Managing Wildlife Populations
Is it a bird, a plane, a monkey??? Not quite: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Biologist Anderson, at the request of Bat Specialist Tobin, retrieved a fruit bat species (yet to be identified) from Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The bat, already deceased, was found at a local WSDOT rest area in south King County. Unfortunately, various non-native species, including bats, attempt to, or do, make it through customs at various ports (e.g. SeaTac International Airport, etc.).
The very next week, after obtaining the bat specimen for further examination, a “monkey” was reported at the Boeing 737 plant in Renton. The “monkey” was found deceased in cargo received from Australia. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services called Anderson, relaying that Boeing was needing direction and that the deceased “monkey” needed removal. Several calls and emails were exchanged amongst WDFW, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Washington Department of Health, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS). Anderson was then sent off to Boeing to obtain better pictures and to remove the animal.
Upon arrival, the deceased animal was quickly identified as “not a monkey” and determined to be a brush-tailed possum that had likely stowed away at the point of origin. This is a very common species that is known to do this now and then (like our native yellow-bellied marmots that can be quite good at hiding in vehicles and cargo). Anderson then worked with all entities to gain appropriate direction of removal, clean-up, and disposal.
Often, these non-native animals are coming through ports as an accidental stowaway, or may possibly be related to cultural practices. Luckily, port authorities and inspection services often catch these instances. In this case, both specimens were deceased and after initial examination and confirmation of animal species/type - no human health concerns were identified.
Please support captive bred exotic pets and similar captive wildlife situations, rather than harvest of wild stock for various legal and illegal markets.
Grouse Wing and Tail Collection Barrels: All Region 4 wildlife districts have deployed their annual grouse wing and tail collection barrels with the start of the grouse season on September 15th. The goal of this collection effort is to build estimated population trend datasets for each species to evaluate harvest changes. Other factors will also be evaluated, including wildfire and weather patterns that may contribute to changes in harvest and overall populations at the species level.
Providing Education and Outreach
Safety during hunting season on Lopez Island: Regional and WDFW enforcement staff members participated in a meeting with San Juan County Council, leadership representatives from local enforcement, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and San Juan County Land Bank (SJCLB). The purpose of the meeting was to discuss community concerns centered around deer hunting seasons. It was a productive conversation of information sharing and community engagement planning. The same group will be participating in a community meeting on Lopez Island on October 8th to answer questions and discuss hunting safety and values.
Additionally, District 13 staff members are coordinating with the Master Hunter Program, BLM and SJCLB to build and deploy large orange kiosks at public hunting access trailheads. The kiosks will be used for storing sign-in/sign-out sheets for hunters, loaner hunter orange vests, and to serve as an indicator that hunting season has begun on the properties. This same group will also be staffing a hunting and recreation information booth during the early and late general deer seasons near the access area for BLM’s Chadwick Hill hunting area. Staff members hope these efforts will ease concerns about hunting on public lands in the community and garner support for maintaining or expanding local public hunting access to help achieve deer population reduction goals for this management zone.
Other
Volunteer of the Year Award Adam Black: After missing the Region 4 awards ceremony because of a personal commitment, Adam Black was excited to finally receive the North Puget Sound Region’s Volunteer of the Year award! He was surprised and thankful for the recognition and reaffirmed his interest in supporting conservation and Department efforts well into the future.