Reardan Lions Club members build a bird viewing blind. |
One of Washington’s newest wildlife areas is just a couple blocks from the post office of a small town in eastern Lincoln County, just west of Spokane off Highway 2.
Reardan, population 598, is also home to more than 200 bird and other wildlife species during spring and fall migrations, thanks to the 277-acre Reardan’s Audubon Lake Wildlife Area on the south edge of town.
The mostly wetlands property was acquired by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in 2005 with the help of the Inland Northwest Land Trust (INLT), Spokane Audubon Society, Reardan Public Development Authority, and a state grant from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program. Birdwatchers from Spokane and other places had been making field trips to the privately-owned site for years because it has long been a critical water stop in the migration of thousands of birds.
It’s an Audubon Washington Important Bird Area (IBA) nominee and key component of the future Northeast Washington Birding Trail, maps of which are scheduled for completion next year.
With more state grant funds, public access development began last year and is expected to be completed later this year, hopefully in time for a “grand opening” during the fall bird migration.
There are now two disabled-accessible gravel parking lots, one on the north side of the property and one on the south, with pit toilets installed at each. Two short (less than half-mile) disabled-accessible walking trails are also in place, one from each parking lot to wildlife viewing blinds that are still under construction by Reardan Lions Club members. The two viewing blinds are located to provide the best opportunity for seeing birds and other wildlife on the lake with minimal disturbance. Thanks to a donation from INLT members and donors, the viewing blinds will be equipped with heavy-duty, fixed-focus, mounted scopes.
With help from the Lincoln County Conservation District, a tree/shrub “living fence” has been planted along the trails that in time will provide natural screening to minimize disturbance to wildlife. Wildlife interpretive signs are expected to be installed later this year at the parking lots and possibly along the trails.
Grassland restoration work is also ongoing to ultimately return about 50 acres of the area’s uplands to original Palouse Prairie -- one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. First native grass seeds will be planted this fall, then native forb seeds next year. By 2011, north side fields will be converted to native grasses, with a mix of forbs and legumes. South fields will have native grasses and forbs in the drier upland areas and “waterfowl-friendly” crops in the wetland areas.
The end result of all these efforts, says WDFW wildlife biologist Howard Ferguson of Spokane, is more cover and food and better nesting opportunities for native wildlife species, more access to wildlife viewing by more people to raise awareness and appreciation, and more dollars in the local community through growing “eco-tourism”. |
