UPDATED JAN. 25, 9:20 A.M. WITH A WDFW ROAD CLOSURE ON 44,000 ACRES OF STATE LAND EAST OF ELLENSBURG TO MINIMIZE DISTURBANCES TO ELK; SEE BOTTOM
I'm hearing of muleys beginning to drop their antlers in at least one Northwest valley, and that will undoubtedly begin to bring out the shed hunters -- at the worst possible time.
To keep the yahoos off the winter range as deer and elk herds enter their most vulnerable part of the year, ODFW is for the second straight year closing off all public access to state and BLM lands encompassing the Phillip W. Schneider Wildlife Area between Prineville and John Day.
The closure, as well as one at Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area near La Grande begins Feb. 1.
The Elkhorn and Bridge Creek Wildlife Areas elsewhere in Eastern Oregon have been closed since Dec. 1.
ODFW says that while the Schneider has been restricted to motor vehicle travel, more people are hiking into the area in winter in search of shed antlers.
“Late winter and early spring is when mule deer are most vulnerable because their energy reserves are low,” said Ryan Torland, ODFW district biologist for Grant County, in a press release from the agency today. “People and pets put deer on the move and use up energy reserves that could otherwise help them survive the winter.
It's just one step that's being taken to protect a herd that once numbered 30,000. Since its peak, the wintering herd in the Murderers Creek Unit has dipped to 5,300.
ODFW blames severe winters, predation and the decline of winter forage.
Should you swing by the Dunn Lumber in Shoreline, Wash., you might find the handiwork of those who are working to improve mule deer habitat in Oregon -- big ol' 8-foot-long beams cut from junipers.
(Good price on them too, the last time I saw them.)
ODFW, BLM, USFS, RMEF, MDF, Oregon Hunters Association and Foundation for North American Wild Sheep have removed the invasive trees on 3,221 acres of Murderers Creek as well as treated invasive weeds, planted shrubs and created food plots for deer.
Sure, it benefits the game we prize the most -- and it will also help nongame species, points out ODFW.
(WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH & WILDLIFE PRESS RELEASE)
For the fifth consecutive year, about 44,000 acres of state wildlife land east of Ellensburg will be closed to motor vehicles Feb. 1 through April 30 to protect wintering elk from disturbance, and in turn reduce elk damage to adjacent private lands.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will temporarily close the Whiskey Dick Wildlife Area and a portion of the Quilomene Wildlife Area in Kittitas County. The area to be closed is north of the Vantage Highway, south of Quilomene Ridge Road, east of the Wild Horse Wind Farm and west of the Columbia River.
Reducing vehicle traffic on the wildlife area may encourage wintering elk to remain on the public land rather than straying to nearby private lands, according to wildlife biologists. The effectiveness of the seasonal road closure is being evaluated by monitoring the movements of elk equipped with tracking collars.
About 2,000 elk—nearly half the Colockum elk herd—winter on the Whiskey Dick and Quilomene areas, according to WDFW Southcentral Regional Wildlife Manager Ted Clausing. Forty-three of the elk are fitted with global positioning system (GPS) devices to track their movements. Biologists use the data to assess the animals’ response to the closure.
“Continuing to track elk this winter will help us judge the effectiveness of the closure,” said Clausing. “Based on data we’ve previously collected, we would recommend permanent seasonal vehicle closure. However, we’ll evaluate this year’s additional data to make a recommendation on permanent seasonal closure by next year.”
This is the fifth year of seasonal closures on the Ellensburg-area wildlife lands. The three-month seasonal closure is consistent with winter-range closures elsewhere in the state, including the Oak Creek, Wenas and L.T. Murray wildlife areas. Seasonal closures also occur on critical big-game winter ranges in several other western states, including Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Wyoming.
Research from across the western United States indicates vehicle traffic can disturb elk and significantly reduce their use of habitat near roads, according to Scott McCorquodale, a WDFW elk researcher.
“The zone influenced by roads can be quite large in open areas such as the Colockum elk winter range,” said McCorquodale.
