In more of the "interesting news" department, an animal posing as a wolf was photographed near Riverside, WA (geographically somewhere in between where the two known packs hang out).  It's nice to think that wolves can still safely travel across Washington without getting shot (cameras shots are okay) or run over.  Time will tell.

And finally in the sad wolf news department, the Lookout Pack's breeding female is still missing.  The radio signal from the wolf’s collar was lost May 12^th and has not been received since.  Scott Fitkin, a biologist with the WA Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), believes there are two possible explanations for the loss or detectable signal.  Either the collar malfunctioned, or the wolf was killed and the collar was destroyed.  Since the missing alpha male from Oregon's Imnaha Pack recently turned up in a remote camera photo and apparently has a faulty collar, we're really hoping that is the case with our lady wolf.  What's also interesting is the lack of the news from the case of last year's poaching incident of the pup from the Lookout Pack.  We're wondering why this case is taking so long to be prosecuted?

One things for sure though, you'll be hearing a lot more from us on wolves this fall as WDFW works to finalize the state wolf conservation and management plan. 

The Kettle Range is the backbone—and heart—of the western Columbia Highlands in northeastern Washington. The mountains, which range from gently rounded to steep, provide distant vistas of the Cascade and Rocky Mountains from their open, sagebrush- and wildflower-filled meadows. The range is a mosaic of closed-canopy forests and open vistas rapidly rebounding from past wildfires, a reminder that natural fire regimes are a crucial aspect of forest health. The Kettle Crest Trail, the most popular non-motorized recreation trail in the western Colville National Forest, winds over and around the length of the range, including six peaks over 7,000 feet. Hikers and horseback riders revere the more than ninety miles of trails along the Kettle River Range for their seclusion and scenic beauty. The many miles of interconnected trails provide a variety of opportunities for backcountry journeys. While one could easily spend several days traversing and savoring the Crest, there is also something magical in watching the full light of a long summer day rise and fall across these wild mountains in one unbroken chain of footsteps from trailhead to trail’s end.

Our own journey began a little before 6am at the southern terminus of the Kettle Crest Trail near White Mountain. As the sun began to enter the purple pre-dawn sky, the granitic rocks glowed with collected and reflected sunlight. Lupine, Indian paintbrush, buckwheat, aster and yarrow began to stir in the breeze. This spectacular region of the Kettle River Range has long been an important spiritual place to local Native American tribes and remains an important landscape for the adjacent Colville Indian Reservation, and it’s easy to see why: These mountains seems to reflect far more than the sum of their components—rock, flower, tree, light.

It’s little spots on the trail to anticipate and savor that always leave such a big impression in my mind: The rocky bench, with its eastward views of Twin Sisters Roadless Area, right before the trail begins to climb around the west side of Scar Mountain; the open, grassy meadow trailing down the west face of Profanity Peak, with views of the Curlew Valley; the serene grotto of giant Douglas-fir trees underlain by grass and lupine as the trail ascends out of Long Alec Creek. The Kettle Crest Trail offers plenty of quiet nooks in which to pitch a tent or rest aching feet.

Ten hours later and almost 30 miles north of White Mountain, we reached the summit of Copper Butte, one of the Kettle Range’s other trophy peaks. Were one to pause long enough to enjoy the view, one would see in the distance the Cascades, Selkirks, and Midway Mountains, and stretched out below the pristine roadless lands of the western Colville National Forest, the lodgepole pine forests of Twin Sisters, the deep canyons of Jackknife and Hoodoo, the Douglas-fir and Douglas maple of Owl Mountain. These views are a beautiful reminder that the Kettle Crest Trail is but a small thread woven through this vast, wild area. The forests, streams, meadows and canyons on either side of its two-foot width give the trail its recreational value, and it’s our opportunity now to ensure this value is preserved for future hikers thirty, fifty, and one hundred years hence.

The 16 hours spent on the trail seems like a long time, but it pales next to the more than thirty years that devoted people have spent working to protect this area. I suspect that, just like a 45-mile day hike, the journey toward wilderness designation takes longer than the optimistic estimates preceding such endeavors. But someday soon we’ll get there. And someday we’ll have a “Kettle Crest Wilderness – Colville National Forest” sign to look forward to at the end of our journey.

At 27” from head to tail, North America’s tallest owl could serve as a poster child for the Columbia Highlands Initiative, because our balanced plan for this area--including establishing wilderness, connecting habitat and protecting roadless areas, forest restoration, and keeping large ranches intact--is a recipe for improving habitat for this iconic species.

Outside of the breeding season, great gray owls are winter nomads requiring large connected tracks of land. Listening to the ground for the sounds of voles up to a foot below the surface of the snow, great gray owls need open understories where they can spread their human-sized wingspan and float silently, perch to perch, uninhibited by small scraggly trees like the ones that we recommend removing from unhealthy forest stands. These open stands not only make the sun-loving pine and fir grow taller and stronger, but the sunlight moving more freely to the ground encourages a thicker layer of grasses and wildflowers to nourish a healthier prey base for the owl.

During periods of bitterly cold weather and heavy snow, these spirit-like birds move down-slope out of the forest and often show up on adjacent pastures and ranch lands where they hunt post-to-post in pursuit of pocket gophers and other rodents.

During the nesting season, great gray owls look for older forests with broken-top trees and snags, the former serving as nest sites and the latter allowing their young to avoid predation.

Great gray owlets jump or fall from nests placed high in broken top-trees, witch’s brooms, or old raptor nests.  After bouncing upon the ground, they have between one and three vulnerable weeks before they fly. Downed branches, snags and leaning trees give them progressively more challenging and elevated perches that protect the fledglings from predators like foxes, or coyotes.

When Conservation Northwest began its efforts to bring protection to Columbia Highlands, we envisioned benefiting all of the mammals who require connected habitat to guarantee resilient populations far into the future; but like many conservation efforts, the beneficiaries extend far beyond the targeted species, including one of North America’s most impressive birds, the Great gray owl.

[Learn more about Paul's work and iconic birds at his site, paulbannick.com]

All photos: Paul Bannick, paulbannick.com

This year’s Rendezvous drew a large crowd, with many long-time Conservation Northwest and Kettle Range Conservation Group members present, plus some new faces. There was a range of hikes offered, from short and moderate to long and difficult. I chose the Wapaloosie to Jungle Hill route, a challenging, eight-mile hike lead by Sue Coleman and Ken Vanden Heuvel. Because the hike leaders describe the hikes in detail for the group before everyone splits up into their hiking groups for car-pooling to the trailheads, everyone can choose something that fits their fitness level and desired difficulty.

I had been on this hike once before, at a Rendezvous a few years back, but honestly did not remember the views being as amazing as they were; maybe my memories had faded, or maybe it really was more gorgeous. Every time you hike the same route, it is different, sometimes radically so (in the case of wildfire or logging), but more often the changes are subtler: the leaves of the aspens and native bushes are a different color, berries or blossoms are in bloom, the sky is clear enough to see farther than on a previous visit, or a washed out section of trail has been repaired by hard-working volunteers. On this day, I was as entranced by the abundant fields of sage against the brilliant blue sky as by the 360-degree views from the top of Wapaloosie Mountain.

The weather for the weekend was absolutely perfect, with clear, blue skies that allowed us to see into Canada on our hike, and temperatures that were hot but not uncomfortably so. We saw snow at a couple of high points, which is always a treat when you are standing in the summer sunshine in shorts and t-shirts. The two dogs on our hike (well-behaved dogs are allowed) were delighted to see the snow and threw it joyfully into the air. One wondrous highlight was something called a circumhorizontal arc, or a straight rainbow in the clear blue sky, which I had never seen before and chose to believe meant something lucky was going to happen to all of us who saw it in the near future.

The late evening was spent around the campfire, enjoying BBQ burgers and veggie burgers, plus more food than we could possible eat on the potluck tables. Several fine musicians, including Mark Rhodes, entertained us with live music. At lunch stops on the hikes and afterwards at camp, everyone was encouraged to write a letter to elected officials telling them about our experiences on the hikes, which are all in wilderness-quality areas that should be protected under the Conservation Highlands Initiative, which has yet to be introduced to Congress. As people shared stories about their hikes, we were reminded that, if we don’t protect these areas under the most stringent law of Wilderness designation, this weekend could cease to be, as the lands it takes place on could be logged or otherwise abused to the point of being nothing special to look at.

[Write a letter to protect areas like this in the Columbia Highlands] [Enjoy a video tour of hiking the highlands]

Wapaloosie Mountain in the Profanity Roadless Area: 360 degree views highlight that the Kettle Range is something special to look at.
Photo: Stephanie Smith.

 Stephanie Smith is a freelance marketing and technical writer who spends as much time as possible in the forests of the Northwest. She can be reached at Stephanie-Smith@live.com.

With the use of remote cameras and hair snags, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will attempt to document the presence of these elusive animals at about 75 locations throughout the North Cascades. The DNA testing for the hair samples will be paid for by grants from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service. 

Conservation Northwest is supporting this effort by providing remote cameras. We are excited to see the research funded and a focus on grizzlies in this ecosystem. You can help grizzly in the North Cascades in any number of ways with our To Do List for Grizzly Bears!

Have you seen any bears in the Cascades?

[King 5 Coverage of bear research in Washington]

[USFS wildlife biologist] Bill Gaines said the effort to document grizzlies in the North Cascades will begin in late June, when crews will be trained on how to set hair snag devices and collect hair samples. DNA analysis will be conducted on hairs gathered in the snags, which will be checked every two weeks, he said. Some of the devices will also have remote cameras to try to capture images of the great bears, he said."

~K.C. Mehaffey, Wenatchee World

What will an increase in logging look like on the Colville National Forest?

The Times article missed some important nuance in describing a tripling of logging on the Colville National Forest. Our proposal does include about 400,000 acres in active forestry, enough that -- using the quality forestry standards we have agreed to -- it could sustainably produce over 80 million board feet per year, a level that is perhaps three times what the Colville was logging when it was gridlocked in controversy and lawsuits.

Conservation Northwest worked with scientists to develop a set of rigorous guidelines for this active forestry zone. We are involved in every project to make sure that these guidelines are followed (including no new roads in roadless areas, no net increase in roads, no cutting of old growth (21” trees max), good buffers on streams and protection of endangered species habitat, etc). 

There is an additional zone, comprised of over 400,000 acres (a quarter of which is inside the National Conservation Area), in which only restoration-based forestry is to occur, with the primary objective of recreating old-growth forest conditions. In this zone, logs are only a byproduct of ecological objectives.

We support such logging projects on this acreage because it provides a national example of good forestry. But we are not including targets for acres logged  or volume in our legislative proposal. Instead we have addressed those commitments through direct agreements with our collaborative partners, leaving a clean wilderness bill that stands alone on its own merits.

How much wilderness is being proposed?

Our proposal is for 215,000 acres to be designated by Congress as wilderness, though 33,000 of those acres would be delayed from designation for up to a decade to address some needs on the ground.

We also propose a 140,000 acre National Conservation Area containing four inventoried roadless areas (totaling 36,000 acres) that would be managed to near wilderness standards. The balance of the National Conservation Area would be managed similar to the restoration zone described above. In sum, almost two-thirds of the landscape is dedicated to conservation objectives.

Are the areas on the map in brown all "logging areas" as mentioned in the Times?

The Times oversimplified our map, showing in brown both restoration areas and active forestry areas - combined. Logging is allowed in restoration areas as part of ecological objectives, such as thinning small trees to restore old-growth conditions.

The commercial forestry areas are in the more highly roaded, managed landscape closer to communities. Management here includes reduces fire risk near homes and communities, still focusing on thinning small diameter trees (under 21 inches) and avoiding the building of new roads.

Read the full proposal overview and peruse the map

More than 200 regional business leaders to date, including some of the region’s top employers and Spokane’s most powerful people, have added their names to a letter urging Sen. Cantwell and Rep. McMorris Rodgers to support the Coalition’s historic effort to bring balance to our northeastern Washington public forests, including preserving wilderness, maintaining world class recreation trails, and ensuring a stable local timber industry.

Safeguarding natural areas has not been a tough sell for the leaders of major eastern Washington companies who have signed the letter, such as Coffman Engineers, Garco Contruction, Inc., Huntwood Industries, Northwest Farm Credit Services, Sonderen Packaging, and URM Stores, Inc. to name a few.

In their letter, many of the brightest business minds in the Inland Northwest say safeguarding the best wild places makes good dollars and sense:

“Preserving our region’s wilderness heritage makes economic sense. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that wildlife viewing, hunting, and fishing contribute a combined total of over $2.18 billion annually in Washington State, and outdoor recreation and tourism are a growing part of our economy.”

Business leaders understand that wilderness is an essential piece of a broader recreation strategy that also includes non-motorized and motorized trail systems.  This broader strategy attracts tourists, adventure seekers, and retirees, as well as the businesses and industries that grow or relocate to our region from this influx of income.  An economic study commissioned by the Coalition concludes that that wilderness and other protected public lands are associated with local economic growth and well-being.

Wilderness also fits perfectly with Spokane’s official motto, “Near Nature. Near Perfect.”

Rich Hadley, president and CEO of Greater Spokane Inc., Spokane’s only Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council, added his name to the letter of support for the Coalition. GSI's website describes Spokane as providing an ideal balance of economic success and recreational bliss nearby. Spokane is indeed the perfect base for an extraordinary array of outdoor adventures in potential wilderness areas of northeastern Washington. Recreation and tourism are important to our economy, and wilderness provides a unique, increasingly rare, and highly sought-after recreational experience.

Business leaders recognize that the Coalition's commitment to collaboration means more for all in the future.

Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard, another signer, has this praise for the Coalition: “The ability to find common ground on the management of our forests and wilderness areas has secured the coalition’s name as a leader in advancing this region’s quality of life, economic prosperity, and the safety of our citizens.”

Jim Riley, president of Intermountain Forest Association, added, “As someone who relies on our natural resources to do business but also appreciates the wildlife and wild places that make this region so special, I’ve never understood why we couldn’t find a middle ground and have both. The Coalition’s leadership has given us that opportunity to maintain a vibrant timber economy and safeguard special places like the Kettle Crest.”

A productive collaboration and a balanced plan created by the community for the healthy future of northeast Washington: Former Spokane County Commissioner and top Himalayan climber John Roskelley looked to this positive future as he added his support to the Coalition's letter,

“Now that the Forestry Coalition has increased timber management on the Colville for so many years, isn’t it about time to get some wilderness protected?”

If you would like more information about adding your name to the letter addressed to our legislators supporting the Coalition’s historic effort, please contact  me at 509.570.2166 or crystal@conservationnw.org.

Conservation associate and coordinator of the I-90 Wildlife Bridges Coalition Jen Watkins explained that TIGER II is the competitive federal transportation grant money meant to stimulate our economy in both the short and long term, while also benefiting our environment. You've heard the term "shovel ready projects" in the news, I am sure. TIGER II grants are part of this chunk of economic stimulus money, and we believe the I-90 Snoqualmie East expansion project is a perfect fit because it combines an economically important highway project with ecologically vital wildlife passage in the habitat bottleneck between the North and Central Cascades.

The Governors' letter continues by noting "the importance of transportation projects that maintain, improve and restore connectivity for wildlife while at the same time providing improved highway safety by significantly reducing wildlife vehicle collisions. The construction of wildlife crossings, or overpasses and underpasses, are an excellent example of innovative and environmentally sustainable transportation projects that Departments of Transportation are embarking on across the West."   The letter concluded that TIGER II dollars are an important federal funding source for transportation projects in the west that are incorporating habitat connectivity into their design, like the I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Project. 

This nod for wildlife crossings from two dozen governors is fitting in light of pre-application was submitted last week by Kittitas County for TIGER II grant dollars for the I-90 project. The $48 million request would extend the first phase of the project already under construction another 1.5 miles including the important Rock Knob wildlife overpass. 

We agree with the governors that the I-90 project is an ideal use of the TIGER II funds, as the I-90 project addresses both our state's most important economic east-west corridor and biological north-south corridor.

Get the bigger picture on youtube and flickr:

[Gold Creek Witness for Wildlife] 
[I-90 wildlife bridges virtual fly-over]
[remote cameras capture great shots near potential I-90 wildlife crossings and other locations]
[remote camera slideshow]

The Initiative is talking to communities through a series of public listening session and an Idea Jam, which is a nerdy name for a website where you can post your ideas, vote on the ideas that inspire you, and even demote the ones you that think might be a bit far-fetched or not-so-environmentally friendly. It’s crowdsourcing for the whole country!

As you can imagine, we have some good ideas of our own, but we’re focusing our energy, and hopefully enlist your support for this one: ensuring our healthy heritage through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Can you help us put this idea to the top of the list of the national radar? All it takes is a click to vote and a share to your friends!

Here’s the idea:
The Land and Water Conservation Fund was established over 40 years ago as a powerful tool to bring recreation access to the great outdoors for millions of Americans by using a portion of fees collected from oil/gas operations. What a great use of a little bit of the money made by these industries to give back to states' conservation needs, reconnect people with wild places, and ensure working lands are not converted to development.

This tool helps states acquire open space or conservation easements, to build recreation areas, and to protect ecosystems by underwriting projects that bring a broad range of people to the outdoors.

From small things like building ballparks to preserving wild ecosystems, the Fund gives states the power and leadership role to determine their own healthy future. The Fund has helped create or improve national treasures like Harper's Ferry, the Big Sur Coast, Yellowstone, NYC's Central Park, and San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Seventy-five percent of the total funds obligated have gone to locally sponsored projects to provide close-to-home recreation opportunities that are readily accessible to America's youth, adults, senior citizens and the physically or mentally challenged.

Here in Washington, you can find how the fund has helped your community with Washington State interactive map (I've set the link to show Fund projects as little red triangles: just zoom to your town!)

There is just one thing wrong with the Fund: It has only been fully funded twice in 45 years. There is so much more this fund can do to get people outside, get them playing, and get them thinking about wild places.

 
Please vote for our shared healthy future today.