4
December 22, 2017
T he C olumbia P ress
Anglers made profits catching pikeminnow
Anglers caught and re-
moved more than 191,000
northern pikeminnow from
the Columbia and Snake
rivers this year, protecting
young salmon and steelhead
from predation.
And they were paid for it.
Approximately 1,100 peo-
ple registered to be part of
the Northern Pikeminnow
Sport Reward Program.
They were paid $1.5 million
for their efforts. The pro-
gram, funded by the Bonne-
ville Power Administration,
runs from May 1 through
Sept. 30.
The anglers’ success means
BPA also is meeting its pro-
gram goals.
“The program’s goal is to
reduce the number of pike-
minnow that prey heavily on
juvenile salmon,” BPA proj-
ect manager Makary Hutson
said. “Annual harvest rate
estimates, which are calcu-
lated using data from tagged
fish caught by anglers, indi-
cate the 2017 season met our
program targets, which di-
rectly benefits juvenile salm-
on making their way to the
ocean.”
The reward program pays
registered anglers $5 to $8
per fish nine inches or longer.
The more fish an angler
catches during the season,
the more each pikeminnow is
worth.
State fish and wildlife biol-
ogists also release more than
1,000 specially tagged north-
ern pikeminnow, each worth
$500.
This year, the top 20 fish-
ermen
registered
with
the Sport Reward Pro-
gram earned an average of
$30,000 each.
The top angler earned
nearly $84,000, reeling in
more than 10,000 fish over
the five-month season.
Northern pikeminnow are
voracious eaters.
The program has reduced
predation on young salmon
and steelhead by up to 40
percent since it began.
The BPA-funded program
is administered by the Pa-
cific States Marine Fisheries
Commission.
The 2018 season is sched-
uled for May 1 through Sept.
30. For more information
about the program, call
800-858-9015 or visit www.
pikeminnow.org.
Pacific Power offers text alerts in power outages
Power outages come with
the territory for those who
live at the coast.
Pacific Power customers
can now receive customized
text alerts when the power
goes out but the cell phone
still works.
“In the past, customers
would call or go online for up-
dates on outages,” said Aric
Muhlestein, Pacific Power
director of customer service
and support. “Now, after they
sign up, customers can re-
ceive text or email updates on
an outage, including changes
to the estimated time of res-
toration and cause.”
There also are options for
billing reminders and pay-
ment information.
Pacific Power developed
the new alerts option based
on customer feedback, Muh-
lestein said.
To sign up, register on the
Pacific Power website at
pacificpower.net/alerts and
pick which types of notices
you want to receive.
Current Pacific Power
mobile phone app users al-
ready have access to similar
information and updates,
but can sign up for the text
alerts if they find that more
convenient. Get the app at
pacificpower.net/app.
“We wanted to make it sim-
ple for our customers to have
quick and easy access to the
most up-to-date informa-
tion,” Muhlestein said. “This
new offering makes that hap-
pen.”
Other website updates in-
clude a new energy usage and
temperature graph on the
customer account summa-
ry page, and a faster, more
streamlined process for cus-
tomers when they move.
Additional enhancements
are planned for 2018 as part
of the company’s efforts
to improve customer com-
munications and provide
more ways for customers to
manage their energy use.
Pacific Power provides elec-
tric service to 750,000 cus-
tomers in Oregon, Washing-
ton and California.