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Features: Dungeness crab can sometimes be confused with rock or other crab species. However, it is easily identified by its white-tipped claws and reddish-brown to purple color. Habitat: Adult Dungeness crab forage on a number of fish and invertebrate species. They can be found throughout the sandy and muddy areas in the shallowest parts of lower estuaries all the way to depths of almost 1,500 feet. Techniques: There are many kinds of crab catchers – from crab pots and rings, to traps you can cast with a fishing rod. You can easily crab from a dock in many coastal bays…
ENTERPRISE, Ore. – ODFW, in coordination with co-managers, will reopen harvest of wild (adipose-intact) fall Chinook salmon in the Snake River effective Saturday, Oct. 4. The reopening follows a temporary closure implemented in September to ensure fisheries remained within agreed harvest limits. During the closure, managers continued to monitor run…
Features: Gaper clams have large "neck" housing the two siphons that protrude above the substrate surface when feeding. Protective leathery plates are found just below the siphon tips and feel rough to the touch. Gapers are unable to retract their neck entirely into the shell, producing a "gape" in the shell. It is common for algae to grow on their necks and gaper pea crabs to dwell inside the shell with the gaper clam. Habitat: Gapers can be found in high salinity sandy and/or muddy areas in most of Oregon's larger estuaries. Tillamook, Netarts, Yaquina, and Coos are favorite bays…
NEWPORT, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is holding two public meetings to discuss the commercial black and blue rockfish and nearshore fisheries. The meetings will be held in person with virtual or phone-in options Sept. 9 in Port Orford and Sept. 11 in Tillamook. ODFW commercial…
CORVALLIS, Ore. — The Oregon Hatchery Research Center Board will meet in Corvallis on Tuesday, June 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Oregon State University, Nash Hall Room 032, 2820 SW Campus Way. In addition to the regularly scheduled items, the agenda includes OHRC research updates, an…
Features: Butter clams have oval and oblong shaped shells with heavy, thick valves and hinge. Their shells have fine concentric rings. When the shell is open a little, you can see the pale ruffled mantle reminiscent of a tuxedo. Like the gaper clam, they have their two siphons fused together into one "neck." Average adult size is 3-4 inches but can range up to 5 inches. Butter clams can live more than 20 years. Habitat: Butter clams can be found in a wide variety of substrates but prefer sand and gravel/cobble beaches. They live approximately 6-12 inches deep and can…
CORVALLIS, Ore . — The Oregon Hatchery Research Center Board will meet virtually via Zoom on Wednesday, Sept. 3 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. In addition to the regularly scheduled items, the agenda includes a review of a proposal for use of the remaining OHRC Research Fund. The meeting…
SALEM, Ore. – ODFW completed a final draft of the 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), now available online for public review. A virtual public meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 16 at 6 p.m., where ODFW staff will present highlights from the plan and answer questions. The public…
ASTORIA, Ore – The annual conservation closure of razor clamming on Clatsop beaches begins 12:01 a.m. July 15. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife encourages clammers to take advantage of the low tide series that begins July 8. However, ODFW reminds clammers that although the low tide series goes…
The Columbia Basin Wildlife Areas are a composition of four Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (department) managed wildlife areas located along the Columbia River, in the Columbia Basin. The four wildlife areas (Power City, Irrigon, Coyote Springs and Willow Creek) are within the Columbia Plateau ecoregion. Management agreements for these areas were initially established between 1971 and 1977 between the department and Federal agencies which own the lands. The Columbia Basin Wildlife Areas, which total approximately 1,885 acres, provide an important landbase for the conservation and recreation of fish and wildlife within a highly privatized and altered landscape and…
Accessibility Statement for Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife is committed to providing a website experience that functions for all users regardless of ability, network speed, or device. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone, and applying the relevant accessibility standards. We invite feedback if you have issues accessing any part of https://myodfw.com/ Site features Each page on the site has a “Skip to Main Content” that’s visible on focus, giving visitors the option of jumping past navigation and into main content. A link to our Accessibility Statement and feedback form…
SALEM, Ore. – Oregon may soon have a new wildlife area in Union County called the Qapqápa Wildlife Area (pronounced cop-COP-a). The property would be owned by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and co-managed with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), continuing a decades-long…
