Managing Wildlife Populations
Waterfowl: Biologists Lowe and Brinkman attended a training with Waterfowl Section staff members to go over set up and operation of rocket nets for trapping and banding waterfowl. Two rocket nets were set up to trap pintail, but neither were successful. Dr. Phillips (WSU) brought her Wildlife Ecology class to attend the training so they may be able to assist in future operations. The group was also given a tour of several wetlands and restoration projects by Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge Biologist Dixon.
Golden Eagle: Wildlife Area Manager Dingman checked the Merengo and Hartsock golden eagle nests. An adult was sitting in the Merengo nest and an adult was foraging north of the nest. No golden eagles were seen in the Hartsock nest but the gusty wind kept blowing the spotting scope around, so Dingman will go back later to check the nest.
Sharp-tailed Grouse: Biologist Brinkman, along with Wildlife Area Technician Duclos and Washington Shrubsteppe Restoration and Resiliency Initiative biologist Jennings, conducted a lek survey of a historically active lek where sharp-tailed grouse had been documented alongside the road a few weeks prior. No sharp-tailed grouse were detected during this survey. Biologist Lowe searched a lek complex that has not been active in recent history and did not find any birds.
Ferruginous Hawks: Biologist Brinkman completed an occupancy survey of a Ferruginous Hawk nesting territory in southwestern Lincoln County. No birds were observed at the old nest site or in the area. A follow-up occupancy survey will be conducted in April. Biologist Brinkman also drove past a different ferruginous hawk territory alongside the highway and took photos of a hawk sitting on a nest, but did not stop to complete a survey. The lighting made it difficult to see, but upon review of the photos it turned out to be a dark morph ferruginous hawk which means that territory is likely active. A follow-up confirmation survey will be completed soon.
Providing Recreation Opportunities
Chief Joseph Wildlife Area Recreational site closure: Wildlife Area Manager Dice and Natural Resource Specialist Whittaker closed the Pine Bar/Turkey Bend access site on Tuesday. It was discovered that two live Ponderosa Pine trees had been cut down and made into firewood with a chainsaw. A third tree had been chopped into with an axe. Trees like these are rare at this low elevation site. Other damage included cut down hackberry shrubs, garbage left on site, and a torn-up parking lot from spinning tires. The site was closed using four concrete ecology blocks hauled in from the Asotin Creek Wildlife Area. The closure is for less than one month. This is not the first-time trees, and other natural resources have been damaged at this site. We will open the site once we complete some rehabilitation work and installation of a kiosk/directional signage with an emphasis to protect resources.
Providing Conflict Prevention and Education
Cougar: Natural Resource Technician Edmondson brought a cougar trap and a deer carcass to Sergeant Leonetti at the Region One office to assist with the capture of two potentially orphaned cougar kittens that have been seen in District Two.
Turkey complaint: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Kolb followed up on a call passed along from a weekend Enforcement response involving conflict turkeys in Walla Walla County. The reporting party (RP) was upset there have been turkeys in their yard. After conducting a site visit, Kolb explained why trapping would be challenging at the location. The RP also wanted to know if they could have kill permits. Kolb explained that although they were technically in the county, there were very limited shooting lanes due to an adjacent school and numerous other homes in the area. Kolb had a couple of Critter Gitters® with him and assisted the RP in setting those up around their property with the goal of changing the turkey movement patterns. The RP was appreciative of the site visit and the equipment loaned by the department.
Cougar trap: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Kolb delivered a newly built cougar trap to the Clarkston field office. The trap was built by Walla Walla Community College welding program students as part of their yearly project builds. A second build trap will remain at the Walla Walla District Office.
Bats: Biologists Lowe and Brinkman accompanied several Avista employees on a tour of the Long Lake Dam to learn more about the bat colony using the structure. Avista staff members were very interested in bat ecology, as well as steps to reduce bat use inside the structure and maintain safe conditions for their workers. The building dates to 1915 and provides ideal conditions for a bat maternity colony.
Moose Relocation: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Harris and Sergeant Leonetti relocated a bull moose from North Spokane that had been causing property damage despite efforts to haze the moose away from private property.
Conserving Natural Landscapes
Habitat: Private Lands Biologist Thorne Hadley and Natural Resource Technician Moberg contacted landowners/managers interested in enhancing their property for spring habitat projects; coordinating delivery and planting dates of trees, shrubs and seed.
SCWA Golden Eagle Nest Territory: Acting Wildlife Area Manager Palmer and Natural Resource Technician Graves were working near the golden eagle nest territory on Sherman Creek Wildlife Area this week and observed a golden eagle flying. Checking on the only known nest remaining in the territory, Palmer and Graves found it to be unoccupied. With a little binocular work, Graves discovered a new nest in the territory, with one egg in the nest, as seen in the photo below.
Revere Shrub Planting Project: This year the Revere Wildlife Area will be in their second year of replacing some of the shrub plots that were lost as a result of the 2022 Wagner Road Fire. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) staff members prioritized specific areas for recovery and, along with the Spokane Chapter of Pheasant Forever as a partner, will be planting over 1,100 trees and shrubs on April 12th and 13th. Wildlife Area Manager Finch worked with WDFW’s archeologist to clear the proposed sites prior to any work starting. So far, over 50 volunteers have signed up for the project in the WDFW CERVIS program for volunteers. Pheasant Forever Habitat Chairman Gruenke has already been mowing the three sites where the plantings will take place.
Swanson Lake Wildlife Area staff members loaded the rototiller and tractor on the equipment trailer after having two new tires replaced on the equipment trailer at Les Swab in Davenport.
This week Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Wagner and Natural Resource Technician Duclos hauled materials from Swanson Lake’s storage sheds such as matting, deer fence, and staples. Wagner and Duclos also hauled the tractor with rototiller to start tilling up the shrub plots.
Private Lands Work Party: Natural Resource Technician Moberg attended the three-day long private lands work party in Whitman County. Private Lands staff members from across the state gathered to prep and plant at several sites enrolled in the private lands access program. The habitat work was done in conjunction with Pheasants Forever.
Sherman Creek Wildlife Area (SCWA) Prescribed Burn Preparations: Acting Wildlife Area Manager Palmer and Natural Resource Technician Graves started work on freshening up prescribed burn unit control lines at Sherman Creek Wildlife Area. Units prioritized for this spring were treated with prescribed fire about eight years ago. For the fire dependent ponderosa pine forest, with a natural fire cycle of every 8-12 years, it is time to re-enter the units to mimic that natural fire interval. Palmer and Graves are utilizing a mini-excavator and ATV with pasture harrow to freshen up existing control lines by removing burnable fuel to expose bare soil. WDFW Burn Program Coordinator Lionberger also spent time on site to prioritize the sequence of control line work and identify control lines that need to be addressed by hand crews where machine operation is not feasible. The photo below shows a harrowed control line.
Trash dumping at Campbell Grade Road: Wildlife Area Manager Dice looked at trash/debris dumped off Campbell Grade Road near the wildlife area boundary. Digging through the trash produced two pieces of old mail with the same name, indicating a residence in the town of Asotin. The perpetrator used a dump-trailer as evidenced by tire track marks on the road shoulder. Earlier in the week, we were notified by the County that someone had used a caterpillar key to unlock, start, and use their loader parked along South Fork Road near a gravel stockpile. The loader was used to steal a load of gravel. We later learned that the trash dumping suspect had a dump trailer parked in his back yard with a load of gravel. Apparently, the suspect dumped his load of garbage, then went down to South Fork Road to help himself to a load of gravel using the County’s loader. Dice turned over evidence to the Asotin County Sheriff’s office who are preparing to file charges.
Providing Education and Outreach
STEAM Night: Biologist Brinkman and Wildlife Conflict Specialist Harris set up an outreach booth at the South Pines Elementary STEAM night. They interacted with approximately 75-100 people, comprised of a mix of elementary students, parents, and teachers. The outreach booth had a “spin-to-win" wheel with different trivia categories where the biologists asked a question, and the student got a prize (WDFW swag) if they answered the question correctly. The students were mostly asked to identify an animal by looking at scat, tracks, skulls, and pelts, or to identify a bird by its sound/call.
