A crab trap full of Dungeness and red rock crabs taken from the boat docks in Charleston. Recreational crabbing has been closed on an 80-mile stretch of the south coast due to domoic acid found in crabs.

State agencies have reopened recreational crabbing along the Oregon Coast from eight miles north of Winchester Bay to Cape Blanco, according to a Friday announcement by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

That area had closed on May 1 due to elevated levels of domoic acid, a biotoxin produced by algae that originates in the ocean.

Recreational crabbing is now open coastwide in Oregon. Harvesters should eviscerate crabs before cooking.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture tests for shellfish toxins twice a month, as tides and weather permit. Reach ODA’s shellfish safety hotline at 800-448-2474. Information on recreational crabbing is available online at myodfw.com

Limited camping available at Hyatt Lake

Camping will be restricted at U.S. Bureau of Land Management campgrounds at Hyatt Lake this summer because of work to upgrade water and electrical systems at the 1960s-era facility, but a limited number of sites are expected to be available from late May through mid-July.

“We’re going to open up as much of the campground as we can,” agency spokesman Kyle Sullivan said Friday.

Twelve sites at the Wildcat Campground and five sites at Horse Camp are expected to be open as of May 26. Reservations can be made online at recreation.gov as of May 17, if all goes as planned. Wildcat has pit toilets and water. Horse Camp has pit toilets.

The BLM’s 56-site campground at the lake is expected to be closed, but may partly open.

The work is part of a $1.4 million project funded under the Great American Outdoor Act, enacted in 2020.

Josephine County unveils handicapped-accessible playground

The Josephine County Parks Department has opened a multi-story, handicapped-accessible playground at Tom Pearce Park, 3700 Tom Pearce Park Road, just east of Grants Pass. Designed by Playcraft Systems, the playground is designed for children 5-12 years old. It was built using $90,000 in donations and $319,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Prescribed burning planned for Upper Applegate, Butte Falls areas

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has conducted prescribed burns on 205 acres so far this spring, with more burns planned in the next week in the Upper Applegate River area, and in two locations outside Butte Falls possibly on Monday. Also, the Nature Conservancy is expected to conduct a burn near Butte Falls possibly on Wednesday with the agency’s assistance, according to agency spokesman Kyle Sullivan. Recent wet weather delayed some burning.