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Elk at winter feeding station near Joe Watt gate on L.T. Murray Wildlfie Area. Photo by Doug Kuehn The Robinson Canyon and Joe Watt Canyon gates into the L.T. Murray Wildlife Area in Kittitas County close to all motorized and non-motorized public use in late November-early December each year, upon initiation of supplemental feeding, to protect wintering elk. The gates re-open to the public May 1.

A Vehicle Use Permit is REQUIRED on ALL WDFW Lands Purchase Vehicle Use Permit About Vehicle Use Permit

The L.T. Murray Wildlife Area includes over 50,000 acres of land in Kittitas County. The area lies west of Ellensburg and extends in a band approximately six to ten miles wide from south of the town of Cle Elum to just south of Manastash Creek. The area headquarters is in Ellensburg.

The area is drained by fish-bearing streams that empty into the Yakima River which meanders along the southeastern border. Elevation ranges from 1,200 feet to 4,500 feet. The area rises from sagebrush steppe hillsides to dense stands of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir at an elevation of 4,500 feet. The abundant mixture of forest, open meadows, grassland, and sagebrush provides a well-diversified range from which a wide variety of wildlife species benefit.

The L.T. Murray supports a large elk herd, and annual winter feeding of elk is a yearly activity. Other big game using the area include mule deer and bear; however, the diversity of the area supports many species including spotted owls, northern goshawk, golden eagles, pileated woodpeckers, salmon, migratory and local birds, beaver, etc.

The department initiated a Green Dot road management program in 1990, which designates roads open for public use. The principal outdoor recreational uses of the L.T. Murray area in the past were hunting and fishing, but camping, sightseeing, picnicking, horseback riding, ATV use, photography, and various other forms of recreation are now increasing.