Managing Wildlife Populations
Blue Mountain Elk Captures: Biologists Holman traveled to southeastern Washington to assist District 3 and Game Division staff with calf elk captures in the Blue Mountains. The neonate elk are being studied to better understand the dynamics behind declining elk populations in the Blues. The work involves traveling to spotting locations on high ground early in the morning, spotting cow elk, locating their calves, watching until the calves bed, traversing to the exact location of the calf which is often one to two miles in the distance, hand capturing the calf, installing a GPS/VHF collar and taking biological measurements, then releasing the calf. The young elk are strongly precocial and are very capable of escaping capture when they reach no more than a few days of age.
Many individuals participated in the effort. These included University of Idaho Associate Professor Christensen, University of Idaho Student Interns Sam and Adan, WDFW biologists, researchers, and wildlife area managers from other parts of the state, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Biologist Kruenegel, along with others. A special guest and participant in the effort within GMU 175 (Lick Creek), was Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Anderson who spent two full days applying his field skills and energy to the project.
Thanks to District Biologist Wik and Ungulate Specialist Moore for their organization and dedication to the success of this project. Finally, special thanks and appreciation to Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Anderson for his willingness to spend long hours in the field with staff members, discussing the complexities of wildlife management, and sharing his stories of a lifetime of involvement in the management of Washington’s natural resources.
Catching Turtle Hatchlings for Headstarting: For several days over the last two months, Biologists Wickhem and Bergh and Technician Motiff have dedicated a significant amount of time to catching hatchling northwestern pond turtles at a site in Klickitat County. The hatchlings were sent to the Oregon Zoo in Portland where they will grow in the safety of captivity during their most vulnerable life stage. Next spring, they will be released back into their native habitat at a size that allows them to escape predation more easily. Northwestern pond turtles are state endangered and unfortunately in the wild, hatchlings are often eaten by American bullfrogs and other non-native predators. The headstart program is one tool WDFW and partners are using to aid in the recovery of pond turtle populations in Washington. For more information on the headstart program, please visit the Oregon Zoo’s website.
Sandhill Crane Monitoring: Biologist Bergh and Technician Motiff joined a landowner for a sandhill crane survey. The group spotted what looked to be a nesting crane and Technician Motiff came back the following day and confirmed the nest by observing a nest exchange (where the adults switch and take turns incubating the nest). Biologist Bergh and the landowner went out a month later to attempt to find the nest after the eggs should have hatched. When they neared where the nest should be they bumped into an adult crane. The crane then tried to get them to follow it. It was likely trying to protect a nearby colt, a newly hatched sandhill crane, but the landowner will be on the lookout to see if a colt is observed.
Conserving Natural Landscapes
Mt. St. Helens Wildlife Area: Over two days, volunteers from Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the WDFW Master Hunter Program put in a solid 400 hours of labor to remove Scotch broom across 230 acres and cage 150 native trees and shrubs on the Mudflow Unit of the Mt. St. Helens Wildlife Area. The efforts of these volunteers over the past several years has resulted in a significant reduction of Scotch broom on the Mudflow, greatly improving habitat for elk and other species of wildlife that utilize the Wildlife Area. Their efforts and dedication are greatly appreciated, not only by the Wildlife Program, but by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as a whole.
Bluebird Nest Box Survey: The bluebird nest boxes on the Soda Springs Unit were surveyed for occupancy. Most of the boxes were being used by western bluebirds, but other birds were present in some of them. Of the 26 serviceable boxes, 12 were occupied by bluebirds, two were occupied by tree swallows, two were being used by violet-green swallows, three contained mountain chickadee nests, and seven boxes were unused. All the nest boxes are located along the Grayback and Sheep Canyon roads or along the Glenwood Highway, where they can be observed by visitors to the Klickitat Wildlife Area.
Seasonal Burn Ban in Effect at Leidl Park, Stinson Flat, Mineral Springs, and Turkey Hole Campgrounds: On June 5, Klickitat County implemented a seasonal burn ban for the part of the county identified as Zone 2. The campgrounds along the Klickitat River follow the county’s Zone 2 burn ban schedule, and signs were posted to advise visitors of the seasonal restriction on campfires.