Managing Wildlife Populations
Grizzly Bear Trapping: Natural Resource Technician Edmondson accompanied Wildlife Conflict Specialist Bennett to a meeting with the United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) grizzly team. The USFWS is currently running a trapline in Pend Oreille County to document and take samples from grizzlies in the area. One bear was captured on camera that had triggered the trap but was not captured.
Black Bear: Natural Resource Technician Edmondson and Keeling transported an adult black bear carcass to Spokane Valley for lab testing due to observed odd behavior and physical abnormalities. The bear was dispatched near Northport after being reported as circling nonstop but showed no physical injuries or a limp. Upon inspection, it was noted that the bears eyes were recessed deep into the skull and the hindquarters were severely atrophied despite the rest of the bear having good musculature. This is the second case of a bear being dispatched with similar abnormalities and behavior. The first case was in Newport earlier this month.
Lynx Monitoring Project: Wildlife Biologists Prince and Johnson checked lynx cameras. Cameras are deployed across the Kettles Range in a cooperative monitoring project. Partners include Washington State University, Conservation Northwest, Colville National Forest, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
CWD Sampling: North Region 1 Water Access Area Manager Dziekan and Natural Resource Technician Brant were notified of a recently deceased deer found in a Spokane neighborhood near where the recently determined Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)-positive deer carcass was sampled. Brant, who also works as a CWD sampling technician each fall, collected lymph node samples from the deer for testing.
Monarchs: Biologists Lowe and Brinkman surveyed numerous patches of showy milkweed at the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area in Lincoln County for monarch larvae and butterflies. Lots of bumble bees, but no monarchs were observed. Monarchs only lay their eggs on milkweed and larvae feed exclusively on this plant. The butterfly has experienced extreme declines and is being considered for federal listing.
Bats: Biologists Lowe and Brinkman conducted the biennial roost survey of a Townsend’s big-eared bat colony that uses an old cabin on private property near Eloika Lake. The colony has been monitored by WDFW for over a decade. This year the colony was estimated at around 200 bats, which is a decline from previous years, although visibility inside the cabin makes counting fairly difficult. Townsend’s big-eared bats are a candidate species for listing in Washington.
Providing Recreation Opportunities
Science Camp: Biologist Brinkman provided a weekly program for the City of Spokane’s Natural Science Camp at the Finch Arboretum. After a short walk to find a nice shade tree, 23 students, ages 6-11, learned about identifying tracks of different wildlife species and examined skulls of mammals and birds.
W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area Campgrounds, Parking Areas, and Shooting Range: Natural Resource Technicians Jensen and Tritt checked the campgrounds, parking areas, shooting range, and cleaned up trash. Tritt and Jensen removed a rock dam from the Tucannon River near Campground 5. They took the ATVs up Cummings Creek and dispersed the rest of the rocks and logs left at the campsite that was constructed by a member of the public. While in Walla Walla County, staff members cleaned up trash at the McDonald Road and Swegle Road parking areas. Wooten staff members used the dump truck and trailer to haul the tractor to Panjab. They placed ecology blocks in the driveway of the old Campground 9 where the public has reopened the road and have been illegally camping. Jensen and Tritt limbed up trees in Campground 1.
Region 1 South Access Staff Activity: Maintenance Mechanic Heimgartner and Natural Resource Technician Nielsen serviced access sites at the Wooten Wildlife Area, Heller Bar, Shumaker, and Boggans. Heimgartner and Nielsen were unable to service Bezona and Cougar Creek access areas due to the active fire. Heimgartner and Nielsen assisted the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) program by mowing and chopping down black berry vines at the AIS check station located near Chief Timothy Park. Nielsen installed new fire rings at the Joseph Creek school house and at Christmas camp. Nielsen also installed a litter bag dispenser at Shumaker.
Rainbow Lake Algal Bloom: Rainbow Lake continues to have an algal bloom. The bluish plaques were absent this week after the cooler temperatures and high winds stirred the lake up.
Providing Conflict Prevention and Education
Palouse City Council Meeting: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Harris, Wildlife Conflict Supervisor Earl, and Officer Silver attended the Palouse City council meeting to discuss recent cougar depredations, activity, and sightings within the town of Palouse. Harris discussed ways to coexist with cougars, how to prevent livestock depredations, and the WDFW response protocol to cougar reports.
Conserving Natural Landscapes
Rustlers Gulch Inholding: Sherman Creek Wildlife Area Manager Anderson drew up and presented a brief slide show to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Trust Land Transfer (TLT) review board. DNR owns a 40-acre parcel located entirely within the boundaries of Rustlers Gulch Wildlife Area. This property is one of ten that are up for review to move from DNR to other agencies. Anderson gave an “elevator pitch” to the volunteer board, showing why the property has little to no timber sale or lease value to DNR. It does have value to WDFW, which actively manages the surrounding lands for forest health, wildlife, and recreation. Final parcel rankings are expected out in August and any actual transfers will require legislative funding.
Spalding’s Catchfly Silene Surveys: Biologist Woodall and Natural Resource Technician Hammon finished the Silene surveys this year. With the hot temps and seasonal drought, they found fewer plants in a few of the monitoring plots. David has seen this before under similar drought conditions when individual plants may not be present and are just remaining dormant for the year. Wade also had to repair the yard sprinklers.
Amber Lake: Natural Resources Specialist Dziekan and Natural Resources Technician Brant got the new ATV sprayer calibrated and decided to use it on Amber Lake. While they were there, Dziekan sprayed the area for rush skeletonweed.
Reardan Audubon Noxious Weed Control: This week, Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Wagner made a trip to the Reardan Audubon early in the morning to spray some Canada thistle and St. John’s wort.
Chief Joseph Wildlife Area 4-O Ranch Fire: The Cougar Creek Fire began July 15th on the 4-O Ranch Wildlife Area. The fire is still burning, with most of the fire activity having moved off the wildlife area and onto higher elevation lands on the national forest. Currently the wildlife area is closed, and evacuation levels remain unchanged. Some areas burned significantly hotter than others. Many trees are dead. The historic Mountain View Cemetery was burned. Some old wood granaries and wood debris left from the Mountain View School were burned and destroyed. At least three gates on the wildlife area were burned and will need new post structures installed to make them useable again. Several interior fences used for grazing cows and some boundary stock fences were burned.
Aerial Survey of Shrub Plot: This week Wildlife Area Manager Finch flew the drone over the shrub plot that was planted in early May 2024 under an Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account (ALEA) grant to check for trespassing cattle. Recently, a fence contractor working in the Telford Recreation Area took down the fence between the DNR pasture and WDFW, causing approximately 50 head of cattle to trespass within the wildlife area. Most of those cows went right to the shrub plot, but the deer fence was holding them out. The Spokane Chapter of Pheasant Forever participated in this project and entered it into an onX contest, winning the grand prize of $7,500 towards future restoration project. Until the fence-line between the two pastures is secure and solid, periodical checks will be done to protect the shrubs from trespass cattle.
Revere Wetland Restoration Project: This week Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Wagner went to the Revere Wildlife Area to pull the boards out of the wetland control structure. This drains the wetland for the next phase of the wetland project scheduled to start this fall.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Native Grassland Restoration Work: This week Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Wagner started to plow the BLM field along North Telford Road called the Sandygren parcel. This field work started last year with two full years of chemical fallow before plowing. After plowing, the field will be disced, and the coil packed. This field will be seeded to a native grass/forb mix in mid-October. The BLM Assistant Agreement ends on October 14, 2024.
Providing Education and Outreach
Cougar Creek Fire: The Cougar Creek fire has now consumed over six thousand acres and the east half of the 4-O Ranch, east of Wenatchee Creek. The fire is moving west toward the Grouse Flats Unit. Fire staff members requested use of a wildlife area ATV for scouting and planning purposes. This was delivered and picked up once completed. Biologist Dice and Natural Resource Specialist Whittaker used the dozer to create fire lines around the corral and barn at the 4-O Ranch. The excavator was used to clean out a pond. Whittaker checked on the Humvee and 5-ton to make sure they were ready and filled with water in the event of wildfires on Smoothing Iron.
Conducting Business Operations and Policy
Administrative Duties - Hiring: Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Palmer and Sherman Creek Wildlife Area Manager Anderson reviewed application documents from fifteen candidates referred by human resources for the open Sherman Creek Natural Resource Technician position. They narrowed the list down to four candidates, all of whom agreed to interview for the job online. Palmer, Anderson, and Dziekan will conduct the interviews. Dr. Melia DeVivo was invited to join the panel but has a scheduling conflict. Wildlife area staff members ensured that the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) sampling part of the job and working for Dr. DeVivo in the fall was adequately reflected in the interview questions, which DeVivo approved.
Palmer, Dziekan, and Anderson interviewed four candidates for the open Sherman Creek Natural Resource Technician position, on Wednesday and Thursday. Palmer, the supervisor for the position, conducted reference checks on Thursday, August 1, and started the approval process for the most qualified of the four. He hopes to soon be able to extend a job offer to the top candidate.
Other
Waikiki Spring Access Trail: This week Natural Resource Technician Brant mowed an access trail to make a more defined access to the pond instead of the public having to cross private property.