Managing Wildlife Populations
District 8 Mule Deer Surveys: District 8 Wildlife Biologist Wampole and Statewide Mule Deer Specialist Bundick conducted aerial mule deer surveys of the Kittitas sub herd of the Eastern Slope of the Cascade Mule Deer Management Zone. This was the first survey conducted since 2017 and will provide an updated understanding of mule deer recovery in the district.
District 4 Mule Deer Surveys District 4 Biologists Fidorra and Hoffman conducted aerial mule deer surveys of the Benge area, which spans sections of Franklin, Adams, and Whitman counties. This semi-annual survey informs the management of one segment of the Columbia Plateau mule deer herd.
Wolf Monitoring: District 8 Biologist Wampole and Scientific Technician Ogburn continue to deploy trail cameras throughout the district to monitor for wolf activity. WDFW staff members and local collaborating landowners have detected two wolves in the district.
L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Winter Elk Feeding: The L.T Murray Wildlife Area crew posted signs and locked gates for the annual winter elk feeding program. No elk were seen in the closure area but hunting pressure was evident. Elk are expected to move into the feeding area over the next week. With feeding beginning when they are no longer able to acquire adequate nutrients due to snow cover, and instead of chewing cud mid-morning, they begin eyeballing the old elk fence that separates the elk from the food they want that would create conflicts on private ag lands.
L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Robinson Canyon Winter Prep: L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Winegeart and Natural Resource Specialist Nass moved equipment to Robinson Canyon in preparation for snow removal and sanding of the grade that leads to the main feeding site.
Providing Recreation Opportunities
Alkali Elk Hunt Opportunity: District 8 Biologist Wampole, Conflict Specialist Wetzel, and a Yakima Training Center biologist met to collaboratively draft changes to the Alkali elk unit to provide additional recreational activity and improve WDFWs elk management to meet elk objectives for the area. Drafted changes will be presented later this year with a final decision made early next year.
L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Roads: L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Winegeart took a couple of Capital and Asset Management Program engineers to look at sections of roads in the Whiskey Dick unit slated for improvement this coming spring. In spite of losing some of the expected funding, the engineers believe they may be able to improve enough road to allow for safe access to the heart of the unit. This is paramount to continued restoration efforts in the 2022 Vantage Hwy Fire footprint.
Providing Conflict Prevention and Education
Rattlesnake Hills Elk: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand continued to monitor elk activity on private lands and the Hanford Reach National Monument. Most of the herd are residing in historic wintering areas on Arid Lands Ecology, although small groups were observed on private and state property along the south and east border of the Monument.
Paterson Area Deer Damage: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand patrolled and hazed animals in orchards and vineyard fields along the Columbia River near Paterson for deer damage concerns.
Pasco Injured Deer: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand responded to a call concerning a deceased deer near the Snake River. It was determined the buck deer likely died from injuries sustained from fighting. The carcass was transported and deposited at a Department of Transportation carcass pit.
Kittitas County Conflict: Elk have been seen on Hayward Hill and Swauk Creek after the recent snow. These elk were hazed toward Lookout Mountain.
Elk have been seen in the Ryegrass area and several have been struck on I-90. Some elk have moved south to Yakima Training Center, and some are staying in the vicinity of MP130.
A domestic sheep was killed by a cougar in the Cook Creek area. The cougar was removed.
Yakima County Conflict: Elk in the Cowiche area have been breaking elk fence and getting into areas east of the fence. An open multi-hunt season and landowner permits are active in the area, but some locations are not available for hunting. About 150 elk are east of the elk fence, but with feeding at Cowiche some may return to the other side of the fence.
Elk have been persistent in the Tampico area coming from the west and south. These elk appear to be the same elk as during the summer months, and number about 125.
Wenas Wildlife Area - Bull Pasture Rd Seasonal Closure: Bull Pasture Rd is now under a seasonal closure from December 15 to May 1 to help protect wintering wildlife and to prevent road damage when road conditions are not ideal. Wenas Wildlife Area Manager Gray and Natural Resource Specialist – Lands and Recreation Specialist Frame have completed cultural reviews of the gate sites and are being installed this week. Signage and maps were created to clearly display the closure area to the public. The seasonal closure will occur on a reoccurring annual basis.
Conserving Natural Landscapes
Benton County Sagebrush Seed Collection: Sunnyside/Snake River Wildlife Area Manager Kaelber, Assistant Manager Jahns, Private Lands Biologist Manderbach, Natural Resource Technician Pizzini, and Habitat Biologist Maikis assisted Benton County Conservation District staff members in harvesting big sagebrush seed from Horn Rapids Park. Much of the collected seed will be used to make seed balls for shrub steppe restoration efforts on public and private lands across the Columbia Basin.
Sagebrush Island Establishment Study: Sunnyside/Snake River Wildlife Area staff members, along with other WDFW Region 3 staff members, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) staff members, and local volunteer members assisted District 4 Habitat Biologist Maikis with a sagebrush island establishment project. Sagebrush branches containing ripe seed were harvested from a mature sagebrush stand in the Amon Creek area of Richland. The sagebrush plants used for the study are due to be removed in the near future as a result of a road development project. The harvested material was then transported to a USFWS unit in Paterson and the WDFW Rattlesnake Slope Unit in Benton City where it was staked to the ground with chicken wire to act as a host plant for establishment of new sagebrush seedlings. In addition to the sagebrush cache method, volunteer members and staff members also broadcasted sagebrush seed and spread seed balls in designated areas. Monitoring of the sites will take place over the next few years to identify which restoration methods are most successful in reestablishing sagebrush across disturbed shrubsteppe landscapes. This project was an awesome collaborative effort and WDFW staff members are excited about gaining insight into shrubsteppe restoration methods to use across eastern Washington!
Wenas Wildlife Area – Durr Rd Target Shooting Range Clean-Up: Wenas Wildlife Area Natural Resource Specialist – Lands and Recreation Specialist Frame and Habitat Bio Miller collected 1,050 pounds of target shooting trash from the shotgun range, 25-yard range, and 100-yard range. Trash consisted of wood, metal, paper, and shooting debris.
Other
Oak Creek Visitor Center Wildlife Management Information: District 8 Scientific Technician Ogburn continued to work with Oak Creek Wildlife Area staff members and CAPE to develop additional public information on District 8 wildlife management.