Providing Recreation Opportunities
Sunnyside Bats: Sunnyside Snake River Wildlife Area Manager Kaelber, Assistant Manager Jahns, and Technician Manderbach conducted an emergent count of the Sunnyside bat maternal colony as they exited their roost after sunset. There were 112 adult bats observed, as well as approximately 15 young pups in the roost.
Burrowing Owl Tracking Project: Wildlife Biologist Fidorra finished up trapping burrowing owls for the pilot study on adult male habitat use and movements. WDFW and partners including Conservation Northwest and local Audubon chapters funded the placement of ten transmitters on adults with a few additional juvenile tags going out in support of an Environment Canada project to study juvenile movements, dispersal, and survival. All data will be helpful in understanding and reversing the apparent decline of Pacific Northwest burrowing owls.
Providing Recreation Opportunities
Parking Lot Development: Colockum Wildlife Area staff members worked on improving a primitive parking area near the wildlife area headquarters. Original plans called for grading the site, asphalt paving and installation of fencing, signage and shade structures. A pre-project cultural resource survey determined the area qualified as a cultural resource site, precluding any grading, post hole digging ,or soil disturbance. Staff members used other methods to improve the site while minimizing disturbance.
Manastash Ridge Trails and Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance Volunteer Signage Day: Wenas Wildlife Area Manger Hughes, Specialist Frame, and Habitat Specialist Miller, with the help from volunteers, placed “Trail Closed for Restoration” and “Active Restoration” signs on trails within the Manastash Ridge trails. These trails are improperly built and often cause erosion. Closing them will help plants and wildlife return. The Wenas Team and volunteers also placed yield signs throughout the trails. This will educate users on how to properly yield to other types of user groups on the landscape.
Providing Conflict Prevention and Education
Rattlesnake Hills Elk: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand prepared and delivered new damage prevention permits to landowners to address elk damage to commercial crops in elk area 3721. The summer bull season ended on June 30 with a new record of 31 bulls harvested on damage prevention permits. Late night and early morning hazing patrols are continuing along the Hanford National Monument border.
Franklin County Chicken Depredations: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand received and responded to a complaint of a fox that has raided a chicken coup and killed up to six chickens near Pasco. Enhanced protective fencing designs were discussed and encouraged as well as lethal removal and non-lethal hazing tools.
Kahlotus Deer Damage Claims: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand met with a producer who farms a large acreage wheat operation near Kahlotus concerning this year’s deer damage claim. The producer seemed very happy with last years coordinated hazing and hunting opportunities offered through both WDFW Special Permit hunters and Damage Permit Program, and is not looking at filing a crop damage claim this year.
Kittitas County Conflict: Conflict Specialist Wetzel worked with several hay growers who were having problems with elk in crops. Elk have been hazed from irrigated hay, row crops, and at haystacks. Elk are returning to the Parke Creek area, similar to last year.
Yakima County Conflict: Conflict Specialist Wetzel worked with several hay and orchard growers who were having problems with elk in crops. Elk have been hazed from irrigated hay, row crops, and orchard areas. Elk have been reported in the Naches River area in greater numbers than last year.
Conflict Specialist Wetzel Other: Conflict Specialist Wetzel assisted enforcement with trapping a bear that killed some chickens and was loitering in a neighborhood. The bear did not return to the area during the trapping period. Thanks to Rich and Lindsay for a new bear trap. It will be useful and safer to use.
Conserving Natural Landscapes
North Durr Road Trash Clean Up: Wenas Wildlife Area Specialist Frame cleaned up 740 pounds of trash from the north Durr Road target shooting area. A box containing roughly a hundred 2023 WDFW Big Game Hunting Regulations pamphlets was found dumped and used as a target.
Whiskey Dick Cleanup: L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Winegeart worked with volunteers to remove half a mile of old barbed wire from the L. T. Murray Wildlife Area’s Whiskey Dick Unit. All the wire removed was picked up and taken to recycle.
2022 Vantage Highway Fire: L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Winegeart flew the Vantage Highway fire area in preparation of fall restoration work. Vegetation is recovering well in most of the fire area, but the loss of the area's big sagebrush and large woody riparian vegetation will be felt for many years.
L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Winegeart and Natural Resource Specialist Nass took photos at some Vantage Highway fire photo points. Most grasses and forbs seem to be recovering well and hopefully fall plug planting will aid in recovery of the missing shrub component.
Providing Education and Outreach
Stolen Shooter Man Sign: The Wenas Wildlife Area worked together on designing and fabricating a new sign to draw attention to target shooting restrictions throughout the wildlife area. The team hand drew and cut out the image below in metal along with developing a locking slider to allow for changing of signs within the metal shooter man. The sign will highlight target shooting restrictions year-round on the Wenas Wildlife Area. It will switch from green stating no timing restrictions, yellow stating sunrise to 10 a.m., and red saying no target shooting when in full emergency fire restrictions. After initially posting the sign at the entrance of Sheep Company Road, the sign was gone within 48 hours. Someone had grinded the metal sign off the post it was welded onto and cut out the yellow timing sign throwing it on the ground. The life-size shooter man sign was stolen. The wildlife area ended up taking an additional sign originally meant for another area and reposting it after adding additional precaution measures to prevent theft.
L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Manager Morrison and Assistant Manager Winegeart worked with volunteers to rebuild the Corrals kiosk which was lost in the Vantage Highway fire of 2022.
Other
