Public Input Given on Wildlife Areas

WDFW updating plans for W.T. Wooten, Asotin Creek, and Chief Joseph areas

WAITSBURG – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is developing new management plans for 33 wildlife areas in the state, including three in southeast Washington: Chief Joseph, Asotin Creek, and W.T. Wooten wildlife areas.

Patricia Jatczak, with the WDFW in Olympia; Bob Dice, Wildlife Area Manager for Asotin Creek and Chief Joseph; and Kari Dingman, Assistant Wildlife Area Manager for the W. T. Wooten Wildlife Area; all spoke at Waitsburg’s Town Hall on May 24, about statewide planning goals, and work that has been or is expected to be done for area wildlife species and habitats.

The purpose of the plans is to develop a set of activities, identify priority actions, identify agency goals, and ensure the lands are managed in accordance with the overall mission of the wildlife areas, which is to preserve, protect and perpetuate wildlife species, and to seek adequate funding, Jatczak said.

Jatczak said public outreach is the first phase of the project, and that public comment received from the Waitsburg meeting, as well as a meeting held last week in Clarkston, will be considered by two advisory committees in the second phase of the project.

The project will move to the final stage with completion of a draft, and the draft will be heavily reviewed and submitted to the public for comment in February 2018.

Locally, the planning teams will be made up of groups of sportsmen, homeowners adjacent to wildlife areas, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla, the Board of County Commissioners, and the Forest Service.

At the meeting, Dice spoke about work that has been done by the WDFW in the Chief Joseph Wildlife Area to enhance bighorn sheep, mule deer, and upland game bird populations.

The DFW has plans to revitalize and connect old trails in the newly-acquired 4-O Ranch Unit, which is located along the Grande Ronde River, to enhance elk habitat. Work is also ongoing for 23 miles of “wildlife friendly” fencing.

“Our lands are working lands. We have a great partnership with landowners,” Dice said about the Asotin Creek Wildlife Area, which consists of flat benches and steep hillsides.

Dice pointed out that the creeks in that area are important for bull trout and spring Chinook salmon, and for steelhead spawning grounds.

The biggest attraction in the Asotin Creek Wildlife Area is the recreation trail on the North Fork of Asotin Creek, which is used for horses and bikes, he said.

Dice said that at Heller Bar on the Snake River there are “lots of rafters,” and some issues between rafters and motorized boats at the ramp there will be addressed through a grant, which will double its size.

Dice also spoke about the significance of Grouse Flats to the W. T. Wooten Wildlife Area. He said money from the sale of timber from the site of the 2014 Grizzly Complex Fire will be used to reforest areas along the Tucannon River.

Dingman spoke about work that is being planned for the W. T. Wooten Wildlife Area, to dredge and lower the Tucannon lakes in order to connect them with the river, and improve wildlife habitat in the floodplains and in the river. She characterized the 16,481 acre W. T. Wooten Wildlife Area as a place with many opportunities for fishing, hunting, hiking and camping.

“Everything is pretty much walk-in access,” she said.

Dingman said 11 campgrounds have been moved away from the river in order to lessen human impacts. She said the area is rich in wildlife, with 32 “disease-free” Bighorn Sheep, two wolf packs, and many deer, as well as a substantial population of cougars.

One issue of concern for DFW officials is the growing popularity of shed antler hunting, particularly when elk are still vulnerable, according to Dice.

Public concerns voiced at the meeting were about declining steelhead populations since the closing of the hatchery program in the W. T. Wooten Wildlife area, predation on domestic animals by wildlife, and the effects of agricultural chemicals on the watershed system, creeks and rivers.

Jatczak said some of the existing elements from the 2006 wildlife management plans will be included in the new wildlife plans, and there will be updates on progress every two years.

Public input is welcome anytime at: BlueMntWLA@dfw.wa.gov.

For more information about the multi-year wildlife area planning effort, contact the Project Planner, Patricia Jatczak at: (360) 902-2815 or by email at: patricia.jatczak@dfw.wa.gov.

For more information about Blue Mountain Wildlife Areas and the management plan contact Bob Dice by phone at: (509) 758-3151 or by email at: Bob.dice@dfw.wa.gov.