Warden School District helps with “Project Burrow”

The Warden School District in central Washington’s Grant County is participating in a long-term citizen science project to help the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in the conservation and management of the Washington ground squirrel.

It’s called “Project Burrow” because this rare species (Spermophilus washingtonis) – a state and federal candidate for protective listing -- is a ground-burrowing squirrel.

“Burrowing wildlife are not necessarily seen as welcome neighbors in Warden and elsewhere in Washington farm country,” says WDFW Watchable Wildlife Manager Chuck Gibilisco. “But the 15-acre campus of the Warden elementary, middle and high schools just happens to have a population of about 300 Washington ground squirrels, so we approached them to help us and they were willing to give it a try.”

Gibilisco recently teamed up with WDFW wildlife biologists and researchers to train Warden students and teachers on field identification and behavior of Washington ground squirrels. Equipped with binoculars, spotting scopes, weather instruments, data sheets, and field protocols, they are learning to master the steps of scientific field inquiry.

“And they’re just having fun watching these little animals through binoculars,” Gibilisco said. “It’s ‘way cool’.”

The Washington ground squirrel is found only in southeast Washington and northeast Oregon. In Washington its range is east of the Columbia River from the center of the state southward in shrub-steppe and grassland habitats where it digs burrows for nesting, hiding, and hibernating. It is brown-gray with white spots and has a short tail with blackish tip. It measures seven to almost 10 inches from tip of nose to tip of tail and weighs from five to nearly 10 ounces.

Along with WDFW monitoring and studies, Cornell University researchers have been studying the Washington ground squirrel for the past three years. But there are still gaps in knowledge about the species movements, interactions, and first above-ground appearance of offspring.

“The students are right there in the middle of a large colony every day,” Gibilisco said. “They can even make observations from their classroom windows. We hope they can really help us fill some of those holes in the research.”

For example, Gibilisco explained, WDFW researchers are hoping to color mark a sampling of the squirrels so the students can readily tell who’s who to track movements across the local range.

Project Burrow will eventually include monitoring of other species that live beneath the school grounds, or prey on those that do. The campus is also home to several pairs of burrowing owls, a federal species of concern and state candidate for protective listing. Because the little owls are so active and visible, the students are already enthralled with them, Gibilisco said. Also on campus are badgers, prairie falcons and a red-tailed hawk pair that nests on the football field light pole.