Managing Wildlife Populations
District 8 Bighorn Sheep Survey: District 8 Wildlife Biologist Wampole and Assistant Wildlife Biologist Moore conducted an aerial survey of the Yakima bighorn sheep population to monitor lamb recruitment following historic exposure to Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (Movi). These surveys provide important data for the ongoing “Test and Remove” study.
District 4 Cougar Sealing: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand sealed three cougars for hunters who harvested them while deer hunting in eastern Washington.
District 8 Cougar Sealing: District 8 Assistant Wildlife Biologist Moore sealed an adult female cougar harvested in eastern Washington earlier in October.
District 8 Deformed Elk Hooves: District 8 front-end staff members collected hooves from a hunter who noticed unusual features in the hooves of the elk they harvested. These hooves were processed and shipped to the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine for comprehensive testing to identify the cause of the abnormalities.
District 4 Deformed Deer Hooves: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand received a report from a hunter in GMU 372 who harvested a mule deer with deformed hooves. Digital images of the hooves were reviewed and confirmed as chronic laminitis (aka “founder”) by Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Veterinarian Mansfield. A sample, from a second deer with deformed hooves from GMU 382 (Region 5), was collected from the reporting hunter and was shipped to Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for further testing.
Bighorn Sheep Horn Marking: Biologists and other staff members across the region have been busy checking and marking many hunter-harvested bighorn sheep. Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) regulations require a hunter who kills or possesses a bighorn sheep ram, harvested in Washington, to present the horns for inspection and marking within ten days. The horns can be taken to a Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife regional or district office or a location designated by a department representative. Call a WDFW regional or district office to schedule an appointment with a biologist for horn marking. A WDFW employee will permanently mark an identification number on one of the horns. Inspection and marking do not substitute for Mandatory Hunter Reporting. For bighorn sheep, both are required. During checks, staff members also swab the nasal cavity to test and learn more about the dynamics of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (Movi) transmission.
North Cascade Fisher Monitoring: District 8 Assistant Wildlife Biologist Moore installed two fisher scent dispenser camera traps in remote locations in the North Cascade fisher restoration area. Many Department of Fish and Wildlife district biologists across the state and partners from the National Park Service, local tribal biologists, and volunteers are working together to install approximately 160 traps to determine the occupancy (presence or absence) of the species and to collect genetic samples using hair snares. The results of the genetic tests will inform biologists if enough fishers are reproducing to establish a self-sustaining population or if augmenting the populations with additional fishers is necessary to meet the goal of the project.
Providing Recreation Opportunities
Wenas Recreational Tour with Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Recreation Team: Wenas Wildlife Area Manager Hughes and Recreation Specialist Frame lead a tour of the Wenas Wildlife Area, showing all the reactional opportunities the wildlife area has to offer. The tour also showed some of the recreation areas and roads that need maintenance.
Wenas Road and Trail Mapping: Wenas Wildlife Area Manager Hughes is working with the GIS team to review road and trail data for the wildlife area. This information will be used as the wildlife area dives more into recreational planning. Hughes is reviewing all data with the GIS team in regard to trails, roads, gates, parking areas.
District 8 Pheasant Release: District 8 Wildlife Biologist Wampole, L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Manager Morrison, and Natural Resource Technician Blore released 144 pheasants at Green Gate.
District 4 Pheasant Release: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand released pheasants at Hope Valley prior to the opening of the pheasant season.
Sunnyside/Snake River Pheasant Release: Sunnyside/Snake River Wildlife Area Manager Kaelber and Natural Resource Technician Manderbach released pheasants at Big Flat and Lost Island prior to the opening weekend of the pheasant season.
Providing Conflict Prevention and Education
Rattlesnake Hills Elk: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand monitored elk activity and assisted general season and damage permit holders with hunt coordination. Additional damage permits were issued and delivered to one landowner. Large numbers of elk were observed in winter wheat fields during early morning and just before dark. The beginning of the general season harvest appears to be one of the best in recent years, with several bulls and a few cows taken.
Connell Deer Damage: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand received and responded to a new deer damage complaint from a hay operation and cattle rancher in the Connell area. At times, over 70 deer have been observed browsing in the fields. Multiple non-lethal hazing strategies have been employed and further pressure from hunters during general and special permit seasons will be utilized. A damage prevention cooperative agreement was completed, and a couple of damage permits were issued to assist outside of established hunting seasons.
Plymouth and Paterson Area Deer Damage: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand coordinated with a large farm with row crops, orchards, and vineyards to address deer damage impacts by utilizing general season and special hunt permit hunting. All hunts were chaperoned by farm staff members who provided a great hunting experience for some first-time deer hunters.
Kahlotus Deer Damage: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand delivered damage prevention permits for several landowners in the Kahlotus area. These permits and youth and Master Hunter deployments are used to haze deer out of winter wheat crops in GMU 381 along the Snake River.
Conserving Natural Landscapes
Colockum Post-Timber Harvest Road Abandonment: Logging contractors finished up their part of the Colockum Creek Timber Restoration Project by closing and abandoning spur roads opened up for this project. These were old, overgrown, existing roads that were opened to facilitate timber harvest and log hauling. At the end of the project, these roads are now being ditched, water-barred, and covered with logging slash to prevent erosion and illegal vehicle use.
Colockum Post-Timber Harvest Grass Seeding: Colockum Wildlife Area Manager Lopushinsky and Assistant Manager Hagan got help from some local volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in completing a seeding project on areas recently logged on the Colockum Wildlife Area. Volunteers helped open seed bags and filled the seeder with 400 pounds of seed for each load. It took 13 loads and 5,000 pounds of seed to complete the project, keeping the volunteers busy.
L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Restoration: The L. T. Murray crew planted sagebrush plugs in the uplands of the Whiskey Dick Unit where there was 100% shrub loss in the 2022 Vantage Highway fire. Assistant Manager Winegeart and Natural Resource Scientist Nass took another round of photos at Vantage Highway fire photo points. The photos to-date have good regeneration of native grasses and will eventually show post fire shrub growth.
Sunnyside/Snake River Wetlands: Sunnyside/Snake River Wildlife Area staff members have prepped and reflooded all wetlands on both the west and east half of the wildlife area.
Cow Canyon Fire Planting: All Wenas Wildlife Area staff members participated in ongoing shrub plantings in the 2021 Cow Canyon fire scar. Native shrubs included Wyoming sage, wax currant, service berry, wood rose, bitterbrush, and blue elderberry.
Oak Creek Wildlife Area Prescribed Fire: Oak Creek Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Charlet visited the Cougar Canyon prescribed fire on Oct. 19 to ensure the residual fire was contained and did not cross any established handlines or roadways. The prescribed fire was completed on Oct. 9 and include a total of 160 acres, 55 on Department of Natural Resources (DNR) land and 105 on Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) land in Cougar Canyon. DNR fire crews and WDFW staff members continue to monitor the area to ensure the fire remains within control.
Providing Education and Outreach
Oak Creek Wildlife Area Visitor Center: The Oak Creek Wildlife Area Visitor Center is open during the modern firearm elk hunting season. The Friends of Oak Creek volunteer group staff the visitor center to answer questions from various hunters and wildlife area visitors.
Other
L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Virtual Fence: L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Winegeart, Wild Horse Coordinated Resource Management, Conservation Northwest, and ranchers in Douglas County attended a meeting to look at a virtual fence operation after a season of use. Collars are placed on cattle and provide auditory warnings when a cow approaches a programmed polygon boundary and a progression of shocks if the cow continues across the boundary. The system is being used on more than 100 ranches across the United States and shows promise for improving the L. T. Murray’s grazing management program.
L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Tour: L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Manager Morrison and Assistant Manager Winegeart gave Department of Fish and Wildlife planners a tour of the L. T. Murray Unit. The group looked at roads, trails, and camping sites in an effort to guide future management of these valuable resources.
L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Felled Trees: L. T. Murray Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Winegeart visited Robinson Canyon with state foresters to identify and place a monetary value to 12 small to medium dead ponderosa pine trees that were illegally felled and removed. The trees would have had a small sell value but cutting of any standing trees in not allowed on the wildlife area.
Oak Creek Wildlife Area Late Season Wildfire: Oak Creek Wildlife Area Manager Mackey observed and reported wildfire smoke in the Oak Creek Unit on Oct. 29. The fire started and remained on U. S. Forest Service ownership within the checkerboard ownership of the Oak Creek Unit. The fire grew to approximately five acres until being contained by U. S. Forest Service personnel. Ignition source was likely human caused.
