaktime and also provided lunch for the crew.
We originally thought the project would take four hours to complete, but the crew was able to finish it in two hours.
And to answer Tennessee Ernie Ford’s question, we got a much improved boat launch at Amber Lake!!
IEFFC Legacy Committee Scholar: Collin Hendricks
The recipient of the IEFFC Legacy Committee scholarship for 2020-2021 is Collin Hendricks.
Collin is 22 years old and currently a senior at Eastern Washington University and plans on continuing his education to get his masters in fisheries biology following graduation.
Collin is from the small town of Chelan, Washington where he grew up doing just about anything you could think of outdoors. For as long as he can remember his father would take the family camping, hunting, back-packing, and, Collin’s favorite, fishing. This is where he grew to love everything about the sport, as well as the animals that he was catching.
His interest and respect for fish started when he was young and being able to work with and help these animals has turned into a passion of his. He had the privilege of working as a research assistant in the EWU fisheries department this past summer and was able to help Craig Wells with his master’s thesis as they collected tissue samples from Westslope Cutthroat Trout in north Idaho. This was a great experience and really gave Collin insight into some of the awesome work he hopes to do in the coming years.
Collin wants to thank the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club members and especially the Legacy Committee for helping him along in his endeavors and for awarding him with this scholarship!
He has been invited to a future meeting and we are hoping Covid-19 will allow us an opportunity to meet this fine young man.
Toys For Tots 2020
We could not collect toys this year with Covid cancelling
our meetings, but that did not stop the IEFFC from coming
Jim Brown USMC
through for the area children. We were able to collect a total of
$1,665.00 and that money was given to the Toys for Tots representatives in plenty of time for them to buy additional toys.
Marine Jim Brown, the USMC warehouse manager enthusiastically accepted our check
and thanked us for our continued support of this valuable program,.
Thanks goes out to all of the IEFFC members who contributed. As I
mentioned in my earlier email to you the need is greater this year and we
rose to the occasion.