Managing Wildlife Populations
Sharp-Tailed Grouse Research Assistance: Private Lands Biologist Braaten assisted with determining nest success of a GPS collared sharp-tailed grouse hen that nested on private land near the Big Bend Wildlife Area in Douglas County. Braaten secured permission for access from the private landowner to collect data. The nests were located, photos of nest and location were collected, and 11 eggshells were gathered for the research effort. The sharp-tailed grouse hen had successfully hatched all 11 eggs and the most current collar data shows she is with her brood at lower elevations.
Lynx Cameras: Biologist Turnock and Technician Hara went on a backcountry trip to deploy remote cameras along hiking trails as part of the multiagency Cascades Carnivore Monitoring Project. These cameras are targeting lynx but will hopefully detect a variety of wildlife species that use high elevation hiking trails in the summer.
Bullfrog Removal: Biologists Gallie and Turnock along with Technicians Force and Hara have been assisting with nocturnal bullfrog removal efforts on the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge. Bullfrogs are a highly problematic invasive species in Washington because they are voracious predators. These removal efforts will hopefully improve survival of reintroduced northern leopard frogs, a native species.
Fisher Reintroduction Monitoring: Biologist Fitkin and Heinlen, with help from Volunteer Fisher, finished retrieving the remote cameras at sites where they were deployed last fall as part of the North Cascades occupancy monitoring effort following recent reintroduction efforts. Overall, fishers were detected in three different watersheds at 3 of the 21 sites. As always, the cameras are documenting a variety of other species of interest as well. Apparently, fisher scent lure is the trendy new fragrance for chic carnivores in the know.
Bat Colony Surveying: Biologist Fitkin, WDFW headquarters and regional diversity staff members, U.S. Forest Service staff members, and local volunteers completed the last of three scheduled bat colony reconnaissance surveys in the Methow Watershed. Results include monitoring a colony of more than 300 pallid bats, and documenting big brown bat colonies of more than 100 and colonies of more than 200. This effort provides valuable information on species distribution in Washington and helps identify possible locations for white-nosed syndrome monitoring and other bat conservation activities.
Lynx Surveys: Biologists Fitkin and Heinlen, with help from Forest Service Technician Barnett and Volunteer Fisher, deployed an array of remote cameras as part of long-term lynx monitoring strategy. This is part of the initial field season of the Cascades Carnivore Monitoring Project, a coalition of government agencies and non-profit groups seeking to monitor lynx and wolverine occupancy in the Washington Cascades over a 20-year period. The cameras will be retrieved later this summer and fall after a minimum 60-day deployment.
Providing Recreation Opportunities
Recreation and Conservation Office Grants: Area Regional Wildlife Program Manager Troyer is wrapping up Washington Wildlife and Recreation Programs–State Lands grants centered around enhancing recreational opportunities throughout Okanogan County. The first grant is to improve parking and trailhead facilities at the Big Valley Unit of the Methow Wildlife Area. The second grant aims to enhance camping opportunities at the upper Bear Creek Campground by adding fire rings and picnic tables, gravelling parking areas, updating the vault toilet, and increasing ADA camping opportunities. The last grant is located at Silver Nail Lake near the town of Oroville. This lake is open to fishing for youth, seniors, and people with disabilities and the grant is designed to improve the access site to be more user friendly with an emphasis on ADA compliant fishing docks and platforms.
Hunter Access: Biologist Morris continued checking and posting signs on hunter access properties. Morris maintains signs on several thousand acres, so working on them throughout the summer ensures all properties will be properly signed come hunting season this fall.
Grimes Lake fishing season is still open, and Morris continues to check that everything is going well. The site is nice and clean.
Conserving Natural Landscapes
Chesaw Weed Control: Sinlahekin staff members assisted Scotch Creek staff members with treating musk thistle on the Chesaw Unit. The Washington State Class B weed can be found throughout the unit. Staff members focused on the south dryer slopes with shallow soils and will move to the North slopes later in the season. In total 400 acres of the unit have been treated.
Methow Fencing: Natural Resource Specialist Wottlin worked with contractors to get a section of fence rebuilt in the Ramsey Creek area to help prevent trespassing cows coming off a U.S. Forest Service pasture onto the wildlife area. Additionally, Biologist Repp conducted maintenance on a problem section of fence in the Rendezvous Unit. This fence borders U.S. Forest Service land. There have been complaints in the past from adjacent private property owners about trespassing cows coming off the Forest Service land onto their private property. WDFW does its part in maintaining the fence on the wildlife area border. However, the fence continues onto Department of Natural Resources-owned ground and there has been no maintenance on that section of fence in years.
Irrigating Agricultural Fields: Natural Resource Technicians Haney-Williamson, Garcia and Ruiz have been working hard to irrigate crop fields on the Bridgeport Bar and Washburn Island. This has involved maintenance and repairs, setting up and moving hand lines, clearing debris from pump intake and fish screens, and other irrigation.
Habitat Plots: Biologist Morris set up his game camera on a habitat plot. The game camera serves two purposes: it will hopefully reveal any wildlife use of the habitat plot, and it will also show the plant development and growth throughout the year. There were not many wildlife observations. The site will need some more minor mechanical weed control to ensure it is ready for seeding this fall.
Morris checked a habitat plot that Technician Blanchard sprayed for Canada thistle control in June. It appears that there is a good kill on the Canada thistle. Morris will continue to monitor the thistle infestation.
Water Birch Enclosure Irrigation Set-up: Wildlife area staff members have set up irrigation for water birch enclosures in the Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area. This involved maintaining drip lines, setting up timers, repairing fencing, repairing pumps, and clearing vegetation. This process was made much simpler by Biologist Haupt’s efforts last year to map each enclosure and record information relevant to irrigation set up in each location. Each enclosure is set up in a specific way, and it made a big difference for wildlife area staff members to go into each enclosure with a clear map of the pumps, timers, shrub rows, emitters, and other information about the set up. The warm weather this month made getting water to the water birch a high priority.
Fire Break Russian Thistle: Wildlife area staff members treated Russian thistle along firebreaks in the Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area.
Releasing Biocontrols: Biocontrol weevils, Mecinus janthinus, were released in the Big Bend area to control dalmatian toadflax. Around 4,000 Mecinus janthinus were released with the intention that they will reduce toadflax flowering and seed production.
Mowing Efforts: Wildlife area staff members have been mowing roads across Wells, Sagebrush Flat, and Big Bend wildlife areas.
Restoration Fields: Efforts to control weeds were marginal due to multiple tractor and mower repair delays, and cattle interference. With the limited equipment available, Technician Rios arranged to borrow the Colockum Wildlife Area tractor, which developed issues that also required service. Meanwhile, Technicians Chouinard, Garcia, and Balderston mowed annual grass across Magers, Bissell Flat, and a Bridgeport Bar restoration field at Big Bend and Wells Wildlife Area. Biologist Blake coordinated assistance with Washington Shrubsteppe Restoration and Resiliency Initiative Environmental Planner Merg to assist with broadleaf weed control at the Bissell Flat field of Big Bend. Manager Peterson arranged for a second helicopter chemical fallow treatment at the new Barclay Crane field of Wells Wildlife Area. Biologist Blake worked with Big Bend Wildlife Area grazing permittee to spray bindweed on an Environmental Quality Incentives Program restoration field at Barry field, only to find cattle had intruded and interfered with the foliage surface available to spray.
Barclay Crane Phase 2 Acquisition: The Barclay Crane parcel (672 acres) closed and became an official part of Central Ferry Canyon, a unit of Wells Wildlife Area.
Conducting Business Operations and Policy
Acquisitions: Assistant Regional Wildlife Area Manager Troyer is compiling upwards of eight Lands 20/20 applications for potential acquisitions throughout Okanogan County. Several potential acquisition properties are in the Methow Valley, but the majority for this round are near the Scotch Creek Wildlife Area, which has a strong emphasis on sharp-tailed grouse recovery.
Other
Wilderness First Aid Training: Biologist Blake and Natural Resource Technician Garcia attended Wilderness First Aid training in Wenatchee this month. Both successfully completed the course.