Go native to help wildlife
By Jeff Koenings, PH.D., WDFW Director

As you spruce up your Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary this spring, “go native” with plantings that benefit wildlife.

Besides providing the best habitat for native birds and other animals, native plants are generally easier to grow because they’re naturally adapted to our soils and climate and don’t require as much watering and care.

Native plantings in maintained landscapes such as backyards also help slow the spread of invasive, exotic plants, plant diseases and insects.

In recognition of these and other attributes of native plants, Gov. Chris Gregoire has proclaimed April 29 through May 5 as “Native Plant Appreciation Week” in Washington.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is proud to join other natural resource agencies and organizations in this celebration of over 3,000 native plant species that inhabit our state’s forests, mountains, deserts, river valleys and our backyards.

Native Plant Appreciation Week is full of activities and events to help citizens learn more about native plants—from how they protect water quality to how we can protect them. Among the events is a presentation by WDFW Wildlife Biologist Russell Link, author of the popular Landscaping for Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest, on his favorite native plants for the garden. Russell is scheduled to speak April 30, from noon to 1 p.m., in the Seattle Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave.

You can find the complete list of talks, walks, garden tours, work parties, natural area visits, habitat restoration projects and other events, plus sources of native plants across the state, on the Washington Native Plant Society website.

The Department does its part to protect and promote native plants. On the land that we own or manage for fish and wildlife habitat – about 850,000 acres of wildlife areas and water access sites across the state – we make native vegetation restoration and control of invasive, non-native weeds a top priority.

Our authority to protect habitat on other lands is limited, so we work collaboratively with landowners through incentives, easements, agreements and technical assistance on best management practices and habitat restoration.

The Department has the authority to regulate activities within fish-bearing waters, including the importation and release of aquatic and terrestrial plant and animal species. Working with other agencies and organizations, we use cooperative education and enforcement to stem the introduction and spread invasive species.

Just as intact terrestrial habitats lessen the opportunity for non-native invasive species to encroach, so aquatic native plants—such as eelgrass— help keep invasive species from becoming established in our waterways. Activities in fish-bearing waters permitted under the WDFW Hydraulic Project Approval program must be conducted in a way that protects the habitat that supports native aquatic plants.

Look for additional information about “going native” to help wildlife in this edition of “Crossing Paths.”