PORT ANGELES — Registration is expected to open within the next couple of weeks for the Ride the Hurricane event coming up on Aug. 7.
Registration slots are expected to sell out, so people are encouraged to keep checking the Ride the Hurricane website at www.ridethehurricane.org.
People who want to participate in the ride can prepare now before registration opens. Each participant must complete an online release of liability waiver with minors listed on an adult waiver. You can find the waiver here: www.tinyurl.com/36ejxbys.
People are also urged to make reservations as soon as possible as accommodations in the area are expected to be full. People can also send photos from past Ride the Hurricanes and one of which will be chosen as the 2022 bib image.
Sea cucumbers closed
OLYMPIA — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife closed the recreational harvest of sea cucumbers in all waters of Puget Sound effective today.
This includes marine areas 4 east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh Line, 5 (Sekiu), 6 (Port Angeles and Sequim), and 9 (Port Townsend).
The species affected is the California or giant red sea cucumber.
A spawning closure period of March 1 through June 30 was agreed to by sea cucumber co-managers in all waters of Puget Sound for all sea cucumber fisheries. This fishing rule change to personal-use harvest rules supports conservation of the species in accordance with co-manager agreement.
Marine Area 12 (Hood Canal) is closed year-round and is therefore excluded from this rule change.
Fierce and fabulous
PORT ANGELES — People can join the Fierce and Fabulous Movement Challenge hosted by the North Olympic Library System to support community members in creating and maintaining healthy habits and movement goals.
Those interested can download the Beanstack app to sign up or visit nols.org. People earn badges by tracking their movement starting today. For every six badges earned, people will receive an entry into a drawing for an Olympic National Park annual pass. A paper tracker is also available for pickup at all NOLS locations. All adults ages 18 and older are encouraged to sign up. May 3 is the last day to log all activities. Each NOLS branch will draw a winning entry.
Badges can be earned for a wide range of activities including: Reflecting on movement goals and writing them down; checking out movement, fitness or exercise materials from the library; stretching regularly; inviting a friend, family or community member to participate in a movement activity, such as a walk or outdoor adventure; keeping track of how much water you drink during the week; trying a new recipe; or celebrating a new healthy habit.
Steelhead shut in ONP
OLYMPIA — In conjunction with the full coastal steelhead closure announced by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, fishing in the Hoh, South Fork Hoh, Bogachiel, Dickey and Quillayute river systems within Olympic National Park also will close to fishing beginning today.
This closure is in response to information provided by the WDFW, which indicates that wild steelhead runs are returning in numbers much lower than anticipated. A complete closure of recreational fisheries is warranted due to their declining trends and to eliminate the hooking of wild steelhead.
