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REGION 5 WILDLIFE AREAS
Shillapoo Wildlife
Area:
Watchable
Wildlife:Many individuals visit the wildlife area this time of year primarily
to view waterfowl using the wetlands, pastures, and agricultural fields on the
site and in the surrounding area. Many other species can be seen as well and
often are overlooked. On a recent afternoon in the area, Wildlife Area Manager
Calkins observed the following birds: White-tailed Kite, Short Eared Owl, Northern
Harrier, Great Blue Heron, Red-winged Blackbird, Flicker, Mourning Dove, and
Scrub Jay.
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| A
comparison of grazed (left) vs. mowed (right) on the edge of the area where
grazing was reestablished. |
Shillapoo Grazing
Evaluations: Wildlife Area Manager Calkins visited the grazing areas
on the Wildlife Area to evaluate the effectiveness of managing these habitats
by grazing for Canada Geese and other waterfowl. Grazing evaluations are conducted
twice annually to document conditions and identify issues that need to be addressed.
The recent observations were completed to evaluate conditions after the grazing
season, which is really the most important time for this particular program.
No major issues were encountered, however, some weed issues will need to be
addressed this coming year. Currently conditions in the pastures are very good
for our target wildlife species. This is defined by short 3" to 6"
stubble that re-grows to provide good goose grazing habitat.
Conditions for these birds
in the grazing management areas are generally much better than in pastures where
we manage by mowing. Mowing is a much more expensive operation for wildlife
area staff, but is used where it is not practical to graze due to resource concerns.
In one of our existing leases, re-fencing is needed of some old pasture areas
to address potential resource impacts in sensitive areas as well as to provide
for the best pasture conditions by using grazing as a tool to produce better
forage habitat. The fencing is progressing and last summer one area was grazed
for the first time in several years. A much better condition exists now for
geese and there are no annual costs as with mowing.
Mt. St. Helens Wildlife
Area:
Elk Count: As part of the monthly monitoring of the elk herd on
the Mt. St Helens Wildlife Area, District Wildlife Biologist Miller and volunteer
Tony Kastella counted 369 elk on the wildlife area on February 1, 2007. Herd
composition was as follows: 36 bulls: 100 cows: 40 calves. There was no snow
on the valley floor. Elk were concentrated along the road that is used to distribute
feed, except for some bull groups west of the creek ford that were scattered
along the river bank.
GAME AND DIVERSITY DIVISION
Annual Workshops: WDFW's Wildlife Program held the annual workshops for the Game and Diversity
Divisions. This provides biologists throughout the state the opportunity to
discuss pertinent issues and techniques. Project and task assignments were also
made; for example, ongoing surveys on species like elk, deer, waterfowl, and
marbled murrelets will continue in District 10.
REGION 5 WILDLIFE AREAS
Mt. St. Helens
Wildlife Area:
Emergency Winter Feeding: Use rate of hay has declined,
particularly at the western part of the feeding area. In response, the daily
feed rate has been reduced to 2,700 pounds of alfalfa hay per day. Estimated
use rate of hay has been fluctuating from near total consumption to as low as
about 50% on some days. Most counts from the road during daily feeding operations
have remained above an estimated 300 elk, with almost all of this use being
recently at the eastern end of the wildlife area. We will continue to adjust
feed rates to estimated elk numbers, observed usage rates, and weather conditions.
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| A
herd of elk visited the KWA headquarters office last week. |
Biologists spent time on
the mudflow on Feb 9th to collect soil samples and start reseeding some of the
stabilization plantings that were damaged in November. Replanting of some of
the erosion control plantings has started with about 0.35 mile seeded this week.
The increased use of the roadway, where feeding of the elk is occurring, has
substantially damaged forage plants along the road. The roadway had been seeded
with a forage mix several years ago to increase forage production on the site.
The western half will have to be reseeded (about 1 ½ miles or 6 acres).
Klickitat Wildlife
Area:
Elk Herd: A herd of elk visited the KWA headquarters office last
week. There were 2 adult bulls, 2 young bulls, and 26 cows and calves.
GAME DIVISION
Pacific Northwest
Sportsman's Show: The annual Pacific Northwest Sportsman's Show was
held in Portland from February 7 through 11. Wildlife Program had the lead on
display preparation with lots of help from Office Manager Morrison. Staff from
all Regional Programs helped man the WDFW booth.
This year's presentation
featured the local WDFW Wildlife Areas. Posters illustrating highlights and
unique features were on display for the Klickitat, Shillapoo, Mt. St. Helens,
and Cowlitz Wildlife Areas. Also featured were posters of successful hunters
in the field and various local wildlife species.
Favorite topics of discussion
at this year's show included various aspects of Mt. St. Helens elk herd management,
sea lion hazing and potential lethal removal, spring chinook run forecasts,
etc. As usual, however, the favorite point of discussion was the date of WDFW's
Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules pamphlet.
Goose Nest Survey: District Wildlife Biologist Miller sent out a notice to solicit volunteers for
the annual goose nest survey in the Columbia River. Volunteers make up 60 %
of the work force on this project, which examines nesting habitat on islands
in the Columbia River. Seats are filling rapidly; any interested parties should
contact Miller soon.
DIVERSITY DIVISION
Bald Eagle Management: District Wildlife Biologist Miller received 5 eagle issues in the mail this
week. Three of the notices will be settled with a no-conditions plan, one was
sent to Survey Biologist Woodin, and 1 will require more information on the
proposal. Many landowners and proponents think the eagle is de-listed and does
not require protection, however; until state WAC's are changed, WDFW will need
to respond and provide protection to habitat so that eagles do not become rare
in the future.
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| Elk
along the river gravel bar where supplemental feeding and lack
of disturbance allows them to
conserve their energy. |
REGION 5 WILDLIFE AREAS
Mt. St. Helens Wildlife
Area:
Emergency Winter Feeding: Use rate of hay has increased and is up to 100% again, particularly at the western
part of the feeding area. In response, the daily feed rate has been increased
to 4,000 pounds of alfalfa hay per day. Most counts from the road during daily
feeding operations are back up to an estimated 350 elk or higher. We will continue
to adjust feed rates to estimated elk numbers, observed usage rates, and weather
conditions.
Replanting of some of the
erosion control plantings has started. Just over 1 mile of seeding has been
accomplished to date, with about 100 willow and cottonwood cuttings collected
and planted as well.
Wildlife Biologist Woodin
assisted Wildlife Area staff in distributing alfalfa on the mudflow last week.
The elk are taking full use of this supplemental feed while continuing to forage
on the slight green-up of the grasses. The elk are present along the valley
floor and the lack of disturbance allows them to conserve their energy.
Westside Research
Workshop: Region 5 Wildlife Biologists along with Program Manager Jonker
attended the Westside Research Workshop presented by WDFW's Science Division.
The workshop featured presentations and updates on current research projects
in Western Washington. Several species and groups of species were topics of
excellent presentations including marine mammals, marbled murrelets, snowy plovers,
streaked horned larks, western grey squirrels, and mountain goats. This was
a very useful process to disseminate research results to the District and field
biologists.
Additional discussion focused
on the process by which Regional interests and concerns are developed into research
projects. The meeting concluded with an opportunity to list research questions
that are currently of interest to Regional Staff. In Region 5, several potential
topics of future research were mentioned. These included an examination of the
effects of the use of herbicides in forest plantations, including their effect
on the nutritional status of deer and elk; nutrition and body condition of elk
as they relate to carrying capacity and mortality; development of new ways to
quantify deer and elk populations in heavily forested environments; an investigation
into potential nutritional competition among turkeys, western grey squirrels,
and forest grouse; and research into the effects of the long term decline, including
hairloss syndrome, in blacktail deer.
REGION 5 WILDLIFE AREAS
Mt.
St. Helens Wildlife Area:
Emergency Winter Feeding: Use
rate of hay by elk has been high this past week. The daily feed rate is at 4,000
pounds of alfalfa hay per day. With the recent and expected more severe weather,
we plan to bump the feed rate to 5,750 pounds of alfalfa every other day and
evaluate the use until weather moderates. Counts from the road during daily
feeding operations have been consistently above an estimated 350 elk or higher.
Using estimates from the daily road counts, there are probably close to 600
animals now using the mudflow area.
Klickitat Wildlife
Area:
Golden Eagle Research: Acting Wildlife Area Manager Van Leuven
assisted the golden eagle research team in their effort to capture and radio-tag
golden eagles. Van Leuven assisted in locating nest sites, providing bait, and
placing bait for trapping. A male bird was captured and equipped with a GPS
transmitter on February 22nd. The transmitter lasts 3 to 4 years and placing
the transmitter on a resident Washington bird was a high priority as many birds
turn out to be transients. A second site was set up for trapping February 23rd.
Trapping success there is unknown at this time.
GAME DIVISION
Post-Season Elk
Survey: WDFW Wildlife Biologists Holman and Woodin conducted an elk
survey in the Lewis River Game Management Unit (GMU 560) last week. Recent low-elevation
snowfall aided in concentrating the elk on lower slopes. In addition, the flight
occurred in a window between weather fronts that allowed the elk to take thermal
advantage of sunny south-facing slopes.
A total of 388 elk were
classified with 60 bulls, 228 cows and 100 calves. This results in a bull:cow
ratio of 26% and calf:cow ratio of 44%, both indicative of a healthy elk population.
The proportion of bulls was 53% spikes, 37% raghorns, and 10% mature.
A huge thanks goes to our
helicopter pilot, Jess Hagerman, for his incredible skills in maneuvering the
ship to increase our time observing and accurately identifying the elk.
REGION 5 WILDLIFE AREAS
Mt.
St. Helens Wildlife Area:
Emergency Winter Feeding: Use
rate of hay by elk has been high this past week. The daily feed rate is at 4,000
pounds of alfalfa hay per day. With the recent and expected more severe weather,
we plan to bump the feed rate to 5,750 pounds of alfalfa every other day and
evaluate the use until weather moderates. Counts from the road during daily
feeding operations have been consistently above an estimated 350 elk or higher.
Using estimates from the daily road counts, there are probably close to 600
animals now using the mudflow area.
Klickitat Wildlife
Area:
Golden Eagle Research: Acting Wildlife Area Manager Van Leuven
assisted the golden eagle research team in their effort to capture and radio-tag
golden eagles. Van Leuven assisted in locating nest sites, providing bait, and
placing bait for trapping. A male bird was captured and equipped with a GPS
transmitter on February 22nd. The transmitter lasts 3 to 4 years and placing
the transmitter on a resident Washington bird was a high priority as many birds
turn out to be transients. A second site was set up for trapping February 23rd.
Trapping success there is unknown at this time.
GAME DIVISION
Post-Season Elk
Survey: WDFW Wildlife Biologists Holman and Woodin conducted an elk
survey in the Lewis River Game Management Unit (GMU 560) last week. Recent low-elevation
snowfall aided in concentrating the elk on lower slopes. In addition, the flight
occurred in a window between weather fronts that allowed the elk to take thermal
advantage of sunny south-facing slopes.
A total of 388 elk were
classified with 60 bulls, 228 cows and 100 calves. This results in a bull:cow
ratio of 26% and calf:cow ratio of 44%, both indicative of a healthy elk population.
The proportion of bulls was 53% spikes, 37% raghorns, and 10% mature.
A huge thanks goes to our
helicopter pilot, Jess Hagerman, for his incredible skills in maneuvering the
ship to increase our time observing and accurately identifying the elk.
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