There is all kinds of good news coming from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. First of all is the announcement of the selection of Phil Anderson as the new director. Anderson was serving as the interim director for more than nine months, and has been with the department since 1994. I have met Anderson at several of the Pateros Roundtable meetings and feel the department has made a great choice. My view is shared by the many department staff that I know and work with in our region. Anderson owned a sport fishing charter business prior to joining the WDFW. On the steelhead front, the word is that the paperwork has been sent forward to open our steelhead seasons in late September. All but the Wenatchee River should open then. The possibility that the Wenatchee will open later is very real, but not enough fish have passed over Tumwater Dam to make a season certain at this point. There is also a very strong possibility that anglers will see a boost in the daily limit of steelhead allowed to be taken this season, too. The steelhead counts continue to build toward an all-time record return over Priest Rapids Dam.