A fall fishing tradition for Eastern Washington anglers will be ending as the state Department of Fish and Wildlife phases in a camping ban at the Vernita Bridge by 2026. During the fall Chinook season, anglers gather at the bridge access point to the Columbia River off Highway 243 near Highway 24. The site is for day use only, but since the late 1990s many anglers have set up camp there in the fall for days and sometime weeks at a time.
Some fishing guides even use the area to run their businesses during the season, according to the state agency. “The level of use has not only become unsustainable but is causing damage to the natural landscape,” the agency said in a Monday announcement about the changes. The agency is setting new rules for camping at Vernita for the 2024 and 2025 fall salmon seasons, and will phase out overnight camping in 2026.
“As the popularity of this area grew, the footprint of the area the public uses grew as well, getting bigger each year,” said Mike Livingston, the agency’s South Central Region director. The site lacks sewage and sanitation facilities, and trash attracts insects and small animals, the agency said. And as campers and boaters find space at the site, vehicles are using and destroying undisturbed habitat areas.
Many boat launches have been created over the years by people backing their vehicles over the natural landscape, according to the agency Changes for 2024 and 2025 include: — Designated areas will be established for ove.
