Upland Wildlife Restoration Project
Ted Johnson, Wildlife Biologist

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s, Upland Wildlife Restoration Project has a 19- member staff conducting long term habitat enhancements and partnerships across Washington. The emphasis of this work unit has been to create valuable partnerships with private landowners, sports-groups, and schools with primary emphasis on agricultural farmlands and forested uplands statewide.

The majority of all funds that support this effort come from three federal sources, with another $100,000 being donated each year by conservation minded sports groups, such as Pheasants Forever, National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and others. The focus of the fieldwork has been on privately owned agricultural lands. It is estimated that 80% of all wildlife is produced on private lands in the state of Washington. These lands play a significant role in providing habitats for a variety of wildlife species.

The Upland Wildlife Restoration project accomplishments have grown in the last 10 years from 650,000 acres under written cooperative agreements (5 to 15 years in length), to over 4 million acres today. There are over 1,300 cooperating landowners enrolled in the program throughout the state. Since 72% of Washington is privately owned, that adds up to a lot of habitat that provides homes for wildlife. Presently, about 16% of the state’s private lands are enrolled in the program providing significant public access for recreational hunting.

An important mission of the program is to increase upland bird populations by improving and increasing the amount of habitat utilized by game species such as ring-necked pheasant, quail, chukar, grouse, partridge and wild turkey, and numerous other wildlife species as well. WDFW personnel work one-on-one with landholders and farmers to plant grasses, trees, and shrubs, install water developments, and feeders, to enhance wildlife.

An increased federal appropriation in 1991 resulted in funding 13 additional staff members. Great strides have been made in Washington, making it a national model and the largest project of its kind in the nation. Presently sixteen other states are asking for assistance to create similar program’s.

As an incentive to private landowner participation, agency staff not only provides technical help, but hands-on development of the drafted farm plans and enhancement prescriptions. In exchange for materials and help making these enhancements a reality, landowners agree to open their lands up to the public for recreational opportunity, mainly hunting. In doing so a state statue provides liability protection to those landowners that provide such a public benefit. At the same time, WDFW provides free signage and assists the landowner in posting their lands as “free to hunt” or “Hunt by written permission.” The WDFW enforcement officers are provided copies of agreements and property descriptions in order to enforce the posted regulations, and to make sure these lands remain open to the public for the term of the agreement.

Over the past decade the Upland Wildlife Restoration project has provided considerable assistance to the landowner and farmers that are in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) administered by the Department of Agriculture. This federal program compensates farmers for taking acreage out of agricultural production in order to improve water and air quality, soil stability and wildlife habitats. WDFW staff have helped these landowners qualify for CRP through technical assistance, providing on the ground materials, and helping to construct enhancements for the benefit of wildlife. Within the last 2 ½ years, Washington has become one of the most successful states in the nation in enrolling and retiring acres under the CRP program.

In 1991, WDFW initiated the Environmental Development Goes Educational project (EDGE). This project involves youth throughout the state in high school sponsored Future Farmers of America chapters, allowing them to become involved with hands-on educational habitat restoration. Over the past ten years, nearly 800 students have participated in wildlife enhancements and developments on private lands, helping to bolster valuable relationship links between landowner, sportsmen, and wildlife.

It is well known that the upland habitats, both farmland and forested, are exceedingly important to wildlife. The private lands of the state are an irreplaceable resource for wildlife and its future. The Upland Wildlife Restoration Project is a successful program and continues to be a major contributor to the efforts to protect, preserve, perpetuate and restore wildlife and their habitats, and provide hunting opportunity. The wildlife of our state is our barometer in life that tells us how we are doing as land stewards. It is true today as it was many years ago … “Where wildlife cannot live mankind cannot survive”.