Managing Wildlife Populations

Ungulate Management: Biologists Butler and Tirhi represented District 11 at the annual Region 6 ungulate management meeting hosted by HQ Ungulate Section Manager Garrison and Black-tailed Deer/Elk specialist Oates. This is a new annual meeting designed for staff to discuss all aspects of deer and elk management, surveys, season setting, and data collection/analysis. 

Snakes and Snake Fungal Disease (SFD): District 11 biologists Butler, Cheney and Tirhi and volunteer Terry continued to conduct snake collection work at JBLM, South Puget Sound Wildlife Area, and Scatter Creek Wildlife Area.  The objective is to collect and swab as many garter snakes as possible for testing for Snake Fungal Disease (see previous Highlights report on this important and emerging work).  To date, District staff have taken samples from 11 (JBLM) and 3 (Scatter Creek) garter snakes.  Staff also mowed clearings and deployed snake cover boards at South Puget Sound Wildlife Area (35 boards) and Scatter Creek Wildlife Area (35 boards).

Mazama pocket gopher: Biologists Buter and Tirhi represented District 11 at a Mazama pocket gopher survey design work group organized by HQ Prairie Species Lead Rolls.  WDFWs Prairie Ecologist Henry gave an overview of the science/mathematics behind WDFWs newest gopher density survey protocol, Rolls presented the aspects of conducting the WDFW survey, and USFWS gopher co-lead biologist Flotlin presented the USFWS screening protocol.  Great group discussions allowed the participants to ask and answer important questions about all facets of gopher surveys.  WDFW gopher surveys are conducted September-October of each year. 

Union River Summer Chum: Wildlife Area Manager Laushman and Assistant Regional Program Manager Blankenship visited volunteers with the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement group monitoring the Union River Summer Chum Trap located at the Union River Wildlife Area Unit in Belfair. As of August 26, volunteers had already passed 1,961 Summer Chum through the trap.

Mourning Doves: Biologist Cent wrapped up her annual trapping efforts for mourning doves. As mentioned in the previous report, the doves were late to arrive to the area this year, and so total banded birds were much lower than normal, with just 42 banded birds this year.

Beller’s Ground Beetles: Beller’s ground beetles are designated as a “species of greatest conservation need” in the state of Washington with a small number of known isolated populations. These beetles only live in sphagnum bogs. WDFW is hoping to expand the known range of these beetles by identifying new populations in the state. Biologist Cent began visiting potential sites to verify the presence (or absence) of sphagnum bogs. Surveys for beetles will hopefully begin next summer.  

Conserving Natural Landscapes

South Sound Prairie Habitat and Species Conservation: Biologist Tirhi continues to meet monthly with HQ Prairie Protection Lead Frediani and Prairie Species Lead Rolls to further land protection for South Sound Prairies and listed prairie species.  The three are currently working on internal WDFW Lands 2020 applications, which are required by the agency for staff to seek funds to purchase targeted conservation lands.  Other work of the group involves targeting/discussing priority protection sites, deciding strategies for protection, and assigning duties to further protection with Frediani assuming the majority of this work as designed by her position. 

Mowing: For the past few years, District 17 has rented a skid steer with a mowing attachment to tackle invasive blackberry and scotch broom on the district’s wildlife areas. This year, Biologist Novack has rented the skid steer for a month, and he and Biologist Cent have been transporting it around to the various wildlife areas in the district as well as the regional office in Montesano to mow. 

Conducting Business Operations and Policy

Personnel Development Plan: Biologists Tirhi completed her annual evaluation and expectations PDP with Regional Wildlife Program Manager Calkins.   

Other

North Olympic Site Visits: Lieutenant Rosenberger, Officer Hillman, and Wildlife Area Manager Laushman showed Regional Director Hall and Regional Admin Assistant Allen some of the North Olympic Wildlife Area Units, including Rat Island, Chimacum, Protection Island, as well as a tufted puffin and rhinoceros auklet!

Managing Wildlife Populations

Deer Surveys: Wildlife Area Manager (WAM) Finch, Wildlife Area Assistant Manager (WAAM) Wagner, and Natural Resource Technician (NRT) Duclos did their first deer survey in August. In total, 85 deer were observed over 81 miles.  

Deer Surveys: Biologists Lowe and Brinkman conducted pre-hunt roadside deer surveys in Spokane and Whitman counties this week. These surveys are conducted for around 2-3 hours in the morning or evening when deer are most active, and the surveys consist of driving routes through different parts of the district and recording the number of individuals and composition of each group of deer observed (i.e., ratios of buck to does and fawns to does). 

Bighorn Sheep: BHS Biologist Boyle monitored bighorn sheep in the Black Butte population. In total Biologist Boyle observed 3 groups consisting of five ewes, four lambs, and six rams. Bighorn sheep still appear lethargic with runny noses from the ongoing M.Ovi outbreak.  

Providing Recreation Opportunities

Rainbow Lake Algal Bloom: Rainbow Lake continues to have an algal bloom. WAM Dingman received a cost estimate from a contractor to do a characterization of Rainbow Lake, which would include water and sediment sampling and analysis. She forwarded it to the internal team and is awaiting response.  

4-O Ranch Wildlife Area Gates: This week Wildlife Area staff members Hammons, Nielsen, Peters, and Whittaker continued repairing damage gates from the Cougar Creek Fire on the 4-O Ranch Wildlife Area. Staff members took turns using the mini excavator to rip out burnt up wood posts and to clean up excess debris in the hole for steel posts to be set in concrete. Gates were then mounted and installed for levelness and swing accessibility for both up and downhill directions. Teamwork was shown in both preparedness of materials and tools and synchronizing together to get jobs done. A total of 2.5 pallets of concrete were hand mixed between the crew. The “couple more repetitions and then your turn” were used to rotate and mix the concrete! May need a concrete mixer for all the concrete mixing we do. All in all the gates turned out great. Staff members next week will continue assessing damage from the Cougar Creek fire to repair other structures, fence lines and dozer lines. 

ADA Duck Blind: Private Lands Biologist (PLB) Nizer met with the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council (INWC) and a private landowner to secure funding for them to install an ADA duck blind with a value of $3,000 onto hunt by reservation (HBR) ground in Spokane County. INWC will install and maintain the duck blind while Nizer will coordinate the HBR through the WDFW private lands webpage. This opportunity will provide hunting to a demographic that doesn’t always have the opportunity to hunt.

Region 1 South Access Area program: Access Manager Heimgartner serviced access sites at Heller Bar and along the upper and lower Grand Ronde River this week.  Heimgartner reports that the underwater gravel bar at the Heller Bar ramp is beginning to be exposed due to lower summertime river flows.  Heimgartner also serviced access sites on the Wooten Wildlife Area, sprayed Russian thistle at Stringtown parking area, and cleaned up the Asotin Creek Shooting Range.   

Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

CWD Outreach: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Harris worked with customer service staff to send out information regarding emergency CWD rule changes to all producers in Spokane County that have received elk and deer damage prevention permits and landowner kill permits. 

Pelican Report: Supervisor Earl assisted Conflict Specialist Wade in attempting to locate a pelican that was reported to be stuck in the mud flats new Swallows Nest State Park. One pelican was seen in the area swimming freely amongst other waterfowl. 

Conserving Natural Landscapes

Native Grassland Restoration: WAAM Wagner and NRT Duclos spent several hours this week discing up the 70-acre BLM restoration field in the Telford Road area. WAAM Wagner also completed the order form for uniform clothing as well. Duclos spent the rest of day discing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 70-acre native restoration field. 

NOAA Instream Flow Workshop: WAM Dingman attended a very informative 2-day workshop put on by NOAA. The workshop topics covered water rights and water law in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, as well as restoration projects being done in areas where water rights are being purchased from private landowners to keep water flows in creeks and rivers during the dry summer months.  

Cougar Creek Fire Restoration and Repairs: All wildlife area staff members spent considerable time this week working at the 4-O Ranch Wildlife Area repairing damaged gates, rolling up loose fence wire, assessing boundary fence damage, assessing impacts from firefighting dozers, and cleaning up dozer lines around buildings and corrals.  Bob Dice has been communicating with Department foresters in regard to setting up timber sales ASAP.  Neighboring landowners are logging their land and report that insects and rot are already beginning to take hold on burned trees.  NRS2 Nathan Whittaker hauled our D1 dozer back to the Wildlife Area and worked on repairing fire lines the rest of the day. 

Department of Natural Resource (DNR) Silene Survey: A Botanist from DNR Sienna Wessel was at Swanson Lakes Wildlife to survey silene (spalding catchfly) populations that are currently federally threatened. Botanist Wessel checked the locations from the 2010 data base at Swanson Lakes and then a location on the Bureau of Land Management) BLM. Botanist Wessel only found a few plants of a different subspecies within the polygons.  

Providing Education and Outreach

Living with Wildlife Presentation: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Harris gave a presentation on Living with Wildlife to a senior community in Spokane. The presentation focused on ways that the community residents could coexist with the various wildlife species that are present in the area, including coyotes, moose, deer, and marmots. WCS Harris was asked to give the presentation following multiple coyote attacks on dogs. 

County Fair Circuit: NRT2 Moberg hosted the WDFW booth at the Walla Walla County Fair this past Wednesday through Sunday. She spoke with hundreds of people about chronic wasting disease and answered other wildlife questions the public had. 

Managing Wildlife Populations

Sage and Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Workshop: Biologist Heinlen attended the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 34th Biennial Sage and Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Workshop hosted by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The workshop provided an opportunity for scientists, managers, and students to share results of their latest research, activities related to management and conservation, and strategies for dealing with the many issues impacting Sage and Columbian sharp-tailed grouse in western North America. The workshop was well attended with state managers, biologists, university scientists, Tribal managers, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), United States Geological Survey (USGS), The Nature Conservatory (TNC), Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS), and others representing many western states and provinces. The Workshop Planning Team did an excellent job planning and implementing this workshop and the associated field trip to grouse habitat in Douglas County. 

Lewis’s Woodpeckers: Biologists Eilers and Jeffreys, along with other WDFW and Chelan Public Utilities Department biologists, are wrapping up the final Lewis’s woodpecker (LEWO) surveys at five project areas in Rocky Reach Wildlife Area. Throughout the summer, surveyors completed occupancy surveys and monitored 20 occupied LEWO cavity nests throughout their nesting cycle. Now that birds are fully fledged and nests are unoccupied, surveyors completed habitat assessment around each of the cavity nests. The next steps are summarizing the data and writing a report of this year’s findings. 

The goal of this year’s cavity nest surveys was two-part. First, learn more about LEWO nesting phenology and ecology of the population within the Rocky Reach Wildlife Area including clutch size, number of eggs hatched, number of hatchlings to reach fledging or late nestling phase, etc. Secondly, examine these data alongside habitat and microhabitat characteristics for the purpose of drawing inferences regarding nest success of LEWO at both the local scale and microsite scale (breeding territory). These inferences may in turn be useful for informing habitat management considerations at the regional scale (North Central Washington). 

Lewis’s woodpecker habitat assessments: Biologist Turnock and Technicians Hara and Force have been assisting District 7 biologists with Lewis’s woodpecker habitat assessments at woodpecker nest cavities. These assessments quantify vegetation and forest characteristics around cavity nests. Biologists hope to link some of these characteristics to nesting success of Lewis’s woodpeckers in the area. These woodpeckers are declining throughout much of their range but are doing quite well in their Washington range, so information learned from this study may inform management of these birds, both where they are thriving and where they are declining.

Northern leopard frog surveys: Technicians Hara and Force and Biologist Turnock have been conducting late-season northern leopard frog surveys in new areas to get a clearer picture of this species’ current distribution. Late summer and early fall can be a fruitful time to survey for northern leopard frogs because juvenile frogs have completed metamorphosis and are more abundant on the landscape. Their tendency to disperse through wet meadows and upland habitat at this time of year can also make them easier to detect. Many of these areas historically contained leopard frogs but have not been systematically searched in over 20 years. It is likely that these surveys will not yield any new leopard frog detections, but these non-detections are just as important as positive detections to give biologists a better understanding of where these frogs are located and where they are not.

Pygmy rabbit captures: Biologists Gallie and Turnock and Technicians Hara and Force assisted with pygmy rabbit captures in the Beezley Hills area. Staff members captured 17 pygmy rabbits in the primary breeding enclosure and moved nine of them to another breeding enclosure in the area. Only the rabbits with the best body conditions were moved to avoid putting undue stress on rabbits with less body fat stored up. This translocation will more evenly distribute rabbits across breeding enclosures and will hopefully ensure that forage is more uniformly available to these rabbits.

Bumble Bees: Biologist Eilers and volunteer members conducted the fourth and final bumble bee survey of the year at a site south of Wenatchee. This year’s survey efforts included four repeated visits to the same site every few weeks to monitor changes in bumble bees and flowering plants throughout the summer season. Habitat data were collected for the grid including identifying and photographing flowering plant (food source) species. 

Bees were gently caught in a net, identified to species, and released on-site. The data collected from this survey were entered into the Pacific Northwest (PNW) Bumble Bee Atlas online database. The PNW Bumble Bee Atlas is a collaborative effort between the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, WDFW, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and citizen science volunteers to track and conserve the bumble bees of Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.

Biologists Eilers and Jeffreys hosted the first WDFW public outreach bat night event in early August. This event was a collaboration with WDFW, Wenatchee River Institute, and Bats Northwest for members of the public to see bats up close and learn more about these commonly misunderstood animals. The event was a success with registration booking out with thirty attendees, including a variety that traveled from across the state of Washington. Biologists caught five bats that were a mix of Yuma myotis (Myotis yumanensis) and little brown bats (Myotis californicus). We look forward to hosting this event again next year – stay tuned with Wenatchee River Institute's newsletters.

Providing Recreation Opportunities

Hunter Access: Biologist Morris continued work on updating five hunter access contracts that are expiring this month. These hunter access contracts are developed with farmers/landowners to provide regulated public hunting access on private lands. If these five contracts were to expire and not be renewed, over 10,000 acres of private land would be lost to public hunting access. Ensuring the contracts get renewed and private landowners are satisfied is an important part of Biologist Morris’ job. Morris also checked and posted signs on recently enrolled and recently renewed hunter access contracts and updated the sites on the private lands hunting access website.

Private Lands Hunter Access Program: Private Lands Biologist Braaten replaced hunter access signs burned by wildfire for landowners in Douglas County. Braaten continues to maintain and update hunter access contracts, mapping and signs.

Fishing Access: August 31st is the last day of the fishing season on Grimes Lake. Morris checked the site, which was free from trash and debris. Responsible recreation and cleaning up after yourself/respecting private property allows continued access to private lands hunting and fishing access.

Conserving Natural Landscapes

Weed Management: Wildlife area staff members have been conducting further herbicide sprays of rush skeleton weed on the Chelan Butte. Significant improvements over the last year have been made and doing controls of bull thistle where forest thinning has occurred. 

Native Grass Habitat Plots: Private Lands Biologist Cook and Private Lands Habitat Technician Blanchard mowed a native grass planting in preparation for a fall herbicide application. The herbicide will target downy brome weeds to help native grasses planted this past spring to better establish. Broad leaf weeds were treated in early summer but there was no treatment option for invasive grasses due to newly seeded native grasses.

Supplemental Food and Cover Plots: Private Lands Biologist Cook and Private Lands Habitat Technician Blanchard mowed parts of an irrigated supplemental food and cover plot where Sudangrass was a main component. Mowing is encouraged because it increases root and stem density. Organic matter was added to the soil. This plot was mowed with more height to maintain some cover.

Fire Recovery Potential: Private lands Biologist Cook drove by a wildfire near Lind that affected several landowners that participate in the Hunter Access program. The farmed areas generally were not burned. Some of the burned area is in a Conservation Reserve Program. Native vegetation often regrows if there is not high weed pressure and is present before the fire. Based on the apparent high fire temperatures and the previous vegetation on site, there may be potential for assistance to landowners with revegetation efforts.

Fires: Fire season is still going strong. There have been several small fires in Morris’ area, but luckily only one has grown to a catastrophic size (the fire near Stehekin).

Providing Education and Outreach

Swakane Shooting Range: The Swakane shooting range was cleaned up so that it will be ready to be used once fire restrictions are no longer in place. 

Fire Restrictions for Public Notice: To better inform the public about fire restrictions, and hopefully prevent any incidents, new and larger signage is starting to go up around high traffic locations of the wildlife area.

2024 WAFWA Grouse Workshop (Wenatchee, Washington): Private Lands Biologist Braaten gave a tour stop presentation on importance of private landowner relationships, the design of the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement Conservation Reserve Program farm bill program and discussed the realities of conservation to landowners in Douglas County. Braaten also brought along the new Private Lands Program tree/shrub planter to show tour participants the kind of equipment WDFW uses in habitat restoration projects. The field trip portion of workshop was a big hit, providing a great opportunity to connect and share knowledge with partners.

Conducting Business Operations and Policy

Annual Evaluation Process: Supervisor Rickel completed the annual evaluation process for Wildlife Conflict and Private Land staff.

Other

New Employee: Assistant Wildlife Area Manager Meierotto has started this month and is learning the ropes.

Douglas County: Pronghorn antelope buck keeping his eye on a few does during this month’s rut.

Managing Wildlife Populations

Region 3 Pre-season Duck Banding: District 8 Assistant Wildlife Biologist Wilson (formerly Moore) and Statewide Waterfowl Specialist Wilson continue their duck banding efforts in Yakima County. Although repairs to pumps at the Sunnyside Wildlife Area have delayed work at this site, water has been restored to the rice paddies, allowing the team to transition their efforts from the northern Yakima County site in Moxee to Sunnyside. They will continue until the banding quota is met.

District 4 Monarch Caterpillar Surveys: District 4 Assistant Biologist Hoffman and District 4 Biologist Fidorra conducted caterpillar surveys on the Sunnyside-Snake River Wildlife Area in Franklin County. By following up on sightings of monarch butterflies to look for caterpillars, the district team can identify breeding sites and more effectively manage wildlife area units to support declining pollinator populations. 

Providing Recreation Opportunities

Region 3 Private Lands Access Agreements: Region 3 Private Lands Biologist Manderbach has been working with contracts staff members on updating and renewing expired access agreement contracts. These access opportunities will be live on the Private Land’s website in the coming weeks. Hunt dates have been added for all Hunt by Reservation opportunities in the region and those slots are open to be reserved for the hunting seasons beginning September 1st.

Region 3 Private Lands Parking Areas and Sign Maintenance: Region 3 Private Lands Biologist Manderbach and Sunnyside-Snake River Wildlife Area Natural Resource Technician Pizzini have been mowing parking areas, updating maps and rules at registration boxes, refilling registration slips, and maintaining signs for private lands access. Hunters will be able to park safely at all parking areas and fresh maps and signs will help them with ease of access.

Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

District 4 Rattlesnake Hills Elk Hazing: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand continued to spend time hazing elk out of winter wheat crops near the top of Rattlesnake Mountain and recently near tree fruit and wine grape vineyards near Benton City. 

District 4 Rattlesnake Mountain Wheat Harvest: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand continued to work with wheat harvest operations to document crop damage impacts from Hanford elk. This year’s harvest is now complete, and we are waiting for the crop adjuster and producer to compile all the necessary documents and field assessments to file the crop damage claim. Several fields received substantial elk damage, although not likely enough to file for federal crop insurance. 

District 4 Benton City Elk Damage: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand received a new damage complaint from an orchardist in the Benton City area concerning elk damaging a new block of young cherry trees. A Damage Prevention Cooperative Agreement was developed, and damage permits issued to help minimize the crop damage.

District 4 Horn Rapids Deer Damage: District 4 Wildlife Conflict Specialist Hand patrolled and completed hazing operations at a wine grape vineyard along the Yakima River. 

Conserving Natural Landscapes

L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Cole Creek Bridge: L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Assistant Manager Winegeart and Natural Resource Technician Blore hauled the wildlife area track loader to the Yakima River unit to block a new user-built road that took vehicles through Cole Creek. It was intended to block the bridge that’s unsafe to cross. They blocked the road but left the Forest Service bridge open because vehicles crossed the bridge while they were there and closing would risk trapping individuals, forcing them to take a greater risk by driving through the creek and around the new barrier. 

L.T. Murray Grazing: Assistant Manager Winegeart and Natural Resource Technician Blore assisted the Wildhorse Windfarm install two virtual fence base stations that will cover a large portion of the grazing coordinated resource management project that includes Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), Department of Natural Resources, and Puget Sound Energy properties. 

Sunnyside-Snake River Wildlife Area - Sunnyside Wetlands: The pump at the Sunnyside Headquarters unit of the Sunnyside/Snake River Wildlife Area has been repaired and the rice paddies wetlands are in the process of being reflooded. The first cell has completely filled and WDFW staff members are trapping ducks.

Mesa Lake Pacman Wetland Project: The Mesa Lake Pacman Wetland Development project with Ducks Unlimited is nearing the construction phase. In preparation for contractor site visits, Sunnyside-Snake River Wildlife Area Manager Kaelber began mowing the heavily overgrown Pacman Wetland.

Wenas Wildlife Area- Fire Restoration: Habitat Specialist Miller has been assisting Wenas Wildlife Area Manager Gray with the identification of restoration sites within the perimeter of the recent Black Canyon Fire. These sites are going to be the start of efforts to reestablish native habitat lost in the recent burn. Expedient action on these sites is essential to try and ensure that native plants and species gain a solid foothold, helping to prevent the further encroachment of noxious weeds. Gray met cultural resources staff members to conduct field surveys for immediate needs tied to the Black Canyon Fire Restoration. This includes propping up approximately 1.5 miles of elk fence until it can be fully replaced to metal, plug planting sites, aerial spraying sites and broadcast seeding sites. Gray has been working closely with cultural resources staff members and was able to get immediate work cleared. She has been coordinating with the Management Analyst Nelson to line out rehab fund needs tied to the fire.   

Wenas Wildlife Area—Weed Control: Wenas Wildlife Area staff members have started to shift the focus of weed control from Russian thistle to knapweed. Wenas Natural Resource Technicians Janes and Stoltenow finished up spraying the Russian thistle surrounding the feed site and have begun spraying knapweed, mainly along the Bull Pasture Road.

Oak Creek Wildlife Area Fire Restoration: Oak Creek Wildlife Area Manager Mackey and Assistant Manager Charlet have been working to identify restoration needs across the 15,000-acre footprint of the recent Retreat Fire. The goal of these efforts is to reestablish native habitat that was lost in the recent burn and limit the spread of noxious weeds through these areas. Restoration efforts will include the planting of pine seedlings, seeding of native grasses, planting or seeding of sage brush, removal of destroyed elk fence exclosures, replacement of a half mile of elk fence, and noxious weed control. Mackey has been working with WDFW cultural resource staff members to organize cultural resource surveys before restoration work can begin. Mackey has also helped in the initiation of planning a field trip with the science community to assess impacts and forest treatment effectiveness post fire.  

Other

L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Regional Awards: The L.T. Murray crew attended the annual Region 3 awards ceremony.

Oak Creek Wildlife Area Retreat Fire Continued Efforts: Oak Creek Wildlife Area Manager Mackey continues efforts to coordinate permitting and support to the Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District to replace wildlife protection features on the canal that were damaged during the Retreat Fire.

PLHO Reservation System: Region 3 Private Lands Biologist Manderbach attended three meetings with a handful of other private lands biologists and a contracting company to discuss the requirements of a new and improved reservation system. This first step towards a new system was very productive and presentations from different vendors will be following shortly. Hopefully this will lead to an updated and more conducive system by next fall.

Providing Recreation Opportunities

Down Trees on Access Areas: Access staff members recently encountered several down trees in Klickitat County. All of the trees that were affected had been standing snags. Fortunately, access staff members only had to clear debris from one site. Along the road to the Stinson Flat Access Site, a dead pine tree fell across the road causing a hazard to vehicles. The tree had to be bucked up with a chainsaw to be removed. Access staff members took great care to only cut what was needed and hosed down the work area to make sure that no loose sparks kindled the dry fuels.

Access Improvements: Cowlitz Wildlife Area staff members constructed a new parking area on the west side of the Davis Lake Unit off Temple Road, improving access to almost one hundred acres of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife managed lands. The new parking area provides parking for up to six vehicles. Previously, the public had to park on the shoulder of the county road which created safety issues such as emergency vehicle access.

Illegal Dumping: Access staff members found several illegal dumps around the Vancouver Lake and Shillapoo Wildlife Areas. The dumping seemed to be occurring on a daily basis, causing access staff members to make several trips to the local dump. For the week of 8/26 - 8/30, access staff members removed approximately 1,000 pounds of garbage from this area alone. 

Managing Wildlife Populations

Mountain goat surveys: District wildlife staff members, in collaboration with tribal comanagers in the region, took to the skies to conduct a regular assessment of mountain goat populations in the Cascade Mountains. Surveys entail low-level flight across mountain goat habitat and established survey blocks to determine quantity, age, location, and other sight ability factors associated with mountain goat groups. This year, many previously un-surveyed areas were covered in addition to standard survey blocks. Surveys inform population management decisions such as hunting permit levels, as well as overall health and condition of local mountain goat populations.

Bat Acoustic Survey – Maintenance and Monitoring: District 12 worked with Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission to put a long-term bat acoustic monitoring station up on a more permanent surface. Previously, it was running on a large conduit pipe. Much better location – keep the calls coming! Thanks to the support of Washington State Parks!

Biologist Anderson worked with Bat Specialist Tobin and a visiting United States Geological Survey (USGS) researcher regarding ongoing collaboration and trials in extracting eDNA from the air and surfaces. Rapid CRISPER (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) analysis is utilized for detection of the presence of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) – the causative fungus on White-nose Syndrome (WNS) in bats. The disease, caused by a non-native, invasive Eurasian fungus, known shorthand as Pd, is decimating a large portion of certain species of bats throughout North America. Washington is unfortunately seeing some of the negative effects of WNS. Continuing to develop better bat and WNS/Pd survey and monitoring techniques will only help in understanding how to manage and monitor our local bats in this challenging time with this disease.

Providing Education and Outreach

Students of Migrant Families – High School Camp: Biologist Anderson provided bat education via a presentation and field group bat monitoring session, using the Woodland Park Zoo BAT (Bat Activity Trends) program. The students were from Pasco School District. The students were participating in an experiential program, spending time in outdoor programs and educational efforts at Rainbow Lodge, in North Bend.

Managing Wildlife Populations

Raptors: Biologist Eilers joined U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and HawkWatch International (HWI) in transporting and setting up the seasonal HWI migration site on Chelan Ridge near Cooper Mountain. This site is one of HWI’s many long-term raptor migration monitoring sites, the purpose of which is to document species occurrence and abundance for all diurnal raptors migrating south to their wintering grounds.

“The primary objective of these efforts is to track long-term population trends of diurnal raptors throughout primarily western North America. The information gathered enables us to better understand the life histories, ecology, status, and conservation needs of raptor populations in North America. Raptors feed atop food pyramids, inhabit most ecosystems, occupy large home ranges, and are sensitive to environmental contamination and other human disturbances. Therefore, they serve as important biological indicators of ecosystem health. Moreover, due to the remoteness and widespread distribution of most raptor populations, migration counts likely represent the most cost-effective and efficient method for monitoring the regional status and trends of multiple raptor species.” -Hawkwatch International - Migration Network

The HWI Chelan Ridge site is open to the public for viewing and education – although 4WD or AWD is highly recommended to get there! But trust us, the panoramic views (and raptors) are worth it! If you have a group of six or more people, it is asked that you schedule your visit beforehand at HWI Migration Site Group/Extended Visit Schedule (jotform.com).

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

Bats: Biologists Jeffreys and Eilers wrapped up the bat monitoring season with a final emergence count at a U.S. Forest Service warehouse near Lake Wenatchee. Although well over a hundred bats had been counted here in July, few bats were observed exiting the roost on this second count. This suggests that juveniles are now self-sufficient and mothers and young can now freely disperse to other roosting sites for the remainder of the active season prior to hibernation.

A young Myotis bat was found sleeping on the main door of WDFW’s Wenatchee District Office during the day. This young male is likely still learning how to be a bat, and as he gets older and wiser, he will learn to choose safer, less-exposed roosting sites that afford better protection from predators and the elements. Biologists surmise this juvenile bat spent the night foraging on insects attracted to the flood light right outside the office and then tucked himself in for the day by the front door hinge. Using gloves, Biologist Eilers relocated the little bat to WDFW’s back warehouse where he could rest undisturbed before continuing his insect removal services after sundown.

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Photo by WDFW

Biologist Eilers is a trained and vaccinated professional. If you encounter a bat roosting low during the daytime, please leave it be. Watch the video at the link below for information on what to do if you encounter a bat in your home.

Sandhill Crane Update: Back in May, a state endangered pair of sandhill cranes successfully hatched two colts (baby cranes) in the Big Valley Unit of the Methow Wildlife Area. Around early July, a dedicated group of local volunteers, who monitor the cranes daily, reported one colt had disappeared, likely due to predation. Although, the good news is, as of Aug. 31 we have a fully-fledged juvenile crane flying strongly with mom and dad. The remaining juvenile is approximately 14 weeks old and was recently photographed by a local resident nearly six miles away (as the crane flies) at Twin Lakes, safely accompanied by the adults. Within the next few weeks, our trio of sandhill cranes will likely begin migrating to their wintering grounds in the Southwest. The juvenile is expected to be fully independent around ten months old, at which time it should join a flock of other nomadic juveniles until it hopefully forms a breeding bond between the ages of two and seven years old.

Fun Fact: Did you know, cranes are among the oldest living birds on earth and according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the earliest unequivocal sandhill crane fossil is estimated to be 2.5 million years old.

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Photo by Janet Bauer

Scotch Creek Bird Flight Diverters: Staff members worked with the Okanogan County Public Utilities staff members to have bird flight diverters and perch deterrents installed on the power lines and poles around the headquarters office. The riparian area shrubs adjacent to the office provides quality winter forage for sharp-tailed grouse and is frequently used by sharp-tails during the winter. Power lines are a collision hazard for sharp-tails and the diverters will make the lines more visible to sharp-tails.

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Photo by WDFW

Wildlife Surveys: Biologist Morris met with two landowners to review their Safe Harbor Agreements and site plans for the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit. Morris and the landowners discussed what was included in their site plans, which provides the background of their property enrolled in the agreement and what activities on their land are covered under the Safe Harbor Agreement. These Safe Harbor Agreements in Grant and Douglas counties are very successful in protecting critical pygmy rabbit habitat while at the same time providing regulatory assurances to the landowners that the presence of pygmy rabbits won’t negatively affect their farming operations.

Pygmy Rabbit Release Effort Monitoring: Pygmy rabbit crew with the assistance of District 7 staff members and volunteers conducted monitoring for pygmy rabbit dispersal and burrow establishment on the Rimrock release area. We documented 12 likely active burrows, both in and outside of the release pens, with some fresh sign of rabbits up to 300 meters from the pens. Game cameras were set at some sites to confirm occupancy there. We will conduct similar monitoring on the Palisades release area soon.

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Rattlesnake Issue: Over 10 years of pygmy rabbit work and we have run into very few rattlesnakes. This year however is very different. We have encountered them almost on a weekly basis in the release pens and have found at least three that were entangled in the fencing. We began looking into the burrows with our burrow camera and found them occupying the rabbit burrows. Not really seeing any benefit to this cohabitation, we have removed two rattlers from our rabbit pens this summer, releasing them miles away.

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Providing Recreation Opportunities

Lake Lenore Target Shooting Range: Lands Operations Manager Finger drafted a grant proposal for the Lake Lenore Target Shooting Range for initial review, budget development, and consideration of cultural resource survey needs and budget.

Pheasant Release Meeting: Wildlife area staff members, district staff, and pheasant release staff had meeting concerning pheasant release numbers and dates. New steel shot area requirements were discussed as well, wildlife area staff will have to physically go out to new boundaries so they can be published in digitized format.

Rocky Ford Blind Repairs: Biologist McPherson and Specialist Walker had to go make repairs to Rocky Ford blind due to wind damage. Closer to season Biologist McPherson will schedule with Washington Waterfowler Association to brush in blind for the opening weekend.

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Aeneas Lake Water Access Area Issues: An adjacent landowner to Aeneas Lake site had contacted complex Manager Haug over some issues at the site. Some concerns were people driving in tall grass down to the lake creating a potential fire risk and swimmers clogging the boat launch up for fishermen. We all met onsite and walked around assessing things. We came up with installing barrier rock where people were driving off road and a few other side roads to direct the public where to drive and installed some new signage by the boat launch. The contractor was contacted for estimates and timeline for job. He was able to fit us in rather quickly and get the job done in a timely manner. 

Green Lake Access Area and Campground Project: Lands Manager Haug completed and submitted the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) application to improve the Green Lake water access and campground. The project will significantly improve campground facilities, access to the shoreline and provide better ADA components to the area. The preliminary evaluation of the project has it prioritized as three out of ten projects. At the most conservative funding level, the project would most likely get funded within the next state budget.

Hunter Access: Coordinating public access on private lands for hunting opportunities is one of the tasks private land biologists conduct. In support of this effort, Biologist Cook is working on updating a few hunter access contracts. All these contracts are currently active but need some updates.

Biologist Cook is working on implementing QR codes for hunters to use at register to hunt sites for this year. This is a continuation of work done last year and hopefully will allow for expansion of sites these will be available.

Biologist Morris met with a landowner that is enrolling approximately 700 acres in our Hunt by Written Permission Program. He went over details and expectations for this property that will be available to hunt (with permission) this fall. Biologist Morris also checked several properties to ensure signs were posted properly and in good condition before the start of hunting season.

Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

Nuisance Bear: Specialist Heilhecker called a landowner regarding a bear breaking limbs off her cherry tree. The landowner has dogs contained in a fence in her yard, but their barking does not always cause the bear to leave. They discussed nonlethal deterrence methods. Specialist Heilhecker also advised the landowner of her rights to protect her safety and her property. However, it was explained that bear hunting season is open if the landowner was interested in using a hunter to kill the bear so the meat and pelt would not be wasted.

Bear Call: Specialist Heilhecker called a homeowner who reported a bear getting into a garbage can on the front porch. The garbage can was moved to inside the garage. The homeowner stated she would notify others in the neighborhood to remove all attractants including bird feeders, pet food, and garbage.

Cougar Call: Specialist Heilhecker received a call from a livestock producer regarding missing calves. The producer believes a cougar has been taking his animals. There are no injured or dead animals to investigate. Since the livestock graze in GMU 204, the producer stated he may use tribal members to hunt cougars. Specialist Heilhecker reminded him to call if he finds any injured or dead livestock.

Reducing Deer and Elk Damage: Specialist Bridges continues to work with several landowners in assisting with efforts to decrease damage from deer and elk in tree fruit orchards.

Coordination with Local Municipality: Specialist Bridges is working with the City of Leavenworth Public Works director and various non-government organization’s to evaluate how to begin a community wide effort of reducing major attractants at garbage sites. Funding continues to be lacking, so conversations will continue to locate funding sources. An effort this large will take time to get going but early indications

Addressing a Chronic Bear Conflict Site: Specialist Bridges met with the City of Leavenworth’s Public Director to discuss fencing designs, permitting, and functionality of design with garbage pickup trucks.

Exclusion Fencing Construction: Specialist Bridges initiated and is coordinating a fencing project to exclude a domestic goat and sheep operation from an adjacent wild big horn sheep herd in order to reduce the potential of disease to the wild sheep. Specialist Bridges is working with the private landowner, Wild Sheep Foundation, and the Asotin County Conservation District. Work began on Aug. 25th and should take two to three weeks to complete.

Conserving Natural Landscapes

Region 2 North Acquisition Presentations: Lands Operations Manager Haug presented three acquisition projects in Okanogan County in two RCO categories: Critical Habitat and Riparian. The two critical habitat projects (ranking number five and six) protect approximately 900 acres of shrubsteppe habitat and the riparian project (ranking nine out of thirteen) protects nearly 70 acres across two properties adjacent to the Similkameen River. Funding will be determined when the budget passes next year.

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Sinlahekin Wildlife Area Noxious Weeds: Sinlahekin staff members continued treating noxious weeds on many of the units that make up the Sinlahekin. Staff members spent a considerable amount of time treating bladder senna and multiflora rose on the Sinlahekin Unit. They covered most of the valley within the last few weeks hiking up and down the hillsides of the valley. They are continuing treatment and have started to go back through areas that were previously treated, finding plants that were missed.

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Sinlahekin Wildlife Area Shared Stewardship: Manager Wehmeyer and Assistant Manager Riley also met with Prescribe Burn Program Lead Eberlein to develop a project area for a potential cross boundary project with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). This initial meeting helped to determine the feasibility and potential for doing the project. The next step is for staff members to meet with the DNR and go over the project idea.

Scotch Creek Wildlife Area Noxious Weeds: Staff members continued treating musk thistle on the Chesaw Unit. Recent warmer weather has caused many of the apical terminal buds to flower. Staff members will continue their control efforts through the month of August, spot treating and hand pulling seed heads as necessary. Staff members continue to treat musk thistle on the Chesaw Unit. Most of the plants have reached maturity, requiring seed head removal. This year, staff members have hand pulled approximately 30, 15-gallon bags of seed heads. Staff members will continue efforts through the end of August.

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Okanogan Lands 20/20 Project Submittals: Okanogan Lands Operations Manager Haug submitted five applications for acquisitions in Okanogan County. The projects protect critical shrubsteppe and riparian habitats and increase recreation opportunities in the area. The applications will be reviewed later this month and then presented to staff members in Olympia for approval.

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SAFE-CRP: Biologist Cook completed additional paperwork for two SAFE-CRP contracts in Adams County and submitted them to Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). These documents were entered into the NRCS system. Private Land Biologists in Region 2 provide technical assistance to landowners for them to comply with SAFE-CRP Farm Bill contracts. These contracts result in marginal farm ground being taken out of production and planted with species of native grass and forbs for upland wildlife habitat and erosion reduction.

Biologists Morris, Braaten and Cook conducted field visits with Biologists Braaten and Cook to evaluate newly enrolling SAFE-CRP fields to determine what management or alterations are needed to provide quality wildlife habitat over the course of the contract. A total of 14 SAFE-CRP plans are being developed in Douglas County.

Safe Harbor Agreement: Biologist Morris evaluated a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) field that requires mid-contract management. The landowner contacted Biologist Morris because they have a Safe Harbor Agreement for pygmy rabbits, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service would like them to mow sagebrush in the field. Biologist Morris assessed the field for its potential to support pygmy rabbits, and after consulting with pygmy rabbit Biologist Gallie, will make recommendations for areas to leave the sagebrush intact to maintain pygmy rabbit habitat.

Habitat Plots: Working with private landowners to restore and enhance wildlife habitat is one aspect of the work we do. Biologist Morris met with a landowner that would like to do wildlife habitat improvements on his property. They discussed possible options and looked at the spring as when the landowner wants to develop and plant shrubs around. This same landowner wants to make alterations to an ephemeral stream bed that is dry most of the year, so Biologist Morris arranged a meeting between the landowner, Habitat Biologist Pentico, and Environmental Engineer Snodgrass. They discussed options for alteration that would maintain and/or improve the health of the stream and what was needed to acquire a permit.

Biologist Morris began planning a wildlife habitat improvement project for upland game that can hopefully be started this fall. The project would benefit upland birds, big game, and non-game upland wildlife and is located on property enrolled in our Hunt by Written Permission Program.

Conducting Business Operations and Policy

WDFW Staff and U. S. Border Patrol Meeting: Lands Operations Manager Haug, Regional Property Specialist Ramirez, Scotch Creek Manager Dupont, and Sargent McCormick met with U. S. Border Patrol staff members in Oroville to discuss the deployment of a border security communications tower on the Eder Unit. Staff members expressed their concerns with the project and the U. S. Border Patrol provided information regarding equipment and things they can do to minimize impacts on the wildlife area unit. Ramirez finalized the one-year agreement with the border patrol and staff members will work with the U. S. Border Patrol to make sure impacts are minimized with the addition of the tower.

Complying with Public Disclosure Request: Specialist Heilhecker completed a public disclosure request regarding landowner damage prevention cooperative agreements and landowner damage/kill permits.

Interview Panel Participation: Specialist Heilhecker participated in interviews for new Wolf Advisory Group members. To date, they have interviewed 11 candidates for five positions. Additional interviews will be held in September.

Meeting With Partner Organizations: Biologist Morris attended the Columbia Basin Pheasants Forever Board Meeting. The Columbia Basin Conservation District (formerly Grant County Conservation District) also had a representative in attendance. In this meeting, potential opportunities for the three organizations to collaborate on habitat projects were discussed.

Other

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Managing Wildlife Populations

Wildlife Response–Bats: District Wildlife Biologist Jeffreys responded to two different calls from concerned members of the public regarding bats in need. These kinds of calls are typical for this time of year as the breeding season winds down and young, inexperienced pups are now on their own in the world, learning how to be a bat, and sometimes finding themselves in unsafe situations.

The first call was from an employee at a local business who was concerned for the safety of a bat (one of the Myotis species) clinging to a wall just a couple of inches above the ground. Not only was this bat easily within reach of any passing predator, but it was also just a few inches away from the office front door and near a lot of pedestrian traffic. This is a good example of a young bat that doesn’t quite understand how to find a suitable day roosting location where it will be safely tucked away from predators and insulated from the heat of the day. Luckily, this employee cared for the bat’s wellbeing but also knew to never attempt to handle a bat herself. Biologist Jeffreys drove out to the business, donned gloves, and gently removed the bat pup from the wall, placed it in a shoebox, and transported it to some trees across the street. Once there, Biologist Jeffreys removed the bat from the shoebox and placed it about six feet up in the fork of a shady tree, where it could crawl under some bark, and wait out the day before taking off again at night to catch some tasty bugs.

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The second call regarding a bat in trouble came from a homeowner who was horrified to find a bat (also a Myotis sp.) stuck to a glue trap she had placed outside to kill wasps. Unfortunately, this disturbing event is all too common. Thousands of bats, birds, lizards, and other wildlife (even house cats on large board-style glue traps) die slow, excruciating deaths every year after coming into contact with sticky fly paper or a glue trap and not being able to free themselves. Please NEVER use glue traps or fly strips. Consider wildlife-safe and pet-safe alternatives, such as reusable hanging traps with small entrances that hornets or wasps crawl into to get at a protein or sugar source inside. These kinds of traps have the added benefit of not using any toxic chemicals such as those found in sticky traps.

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Biologist Jeffreys was able to carefully remove the bat from the sticky trap and, after many rounds of washing off and rinsing out most the remaining glue, the bat began vocalizing and getting more mobile again. However, his wings were still too sticky to allow him to fly, and a bat that can’t fly and catch bugs on the wing is a dead bat. So, Biologist Jeffreys and the very helpful and compassionate homeowner realized more help was needed and called a bat rehabilitator on the west side, who agreed to take the bat pup in for further treatment.

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Fortunately for this little bat, the homeowner was heading to the west side the next day and was all too happy to drive up to Bothell and drop him off. The pup is currently in the care of this bat rehabber now, and she reported that he has a healthy appetite and is doing well. He is not out of the woods yet, and it’s possible he may have ingested some of the highly toxic glue, but let’s hope this little guy will make a full recovery and be flying the night sky again soon!

Wildlife Population Monitoring – Planning and Coordination

Mule Deer: Biologists Jeffreys and Eilers met with WDFW Ungulate Specialist Bundick to discuss ways to improve mule deer population surveys and monitoring in both the East Slope Cascades herd and the Columbia Plateau herd. Now that analysis has been completed, for three years of GPS data transmitted by collared does captured in 2020, biologists have learned that Highway 2 serves as a barrier between deer populations that is rarely crossed. The deer on either side exhibit spatially distinct patterns of home range and migration. This means that what has always been categorized as the Chelan subherd is actually comprised of two separate populations: one consisting of deer that winter in the Wenatchee Foothills region of Chelan and Kittitas counties (now known as the Wenatchee Mountains subherd), and one consisting of deer that winter north of Hwy 2 and south of Lake Chelan (the Chelan subherd). To monitor deer populations more accurately in District 7, biologists are working to redesign abundance and ratio surveys to reflect these new findings. For winter 2023, biologists plan to reallocate sampling units for aerial surveys as well as distribute more than 20 game cameras across known high-use migration corridors used by the Wenatchee Mountains subherd.

Mountain Goats: Biologist Jeffreys continued working with Ungulate Specialist Moore, State Wildlife Veterinarian Mansfield, and partners at U. S. Forest service and National Park Service to coordinate winter 2023-2024 capture and collaring efforts for mountain goats in the Lake Chelan Basin. This is a highly challenging project to coordinate due to the extremely rugged and inaccessible terrain as well as multiple, different land jurisdictions, much of it federally designated wilderness. Biologists are eager to make it happen this winter after only being able to collar two goats in January 2023 instead of the intended twenty. Both herds in the Lake Chelan Basin have been decreasing in number for years, and biologists are striving to learn more about these herds and the factors contributing to their decline.

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Fisher Surveys: Biologist Jeffreys continued planning and coordination efforts for upcoming fisher survey work. The fisher (Pekania pennanti) is a State Endangered, house cat-sized, member of the mustelid family that was once common throughout Washington but was extirpated by the mid-1900’s due to over-trapping, incidental human-caused mortality, and habitat loss. Following an initial fisher reintroduction effort in the Olympic Peninsula from 2008 to 2012, WDFW and other partners such as National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFW), and Conservation Northwest reintroduced fishers to the Cascade Mountain Range from 2015 to 2020. Since then, fishers have dispersed from the reintroduction sites, created home ranges in historically occupied fisher habitat, and successfully reproduced, all encouraging signs for the future of this species in Washington.

Fisher population monitoring is ongoing in the Cascades, and biologists with WDFW, NPS, USFS, and partners, such as Conservation Northwest and the Cascades Carnivore Project, are gearing up for a major survey effort taking place October 2023 through May 2024 to assess fisher distribution and occupancy throughout the region. This survey will involve placing baited camera stations in forested habitats within pre-selected grid cells throughout The Cascades in Washington. Chelan County in District 7 has the highest number of grids of any district in the state. Biologists must have all camera stations up and running by Nov. 1, but staff members don’t want to place the cameras too early as the strong-smelling scent lure used to attract fishers will also attract bears, which can destroy the bait stations. Thus, biologists will place all cameras between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31. It is a major undertaking as many of these sites require hiking into them while carrying heavy gear. Biologists will return to take down the camera stations and collect memory cards when the snow begins to melt (May through July) and look forward to seeing what species of wildlife appear in the photos. Aside from gaining valuable information about where fishers occur, these camera stations also afford biologists the opportunity to learn about other carnivore species of concern, such as lynx, wolverine, wolf, and Cascade red fox.

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Watchable Wildlife: As the hot summer months come to an end and fall approaches, now is a good time to see snakes while out hiking or in your own backyard. Washington is home to more than a dozen snake species, only one of which is capable of harming humans with a venomous bite (but very rarely does as it strongly prefers to avoid humans) – the northern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus). All other snakes you may come across here are harmless to humans, such as the gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer) and northern rubber boa (Charina bottae), both pictured below. With the onset of cooler weather and shorter days, snakes are on the move and getting ready to make their way back to overwintering areas (hibernacula) in sheltered places such as underground burrows or rock piles where they remain largely inactive for six or seven months before emerging again in the spring. All snakes in Washington eat rodents (among other things) and thus are important allies in pest control, keeping the populations of rats and mice down. Please let these beautiful and beneficial creatures live their lives and respect their right to coexist peacefully alongside us.

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Northern Leopard Frogs: Biologist Morris helped Leopard Frog Biologist Nason with checking leopard frog enclosures, measuring tadpoles and frogs, and releasing sufficiently mature frogs. The northern leopard frog is classified as endangered by the state of Washington. Recovery efforts include breeding and releasing the frogs to try and increase population numbers in the Columbia Basin.

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Providing Recreation Opportunities

Hunter Access Contract Renewals: Biologist Cook worked on contacting around 20 landowners to renew Hunter Access contracts that are set to expire this year. Most landowners quickly wanted to renew contracts and a few wanted to remove their property from the Hunter Access program. Cook will continue to contact landowners and begin entering the contract information for contract creation.

Hunter Access: Big game hunters are beginning to plan for the fall hunting season, and Biologist Morris helped several hunters with their planning by providing information about private lands and public land hunting opportunities within their units.

Hunter Access: Private Lands Biologist Braaten began working with cooperating landowners getting permission slips and signage ready for hunting seasons in Douglas and Grant counties.

Hunter Access for Youth Hunters: Private Lands Biologist Braaten was contacted by wildlife area staff members regarding a hunter access opportunity near Loomis for youth deer. Permission was given to provide landowner contact info.

Beebe Springs: In early August, wildlife area staff members worked on repairing pond levelers at Beebe Springs Wildlife Area. These pond levelers are designed to drain water from the beaver pond without affecting the beavers. The repaired pond levelers had been pushed around and were no longer flowing. Hopefully with the repairs to the pond levelers the trail will flood less often.

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In Swakane Canyon, the irrigation line that supplies water to the shrub plots broke in several places due to an increase in water pressure from a repair further up the line, staff members spent several weeks patching the line and making improvements.

Staff members took advantage of the hottest parts of the summer to catch up on training, and plan for the upcoming year. They also started to monitor amphibians and inventory species found on the wildlife area, which will be a focus going forward. Pearson’s Pond in Swakane Canyon was surveyed and long toed salamanders and Pacific chorus frogs were found.

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Water Access Manager Harmon and Assistant Manager Steele and Columbia Basin Wildlife Area staff members started a heavy-duty swing gate installation at the entrance to the Seep Lakes east of the Potholes Reservoir.

Manager Harmon and Steele also checked the progress of a boat launch bank stabilization effort at the Glenn Williams access site on the Potholes Reservoir.

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Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

Road 14 Encampment: Wildlife area staff members found an area off Road 14 where people had driven off an established parking lot through uplands and set up an encampment. Wildlife area staff members coordinated with Enforcement Program who gave occupants a notice to vacate the area.

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Seep Lakes Gate Installation: Wildlife area, access, and archaeologist staff members started the gate installation going into the Seep Lakes. Both holes for the swing gate and lock post were excavated while archeologist observed, and the swing gate side was poured. Once swing gate concrete sets, wildlife area and access staff members will pour the lock box post.

Spud Field Abandoned Car: Biologist McPherson and Specialist Walker located an abandoned vehicle off road that goes to spud field. Wildlife area staff members reported the incident to the Enforcement Program who will investigate the matter. Once the investigation is complete, the wildlife area staff members will have to remove the car and begin the process of trying to dispose of the car at a local junkyard.

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Range Rider Payment Processing: Specialist Heilhecker submitted an order payment form, invoice, and activity logs to fiscal staff members for range rider payment. The paperwork is required to pay a livestock producer for range riding under a Damage Prevention Cooperative Agreement.

Responding to Bear Report: Specialist Heilhecker responded to an email about a bear at Leader Lake. The email did not include an address or phone number. She gave the reporting party her contact number and asked them to call. The reporting party has not called.

Elk Fence Inquiry: Specialist Heilhecker received a call from an orchardist who wanted fencing material. A WDFW employee had incorrectly told the orchardist he was eligible because he lived in an elk area. Specialist Heilhecker explained the limited budget requires prioritizing landowners with damage and those who have had damage prevention cooperative agreements with WDFW in the past. She also explained the cost-share fencing program along with the new requirement of a cultural resource assessment on the property.

Conserving Natural Landscapes

Douglas County Habitat Project: Private Lands Biologist Braaten worked on plans to assist a private landowner this fall with an EQUIP project in East Foster Creek Riparian Habitat Restoration Project. This will include assistance to plant 1600 plants and provide 14 rolls of fabric mulch.

Douglas County Habitat Project Jacobsen: Private Lands Biologist Braaten working with landowner to possibly assist plant sage brush within Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) that was burnt in Road Eleven Fire in 2020. Approximately 7500 plants need to be planted.

Incidental Wildlife Observations: Biologist Morris observed some fun wildlife this month, including upland game birds, deer, waterfowl, and non-game wildlife.

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Supplemental Food Plot Maintenance: Biologist Cook and Technician Blanchard borrowed a MT-100 and mower attachment from the water access crew in Region 2 South. This equipment was smaller and more maneuverable than the private lands tractor and mower and able to better mow the needed areas. Blanchard and Cook mowed weed patches on the edges and ends of the food plot to reduce the seed production and spread of weeds in future years.

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Providing Education and Outreach

Vegetation Monitoring and Mapping Drone Survey Press Release: Biologist McPherson coordinated with Communication Consultant Lehman about what would be needed for a press release about drone missions on the wildlife area. Due to the areas where drone flights will occur, they agreed that a notice on the wildlife area website would be sufficient for the activity.

Master Hunter Discussion: Specialist Heilhecker received a call from the Master Hunter Advisory Group representative for Region 2. They discussed how and when master hunters have been used in Okanogan County and options for master hunters to earn volunteer hours.

Hunter Outreach: Private Lands Biologist Braaten called back many hunters wanting information about private lands access, hunting permits, and general hunting questions.

Conducting Business Operations and Policy

Wolf Advisory Group: Specialist Heilhecker met with the Wolf Advisory Group (WAG) facilitator to discuss the direction of WAG.

Annual Fire Extinguisher Inspection: Biologist McPherson scheduled an annual fire extinguisher inspection with Performance Systems Integration (PSI). PSI came to headquarters and serviced all the fire extinguishers for our facility and associated equipment.

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Wolf Advisory Group: Specialist Heilhecker met with the Wolf Advisory Group (WAG) facilitator to discuss the direction of WAG.

Annual Fire Extinguisher Inspection: Biologist McPherson scheduled an annual fire extinguisher inspection with Performance Systems Integration (PSI). PSI came to headquarters and serviced all the fire extinguishers for our facility and associated equipment.

Managing Wildlife Populations

Oregon Spotted Frog Recovery: Biologist Tirhi and Real Estate Services Specialist Buck met with a landowner in the Allen Creek drainage of Thurston County to discuss his interest in purchasing an existing WDFW conservation easement on the neighboring property. Tirhi is continuing to contemplate and discuss with the landowner a possible future where his desire to graze cattle and/or hay would promote the objectives of spotted frog habitat improvement within the easement.

North American Bat Acoustic Monitoring (NABAT): Biologist Tirhi spent time uploading the District 11 NABAT data obtained from the four deployed acoustic monitors. Biologist Butler will likewise be uploading data from her four deployed locations. Data will be analyzed by WDFW Bat Species Lead Tobin. See July 2023 Highlights for explanation of this annual bat monitoring project.

Western Bumble Bee Monitoring: Western bumble bee is a candidate species for listing due to its dramatic decline across Washington and the west. For this reason, WDFW and partners have been conducting bumble bee surveys over the past several years. Based on a credible report of western bumble bee in Dupont, Biologists Butler and Tirhi and volunteer Cheney spent a day conducting surveys at two nearby locations in Steilacoom. Although several other species were captured and photographed that day, no western bumble bees were located. The public is encouraged to report any suspected western bumble bees at WDFW wildlife reporting form. Please include good photos/video from several angles.

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Western Pond Turtle: Biologist Murphie deployed two artificial basking structures at the western pond turtle recovery site in District 15. A PIT tag (passive integrated transponder) antenna array was placed at the pond and fitted to one of the platforms. Trail cameras were also placed to collect images of turtles using the platform. Over 300 turtles were released in this pond from 2005-2013. All the turtles released are uniquely marked and have a PIT implant. The objective of this effort is to see if the PIT tag antenna array can identify remaining turtles released into the pond. Secondarily, we are looking for turtles that are unmarked and potentially new recruits hatched at the pond. Biologist Murphie has counted 36 turtles basking at various locations around the pond and positioned one of the basking platforms with antennas adjacent to basking logs with the most current activity. After a month of deployment and monitoring, it doesn’t appear that the platform is getting any use by turtles. This may be related to the “newness” of the platform, availability of other structures for basking, or simply that the platform is not in the right place. Regardless, Biologist Murphie removed the monitoring equipment on Aug. 30 and will try again next season. He intends to leave the platforms deployed over the winter and plans for an earlier deployment of the monitoring equipment next season.

Mourning Doves: Biologist Cent wrapped up trapping and banding mourning doves. The mourning doves seemed to arrive later this year, and numbers were lower than normal. She banded 52 doves during this year’s trapping efforts.

Beller’s Ground Beetles: In an effort to identify new populations of Beller’s ground beetles, Biologist Cent conducted reconnaissance of two sphagnum bogs (the habitat of these beetles) in Grays Harbor and Pacific counties. These efforts will continue next August once additional land access permits have been approved.

Bat Acoustic Surveys: Biologist Cent conducted District 17’s annual bat acoustic surveys. She deployed four acoustic detectors overnight in order to detect bat presence and identify species at various habitats within the district.

Providing Recreation Opportunities

Hunting Prospects: Biologists Butler and Tirhi further updated District 11 game species data spreadsheets. Biologist Tirhi used that data to update the 2023 Hunting Prospects for District 11. New this year is better informed game harvest data for small game and upland bird species provided by headquarters. Hunters having general questions related to hunting in any district should first be directed to the Hunting Prospects.

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Sooty Grouse: Biologists Butler and Tirhi recovered three acoustic monitors for sooty grouse that had been deployed in spring, along assigned monitoring routes in the southern portion of District 11. The data (over 2,000 files) from each monitor was downloaded to HQ as requested. The data will be analyzed by the Small Game Section lead by Species Specialist Garrison.

Wolf Monitoring: Biologist Tirhi and Volunteer Cheney spent two days changing batteries and SD cards on trail cameras deployed in the Carbon River and White River drainages of District 11. The SD cards are screened by Volunteer Terry and then later redeployed. While credible reports of individual wolves have been reported in the district, no wolf or wolf packs have been confirmed within District 11 to date. This monitoring is done in partnership with Northwest Trek, U.S. Forest Service, Manulife, and Conservation Northwest.

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Olympic Goat, Deer and Elk Status and Trend Reports: Biologist Murphie completed updates to the Olympic goat, Olympic deer, and Olympic elk status and trend reports. Other data work associated with these write-ups was also completed. Reports are now available for supervisor review.

Union River Wildlife Viewer: Partners at the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group installed a wildlife viewer provided from WDFW’s Watchable Wildlife Program at the Union River Unit in Belfair. The viewer includes an ADA accessible attachment as well as autocorrection lenses for color-blind viewers.

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Olympic-Willapa Hills Wildlife Area: Construction of a new 3,000 square foot pole barn was recently completed at the Olympic-Willapa Hills Wildlife Area headquarters. The staff members there utilize a range of machinery and standard farm equipment in managing the wildlife area, some of which has had to be stored outdoors throughout the winter simply due to a lack of sheltered storage space. The building has been a regular capital budget request item dating back to at least 2008, and its construction now fulfills this long-term need.

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Photo by WDFW

Pierce County - Crescent Lake: The access team repaired potholes, weather cracks, and washout areas with asphalt repair on State Game Access Road in Gig Harbor which is the access road to Crescent Lake water access. The area of asphalt is over 500 feet long these efforts took 13,000 pounds of cold patch asphalt. Another 400 feet of gravel roadway was graded with minor potholes filled in. This roadway has been an area of contention with residents, Pierce County, and WDFW. No one knew who was responsible for the maintenance and each believed it wasn’t their responsibility. Water access made these repairs for now with future talks between Pierce County Works and WDFW to take place in the future.

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

Kitsap County - Kitsap Lake, Long Lake and Wildcat Lake: The access team worked with Washington Conservation Corp on installing new monofilament recycling tubes. The collaboration has resulted in eight additional WDFW access locations with the collection sites, including three in Kitsap County. The expansion has been in the works for several months, approximately 25 more recycling tubes will be installed at access sites across all eight regions and six counties.

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

Grays Harbor - Chehalis River and tributaries: The access team, with assisstance from Enforcement, cleaned up several dump piles and an abandoned vessel left in the Chehalis River

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

ADA Maintenance: The access team also has continued painting restrooms where needed and began refreshing preparing and painting ADA parking stalls, curbs and replacing signage as needed.

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Photo by WDFW

Conserving Natural Landscapes

South Puget Sound Northwest Youth Corp: A Northwest Youth Corps (NYC) crew continued to do weed control and site clean-up at the unit in Lakewood through collaboration with the Clover Park Rotary Club.

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Photo by WDFW

Oregon spotted frog habitat maintenance: Biologists Butler and Tirhi each oversaw Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) work groups which were hired to cut invasive reed canary grass that invades and threatens listed Oregon spotted frog breeding sites. WCC crews are hired annually to provide this assistance. One day each was spent at our Salmon Creek, Allen Creek, and Mima Creek recovery sites. The work crews focused on cutting grass within specific plots that are the focus of research on the use of the herbicide Imazapyr to impede canary grass growth and thus increase the efficiency of mowing (e.g. reduce the rate/need to mow). The effect of Imazapyr on reed canary grass, on spotted frogs directly, and bioaccumulation at treatment sites is being investigated. WCC crews will return to Salmon Creek for two more days in September and Allen Creek for one day in October for additional mowing.

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

South Puget Sound Weed Control: Weed Specialist Heimer assisted Wildlife Area Manager Laushman in knotweed control along Chambers Creek at the South Puget Sound Unit in Lakewood.

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Photo by WDFW

Noxious Weed Control: Biologist Novack and Cent spent a week operating a skidsteer with a brush hog to mow invasive blackberries at Davis Creek Wildlife Area, Hoxit Wildlife Area, and the Region 6 headquarters in Montesano.

Providing Education and Outreach

General Wildlife Inquiries: Biologist Murphie responded to inquiries received by phone, email, or in person related to bear, elk, deer, pocket gopher, waterfowl hunting, squirrels, and bats.

Conducting Business Operations and Policy

Aircraft Safety Training - Instructor: Biologist Murphie provided a basic airplane and helicopter class at the Natural Resource Building in Olympia this period. Staff members from the Fish and Wildlife programs attended.

Other

Status and Trends: Biologist Novack submitted draft versions of the Status and Trends report for Willapa Hills deer and elk.

SOBA Training: Water Access Manager Reeves participated in the SOBA (States for Boating Access) symposium. The symposium is where state, federal, and private agencies gave presentations in relation to grants funding and displayed new technology and successful projects for any and all things associated with boating, boating access and industries, and related fields. Several individuals from WDFW gave great presentations.

Providing Conflict Prevention and Education

Injured Owl: Biologist Wickhem and Volunteer Downing responded to a report of an injured great-horned owl near BZ Corners in Klickitat County. The owl had been seen perched on private property with what appeared to be a broken wing. The pair found the owl tucked underneath several stacked pieces of thick, metal trailer decking. Volunteer Downing was able to gently coax the owl out from under the decking with a long stick and Wickhem easily captured the tired bird as it emerged. The owl was taken to Rowena Wildlife Clinic for assessment. Unfortunately, the veterinarian said the break was more than a week old and too much bone was exposed for the wing to heal properly, so she decided to euthanize the owl to spare it from any further discomfort.

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW

Agricultural Damage: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Aubrey met with landowners throughout District 10 experiencing damage to agriculture from deer and elk. Damage prevention cooperative agreements were drafted and signed.

Possible Cougar Sighting: Wildlife Conflict Specialist Aubrey placed a trail camera at a residence to monitor a potential cougar sighting.

Conserving Natural Landscapes

Mowing at Shillapoo Wildlife Area. In preparation for fall and the arrival of migratory waterfowl, large scale mowing activities have begun at the Shillapoo Wildlife Area. The mowing of tall, mature grasses encourages new growth, providing excellent forage for the geese, ducks, and sandhill cranes that will begin arriving later this fall. In some areas such as Vancouver Lake, the mowing is done in phases to provide temporary habitat and cover for pheasants that are released by WDFW for hunting opportunities at Shillapoo Wildlife Area.

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Photo by WDFW

Shillapoo and Mt. St. Helens Wildlife Area: Purple loosestrife is arguably one of the prettiest weeds growing on WDFW lands, and it is also on the priority list of noxious weeds treated by wildlife area staff members. Well known to people in other parts of the county where purple loosestrife has taken over vast amounts of shoreline, purple loosestrife often goes under the radar here in western Washington. It is often overlooked as just an attractive wetland plant with purple flowers. Through the months of July and August, Shillapoo and Mt. St. Helens wildlife area personnel visited and revisited many purple loosestrife sites to ensure this noxious weed is controlled effectively and its spread is prevented.

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Photo by WDFW

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Photo by WDFW