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Southwest Washington
Wildlife Reports
May
29, 2007
Region 5 Wildlife Areas
Mt. St. Helens Wildlife Area Forage Management: Wildlife Area Manager Calkins and Assistant Manager Hauswald have been working on projects to enhance forage production on several areas within the Mt. St. Helens Wildlife Area. This work has included dragging a chain harrow over approximately 36 acres to scatter elk droppings and break up thatch and moss, lime application to 31 acres, and fertilization of 27 acres. Some areas received more than one treatment. In addition, one site was harrowed and over seeded in hopes of developing a more productive forage stand. Scotch Broom control work has already begun by spot spraying individual plants within the forage management areas noted above and will continue throughout the spring as time and budget constraints allow. We would like to extend a special thanks to skilled mechanic and long time volunteer Mike Braaten who spent over a day helping us diagnose and repair a hydraulics problem on the tractor used for this work.
Game Management Division
Operation Dark Goose: District Wildlife Biologist Miller, Scientific Technician Ridenour, and volunteers Grosbeck and Howell visited Miller Sands Island and local area to observe brood flocks. The crew of Ridenour and Grosbeck observed 9 broods in the bay between Miller Sands Island and Miller Sands Spit. The broods were all 1 or 2 weeks old. This brood age information is added to the data set of egg float data to help us establish the appropriate time to band these birds. This group of geese resembles the migrant dusky goose and without other markers can cause confusion at check stations and during population surveys.
Leave the Fawns Alone: Deer fawns throughout Washington State are born around the first of June. Annually, WDFW receives hundreds of calls from well-meaning, concerned citizens who believe that they have found abandoned juvenile deer. Unfortunately, many individuals collect these young animals and want to care for them or send them someplace for care. In the majority of these cases, the fawns have not been abandoned by their mothers.
Normal behavior for members of the deer family is to leave the young hiding while the mother feeds. The final stages of gestation and early stages of lactation are the most nutritionally demanding time of year for the females and they must leave their young hidden while they secure the calories needed for themselves and their offspring. The spotted fawns lying still among vegetation aren't abandoned; they are just waiting for their mother to return for more nursing.
Unfortunately, many fawns are collected by individuals who then attempt to "raise" them. Not only is this detrimental to the deer, it is illegal to posses wildlife. WDFW does allow licensed wildlife rehabilitators with the appropriate facility to temporarily keep fawns. Those that are not licensed through this process are not allowed to hold deer fawns, even with the best of intentions.
An example from Southwest Washington provides insight into the rationale behind these laws. In the summer of 2005, two fawns were collected and illegally raised inside of an enclosure until the spring of 2006 when they were released into the "wild" of their suburban - rural habitat. The deer (now nearly a year old) were extremely used to people and dogs. Initially the neighborhood enjoyed their mostly tame yearling deer. However, the fun soon ended as eventually the deer entered a residence, panicked, and destroyed a very large window. This caused a dispute among neighbors, an expensive window repair, and initiated the involvement of WDFW. Approximately two-months later, at approximately age 1, the two deer were killed by a vehicle on a nearby State highway.
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colony of over 100 Townsend's big-eared bats was located in a cave system
on a private timber parcel. |
These deer were not rehabilitated; they never reached maturity and never contributed to the local deer population. Instead they caused strife among neighbors, took valuable time away from WDFW Officers, caused property damage in the way of wrecked cars and a broken living-room window. Fortunately no people were physically hurt through this course of events. In light of this example and keeping deer behavior and biology in mind, please Leave the Fawns Alone!
Wildlife Diversity Division
Townsend's big-eared bats: Biologist Anderson completed a forest practice review with a private timber company regarding protection of habitat around a sensitive bat cave near Trout Lake. The Trout Lake area is known for its cave habitat that supports this unique bat species. This last year, a colony of over 100 Townsend's big-eared bats was located in a cave system on this private parcel. Biologist Anderson negotiated a habitat management plan to provide a forest buffer around several entrances to the cave system. WDFW was pleased with the final plan agreed upon with the private timber company.
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