Conservation Northwest

Rockies to Cascades connections 12 Fall 2014 conservationnw.org After decades spent protecting and connecting lands within the Cascades Mountains and Kettle River Ranges, we are excited to focus on the vital connection between these two landscapes. In a collaboration facilitated by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a coalition of state, federal, tribal and nongovernmental interests—including Conservation Northwest—have joined together to protect wildlife habitat, rural livelihoods and heritage in the diverse landscape of the central Okanogan Valley. e Okanogan Valley is an important home and migration pathway for both people and wildlife. Bordered to the north by Canada, to the west by the Cascade Mountains, to the east by the Okanogan Highlands and, beyond that, the Kettle River Range, this broad open valley of sagebrush grassland and ponderosa pine for- est is known for its wide diversity of wildlife and habitat. Here you find sparking riv- ers and lakes, rocky outcrops, highlands rising above the valley floor and productive agricultural lands. Semi-nomadic First Peoples maintained camps in the valley through the winter, moving from place to place to hunt, fish and harvest food and cultural plants. eir descendants continue treaty-protected uses of the landscape. Wildlife in the region remains abundant. Mule deer annually migrate from the valleys to higher elevations in the warmer seasons. e healthiest lynx population in the Lower 48 is anchored in the high country of the Okanogan. Cougar, elk, and bighorn sheep are stable or increasing in numbers. One of the state's only popula- tions of sharp-tailed grouse moves within the arid lands of the Tunk Valley, funnel- ing into the Okanogan Valley from the east, to find food, mates and shelter. is wildlife diversity exists in harmony with rural agriculture. Orchards, farms, ranches and sawmills are the heart of the Okanogan economy and culture. Rivers and other obstacles to wildlife movement have always existed, but con- tinuing expansion of development into rural areas has fragmented habitat, reducing agricultural production and diminishing the rural lifestyle of the Okanogan Valley. Burgeoning traffic along Highway 97 has increased vehicle collisions with wildlife. As many as 400 deer are killed each year along the 11.7 mile stretch of Highway 97 north and south of Riverside, harmful to people and costing society an average of over $7,000 per collision. e National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Working for Wildlife Initiative, of which Conservation Northwest is a partner, aims to protect and enhance open spaces, migration paths for wildlife, and winter range for mule deer in the Okanogan Valley. e initiative also works to promote traditional agricultural values to ensure the coexistence and livelihood of working ranches, forests and wildlife in the future. By 2020, the Working for Wildlife coalition aims to conserve existing habitat values on private land, construct three wildlife underpasses on Highway 97 to fa- cilitate safer passage and restore habitat quality and resiliency on 20,000 acres. We hope to augment the local population of Columbian sharp-tailed grouse and lay the groundwork for recovery of Canada lynx in the Kettle River Range. By establishing programs and relationships to increase the community's pride and ability to coexist with wildlife, this important work will preserve wildlife for the long term. Connecting the Cascades to the rockies WorkING For WIlDlIFe Jen Watkins Conservation associate, jwatkins@conservationnw.org a BIG boost for Working for Wildlife This summer we got some fantastic life initiative. Thanks to the generosity Foundation, we received a $100,000 grant habitats, and construct underpasses across Washington's highway 97 in okanogan Washington Women's Foundation, for supporting projects like Working for Wildlife? conservationnw.org/donate. Accepting the check from the Washington Women's Conservation Northwest board president Michel Girard Watkins. Below: Okanogan valley landscape. Photo:

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