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Southwest Washington Wildlife Reports
Fred Dobler, Wildlife Program Manager

January 17, 2005

Region 5 Wildlife Areas

South Vancouver Lake Wetland Project Operational. The new water system and five of the six wetland areas now are holding substantial amounts of water and have begun to attract some waterfowl.

South Vancouver Lake Wetland Project Operational– Late last fall a project that took years to get under way was completed that will benefit wetland habitat and associated wildlife along the southern shore of Vancouver Lake. The project includes an estimated 108 acres of wetland basins on the Vancouver Lake Unit of WDFW's Shillapoo Wildlife Area and adjoining lands managed by Vancouver/Clark Parks and Recreation. The two land management agencies partnered with Ducks Unlimited, The Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Clark Public Utilities to fund and complete the project.

Wildlife Area Manager Calkins and two temporary employees have been operating the new water system and five of the six wetland areas now are holding substantial amounts of water and have begun to attract some waterfowl. Water for the project is being provided at no cost by Clark Public Utilities through a pipeline that they funded that originates at their natural gas fired power generating plant about a half mile away. The project is currently operating on straight well water but later will be a mix of "reuse" cooling tower water and well water.

Pintail with "Ricebelly" harvested Vancouver Lake– Wildlife Area Manager Calkins received a call from a hunter who harvested a Pintail on Vancouver Lake and was concerned about the condition of the meat. The hunter had already discarded the bird but gave a textbook description of ricebelly or Sarcocystosis, a relatively common parasitic infection of waterfowl. The disease is noted by what appears to be grains of rice imbedded in the breast or other muscle tissues. Although the appearance is unappetizing to some it is considered safe to eat. For more information on the disease readers may want to view the PDF version of Chapter 28: Sarcocystis, of the US Geological Survey's Field Manual of Wildlife Diseases General Field Procedures or visit the US Geological Survey site for more information.

Cowlitz Wildlife Area: Kiona and Spears Units Restoration Plan–CWA staff has received the final Kiona and Spears Units Restoration Plan from Seattle based Sheldon and Associates Incorporated. Sheldon and Associates were contracted by the Cowlitz Wildlife Area to conduct habitat surveys and assessments on the Kiona and Spears Units. Later phases of the plan included preferred and non-preferred alternatives for wetland and riparian restoration with consultation from local WDFW staff. This is a long-term plan and will help drive future developments starting this spring.

Cowlitz Wildlife Area: 2005 Winter Waterfowl Survey– The staff of the CWA spent three days visiting area lakes, ponds and flooded areas to identify and count waterfowl species. The staff visited all the priority 1 and priority 2 sites (ten sites). This information is part of the annual migratory waterfowl survey. Some of the sites that are usually counted were low on water or completely dry and many of the local ponds were frozen. These conditions probably contributed to our counts being lower than usual. However, there were still many birds sighted and the species composition was quite diverse.

Cowlitz Wildlife Area: Recreation Information–Riffe Lake Water Levels- Riffe Lake’s water levels are once again falling; more areas of the lakeshore are being exposed. This exposure increases the likelihood of vehicular intrusion into sensitive areas easily damaged by motor vehicle access. The CWA staff has placed signs prohibiting motor vehicle use around the perimeter of these sensitive areas. Please respect these signs.

Cowlitz Wildlife Area: Watchable Wildlife– The bald eagles have returned to the Tilton River forested corridor across the highway from the Cowlitz Wildlife Area office. Early morning visits should be fruitful.

Game Management Division

Mid-winter Waterfowl Surveys– Biologist Holman completed the mid-winter waterfowl survey from the mouth of the Washougal River, up the Columbia to Bonneville dam. The results of the survey tallied: 1062 ducks (primarily scaup on the Columbia), 621 Canada geese (primarily western, taverners and cacklers) and 9 tundra swans. This year's survey included a few more ducks and a few less geese than that of 2004. Note that the swans were found feeding in the small pond at the western end of Beacon Rock State Park. Those interested in viewing the swans should try the State Park if the birds are not located at their usual location on Franz Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Region 5 Post-Season Deer Surveys– Biologist Holman and Klickitat Wildlife Area Manager Ellenburg conducted ground-based surveys of the post-hunting season deer herd in GMUs 382 (East Klickitat) and 588 (Grayback). In GMU 382, the survey resulted in a total of 170 deer observed and classified. The fawn to doe ratio was 68:100 and the buck to doe ratio was 15 to 100. In GMU 588, a total of 138 deer were observed with 127 classified. The fawn to doe ratio was 56 to 100 and the buck to doe ratio was 6 to 100. A post-hunting season goal of 15 bucks per 100 does has been established as a state-wide benchmark per the Game Management Plan.

Note that although located in Region 5, GMU 382 is managed as a mule-deer area, with a three-point or larger antler restriction for all user-groups. The survey reveals that this management strategy is resulting in adequate hunting-season escapement in GMU 382. In contrast, GMU 588 is managed under a two-point restriction and has much longer general hunting seasons. The results of this particular survey indicate that our current management of this deer population is failing to meet the buck escapement goal. However, the results should be considered with caution as the data was collected during a mild winter and includes only deer that were visible from a road.

Deer Genetics Samples– Biologist Holman tallied and submitted the final set of deer genetics samples to Olympia Wildlife Program Staff for processing. A total of 245 genetic samples were submitted from our efforts during 2004. The great majority of these samples were from black-tailed deer harvested by hunters in Region 5. However, a few road kill deer, and deer from other Regions were included as well. Note that 245 samples is equal to approximately 4-5% of the total Regional deer harvest in recent years. Regional Wildlife Program looks forward to the results of the genetic work as it may offer additional insight into deer management issues such as: sampling design for Chronic Wasting Disease testing; establishment of appropriate Population Management Units; and modifications to hunting seasons. January 10, 2005

Region 5 Wildlife Areas

Klickitat Wildlife Area: Ice House–Area Manager Ellenburg Worked with local contractors and Wildlife Biologist Anderson to come up with plans for sealing up the windows and doors in the Ice House on the Mineral Springs Unit. This is being done as a safety precaution and for protection of the chimney which is used by Vaux swifts as a roosting site.

Wildlife Diversity

Columbian White-tailed Deer Management– Surveys for CWTD in the Willow Grove/Barlow Point are have been completed for this year. Biologist for WDFW and USFWS participated in counts of deer from the roadway. The highest count was 16 deer with a mix of both marked and unmarked deer present. Unmarked deer are progeny of transplanted deer to Crimms Island and Fisher Island. The surveys indicate that all 8 CWTD does with working radios are no longer on Fisher Island. Four does are in the Barlow Point area. And four are in Willow Grove. We have at least one visual sighting for all these animals since August; three does have been seen with one fawn each . The other 5 females do not appear to have reproduced successfully. Biologists from USFWS completed a mark/recapture population estimate for this area and determined that 32 to 40 deer now reside in the Cowlitz county area. WDFW will continue to assist in monitoring the deer with radio telemetry and infrared cameras.

Game Division

Dusky Goose Survey– Biologist Holman and Habitat Technician Hauswald conducted the second phase of the dusky goose survey. The survey area included the Shillapoo State Wildlife Area in the Vancouver lowlands, Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge, agricultural areas in the western portion of Clark County, etc. A total of 22 dusky geese were observed among the approximately 4000 geese located during survey. Cackling Canada geese and Taverners Canada geese dominate the wintering goose population in these areas. Two of the duskies observed in the Vancouver lowlands were collared birds and both collars were read and recorded. Dusky surveys were conducted simultaneously throughout Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon by staff from WDFW, ODFW and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.