8 Spring/Summer 2015 conservationnw.org
I-90 Milestones
To date, the Initiative has focused on laying the strong
groundwork, partnerships and capacity that will be neces-
sary to meet these ambitious long-term goals. We're strate-
gically investing in early conservation efforts to demonstrate
the community goals and values of this program. Initiative
partners have successfully completed conservation easements
on several ranches in coordination with willing landowners.
Habitat restoration is also moving forward on national forest
and tribal lands. And coordination and planning for augment-
ing the sharp-tailed grouse population is in the works.
As we enter the summer field season, additional restoration
plans on state, tribal, and federal land are underway, ranging
from invasive species management to high priority road resto-
ration in the landscape burned during the Carlton Complex
Wildfire. As we look beyond this field season, innovative plans
and conservation opportunities abound to maintain and re-
store habitat in this important linkage between the Cascade
Mountains and Kettle River Range. We look forward to up-
dating you as we move ahead.
If it's thoughtfully managed and conserved, the landscape
in the central Okanogan Valley is capable of supporting pro-
ductive agriculture and ranching, sustainable timber harvest-
ing, and other successful industries right along with healthy
wildlife populations, tourism, and abundant outdoor recre-
ation as well as protected and connected wildlands. With the
Working for Wildlife Initiative, diverse stakeholders are com-
ing together to accomplish common goals and achieve this
positive vision for the future.
Led by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,
we are collaborating with a coalition of state, federal, tribal,
and non-governmental interests to maintain the working
lands and wildlife heritage of Washington's Okanogan Valley
through the Working for Wildlife Initiative. is multi-year
public-private effort seeks to build on existing partnerships
and facilitate new ones to protect rural livelihoods and con-
serve working lands, restore forest health and wildlife habitats,
provide safe passage for wildlife under Highway 97, and re-
duce wildlife conflicts with livestock and local communities.
Begun in late 2013, things are now up and running and
we're already seeing progress and inspiring collaboration. By
2020 our coalition aims to conserve existing wildlife habitat
values on tens of thousands of acres of private land, construct
three wildlife underpasses on Highway 97 to facilitate safer
passage, restore habitat quality and resiliency on 20,000 acres,
augment the local population of Columbian sharp-tailed
grouse, lay the groundwork for recovery of Canada lynx in the
Kettle River Range, and establish programs and relationships
to increase the community's tools and pride in coexisting with
wildlife.
Collaboration picks
up steam
working for wilDlife
Canada lynx, one of the rarest and most iconic inhabitants of
Washington state and the Okanogan, are one of the key species the
Working for Wildlife Initiative hopes to conserve in the region.
© iStock.com/MikeLane45
Top: Okanogan Valley landscape. The region has rich forest and
shrub-steppe wildlands as well as ranching, farming and agricultural
production. © Rob Sinclair
Jen Watkins conservation associate, jen@conservationnw.org
Feature: Okanogan milestones
