Managing Wildlife Populations

Beaver Rehabilitation – Successful Release and Establishment: A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist from King County (District 12), worked with PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center to identify potential locations for beaver release. In collaboration with Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust, a site was chosen on Vashon-Maury. The land trust has reported that the beaver released there are hanging around the site and appear to be doing great.  It is rare to be able to release beaver in suburban/rural areas of King County, which makes this site unique. 

Snow Goose Survey: Wildlife Biologists Waddell and Soltysiak conducted the annual snow goose survey. This survey was conducted in a small single engine airplane and encompassed an area from southern British Columbia southward to northern King County. Flocks of snow geese were photographed for later analysis by AI software.

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Purple Martin Colony Maintenance: District 12 collaborated with volunteers to maintain the Seattle waterfront purple martin colonies at Duwamish Waterway and Shilshole Bay. Overall, roughly 100 nest gourds were cleaned and maintained for reuse this season (with the bulk of those also used last season). The purple martin is North America’s largest swallow that is a state Species of Greatest Conservation Need under the State Wildlife Action Plan. It is largely dependent on human nest boxes, nest gourds, and other human structures for nesting. 

The purple martin is a cavity nesting species that needs snags that are over or adjacent to water to build their nests. Snags are dead or dying trees. Snags are a very specialized and limited habitat type that tends to be very patchy in occurrence. For purple martins, removing a group of snags with cavities that they use can take out an entire local martin colony. Snags are often taken down because they can be a safety hazard, and are also removed to preserve views. Simple management of snags, in the appropriate situation where hazards are not of concern, not only provides habitat, but also great wildlife attraction and watching opportunities. 

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Sooty Grouse Survey: Westside district staff are in ongoing monitoring surveys for sooty grouse, a harvestable forest grouse species, this month and next. 

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Common Loon Platform Maintenance and Launch: District 12 maintained platforms on two separate territorial common loon lakes. Loons were observed at both lakes. The common loon is a state listed species (Sensitive) and a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the State Wildlife Action Plan. 

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Improving Bat Roosting Habitat in Island and San Juan Counties: Biologist Licence, in collaboration with the Watchable Wildlife Program, Master Hunter Program, Diversity Division, State Parks, Girl Scouts, Bats Northwest, Happy Valley Bats Rehab Center, private citizens/landowners and other partners recently built over 50 multi-chambered bat boxes for distribution to stewards throughout the district. 

This group rallied to install nine boxes at Deception Pass State Park. These boxes will provide additional living space for up to 2,250 bats in an area where bat exclusion has occurred over multiple winters in private dwellings nearby. Journalists from the Washington Post and a reporter from the Whidbey News-Times attended the event and conducted interviews.

Many of the additional boxes were donated to homeowners with bats regularly roosting in or near their property and are currently in the process of installing boxes. Fifteen more bat boxes were donated to the San Juan Island Land Bank for mounting and monitoring across San Juan and Orcas islands. 

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Beach Clean-up Efforts on Whidbey Island: Biologist Licence and master hunters represented Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to support efforts by the Washington State University Island County Extension Office and Naval Air Station Whidbey to remove litter from beaches with a specific focus on collecting and quantifying plastic shotgun wad debris. 

In the past month two separate events took place, one in early April at Windjammer Park in Oak Harbor and the other at Crescent Beach on Earth Day. Combined, volunteers collected hundreds of pounds of litter and well over 1000 shotgun wads. 

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Island Marble Butterfly Spring Monitoring on San Juan Island: Biologist Licence and Pollinator Specialist Combs initiated another year of island marble butterfly (IMB) monitoring on San Juan Island. This week of monitoring included adult relative abundance transects, detection/no detection surveys in known IMB occurrence areas, as well as egg and larvae monitoring at the Cattle Point, Department of Natural Resources property. Staff members also value this time to communicate and build relationships with local conservation partners. The IMB season appears to be earlier this year than in the past and staff members counted 34 recently laid eggs where in recent history no eggs were counted during this early season survey.

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Bat Acoustic Activity Monitoring: Biologist Anderson maintained three solar powered acoustic bat recorders that are running year-round in the district. These are used for various trends in activity – emergence periods, species activity at a site, etc.

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Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

Bobcat and Wallabies – Conflict Prevention: Wildlife Conflict Specialist O’Connor responded to a call regarding a depredation to captive wallabies. Upon arriving at the site, O’Connor noted a bobcat in the wallaby pen, jumping out as he approached. O’Connor went through exclusionary needs and other conflict reduction management techniques.

Providing Education and Outreach

Protected Wildlife – Trail Building Concerns: Biologist Anderson met with Seattle Parks and Recreation, as well as a citizens group, regarding a local natural area that has a mountain bike trail proposed and in the process of development. A state protected active Cooper’s hawk nest was located right above the trail. They determined currently there is no conflict because the trail building will be well away from the active nest. 

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Conducting Business Operations and Policy

Westside Necropsy Training: Wildlife health staff members provided a necropsy training and refresher for staff members for both west and east of the crest. In the west training, one of the specimens acquired was an elk from North Bend that had been spinning and appeared disoriented. Necropsy participants found an injury to the head/base of antler that created an injury, and infection and an abscess on the brain that likely created all the behavioral issues the animal exhibited.

Other

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Managing Wildlife Populations

Oak Creek Wildlife Area Wildlife Safety Zone: Oak Creek Wildlife Area Natural Resource Worker O’Brien built and installed a new wildlife safety zone signpost. This sign informs hunters of the wildlife safety zone located directly around the Oak Creek Wildlife Area headquarters office and feed yard. 

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White Nose Syndrome Probiotic Bat Captures: District 4 Wildlife Biologists Fidorra and Hoffman, District 8 Wildlife Biologist Moore, and Sunnyside-Snake River Wildlife Area Manager Kaelber assisted Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Bat Biologist Tobin with the capture and sampling of a maternity colony in the Sunnyside area. The team successfully captured approximately 60 new bats and recaptured 20 bats that were marked and sampled during previous efforts. This research effort is a novel approach to utilizing naturally occurring bacteria to reduce impact of the causative agent of white nose syndrome (WNS). One more capture event is planned for later this summer. Additionally, guano samples were collected and will be tested for Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the fungus that is known to cause white-nose syndrome in bats.

Providing Recreation Opportunities

L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Opener: It was chilly and windy but a beautiful day on the L.T. Murray Wildlife Area for the May 1 elk closure opener. Around 120 vehicles lined up for the 6 a.m. rush through the gates at Joe Watt and Robinson Canyon, which yielded few antlers, but it was still a great time for people on horseback, all-terrain vehicles, bicycles, cars, and trucks.

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Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

Central Washington University (CWU) Students in Taneum Creek: L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Manager Morrison led geology students and members of AWRA (American Water Resources Association) on a field tour in the L.T. Murray’s Taneum Creek system. The field day objective was to learn about riparian projects implemented by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Yakama Nation Fisheries.

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Whiskey Dick Creek Bird Count: Central Washington University Cultural and Environmental Resource Management graduate student started bird point count data in the Whiskey Dick Creek system for a thesis focused on shrubsteppe songbird response to fire-based vegetation response.

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District 4 Rattlesnake Hills Elk: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand had continued to conduct hazing activities near the border of the Hanford National Monument. Increasing numbers of animals are being observed entering wheatfields along the southern border of the monument.

District 4 Corral Canyon Elk Area Summer Bull Permits: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand prepared damage prevention permits (DPP) to be delivered to landowners in elk area 3721. These permits assist with pressuring elk away from valuable wheat crops during critical plant development. These permits were the first to be developed and issued from the new Damage Permit System platform.

District 4 Master Hunter and Special Permit Points Restoration: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand worked with Headquarters staff members on identifying which master hunters or special permit holders were not deployed on damage hunts, so their special hunting permit points could be restored. 

District 4 Deceased Pronghorn: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand received and responded to a report of a car/pronghorn antelope collision on Highway 221. No collar or ear tag was observed on the animal and biological information was collected and entered in Survey 123.

Conserving Natural Landscapes

Wenas Wildlife Area Spring Weed Treatments: Wenas Wildlife Area staff members continue to treat the wildlife area for noxious weeds. This time of year, a common pest is the Scotch thistle. Preventing the encroachment of these noxious weeds is an essential aspect to maintaining the natural landscapes of the wildlife area. 

Oak Creek Wildlife Area Noxious Weed Control: Noxious weed control continues on the Cowiche Unit of the Oak Creek Wildlife Area. Oak Creek Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Charlet and Natural Resource Worker O’Brien continue spot spraying efforts to reduce the presence of Scotch thistle and other noxious weeds on Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife lands. 

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Oak Creek Wildlife Area Parking Area Maintenance: Oak Creek Wildlife Area Natural Resource Worker O’Brien filled potholes and raked gravel in parking lots on the Oak Creek Unit to improve parking areas. Assistant Manager Charlet sprayed parking lots on the Oak Creek Unit and Cowiche Unit for a wide variety of nonnative plant species. This effort reduces the risk of noxious weeds spreading onto Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife lands and reduces wildfire risk by eliminating vegetation where vehicles commonly park. 

Wenas Wildlife Area Future Conservation Easements/Acquisitions: Wenas Wildlife Area Manager Gray continued to work with two landowners who are interested in conserving their private property to prevent future development and protect the current habitat. Gray and Region 3 Lands Agent Carbary met with a landowner off Umptanum Road to discuss potential options for conserving their property and to conduct a site visit. The property is approximately 3400 acres of shrubsteppe and riparian habitat. Gray and Wenas Wildlife Area Habitat Specialist Miller will be submitting this project area through the internal Lands 20/20 process for review this year. 

The second project area is approximately 440 acres of shrubsteppe, ponderosa pine woodland, and riparian habitat. Gray and Miller have been working on a RCO (Recreation and Conservation Office) WWRP (Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program) – Critical Habitat grant to receive funding for a conservation easement and life estate for this property. This past week Gray met with a professional photographer and the landowners to take photos of the property to be used in the grant application. Both of these projects will protect crucial areas of habitat for wildlife including a significant number of species listed as Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).

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Sunnyside-Snake River Wildlife Area / Region 3 Private Lands collaboration with Benton Conservation District: Sunnyside-Snake River Wildlife Area Manager Kaelber and Private Lands Biologist Manderbach had a meeting and followed up on a field trip with the Benton Conservation District staff members to the Thornton Unit. They discussed future collaborative efforts to harvest sagebrush and native seeds from plants that can be used to create seed balls to spread throughout Benton and Franklin counties on private lands and portions of the Sunnyside-Snake River Wildlife Area. Other habitat enhancement projects were also discussed. 

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Franklin County Shrub Planting: Private Lands Biologist Manderbach along with help from District 4 Wildlife Biologist Fidorra expanded on a shrub planting from 2023 on the Neff-Jones Hunt by Reservation site in Franklin County. In 2023 sagebrush and antelope bitterbrush were planted in three draws on the property. The sagebrush has survived well, but the bitterbrush had a very low survival rate likely due to deer damage soon after planting. Manderbach and Fidorra planted more sagebrush as well as winterfat and a few patches of Rocky Mountain juniper in two of the draws to expand on the project. Manderbach will continue to monitor the plantings and provide water occasionally throughout the spring and summer.

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Other

Kittitas County Corner Crossing: Region 3 Private Lands Biologist Manderbach met with a landowner in Kittitas County who called about issues with corner crossing that them and a neighbor are having. Both landowners border state land and there is a fence at the corner being crossed. The landowner gave Manderbach a tour of their land, their neighbors’ land that they work on, as well as some of the state land bordering them. 

They discussed many issues and the potential for future collaboration in ways of first-time pheasant hunter opportunities, habitat work potential, and the possibility of allowing public access. The landowner has worked with many Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staff members on different projects and issues. Manderbach will continue diving into the corner crossing topic.

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Managing Wildlife Populations

Greater Sage-grouse: Biologists across Douglas County are finishing up monitoring known greater sage-grouse lek sites. Sage-grouse numbers recorded so far this spring represent an increase over the previous several years. This is very encouraging to see because this species is classified as Endangered in Washington and has been experiencing a dramatic population decline for many years now. For more information on greater sage-grouse in Washington, visit the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website.

Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Translocation: Biologists Eilers joined other biologists to trap and relocate 60 sharp-tailed grouse from British Columbia, Canada into Washington. This will help supplement the species abundance and genetic diversity in Washington. Sharp-tailed grouse are State Endangered and are a Species of Greatest Conservation Need due to their low and declining numbers in Washington. 

The translocation effort involved finding leks (breeding display grounds where males dance to attract females) in British Columbia, setting up walk-in traps, and then returning each morning to watch from a blind as the birds performed their daily displays. Once a bird found itself in a trap, biologists quickly left the blind and captured the bird to bring it to a processing site. All 60 grouse (30 males and 30 females) were banded, and half of them were outfitted with a radio collar to allow biologists to track their movements. Half of the birds were released in northern Douglas County and the other half were released in Lincoln County. For more information about this species visit the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website.

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Sharp-tailed Grouse Management: Biologist Heinlen traveled to 70 Mile House, British Columbia and participated in trapping Columbia sharp-tailed grouse for augmentation back into Washington. After much planning, logistical coordination, and field work by many staff members, everything aligned perfectly, and 60 (30 males and 30 females) sharp-tailed grouse were captured and successfully released in Washington in six trapping days. The goal is to bolster the Washington population by increasing genetic diversity.   

Biologist Heinlen also conducted annual surveys for Columbia sharp-tailed grouse within District 6. Relocating leks (breeding grounds) that have moved, and a mild winter has led to a better survey effort and an increase in sharp-tailed grouse numbers over the 2023 surveys. 

Biologist Heinlen and Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Wildlife Biologist Laspa toured a property in Tunk Valley that the tribe acquired a couple years ago. Before the tribe acquired the property, Biologist Heinlen conducted the sharp-tailed grouse surveys on it. During the tour Biologists Heinlen and Laspa were fortunate enough to relocate a lek that hasn’t been active in over 20 years. 

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Sage Grouse Surveys: Biologist Morris completed grid searches for sage grouse in Grant and Douglas counties. Morris saw some great sunrises, picturesque landscapes, and lots of upland birds while surveying.

Bighorn Sheep Management: Biologist Heinlen investigated a bighorn sheep mortality in the Mt. Hull herd. Not enough was left to determine a definitive cause of death. However, disease and parasite samples were taken and sent to Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Washington State University for analysis. The radio collar was also retrieved. 

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Mule Deer Management: Biologist Heinlen and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Volunteer Fischer investigated a mule deer mortality. They found it to be predated by a cougar. The radio collar was recovered.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Sealing: Biologist Heinlen sealed several bobcat pelts from Okanogan County with CITES tags this period. CITES is an international agreement that aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Because the trade in wild animals and plants crosses borders between countries, the effort to regulate it requires international cooperation to safeguard certain species from over-exploitation. The deadline for sealing has now passed. All bobcat and river otter pelts harvested this season were required to be sealed by April 20.

Lek Searches: Biologist Turnock and Technician Hara continued searching for new sage and sharp-tailed grouse leks in northern Douglas County. High winds have made surveying difficult, but they were able to cover four grids. This will help inform our understanding of these species’ distributions in Region 2.

Sharp-tailed Grouse Translocations: Technician Force assisted staff members in translocating 60 sharp-tailed grouse from British Columbia to Dyer Hill and Swanson Lakes Wildlife Areas.

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Northern Leopard Frog Surveys: Biologist Turnock and Technician Hara conducted northern leopard frog breeding surveys in District 5, including at Potholes off road vehicle (ORV) park. They did not detect any leopard frogs, but these surveys resulted in some exciting incidental observations such as a badger with three young and breeding Great Basin spadefoot toads.

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Pygmy Rabbit Trapping: Biologist Turnock and Technician Hara assisted Biologist Crowell with pygmy rabbit trapping at the B3 enclosure near Beezley Hills. They were able to capture the enclosure’s lone resident, an adult male rabbit, to confirm his survival.

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Providing Recreation Opportunities

Hunter Access: Biologist Morris checked and posted signs on hunter access properties.

Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

Deer Issues: Specialist Heilhecker spoke with a landowner regarding acclimated deer in his yard. A group of seventeen deer have been eating flower gardens and walking across the porch. Specialist Heilhecker provided recommendations on how to nonlethally haze the deer. 

Cost-Share Fencing: Specialist Heilhecker ordered fencing materials for an orchard experiencing deer damage. The orchardist signed a cost-share fencing agreement. Subsequently, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife orders materials and arranges for the materials to be delivered onsite. Then, the orchardist installs the fence.

Range Rider Information Sharing: Specialist Heilhecker answered questions from an individual interested in becoming a contracted range rider. She met with wildlife conflict section staff members to discuss the individual’s application and funding availability.

Conserving Natural Landscapes

Habitat Plots: Biologists Cook and Morris pulled cheatgrass weeds from around 200 recently planted shrubs, from this spring and last year. Plastic mulch was used but the weeds were aggressively growing through the holes cut for the planted shrubs. Machine cutting the grass was unfeasible due to the small size of some shrubs and the thickness of weeds. Pre-emergent herbicide will be used to prevent regrowth of weeds.

Habitat Plots: Biologist Morris sprayed weeds at one of the habitat plots he has been working on. By controlling weeds, it allows the native plants to get established with less competition for available soil moisture and nutrients. Around 200 of the native trees and shrubs were planted in plastic mulch to prevent weed competition, but cheatgrass was growing through the holes where the shrubs were planted. Biologist Morris and Biologist Cook spent some time removing the cheatgrass manually from these holes.

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Providing Education and Outreach

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Day in the Field: Biologist Cook participated in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) day in the field at the Desert Unit of Columbia Basin Wildlife Area. Cook participated in providing instruction for groups of 6th graders around wildlife resources and their effect and interaction with the environment.

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Turkey Hunting Information: Specialist Heilhecker provided feedback to a hunter who called looking for places to hunt turkeys. 

Conducting Business Operations and Policy

Wolf Advisory Group Meeting: Specialist Heilhecker participated in the Wolf Advisory Group (WAG) meeting and participated in the WAG coordination meetings.

Firearm Certification: Specialists Heilhecker and Bridges, and Supervisor Rickel all completed annual firearms qualifications.

Other

CPR Training: Specialist Heilhecker, Supervisor Rickel and Private Lands Biologists Braaten, Morris and Cook attended CPR training in Ephrata.

Managing Wildlife Populations

Sooty Grouse Surveys: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) wildlife biologists in western Washington are in the second year of testing a survey method for sooty grouse (formerly called blue grouse). The effort involves establishing driving routes in the Cascade and Olympic mountains as well as the Willapa Hills. 

The routes include 15 to 30 listening stops where biologists spend time listening for the calling of male sooty grouse during the early morning hours. The survey method is borrowed from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as well as Oregon State University and we thank them for their development of the method and sharing. When fully developed and implemented, the survey will generate sooty grouse population trend estimates that are independent of grouse harvest. To date, Biologists Stephens, Holman, Wickhem, and Bergh, along with Conflict Specialist Aubrey and Cowlitz Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Steveson have conducted eight surveys. 

An additional component of the work is to use listening devices called Acoustic Recording Units (ARUs) to better understand the timing of the sooty grouse breeding season. This is important since the survey methodology was developed at lower latitudes in Oregon where breeding timing could be different. The ARUs are placed near calling sooty grouse and left in place for approximately two months. During this time, the device records the calling grouse. With several of the units placed throughout western Washington, in aggregate this information can be used to adjust Oregon’s protocol to Washington’s grouse population. Biologist Holman, Conflict Specialist Aubrey, and Enforcement Officer Tippets placed three units in Cowlitz and Lewis counties.

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Glenwood Valley Annual Sandhill Crane Survey: Biologists Wickhem, Bergh, and Ott; Data Manager Blatz, Volunteers Castagnoli, Flick, Steider, L. Robinson, D. Robinson, B. Roe, and J. Roe; staff members from Mount Adams Resource Stewards, and staff members from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service joined forces for the annual sandhill crane survey on and around Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge. 

The Glenwood Valley is one of only a few areas in the state where sandhill cranes nest. Sandhill cranes mate for life and return to the same “territory” each year to mate and raise their colts before migrating south in the fall. For this survey, the groups split up into teams to drive and hike around different crane territories recording all cranes observed and specifically looking for crane nests. Wickhem and her survey partners confirmed three nests and observed a nest exchange (males and females take turns sitting on the nest)! 

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Townsend’s Ground Squirrel Surveys: In 2023, District 9 staff members visited 130 historic locations of Townsend’s ground squirrels in eastern Klickitat County to determine how many of these sites were still occupied. At a small number of those sites, occupancy was unconfirmed, meaning the surveyors found some signs of squirrels, but could not determine how fresh the signs were and did not see or hear any actual squirrels. 

In April 2024, District 9 staff members revisited these sites to confirm if they were occupied or unoccupied. Unfortunately, each of these locations was determined to be unoccupied, but staff members were able to find squirrel colonies in a few new locations that had not been recorded in the past. Townsend’s ground squirrels are a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SCGN) in Washington and are considered a candidate for state listing.

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Mount St. Helens Elk Herd Population Survey: In late March, biologists from Region 5 conducted an aerial survey of the Mount St. Helens elk herd. In addition to the “core” herd area which consists of GMUs 520, 522, 524, 550, and 556 that has historically been surveyed annually or biannually, biologists also surveyed portions of the herd area to the south. The expanded survey area includes portions of GMUs 554, 560, 568, and 572. These areas are generally more difficult to survey because they have fewer clear cuts or other openings that allow observers to detect elk that are present. 

Within the “core” GMUs, the same survey units are surveyed from year to year and a sight ability estimate is applied to the data collected. The estimate for the core area was 2,097 elk. This is a 38% increase from the last time this area was surveyed in March 2022 with a total of 1,522 elk. A big thanks to JL Aviation’s Pilot Pete Emmerson for his safe and skillful flying. 

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Providing Recreation Opportunities

Vandalism in Klickitat County: The restroom at the Turkey Hole Access Area was severely vandalized with graffiti in early April. Vandalism to this extent is unusual and very disappointing for Klickitat County. With two trips and multiple coats of paint, Natural Resources Specialist Celaya was able to make the restroom look respectable again. 

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Conserving Natural Landscapes

English Ivy Removal: Cowlitz Wildlife Area staff members, with the help of master hunters and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation volunteers who donated approximately 700 hours of their time over the four days of the project, removed over 26,000 pounds of vegetation (mostly English ivy) from the Mossyrock Unit. 

The ivy is well established within the area and surgically removing the ivy without impacting the desirable vegetation is not an option. The first weekend the sun was shining, the temperature was perfect, and the crew removed 11,000 pounds of vegetation. The second week, the weather turned vengeful and kept the crew wet and cold. However, the crew rallied and removed 15,000 pounds of vegetation.

This was tough work, and the wildlife area staff members could not have done this without the volunteer help. Also essential to the success of the project were Rodger and Ramona Wallace. Rodger and Ramona not only saw the possibilities and encouraged wildlife area staff members to embrace the use of volunteers, but they also reached out to their network of volunteers and single handedly organized an army of individuals. Then, to keep morale high, they organized a potluck lunch every day of the project. With the food provided by the volunteers, you can’t beat a meal of elk burgers, German sausages, elk stew, chili, and all of the sides one could want.

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Conducting Business Operations and Policy

Chemical Immobilization Training: District biologists, conflict specialists, and enforcement staff members attended chemical immobilization training in Ridgefield. The training is required every five years for staff members who use chemical immobilization drugs. 

Chemical immobilization is used when marking or collaring wildlife for research and in conflict situations when an animal may need to be removed from a dangerous situation. The training covered the types of immobilization drugs, the equipment used in immobilizations, different capture situations, and human and animal safety, among other topics. The class was capped off with dart gun practice and immobilizing domestic goats. All of the goats responded well to the drugs, maintained healthy vital signs throughout, and woke up without a problem. 

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Managing Wildlife Populations

Skagit Wildlife Area Management Plan: The SEPA 30-day public review on the draft Skagit Wildlife Area Management Plan ended on April 22. The department received 14 sets of comments including letters from Skagit Audubon, Washington Trails Association, and Washington State Senate Republican Caucus. Lands Division and regional staff members are working on the comment responses at this time. Lands Division expects the final plan internal review by the end of May, with the final document being delivered to the Director in June for his signature. 

Managing Wildlife Populations

Prairie Grouse: Biologist Lowe was in British Columbia trapping sharp-tailed grouse that were subsequently transported and released in either Lincoln or Douglas county as part of a translocation effort to augment existing local populations. 

Biologist Brinkman assisted Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area Manager Finch setting up release boxes for sharp-tailed grouse on an existing lek in Lincoln County. Translocated birds get placed into the release boxes for 15 to 20 minutes to settle before being released into their new home. 

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Prairie Grouse: Biologist Lowe was in 70 Mile House, British Columbia trapping the remaining four sharp-tailed grouse needed to complete the translocation effort for this year. The remaining four grouse were released in Lincoln County on the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area at an existing lek. In total, 60 birds (30 males and 30 females) were captured, transported, and released over six days during this year’s translocation. On the final day of capture, Photojournalist Joel Sartore from National Geographic met the trapping crew to photograph the birds for his Photo Ark project. 

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Conserving Natural Landscapes

Prescribed Burn Preparation: Fire Planner Lionberger and Sherman Creek Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Palmer performed fire control line preparation at Rustlers Gulch Wildlife Area. The pair dragged small pasture harrows pulled by an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) and a Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV) to prepare lines for any needed bulldozer use during burning. These lines are essentially fire boundaries. 

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Columbia Plateau Wildlife Management Association (CPWMA) Work Party: Private Lands Biologist Nizer worked with CPWMA on a hunt by written permission property. They seeded between two and three acres of an unproductive field into alfalfa strips, clover, and barley. Nizer helped seed with the ATV and with clearing out debris and fencing on the property. 

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Providing Education and Outreach

Dayton Kid’s Fishing Event: Wildlife Area Manager Dingman and Natural Resource Technician Tritt helped with two kids' fishing events in Dayton. Both events were held on the same day, the first event included the kids from The Boys & Girls Club in Dayton and the second event was sponsored by the city of Dayton. There were approximately 100 kids total who attended and fished the Kid’s Pond in Dayton. 

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Conducting Business Operations and Policy

South Fork Hayshed Repairs: Wildlife area staff members improved the South Fork hayshed by installing metal siding over the gable ends. The metal covers exposed wood and closes holes that were allowing birds to enter the building. A rental snorkel lift made the job much easier and safer. New bat boxes were also installed on each end of the building. 

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Managing Wildlife Populations

Bighorn Sheep Surveys: WDFW biologist, regional conflict specialists, wildlife area staff, and ungulate specialists teamed up to conduct two mark-resight surveys of bighorn sheep in the Yakima Canyon. Surveys are conducted by visually identifying bighorn sheep and quantifying the number of marked animals (wearing GPS collars) and the total number present. Staff members also collect data on the sex and age composition of observed groups. This survey provides an estimated population size and importantly 2022 lamb recruitment. This data will be utilized for the Test and Remove study that began earlier this year to address concerns of prevalence rates of mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (MOVI).

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Bear Density Surveys: Black bear density surveys were approved to be carried out early this summer in District 8. Non-invasive hair snag sites will be set in the region of Oak Creek Wildlife Area and Okanagan-Wenatchee National Forest. This data will provide estimates of bear density locally and improve efforts to understand variation in black bear density statewide. See Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2022. Statewide Black Bear Density Monitoring in Washington: A cross-region and interagency team approach.

White-trailed Jackrabbit Sightings: L. T. Murray staff members saw two white-tailed jackrabbits on the Whiskey Dick Unit. That makes four white-tailed jackrabbits seen on the Whiskey Dick Unit this year. The first was mistaken for a cottontail rabbit and shot by recreators at Whiskey Dick Bay but the remaining three were spotted in April alive and healthy.

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Photo by WDFW

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District 8 Wolf Activity: Individual wolves, both collared and uncollared, are leaving and arriving in the district at this time. It is suspected that they will remain transient for some time.

Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

Rattlesnake Hills Elk: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand had contact with landowners on Rattlesnake Mountain concerning the elk activity, damage occurrence, and damage permit issuance. Summer bull damage prevention permits were developed and will be distributed to landowners in the next couple of weeks. These permits provide hunting opportunity during critical wheat growth development while aiding in hazing elk back to the Hanford National Monument.

Kahlotus Deer: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand conducted deer monitoring and damage inspections at a couple of dryland wheat farms in Game Management Unit (GMU) 381. Very few deer were observed, and damage impacts appear to be reducing.

Kittitas County Wildlife Conflict: Conflict Specialist Wetzel worked with several hay growers who were having problems with elk in crops. Elk were hazed from irrigated hay, row crops, and at haystacks. One elk near a garlic field died from pneumonia complications.

Yakima County Wildlife Conflict: Conflict Wetzel worked with several hay growers who were having problems with elk in crops. Elk have been hazed from irrigated hay, row crops, and orchard areas. One elk near an irrigated field died from unknown causes.

Fence repairs are underway in West Valley. It is likely winter snow caused the elk fence to fall over in that area. Repairs were also needed at un-permitted entry points that adjacent landowners have cut into the elk fence.

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Photo by WDFW

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Conserving Natural Landscapes

L. T. Murray Pedestrian Surveys: The L. T. Murray staff members, Off-road Vehicle Education Specialist Schrauth, and state foresters assisted a cultural resource specialist with pedestrian surveys within the 2022 Vantage Highway Fire footprint. Among the lithic scatter found was an arrowhead which is believed to be between 200 and 2,000 years old. The arrowhead was documented and reburied at the site. A few hundred acres have now been surveyed and will be available for planting this fall.

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 Petrified Wood: While crossing state parks through the Recreation Drive access point, L. T. Murray staff members found six bags of petrified wood in the road. Assistant Manager Winegeart contacted a very grateful John Ernster with State Parks who requested Winegeart fill out a witness statement and then had State Parks enforcement investigate and file a criminal report.

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 L. T. Murray Grazing: Wildlife Area Manager Morrison and Assistant Manager Winegeart performed pre-grazing monitoring in the Lower Parke pasture of the Quilomene Unit’s grazing lease.

Providing Education and Outreach

Back Country Hunters and Anglers: Assistant Manager Winegeart met with the president of the local chapter for Back Country Hunters and Anglers and discussed upcoming volunteer opportunities on the L. T. Murray Wildlife Area.

Stuck Vehicle in Wenas: Off-road Vehicle Education Specialist Schrauth came across a stuck off-road vehicle while on patrol in the Wenas Wildlife Area and assisted with the removal of the vehicle. Education was also provided on proper use of the Green Dot Road system as well as proper recovery equipment, communication standards, and recovery efforts safety.

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Sunnyside and Snake River: Assistant Manager Jahns and Natural Resource Technician Manderbach had the pleasure of participating in the 25^th annual Salmon Summit at Columbia Park. Thousands of elementary students from the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas released their classroom salmon into the Columbia River and rotated through stations to learn more about fish, wildlife, and natural resources in Washington. WDFW’s “Pelts & Skulls” station was a huge hit with the kids. They learned about the importance of wildlife habitat, native fish, and wildlife species during the interactive, hands-on lesson. Thank you, Communication Manager Lehman and Customer Service Specialist Tucker for helping at the booth as well.

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Photo by WDFW

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Natural Resource Technician Manderbach and Habitat Biologist Maikis attended a career night at Leona Libby Middle School in West Richland. They were able to teach students and community members about fish and wildlife in Washington and potential career opportunities with WDFW.

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Other

Sunnyside and Snake River: Manager Kaelber, Assistant Manager Ferguson, and Natural Resource Technician Manderbach spent a day cleaning up litter at the Sunnyside Headquarters Unit. Two dump trailers were filled with garbage, tires, and furniture.

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Jahns and Manderbach cleared beaver debris from a waterway in the Hope Valley Unit to alleviate flooding on neighboring private property. They also cleared beaver debris from a water control structure in the Mesa Lake Unit.

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Conflict Specialist Wetzel assisted Washington Department of Transportation and Washington State Patrol to haze elk from several areas near I-90. Multiple stranded or nuisance beaver calls were handled in Yakima and Kittitas counties.

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Managing Wildlife Populations

Lynx Research: Biologist Fitkin and the Home Range Wildlife Research crew wrapped up the first season of captures for this three-year project. All told, three adult lynx (two males and one female) were fitted with radio-collars. The fourth and final animal captured (a subadult male) was still too light to carry a collar, but he was fitted with an ear tag and will hopefully become a radioed study animal next year. The primary objective of this multi-year project is to see how lynx are using the fire-impacted landscape across a gradient of fire scars of different ages. Results will inform forest and fire management strategies which will help maintain adequate lynx habitat in the face of growing wildlife risk. More information on this project and the locally grown Home Range organization can be found on their website.

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Mule Deer Monitoring: Biologists Fitkin and Heinlen began spring mule deer surveys. They have also been following up on mortalities and dropped collars from current study animals with the help of Volunteers Fisher and Rohrer. Spring is coming slowly to District 6 and early data collection suggests fawn to adult ratios are lower than average, although several surveys are still pending.

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 Mule Deer: Biologist Eilers responded to a mortality signal from one of the GPS-collared mule deer in the Number 2 Canyon area of the Wenatchee foothills. This doe was collared as an adult in January 2022. Upon arriving onsite, Biologist Eilers was quickly able to determine that she had been killed by a cougar. Eilers retrieved the collar for future refurbishment and redeployment elsewhere and collected a tooth sample to determine her age at death.

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Photo by WDFW

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Wolf Monitoring: Biologist Jeffreys joined Wolf Biologist Roussin on a backpacking trip on the Lake Shore Trail of Lake Chelan to retrieve trail cameras and look for evidence of a wolf pack inhabiting the area. WDFW biologists and North Cascades National Park have received numerous reports of wolves in the Stehekin area over the past couple of years. In the winter of 2020 and 2021, park staff captured images of two adult wolves and four yearlings via trail cameras in the eastern portion of North Cascades National Park suggesting the presence of up to six wolves.

Biologists Jeffreys and Roussin took the ferry to Prince Creek and hiked from there to Stehekin. They meandered up side trails along the way in search of wolf tracks and scat. They also retrieved two cameras placed near Prince Creek earlier this winter, but no photos of wolves were captured. This area represents great mule deer winter range and the biologists observed many deer as well as tracks of elk, moose, and mountain goat. However, over the course of the three-day trip and over 20 miles of trails hiked, biologists only found tracks belonging to a single wolf. That means the most that can be said of this area for now is that it’s a lone wolf territory. The biologists plan to search other trail systems in the North Shore and Stehekin areas in the future to determine if there is indeed a wolf pack there.

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Photo by WDFW

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Sharp-tailed Grouse: Staff members surveyed the riparian areas around Scotch Creek for sharp-tail grouse. One sharp-tailed grouse was observed foraging in the water birch.

Sage Grouse Surveys: Private Lands Biologist Braaten began grouse count surveys but found very few due to lack of access as many roads are still blocked with snow. Temperatures are warming and snow is melting so we hope to be on the leks very soon. Many roads are just now opening up and providing access. Sage grouse are attending most leks.

Biologist Eilers scouted road accessibility to reach some of the Douglas County sage-grouse leks. Many of the roads are still inaccessible due to snow and muddy conditions but Biologists Jeffreys and Eilers were able to complete their first lek count for the 2023 survey year in the Badger Mountain area. In recent years, this lek has consistently been the most well-attended with up to 30 males displaying on some mornings. It’s off to a good start this year with a count of 25 males and two females.

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North American Lagomorph Working Group: A new cooperative lagomorph working group, comprised of representatives from state agencies, tribal agencies, federal agencies, universities, and non-government organizations has been formed. The cooperative working group will identify conservation and management priorities for North American lagomorph species. They will increase cross-state communication, collaboration, and consistency in monitoring.  They will also facilitate disease monitoring and management coordination. At the latest meeting, Biologist Gallie presented “Breeding like rabbits: a 20-year history of captive breeding and reintroduction efforts.” Gallie spread awareness of the challenges that have faced the pygmy rabbit recovery project throughout the years and the solutions that have been created in the face of those challenges.

Building Release Pens: The 2022–2023 Rimrock Meadow release pens have been torn down and relocated with the help of the Washington Conservation Corp. Approximately one acre in size, these pens are designed for the soft release of enclosure-born pygmy rabbits. The pens slow the dispersal of pygmy rabbits and help increase survivorship. With the new pens all set up, the pygmy team is looking forward to kit season. It’s just one month away!

New Release Sites: The Black Rock Coulee area has dense intact sagebrush stands that are perfect pygmy rabbit habitat. Meetings with the Bureau of Reclamation have begun so that future controlled burns will avoid burning mature sagebrush critical for pygmy rabbit reintroduction efforts.

Providing Recreation Opportunities

Hunter Access Program: Biologist Morris continued working on updating hunter access contracts so that there are no issues. Morris also checked signs on several properties and replaced signs that were broken or defaced.

Recreation & Partnerships: The Methow Wildlife Area is partnering with Western Washington University to host an intern who’s interested in conservation as well as recreation. It’s anticipated that this intern will assist with a wide variety of land management tasks, including intensive surveys of recreational infrastructure that exist on the wildlife area.

Additionally, Methow Wildlife Area staff members connected the project lead for the Methow Valley Trails Collaborative (MVTC) with WDFW recreation staff. The goal is to initiate a contract with MVTC to assist local wildlife area personnel with surveying trails to identify their maintenance needs. This information will eventually be rolled into a cultural resource survey so future maintenance and upkeep can occur.

Lastly, the MVTC has offered the resources of a National Civilian Community crew to assist with a local Methow Wildlife Area project or two this spring. It’s likely this crew will aid Methow Wildlife Area staff members in combatting erosion issues at Lewis Butte and possibly assist with the installation of a buck and rail fence near a stream that parallels a popular camping area.

Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

America the Beautiful Challenge: Okanogan Lands Operations Manager Haug worked with Okanogan Land Trust Executive Director Miller and various WDFW staff members regarding the development of a proposal for the America the Beautiful Challenge grant offered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Potential grant funding could include additional support for species mobility, habitat conservation, and restoration funding in the Okanogan area.

Cooperative Burn: Department of Natural Resource staff members and wildlife area personnel along with WDFW Prescribe Burn Program Lead Eberlein met and did a walk-through tour of the planned prescribe burn area for this spring. The prescribed burn will finish up the remaining units of the burn that was treated last year. The prescribed burn units include both Department of Natural Resource and WDFW lands within the Sinlahekin Unit.

Forest Thinning: Scotch Creek staff members and the North Central Washington burn team resumed thinning the forested portions of the Similkameen-Chopaka Unit. The goals of the thinning are to restore historical stand densities, and reduce conifer encroachment into Cottonwood galleries, Aspen groves, and shrubsteppe habitats and to rearrange fuels closer to the forest floor. The thinning will prep the forest for a future prescribed burn.

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Habitat Management: Assistant Manager Riley created a proposal for the 2023-2025 Waterfowl and Migratory Game Bird Habitat Project grant through the Migratory Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation Program. We hope that if we receive this grant, it will help treat invasive tree species (Siberian Elm and Russian Olive) and other weed species on the Driscoll and Eyhott Islands units to improve riparian habitat for waterfowl.

Salmon Restoration: Lands Operations Manager Haug had several conversations and meetings regarding multiple salmon restoration projects within the Methow Wildlife Area. The projects are in various stages of development, have aspects that pose challenges to land management staff, and raise concerns with both the Habitat and Fish programs. WDFW personnel are working closely with one another to provide input to the project proponent so they can address these concerns and move forward with the restoration work.

Wildlife Conflict Bootcamp: Wildlife Conflicts Specialists Bridges and Heilhecker with Supervisor Rickel attended the three-day Wildlife Conflict Bootcamp workshop that focused on implementing Human-Carnivore Interaction Response Training. 

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Conserving Natural Landscapes

Habitat Plots: Biologists Morris and Cook met with a landowner that is interested in habitat restoration efforts on their land. Options for potential habitat projects were discussed and how WDFW could help with the projects was explained. Standby for next steps.

Biologists prepped a few supplemental food plots near Royal City by mowing vegetation growth from last year. Further plot preparation is still needed, which will include herbicide application and seeding. These plots have sandy soils so Cook will add wood chips, from trees removed from the Region 2 office, to increase organic matter and hopefully build the soil.

In addition, biologists planted a wildlife habitat plot in a circle corner.

Cook broadcast native seed via a broad-cast spreader mounted on an all-terrain vehicle and a drag. Morris followed behind and harrowed to incorporate the seed into the soil. This planting was delayed from last fall due to snow. This plot should provide quality permanent nesting cover for upland birds when it is established.

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Oroville High School Field Day: Staff members joined Oroville High Schools Greenhouse Management Teacher Vanderwal and four of her students collecting willow stakes and cuttings on the Scotch Creek Unit. The cuttings and stakes were transported back to the high school greenhouse for further processing. When processing is completed, the students will use the cuttings and stakes on a riparian restoration project along Tonasket Creek on the Charles and Mary Eder Unit.

Douglas County State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement Conservation Reserve Program Update: Private Lands Biologist Braaten coordinated with staff on Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) planning and contribution agreement issues. There is continuous dialogue with upper management about what WDFW has received out of the agreement. The lack of assistance and support by Farm Service Agency and NRCS continues to be an issue and significantly impacts the ability for WDFW to complete their portion of the work.

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Providing Education and Outreach

Education in the Classroom: Biologists Morris and Cook and a Pheasants Forever biologist met with nine seniors from Othello High School that wanted to learn more about working for WDFW and what it takes to have a career as a wildlife biologist. Morris and Cook talked to them about education requirements, and the pros and cons of the job. They also spent time outside observing and discussing wildlife and their habitats.

Morris and Cook gave a presentation to the Quincy High School Agricultural Biology class on how WDFW tracks wildlife population changes and why those changes occur.

Conducting Business Operations and Policy

Acquisitions and Easements: Private Lands Biologist Braaten provided information for acquisition discussions and consideration. He also met with a landowner interested in selling some of his land to WDFW.  

Agricultural Leases: Lands Operations Manager Haug met with Stewardship Section Manager Walls and Range Specialist Burnham to discuss a Methow Wildlife Area agriculture lease renewal and various other agricultural leases. This began the discussion on determining future rates to each lessee. More work to come this year on the subject.

Agriculture and Grazing: Methow Wildlife Area staff members hosted their first Coordinated Resource Management (CRM) planning meeting of the season. These meetings are coordinated primarily by the permittees and the Okanogan Conservation District. Other attendees typically include representatives from the United States Forest Service, Department of Natural Resources, State Parks, and Bureau of Land Management. Like many of our local grazing permits, a primary goal of this specific permit in the Methow Unit is to benefit habitat for migrating and wintering mule deer. Managed cattle grazing on the approved scale, with comparable stocking rates, and prescriptions should promote or maintain the growth of woody forage used by mule deer.

The Methow Wildlife Area is also working towards the renewal of an agricultural lease near Pipestone Canyon in the Methow Unit. This irrigated lease has three high efficiency, center pivots installed. The goal of this lease is to provide food and cover for wildlife, to provide sharecropping opportunities for the public that are consistent with fish and wildlife objectives, and to make beneficial use of the water rights. Specific wildlife benefits include food and cover for migratory mule deer and forage for upland birds, waterfowl, and black bear to name a few. The crops grown on this lease will provide a high quality, varietal supplement to natural forage sources, particularly going into winter.

Additionally, in the next few weeks, the Methow Wildlife Area hopes to advertise a bid for an irrigated agricultural lease at the Big Valley. One of the primary goals for this lease will be to benefit sandhill cranes that tend to nest in a nearby wetland and are known to use this field for forage and cover with their juveniles. This lease would benefit various other wildlife such white-tailed deer, turkeys, and waterfowl.

District Team Meeting: North Lands Operations Manager Haug led this quarter’s district team meeting. The meeting included two guest presentations by CAPE Communications Outreach Specialists Eckenrod and Desautels who provided an overview of Habitat at Home and some of the science curriculum being developed by the new division. Participants then provided updates from their work units and the group fielded several questions.

Eder Tower: Lands Operations Manager Haug, Scotch Creek Wildlife Area Dupont, and Properties and Acquisitions Specialist Huynh met with a representative of the Okanogan County Sherriff’s Office to discuss the possibility of deploying a communications tower on the Charles and Mary Eder Unit. Staff members asked for additional information and provided the official with an idea of what the request would take in terms of time and effort. The placement may be approximately two to three years out according to their representative and depends on whether or not their request is funded.

Landowner Permitting Database: Specialist Heilhecker participated in a subcommittee meeting regarding the new database for issuing landowner permits. The database they tested last month does not meet the needs of the Wildlife Conflict Program. Therefore, Information Technology is looking at options

Maintenance: Sinlahekin staff members continued to prepare equipment for the upcoming field season. Natural Resource Specialist White has been fabricating axles and hydraulic lift for the harrow seeder that will be used to seed native grass seed on some shrubsteppe restoration sites on the Chiliwist Unit. Staff members will continue with other maintenance activities. They also started annual maintenance of the access site parking lots through the various units of the wildlife area. This treatment will help prevent noxious weeds from growing in the parking lots and help to minimize potential fire hazards.

Maintenance: WDFW personnel removed a large inline irrigation filter from one of the center pivot bases. The filter was starting to rust out from years of use. The filter is no longer needed because the water supplying the pivot is pumped from a well and sediment is no longer an issue. The pivot was replumbed from the mainline.

Meetings: Specialist Heilhecker and Private Lands Biologist Braaten and Supervisor Rickel participated in the Okanogan District team meeting.

R2N Virtual Tour: Lands Manager Haug presented to the Lands Division quarterly meeting a virtual tour of wildlife areas and water access areas in Okanogan County. The presentation mainly discussed wildlife and water access areas and touched on successes and challenges. The virtual tours will hopefully become a standard segment of each meeting.

Sealing: Private Lands Biologist Braaten sealed two bobcats and a river otter. Information was downloaded to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) application.

Training: Most of the Region 2 north lands personnel participated in an annual Wildland Firefighter Refresher Course (RT-130). This course is mandatory for staff members to maintain their red card certification for wildland firefighting and prescribed burning. The course was taught by Burn Specialist Eberlein of the WDFW Prescribe Burn Program.

Sinlahekin and Scotch Creek staff members participated in an annual pesticide recertification class. These classes are needed to maintain their certification and licenses so that they can continue to use herbicides to control noxious weeds on the wildlife area.

Wolf Advisory Group Meeting Preparation: Specialist Heilhecker participated in a Wolf Advisory Group (WAG) coordination call to plan the April WAG meeting. The WAG is a citizens’ committee that advises wolf policy related issues.

Pivot Clean Up: In 2020 a windstorm blew over the south pivot on the Chopaka Unit. The severely damaged pivot was dismantled and stacked in the corner of the field, spring of 2020.

This week staff members removed all the tires, gear box, center drives, drive lines, and hauled them to the Eder Unit for storage and reuse.

The remaining large pieces of metal and pipe will be picked up by the WDFW construction shop later this spring for recycling. 

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Photo by WDFW

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Deck Repair: Scotch Creek staff members replaced all four posts that were supporting the awning covering the back porch of the office. The old posts were starting to deteriorate and compromising the integrity of the awning. Staff members also replaced the deck boards and cover to the domestic well.  

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Other

 Migrating Waterfowl: Snow geese and other waterfowl can be seen and heard almost daily flying over Ephrata on their migration north. It’s a good sign spring is on the way.

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Hiring of Natural Resource Technician: The advertisement for two natural resource technician positions closed, and six candidates were forwarded for consideration. Application material for each candidate was evaluated by staff members and interviews were scheduled. These two positions will assist with the increasing workload associated with Farm Bill support as well as increasing maintenance needs for habitat plots installed by private lands biologists.

New Technician: District 7 biologists just welcomed a new biological technician onto their team for the 2023 summer season. Sophia Hara will be assisting in greater sage-grouse and sharp-tailed grouse lek counts and lek surveys as well as upcoming Washington ground squirrel surveys.

With additional help private lands biologists expect to install added habitat and maintain Hunter Access property signs more efficiently each year.

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 Weather Conditions: What a difference a day can make! The snow was slowly leaving the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area and its units. Most of the south facing slopes were baring up, then we received approximately four new inches of snow within 24 hours. Temperatures have still been hovering around freezing with a few days of highs in the low 40s, but mostly sunny. The few days of above freezing temps have allowed staff members to get out and do some field work prep for this coming spring, which they are anxiously waiting for.

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Managing Wildlife Populations

Bighorn Sheep: District 3 management personnel conducted multiple mark-resight surveys in the Asotin herd over the past two weeks with the goal of generating a population estimate. Poor weather (mostly blizzard like conditions) limited the effectiveness of two of four surveys. While conducting these surveys, one deceased collared ewe was detected. This ewe was in terrain that was very difficult to access. Biologists Stewart, Vekasy, Wik, and Technician Lowrimore in cooperation with Idaho Department of Fish and Game Research Biologist Cassirer retrieved the carcass whole and transported it to a trail where the carcass could be transported to Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.

Stewart and Lowrimore located, identified, and recorded bighorn sheep in the Black Butte and Redbird subpopulations, Idaho, and Washington. These data are collected to better understand the basic demographics of the herds, develop long-term trends in lamb survival, and detect mortality events reasonably soon after they occur.

Ferruginous Hawk Monitoring: Assistant District Biologist Vekasy continued monitoring historic and recently installed hawk nest platforms. No new platforms have been occupied this season except two platforms that were occupied in the first year of the project. All historic sites are occupied except for one that has been vacant now for three years. A territory with a tree nest that was re-occupied last year after a ten-year absence is active again this year. So far, platform installation has only been successful in stabilizing occupancy and nest success in previously marginal territories.

Providing Recreation Opportunities

New Restrooms at Chief Joseph Wildlife Area: Capital Asset Management Program (CAMP) has been working to replace two fiberglass toilets at the Chief Joseph Wildlife Area with new concrete models. This has been in the works for several years and they are finally being installed.

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Access Manager Heimgartner reported that CAMP completed the installation of two new CXT restrooms on the Chief Joseph Wildlife Area. One is at the upper Joseph Creek campground and the other is near the old schoolhouse. Both have wastewater alarms installed which is a first for us. Asotin County required installation of the alarms.

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Spring Turkey Camp: Natural Resource Technician Harris assisted with running the 2023 Mentored Spring Turkey Camp in Newport hosted by WDFW, First Hunt Foundation, and National Wild Turkey Federation.

Access Area Openings: North Region 1 Access Manager Dziekan opened access areas for the 2023 lowland lake opener. His duties included lots of cleaning bathrooms and picking up litter. All his access areas have been serviced and are now ready for public use.

Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

Wolf Conflict: Natural Resource Technician Harris, Wildlife Conflict Specialist Bennett, and Sergeant Bahrenburg conducted a depredation investigation on a calf mortality in Stevens County. After investigating, they determined that the calf died from injuries sustained in a confirmed wolf depredation event. Due to overlap in several pack territories, they were unable to determine which pack was responsible for the depredation. Harris and Bennett deployed three Foxlights in the pasture to deter wolves. Harris assisted Bennett and Biologist Roussin to collar a wolf that was captured in a leghold trap in the pasture where the depredation occurred.

Cougar Concern: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Kolb responded to a complaint of a cougar defecating in a Walla Walla County homeowner’s yard. The homeowner believed it was a cougar because one was rumored to have been in the area over a year ago. After responding to the call and investigating the scat the homeowner was concerned with, Kolb determined the area was being used by multiple raccoons as a latrine site. The homeowner did say they enjoy watching the raccoons walk around the yard. Advice was provided.

Anatone Producer Meeting: Regional Director Pozzanghera, Wildlife Conflict Supervisor McCanna, Wolf Biologist Spence, Officer Delp and Wildlife Conflict Specialist Wade attended a meeting in Anatone to discuss recent wolf activity. Wade followed up with producers after the meeting. All the feedback from the producers was positive and they appreciated the chance to ask the team questions and express their concerns with the recent influx in wolf activity.

Turkey Habitat Project: Private Lands Biologist Hadley performed a site visit on a turkey habitat project where broadleaves were inter-seeded into a grass stand and cottonwood trees were planted. Evidence of germination of the seed was observed and the trees were starting to leaf out. Hadley spot mowed where dense areas of weeds were forming and watered the trees.

Conserving Natural Landscapes

Chief Joseph Weed Control: Wildlife Area Manager Dice sprayed a 15-acre field on Saturday with a tractor and boom sprayer to control common mullein and other broad leaf weeds growing in a field of predominantly native grass. The grass was seeded years ago by the former wildlife area manager as a demonstration site for the tri-state weed management area. The mullein was simply getting out of control.

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Biologist Palmer and Natural Resource Technician Zueger conducted a Department of Ecology permitted field burn, eliminating dead plant material from a six-acre wildlife food plot. Agricultural Field Lessee Garris assisted with preparation by disking a dirt safety perimeter around the burn site. He also stood by with his tractor and disk during the burning to ensure the fire didn’t spread beyond the planned boundaries. This field is now prepared for cultivating and then replanting.

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Field Spraying at the 4-O Ranch Wildlife Area: Wildlife Area Manager Dice sprayed 53 acres with glyphosate herbicide at the lower Bucannon fields on Thursday. The spraying is the first step for eventually seeding these fields to orchard grass. We have spent several years attempting to get a cover crop of grass growing on these fields. Covid 19 and associated work restrictions set us back two years, because we could not make timely applications of herbicide to prepare a seedbed. A seeding of alfalfa that was completed in fall 2021 failed due to frost heaving. Our plan is to plant the orchard grass in the next week or so and hope we get enough spring and summer moisture for it to survive and thrive.

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Deer Exclosures: Natural Resource Technician Harris assisted the Natural Resource Conservation Service and Ducks Unlimited to build a deer exclosures on a property in the wetland reserve program in Pend Oreille County. The exclosures will protect shrub seedlings from deer and elk browsing.

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Invasive Grass Species Test Plots: Wildlife Area Manager Finch and Bureau of Land Management Spokane District Biologist Lowe were out to measure and divide three herbicide test plots. This work was conducted prior to a contractor and Botanist Emerich, who will be out to measure the plots for pretreatment. The goal is to determine the best and most economical post-emergence herbicide to treat invasive grasses while doing minimal damage to the native grasses and forbs. The plan is to use four different types of herbicides and Emerich will measure and document species prior to the treatment and post treatment which will be sometime early this July.

Providing Education and Outreach

Creston School Outdoor Science Grant: Wildlife Area Manager Finch, Habitat Biologist Mackelvie and Outreach and Environmental Specialist Eckenrod were out on Friday to meet the Creston 7^th and 8^th grade classes to work on their science grant. The classes came out in two different groups, one hour apart. This broke up the large group into two separate ones for the project instructions. Each class started with an orientation in the Swanson Lakes office. Finch gave the history of the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area project and its relationship to the Bonneville Power Administration. Mackelvie spoke about the area’s plant diversity and provided detailed information about sage brush. Finch also gave a brief fire history and habitat restoration update to each class. Eckenrod helped the kids with their project and led a nature walk to help identify plants species.

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The Wildlife Society Presentation: Biologist Turnock presented at the Washington Chapter of the Wildlife Society’s annual conference in Centralia. The presentation was on survey work that has been conducted over the last two years for renewing our knowledge of bog lemming distribution within the state. The work was conducted with funding from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the information gathered was included as part of a Species Status Assessment compiled by the USFWS.

Conducting Business Operations and Policy

Wildlife Chemical Immobilization Training: Wildlife Biologists Prince and Turnock took a two-day chemical immobilization training from Dr. Mark Johnson with Global Wildlife Resources.

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Photo by WDFW

General Facilities and Equipment Maintenance and Repairs: This week a CAMP road construction crew and Construction Project Supervisor Hilton came with three dump trucks to work on the one-mile length of road leading to the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area office. The work began on Tuesday morning with the trucks hauling out of Copenhaver Construction gravel pit just one mile west of Wilbur. It was decided that the road surface might perform better with one-and-a-quarter inch of material to the shop location and then from the shop to the office area using five-eighths minus. Hilton was able to give the road a crown in the center for better drainage and widen the road to the original width. Hilton also recommended limiting the speed people drive. This would make road maintenance much easier. Finch ordered four speed limit signs from the Washington State Department of Transportation that will limit speeds to 15 mph. They will be posted along the route to the office.  It would be good practice to have their crew stop by annually when they are working in the area to grade it.

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Other

Cougar Collaring, Kalispel Tribe: Biologist McCarty and Officer Copenhaver assisted with the collaring of a cougar near Newman Lake that was tracked and captured for research by the Kalispel Tribe.

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Photo by WDFW

W. T. Wooten Wildlife Area Wildlife Plantings: Wildlife Area Manager Dingman picked up seed from Clearwater Seed to plant the Hartsock food plot this spring. Natural Resource Worker Jensen used the all-terrain vehicle to drag the food plot and remove the dead vegetation in preparation for planting. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation gave us snowberry bushes. Natural Resource Workers Tritt and Jensen planted them along the edge of the food plot at the wildlife area headquarters. They also planted some pine trees in Campground 4 to try to replace the trees that were recently cut down by a member of the public.

Managing Wildlife Populations

Klickitat Mule Deer Investigations:  Biologist Wickhem took a detour during Townsend’s ground squirrel surveys to respond to a mortality notification for one of the Klickitat study deer. This doe appears to have died a few days prior but had been aggressively scavenged. This kept the collar moving enough to prevent a mortality signal which is based on movement. By the time Wickhem arrived, all she could find was a portion of the spine, the lower jaw, and a crushed skull, making it impossible to determine the cause of death. Biologist Bergh investigated two deer mortalities. There was one on the Klickitat Wildlife Area and one on the Yakima Nation Reservation where Yakima Nation biologists joined her. The one on the Klickitat Wildlife Area was just a picked-clean skeleton in a bed of poison oak so no cause of death could be determined. The one on the Yakima Nation Reservation was killed by a cougar as determined by tracks and a cache of organs. Assistant Wildlife Area Manager Hunt and Officer Bolton investigated a fourth dead study deer that was poached on the Klickitat Wildlife Area. These deer are part of a 4-year study being conducted throughout Game Management Units (GMUs) 388 and 382, to track the annual movements of female mule deer and locate important migration corridors. Staff members are also attempting to determine cause of death when an animal dies, which has proven to be difficult. In winter 2021, 81 collars were deployed throughout GMUs for this effort. Twenty-two collars were deployed in the winter of 2022 and 2023. In winter 2023, most were redeployments replacing study deer that died over the first two years of the study. This is the last year of the study, so this and any other collars collected will not be redeployed.

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

Sooty Grouse Surveys: Western Washington WDFW wildlife biologists are testing a survey method for sooty grouse (formerly called blue grouse). The effort involves establishing driving routes in the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains as well as the Willapa Hills. The routes include 15 to 30 listening stops where biologists spend time listening for male sooty grouse calls during the early morning hours. The survey method is borrowed from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon State University. We thank them for their development of the method and sharing. When fully developed and implemented, the survey will generate sooty grouse population trend estimates that are independent of grouse harvest. To date, Biologists Stephens and Holman along with Conflict Specialist Aubrey have set five of the survey routes and conducted four surveys. 

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

Deceased Bald Eagle: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen responded to a report of a deceased bald eagle in Skamania County. The bald eagle was reported several times that morning by passers-by in a residential area. Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen retrieved the eagle carcass and determined that the eagle died after coming into contact with the power lines immediately above it. The eagle had burn marks on its underwing and face. Jacobsen notified the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) about the deceased eagle. The carcass will be transferred to the USFWS for their eagle repository.

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Glenwood Valley Annual Sandhill Crane Survey: Biologists Wickhem and Bergh, Technician Motiff, Volunteer Castagnoli and staff members from the USFWS joined forces for the annual sandhill crane survey on and around Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The Glenwood Valley is one of only a few areas in the state where sandhill cranes nest. Sandhill cranes mate for life and return to the same “territory” each year to mate and raise their colts before migrating south in the fall. For this survey, the groups split up into teams to drive and hike around different crane territories. They record all cranes observed and look for crane nests. Wickhem and her survey partners confirmed two nests, observed a nest exchange (males and females take turns sitting on the nest), and witnessed two cranes mating, which made for an exciting survey!

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Photo by WDFW

         

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Photo by WDFW

 

Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

Elk Hazing Materials: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen delivered elk hazing explosives to a landowner in Trout Lake after nearly 200 elk were observed in one of the landowner’s crop fields.

Residential Deer Damage: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen provided advice to a landowner who was concerned about the growing deer population in her area and damage to the ornamental plants around here residence.

Livestock Carcass Disposal Program: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen continues to work with local livestock producers in Klickitat County within the Big Muddy Wolf Pack territory to help dispose of livestock carcasses. Jacobsen has transported multiple carcasses to local landfills to prevent wolf scavenging over the past several weeks.

Beaver Damage to Orchard: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen worked with a commercial apple and pear orchard regarding ongoing beaver damage issues to the orchard. Over the past year, beavers have cut down hundreds of apple trees in one block of the orchard. Jacobsen discussed beaver trapping and relocation options, lethal removal options, and nonlethal deterrents with the orchard manager. Wildlife Conflict Technician Kolenberg prepared strips of bear hide for the orchard to help deter the beavers from crawling under the fences around the orchard.

Deer Damage to Hay: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen was contacted by a landowner in western Clark County regarding deer damage to his hay crop. The producer had been documenting over a dozen deer feeding on and compacting his hay crop daily. Jacobsen enrolled the producer on a Damage Prevention Cooperative Agreement. The landowner had been attempting to haze the deer out of his fields for several months but had been unsuccessful so far. Jacobsen and Technician Kolenberg provided cracker shell explosives to the landowner as well as permits for lethal removal of the deer. After a couple of the deer had been removed by hunters, the number of deer visiting the fields drastically declined.

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Injured Bald Eagle Report: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen received a report of an injured bald eagle in Skamania County along the Columbia River. Jacobsen looked for the eagle but was unable to locate it. It is likely that this is the same eagle that Biologist Wickhem tried to capture a few weeks prior. It was a cold, rainy, and windy day along the edge of the Columbia River.

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Deer with Feed Sack: Over the course of two weeks, multiple landowners in a several-block radius of Washougal contacted WDFW to report a deer with what appears to be a feed sack wrapped around her neck. Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen and Technician Kolenberg spoke with the landowners and determined that the sack did not pose much of a safety risk to the deer at this point and believed that the sack would likely rip off or fall off soon. Jacobsen will continue to monitor reports of the deer and her health condition.

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Photo by Photo provided by the landowner

Trapped Canada Goose: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen was contacted by an employee of one of the dams along the Columbia River regarding a Canada goose that was stuck and possibly injured in part of the dam lock system. The goose likely landed in the visible water within a small, concrete chamber, but was not able to fly out given the limited size of the chamber. As Jacobsen arrived, a barge was about to pass through the locks. Jacobsen picked up a triangle-shaped net attached to a rope just as the locks opened and the barge (and the goose within the chamber) began to descend with the water column from the top of the dam to the bottom of the dam. Knowing that it would only take a minute or two for the goose to descend with the water column roughly 200 feet to the bottom of the dam, Jacobsen quickly threw the net and a rope into the concrete chamber in an attempt to scoop the goose up. Multiple attempts were made to get the goose near the net as the water column and goose descended rapidly, but to no avail. With only about two feet of extra rope line left before the goose descended beyond reach (it was already roughly 50-75’ below Jacobsen at this point), the goose managed to swim over the submerged net, at which point Jacobsen quickly hauled the goose up and out of the chamber. The goose made it out safely with only a second or two left to spare before it would have been lost to the depths of the dam!

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

Injured Elk: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen and Officer Nelson responded to a report of a sick bull elk that had been living along a narrow stretch of highway in Klickitat County. After assessing the condition of the elk and the traffic safety risk due to the amount of attention the elk was receiving from passing motorists, Jacobsen and Nelson decided to euthanize the elk. Klickitat County sheriff deputies provided traffic assistance while the elk was euthanized.

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Wolf Meetings: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen and Wolf Biologist Spence met with livestock producers in Klickitat County to discuss wolf concerns and range riding activities to prevent livestock-wolf conflict this grazing season.

Aggressive Nutria: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen fielded a report regarding an aggressive nutria in Clark County. The nutria had apparently taken up residence in a housing community and had already gotten into a tussle with a domestic dog and was reported to have bitten a child at some point. Jacobsen provided advice to the property manager and advised her to contact WDFW if it is seen again. Technician Kolenberg will help monitor the situation and capture the animal if the opportunity presents itself.

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Photo by Photo provided by the reporting party.

Bear Issues Begin: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen received his first official bear complaints of the year from a community in Skamania County. Over the past two and a half weeks, a bear has been breaking into structures and ripping apart sheds in search of food. The bear ripped apart a chicken coop and killed and consumed eight chickens on one property. Jacobsen and Technician Kolenberg set a live trap for the bear at the residence. Jacobsen will be working with the small community on being “bear wise” over the coming days and weeks.

Depredation on Goat: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen and Technician Kolenberg responded to a report of a missing goat in Skamania County. The goat owner had observed drag marks through the fresh dew on the grass and found some blood left on fern fronds in the adjacent woods but did not continue following the trail until WDFW staff members arrived. Jacobsen and Technician Kolenberg trailed the goat carcass through the woods and eventually located the cached goat carcass in the underbrush, roughly 125 yards away from the paddock where the goat was taken. Closer inspection of the carcass revealed that it was killed and cached by a cougar. A trail camera was installed over the carcass and captured some stunning videos of a cougar returning to the carcass the following day. The goat owner rehomed his remaining goat on the afternoon of the depredation, so no more attractants were present at the site.

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Goat Depredation #2: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen was contacted about another goat that was found dead in Clark County. The landowner observed coyotes feeding on the carcass but wasn’t sure if they were responsible for the depredation or not. Unfortunately, the landowner waited a day to report the incident and the carcass was already gone by the time he reported it. Jacobsen advised the landowner to install a trail camera in the area to monitor wildlife activity and to keep all his remaining goats locked up at night.

Bobcat Sighting: A concerned landowner contacted Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen regarding a bobcat sighting in Klickitat County. Jacobsen advised the landowner that he had nothing to be concerned about, especially since he did not own any chickens.

Injured Deer: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen followed up on a report of an injured deer in Klickitat County.

Conserving Natural Landscapes

And So, It Begins: Despite persistent cool temperatures and rain fall that seemingly never ceases, spring is upon us. For wildlife area staff members, this means it is weed control season. During an 18-hour dry spell, Assistant Manager Risley treated three acres of Washougal River frontage for garlic mustard, a Class A noxious weed, lesser celandine, a Class B noxious weed, and shiny geranium, also a Class B noxious weed. These invasive weeds are some of the earliest to emerge in spring and require prompt treatment if control efforts are to be successful. If left untreated, these weeds can easily outcompete native plants, reducing overall habitat quality and productivity for the species that use these wildlife areas.

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

That’s a Wrap: Stretching barbed wire and installing new gates marked the completion of the 5,000 ft fencing replacement project at Shillapoo Wildlife Area. Farmers that lease pastured areas on the wildlife area are eager to release their cattle for grazing and wildlife area staff members can now rest assured that croplands and tree plantings are secure from the hungry grazers.

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Photo by WDFW

 

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Photo by WDFW

Providing Education and Outreach

White Salmon Tree Fest: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen staffed an outreach table at the annual weekend White Salmon Tree Fest in White Salmon, hosted by the Underwood Conservation District. In addition to the Underwood Conservation District and WDFW, other conservation-based organizations and businesses such as Department of Natural Resources, U.S Forest Service, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbia Land Trust, and Humble Roots Nursery were also present. The event was well-attended by the public and the weather was perfect for the event.

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

Washington Future Farmers of America (FFA) Environmental and Natural Resources State Contest: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Jacobsen helped facilitate the annual Washington FFA Environmental and Natural Resources statewide contest in Cashmere. This year, 13 high school teams from around the state gathered to test their knowledge on natural resources topics including soils, water quality, GPS usage, waste management, fisheries, and wildlife. Jacobsen participated in this activity as a high school student and later went on to teach high school and coach his own FFA Natural Resources teams before coming to WDFW. Participation in this contest as a high school student helped Jacobsen determine that he wanted to pursue a career in wildlife, and he has been active with the contest ever since. This year, Jacobsen compiled specimens for the wildlife and fisheries specimen identification portion of the contest and wrote the waste management practicum for the students. This year’s waste management scenario focused on livestock carcass waste management, which is a real-life ongoing issue that Jacobsen has been working on in District 9. The Cashmere and Reardan teams took the top honors at this year’s contest. The Cashmere team will go on to compete in this contest at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in November.

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