Managing Wildlife Populations
Big Game Capture Preparations: Biologist Jeffreys has been preparing for January 2023 captures of bighorn sheep and mountain goats in the Lake Chelan area. Using the services of an aerial darting and net-gunning crew, biologists in District Seven are seeking to capture five bighorn sheep from the Manson herd, ten mountain goats from the north shore of Lake Chelan, and ten mountain goats from the south shore of Lake Chelan over the span of three days in the second half of January. Biological samples such as blood, hair, and nasal swabs will be collected from all captured animals to assess individual health and the presence of diseases or parasites, and all animals will be fitted with GPS collars before being released onsite. Biologists will use the GPS collar data to track movements of individuals and learn more about herd home range sizes and distribution, migration routes and timing, and to aid in relocating animals for future abundance and composition surveys.
Kestrel Boxes: Biologist McPherson installed four kestrel boxes near the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area office so monitoring and maintenance can be performed easily. Boxes will be visited a few times a year for maintenance, to observe the number of eggs, and to record nest success.
Wood Duck Boxes: Biologist McPherson and Specialist Walker installed wood duck boxes at the Frenchman, Winchester, and Rocky Ford. These locations are visited regularly by wildlife area staff members so maintenance and monitoring can be done on a regular basis.
Waterfowl Nest Tubes: Biologist McPherson and Specialist Walker put out a dozen nest tubes in the The Desert - 2 (TD-2) project. TD-2 has 19 isolated wetland basins, and the original intent of the project was to boost waterfowl production. Currently the project is being impacted by tall emergent vegetation. By placing nest tubes, we will hopefully benefit local waterfowl production in the project.
Providing Recreation Opportunities
Hunter Access: Biologist Cook continued to check hunter access signs on properties enrolled in the program. Most signs are still in place with not many needing replacement. Cook has spoken with several hunters related to the Hunt by Reservation properties. Many hunters have been confused about the program and the reservation process. Biologist Morris scouted for fields being used by waterfowl as a potential opportunity to obtain hunter access in the future.
Providing Conflict Prevention and Education
Dodson Road Unauthorized Vehicle Use: North of Frenchman Wasteway on Dodson Road there is a popular access point that users are starting to use to drive further off Dodson Road. People have always had opportunity to pull off and safely park away from road. Since people are getting farther into the uplands, Biologist McPherson coordinated with Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) to repair the old fence line to curtail this activity. There will still be opportunity to use this site the way it previously had been.
Deer Damaging Orchards: Specialist Heilhecker met with an orchardist regarding deer damage. The landowner signed a damage prevention cooperative agreement. Specialist Heilhecker issued a landowner kill permit.
Turkey Trouble: Specialist Heilhecker spoke to a producer regarding turkeys in his barn and cattle feed. She wrote a damage prevention cooperative agreement and will meet with the producer in the next few days.
Deer In Orchards: Specialist Heilhecker spoke to an orchardist who reported 60 deer in their fenced orchard. The owner originally reported that the county plow driver had pushed the snow up against their fence allowing the deer to jump over the fence. However, during another conversation, the landowner stated a hole was found in the fence during a perimeter check. Specialist Heilhecker reminded the orchardist that WDFW provided fencing materials to this property and encouraged the landowner to repair the fence.
Bobcat versus Chickens: Specialist Heilhecker spoke with a landowner regarding a bobcat killing chickens. She advised the landowner that hunting and trapping seasons are open in case they had friends or family with a license. They also discussed securing the chickens to prevent the bobcat from killing additional birds.
Conducting Business Operations and Policy
Wildlife Program School: All staff members attended program school in Wenatchee. This was an excellent opportunity to network with other colleagues and participate in various breakout sessions. It was appreciated by everyone.
Wolf Advisory Group: Specialist Heilhecker attended a meeting of the Wolf Advisory Group.
Other
Career Development: Biologists Jeffreys, Eilers, and Soltysiak attended a Snowmobile Safety Training Course hosted by the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office and the Lake Wenatchee Recreation Club. They learned basic snowmobile maintenance, how to handle emergencies, proper hand signals while riding, how to load and unload sleds from a trailer, and passed a riding skills test. Biologists will use these skills for upcoming winter fieldwork such as pygmy rabbit surveys and collar retrievals from deceased mule deer. It was a great class! Thank you, Rich Magnussen and Deputy Mike McLeod, for leading and organizing this course.
Wildlife Area Signs: Biologist McPherson worked with an agency graphic designer to fabricate wildlife area boundary signs. Since the move from Correctional Industries, we do not have any files of wildlife area artwork. Now that we have artwork on file, it will be easier to send to vendors to get signage made in the future.
