The U.S. Forest Service will release online permits on Sunday for hikers headed to Dog Mountain on weekends from April 18 to June 14.  The permits are required to ensure public safety near Dog Mountain Trailhead, where congestion during the spring wildflower hiker rush created annual congestion and at least one fatal accident before permits were required in 2018.  Every hiker on the Dog Mountain Trail system on Saturdays and Sundays between April 18 to June 14 will be required to carry a permit, or digital proof of one.  Anyone parking at Dog Mountain Trailhead will need to reserve one permit for each person online at recreation.gov and pay the $1 non-refundable per person administrative fee in addition to paying the recreation site fee of $5 per car.  Valid Northwest Forest or interagency federal passes are accepted as a form of paying the recreation fee but are not a substitute for having the per person permit.  Hikers can also obtain permits by riding a Skamania County West End Transit bus shuttle from the Skamania County Fairgrounds in Stevenson to the Dog Mountain trailhead, which is $2 roundtrip and includes a permit.  The shuttle runs about every half hour from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends from April 18 to June 14.