Conservation Northwest

Homecoming for wildlife Jen Watkins Conservation associate, jwatkins@conservationnw.org Hoofing it home Deer and elk Most of us wait until our golden years to become snowbirds seeking kinder climates during the winter months. In contrast, elk and mule deer are born with the need to move with the seasons and trained from an early age on the best paths to do so. While we pack our bags and buy plane tickets to Arizona, hooved animals prepare for a journey by foot out of the mountains to lower elevation valleys as the snow falls. Come October in central Washington's eastern Cascades, a migration is underway of some elk herds leaving the higher elevations for lower country. In central Washington, the sound of 16,000 elk hooves, or 4,000 elk, can be heard leaving the Teanaway, Swauk, and Naneum—just south of Blewett Pass—to head eastward for the Colockum and Quilomene. In the Yakima area, a subherd of 10,000 elk leave the slopes of the east Cascades south of Stampede Pass, migrating over American and Manastash Ridges to the LT Murray and Oak Creek Wildlife areas. Biologists with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife estimate that, on average, these elk travel 18 miles each way during the seasonal movements; individuals and herds may move as far as 50 miles depending on the availability of suitable habitat. Farther north in the Okanogan Valley, winter gatherings of mule deer can provide quite the spectacle. More than 20,000 Rocky Mountain mule deer spend the winter in the Methow and Okanogan Valleys every year, the largest herd in the state. That means there is one deer for every two people in Okanogan County come winter. Through studies in the 1980s on this herd, researchers found that the average migration for these deer was 32 miles. Young elk, Colockum herd, Washington. Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Project As mule deer and elk return to their winter homes, they are seeking food and security to ride out the winter. The size and distribution of their winter homes can vary by year due to food availability, changes in habitat, and human use patterns on the landscape. This year the Colockum herd faces a reduction in their winter range from an 80,000 acre fire that burned this season through Washington's central Cascades. They are seeking cover from the elements through forested areas, food sources such as grasses, shrubs, herbs, and tree bark, as well as security from disturbance. To welcome these animals home upon their return, it is important that adequate habitat is in place to provide cover and food, connections between habitats facilitate ease of movement during migrations, and recreation is managed to include seasonal closures where security habitat is needed such as in the Whiskey Dick wildlife area for the Colockum elk herd. This winter, make a drive to one of the elk feeding stations such as in the Oak Creek wildlife area or visit the Okanogan Valley for mule deer to see these majestic animals in their winter home and learn more about their annual travels. Wolves, continued this year. I was appointed to the group along with other conservation, livestock, and sportsmen representatives to help advise WDFW as they implement the state wolf plan. Despite the difficult issues on our plate, I think the WAG does have the potential to serve as a productive platform for finding common ground on some issues. The expansion of Conservation Northwest's range rider program this year from one to three family livestock operations is also a positive development and a good sign that there are more ranchers out there than some might think willing to try proactive solutions. This season, we added two small ranches in the Cascades near the Teanaway and Wenatchee packs to the ranch near Colville who took on the first range Keeping the Northwest wild rider in Washington. WDFW has also hired several contract range riders to help ranchers increase human presence out on the range with their livestock, which has been shown to reduce wolf/livestock conflicts and lead to better grazing practices and increased cattle weight gain. Working to find common ground on wolf conservation and management issues is more challenging and sometimes less emotionally satisfying than taking a simple moral stand. But I believe we owe it to the wolves and other wildlife and the wild places we love to try to find that elusive, science-based middle road for wolves here in Washington. Fall 2013 11

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