Conservation Northwest

2011 A Wild Year Coast to BC Rockies Wildlife upswing Wolf pup explores the new world. © David Moskowitz "I'm deeply concerned about the heritage that we are leaving our children. An important part of our heritage in Washington State is the beauty and far reaching effect of having the wolf on our landscape." –Heather Hilf-Barr, Olympia 2011 highlights For wolves: Supporters swamped the hallways and inboxes with testimonials and letters supporting recovery of Washington's wolves. We also established a reward fund for information leading to conviction of poachers, and our volunteer monitoring teams were first to document the newest Cascades wolf pack in the Teanaway. For grizzly bears: We celebrated the first confirmed photo in 15 years of a North Cascades grizzly bear. With Canadian colleagues, during our annual Wild Links conference, we established a Grizzly Bear Working Group to help BC and US transboundary bears For forests: We inspired 2,000 public comments, getting the Colville National Forest to recommend 100,000 acres of wilderness as part of their forest plan revisions. For Cascades connectivity: We helped persuade the legislature to commit funding toward building the Rock Knob wildlife bridge over I-90, the first in our state and spanning a very important north–south route for Cascades wildlife. For Coast to Cascades: We worked hard for a new forest preserve that, once approved, will protect nearly one third of the Lake Whatcom watershed. For ranchland conservation: Together with the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program and Inland Northwest Land Trust, we gained a conservation easement for the 504-acre Dawson ranch near Colville, WA, helping protect wildlife, habitat, and heritage. 4 Winter 2012 I will never forget the spirited pub debates I used to have with my graduate school advisor, Bernard Stonehouse. Stonehouse, a true English character, has worked in the Antarctic since 1947. Two things I will always remember. He was consistently miffed by the idea that people would choose to go snow camping for fun. And he would always say the world is getting better. I would vehemently disagree. One need only read the news: Climate change...climate change deniers...diminishing wild areas...society's loss of connection to nature. These problems are very real and the solutions seem so complex. So how can Stonehouse be right? Amid all the bad news, a positive story is indeed emerging. And it's playing out right here in our backyard in the Pacific Northwest. It's a story of a land that was once ravaged by clearcuts and logging roads that is now quietly coming back, thriving once again and slowly returning to a state of glorious abundance. The evidence? Look who's coming home for dinner. From the Washington Coast to the BC Rockies, things are getting wilder! • Welcome home, Washington's wolves: Washington now has five confirmed packs. Two were discovered with the help of Conservation Northwest's Citizens Wildlife Monitoring Program. The interesting news is that Teanaway wolves are related to the Lookout Pack. Wolves appear to be spreading out into the Cascades and reclaiming their former home. Next stop, South Cascades? • Fruition of a state wolf plan: Washington's wolves will soon get a state recovery plan that will help ensure recovery and distribution. Conservation Northwest played a big role in shaping the direction of this plan. We inspired thousands of people to write letters and hundreds to give testimony at hearings. We were invited by the governor and eagerly participated in the Wolf Working Group for the nearly three years of preparation of a wolf plan that brought all stakeholders to the table. • A grizzly bear appears in the North Cascades: After years of waiting, this year we have photos of what might be a grizzly bear in the North Cascades, as well as a grizzly just north of the border in BC. That's hope amid dire concern that these bears are blinking out. • Caribou get some peace and quiet: Closures at three local snowmobile areas near Revelstoke, BC, will help protect mountain caribou and recover the Selkirks' population of this endangered North American mammal. Conservation Northwest and our BC allies pushed hard for the recreation closure, recommended by scientists as part of the 2009 Mountain Caribou Recovery Plan. The caribou management zone around Revelstoke was one of the areas remaining in the plan where promised public recreation closures had not yet been implemented. www.conservationnw.org

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