For trails and
road crossings
partnership gets results
Jay Kehne conservation associate,
jay@conservationnw.org
In early spring, 2015 a volunteer
started up his earthmover and began to
re-shape a well-used but mostly dilapi-
dated trailhead for the Carter Mountain
Wildlife Area. Within two months the
popular parking area would be graded
and graveled to help prevent erosion and
keep weeds at bay.
Next, a group of 15 volunteers from
the Backcountry Horsemen of Okano-
gan County, the newly formed Okano-
gan Trails Chapter of the Mule Deer
Foundation (MDF), and the Okanogan
Land Trust, worked with the Washing-
ton Department of Fish and Wildlife to
fence the parking area with gates to al-
low foot and horse visitors access.
Spurred in part through partnerships
forged in the Working for Wildlife Ini-
tiative, this project was funded and built
by unlikely allies. It was an opportunity
for people to improve access to a popu-
lar area to see wildlife, hunt, and other-
wise enjoy the outdoors. And it helps
maintain the Okanogan Valley's wildlife
heritage, one of the goals of Working for
Wildlife.
e Okanogan Trails Chapter of
MDF is also working with Conservation
Northwest and other partners to gener-
ate support for a connectivity project to
prevent hundreds of vehicle-deer col-
lisions in the same area along Hwy 97
between Tonasket and Riverside. Aer
a short hike up the Carter Mountain
Trail, you can look north and south to
two potential locations identified by the
Washington State Department of Trans-
portation for wildlife underpasses.
With big impacts to both human
safety and wildlife populations, over 350
deer are hit and killed each year on this
10-mile stretch of highway that bisects a
seasonal mule deer migration route. e
Okanogan Trails Chapter of MDF has
made gaining public support for the Hwy
97 underpasses their top priority project.
To show the public the many deer and
other wildlife that use this region, includ-
Though the Okanogan region has one of Washington's healthiest mule deer herds, habitat loss and dangerous roadways are cause for
concern. © iStock.com/Steve Krull
Young Parker helps check for quality control after construction of the new fence around the Carter Mountain Trail parking area. Justin Haug
ing threatened Canada lynx and sharp-
tailed grouse, 15 trail cameras have been
set out by volunteers to capture images of
the variety, numbers, and movements of
wildlife in this important area. While all
this is going on, another partner in sup-
porting wildlife and wildlife habitat, the
Okanogan County Conservation Dis-
trict, recently hired a new staff person
to work with local private landowners to
implement conservation plans that ben-
efit diverse wildlife species in the area.
Like the other projects under the
Working for Wildlife umbrella, this one
also has a local staff person totally dedi-
cated to helping landowners live and
work with the wildlife that share the
landscape with them. It's a solid win-win
for people, wildlife, and the Initiative.
Editor's note: Jay Kehne lives in Omak,
working on habitat and predator conflict
avoidance issues in eastern Washington.
Feature: Okanogan milestones
Members of the Okanogan Trails Chapter of the MDF, partner in the Working for Wildlife
Initiative, renovate the Carter Mountain trailhead. Justin Haug
Keeping the Northwest wild Spring/Summer 2015 9
