6 Fall 2017 conservationnw.org
Working for Wildlife
Protecting habitat, working lands and
natural heritage
WORKING FOR WILDLIFE IN THE OKANOGAN
Jen Watkins and Jay Kehne Conservation Associates,
jwatkins@conservationnw.org, jkehne@conservationnw.org
Initiated in 2013, the Working for
Wildlife Initiative brings together an im-
pressive coalition of state, federal, tribal
and nongovernmental interests, enabled
by the National Fish and Wildlife Foun-
dation and coordinated by Conservation
Northwest, to protect wildlife habitat,
working lands and natural heritage in
the diverse landscape of the Okanogan
Valley and Kettle River Range.
e Okanogan Valley has long been
an important home and migration
pathway for both people and wildlife in
north-central Washington. is broad
open valley of sagebrush grassland is
known for its special qualities: sparkling
rivers and lakes, lush riparian areas, pro
-
ductive agricultural lands, rocky out-
crops and highlands, and a wide diver-
sity of wildlife and habitat.
Book-ending the Okanogan region
to the west are ridges of Ponderosa pine
climbing into the Loomis State Forest,
Pasayten Wilderness, and the cragg y
North Cascade Mountains. To the east
rise the Okanogan Highlands, followed
by the subalpine crest of the Kettle River
Mountain Range dividing the area from
the Columbia Highlands of northeast
Washington.
Generations have cherished this land
and sustained themselves on what it of
-
fered.
Progress for
wildlife in
2016-17
Wildlife in the
region remains
abundant. Mule
deer migrate an
-
nually from the
valleys to higher
elevations in the
warmer seasons.
e healthiest
lynx population
in the continental
United States is
anchored in the
high country of
the Okanogan.
Cougar, elk and
bighorn sheep are
stable or increas
-
ing in numbers.
One of the state's
only populations of sharp-tailed grouse
moves within the arid lands of the Tunk
Valley to find food, mates and shelter.
Over the last two years, exciting
progress was made in community en
-
gagement, land conservation, habitat
restoration following several years of
large fires covering much of the project
area, and piloting innovative applied sci
-
ence for our flagship species—Canada
lynx.
With leadership from the Okanogan
Trails Chapter of the Mule Deer Foun
-
dation (MDF), in 2016 a successful new
competitive scholarship was launched
for seniors at three local high schools
in the project area: Tonasket, Omak,
and Okanogan High Schools. Students
were asked to utilize photos and essays
to explain the rationale and benefits for
creating safer passage on Highway 97 in
Okanogan County through construc
-
tion of a series of wildlife underpasses.
e contest resulted in seven students
being honored.
e Chapter also hosted two sum
-
mits focused on the latest research rel-
evant to the Okanogan landscape on
mule deer, mortality, and safer passage
through habitat connectivity and wild-
life crossings. Safe Passage 97 is a relat-
ed effort lead by the MDF Chapter to
advocate for creating safer passage on
Highway 97 through the Okanogan
Valley for both wildlife and motorists.
Continuing expansion of develop
-
ment into rural areas is fragmenting
habitat, reducing agricultural produc-
tion and diminishing the rural lifestyle
of the Okanogan Valley. e resulting
increase in traffic along Highway 97 has
increased the risk to public safety from
vehicle collisions with wildlife while
making it more difficult for wildlife to
safely move.
An average 350 deer are killed each
year by vehicle collisions along the 11.7
mile stretch of Highway 97 between
Tonasket and Riverside, with an average
societal cost of over $7,000 per collision.
To support Safe Passage 97 and the
Working for Wildlife Initiative, remote
cameras have also been installed by citi
-
zen scientists to continue baseline mon-
A pair of male sharp-tail grouse compete for the attention of females. Like
sage grouse, sharp-tails are rare in Washington, under threat from a loss of
habitat. Along with mule deer and Canada lynx, they are a priority species for
the Working for Wildlife Initiative. Photo: istockphoto.com
