We are thrilled to see this worthy vision funded and to see restoration, stewardship, and collaboration once again in the national spotlight.

In his announcement, Secretary Vilsack revisited themes in his major 2009 speech on the future of our national forests. He highlighted that these forests are vital to the nation’s supply of clean water and other resources and face major challenges that call for a new vision of collaborative restoration. His vision for conservation and restoration resonated deeply with Mitch's own call for an ecological "Marshall Plan" for our national forests.

In that 2009 speech, Secretary Vilsack called out the collaborative work on the Colville National Forest as a model for the nation.  In 2012, a million dollars for restoration in the Columbia Highlands puts those props into practice on the ground.

With the announcement of funding in northeast Washington and across the US, came the release of a special report, Increasing the pace of Restoration and Job Creation on our National Forests. The report lays out a plan to increase restoration on national forests through efforts such as expanding collaborative partnerships like our model coalition, expanding stewardship contracting, and improving the efficiency of restoration project planning.

"Accelerated restoration efforts demonstrate a shared vision where environmentalists, forest industry and local communities are working together to build healthier forests and contribute to local economies," said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. "The increased restoration work will benefit the environment and people, with more resilient ecosystems, improved watersheds and wildlife habitat, hazardous fuel reduction, and outputs of forest products."

And the win goes beyond northeast Washington. Our work with the Tapash Collaborative, focused on critical restoration efforts in the Cascades, received renewed funding this year, too. Tapash projects include controlled reintroduction of fire to reestablish a fire ecology, improved roads and trails, and better fish passage on almost 168,000 acres in the GIfford-Pinchot and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests.

[More of the Columbia Highlands collaboration story, on film]
[Funded restoration projects across the US, press release]

Conservation Northwest is working with state senators on a bill, SSSB 5366, which we hope can help by requiring ATVs to have visible license plates and increasing the consequences of unlawful riding. This bill was passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee yesterday.

The bill could be improved. The requirement for visible license plates should apply to all ATVs, not just those used on public roads. This would address the problem of identifying those vehicles (and busting their riders!) rampaging through backcountry. We also need more tools to identify snowmobiles that are used illegally, such as ridden in designated wilderness. This is an increasing problem, as reported recently by the Wenatchee World.

You can help!

Support this effort to hold off-road abusers accountable by contacting your state legislators today. (Find your Senator's and Representative's contact information)

In your email or phone call, tell them your concerns about ATV abuse, and ask for SSSB 5366 to be strengthened by requiring license plates on all ATVs.

Please email barbara (at) conservationnw.org to let us know you contacted your legislator.

Across the lower 48 states, an invasion is happening in fields, neighborhoods, and coastal reaches, and this Wednesday it comes to your TV.

Landing in a northern state near you is a parliament--not of British Lords, but of the owl variety. A sudden increase of snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus) farther south than their normal range--an "irruption"--is bringing the owls to Washington, in places like Sandy Point, Skagit Flats, and Stanwood. And with the owls, come a bevy of owl watchers.

You can be an owl watcher, too, this Wednesday on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, when naturalist, award-winning photographer, and Conservation Northwest staff member Paul Bannick, offers insight into these owls and their appearance across the US.

Snowy owls in the spotlight

NBC caught up with Paul in Ocean Shores, where the birds have gathered on habitat that resembles arctic tundra, to which they return to breed each summer. Paul explained earlier this month on Crosscut,

"...even the grass they choose is the same color as the grass in the tundra often times the gold and yellow grasses. They're first coming down in the plains of Canada and then into the Great Plains of the U.S. during an irruption year and then after they fill up those plains, we get owls along the coast and the Great Lakes region.

"The snowy owl is the northern form of the great horned owl really. It split off during one of the past ice ages... the snowy owl ended up being in a place where there were no trees. So instead the snowy owl spins around atop of a mound of hillock and creates what’s called a scrape, scratches a depression where some feathers help pad the ground for the eggs, and there it’s exposed with a wide view over a wide grassy expanse."

Why do the owls come so far south some years, but not others? Two theories exist: the irruptions may be tied to a precipitous decline in lemmings or to a banner year in owl reproduction, forcing youngsters to go farther afield for food.

How little is known about why and from where these winter invaders come speaks to the importance of protecting connected landscapes.  Paul stresses, "When the snowy owls come here from far away they remind us of how interconnected everything is....without our stewardship of places they rely upon to survive the winter, they will not be able to breed in the Arctic. Without us tackling climate change and other problems in the Arctic, we will not be able to see the snowy owls back here."

Learn more about snowy owls on Bird Web
Are owls near you? Check e-bird.org
When viewing snowy owls, please remember to keep your distance and be still, as disturbance uses up this shy bird's precious energy.

Paul Bannick: wildlife and ecosystems in living color

Paul, known nationwide for capturing stunning wildlife images and, through them, highlighting how wild ecosystems work, has been traveling across the West to photograph the snowy owls. He features some of the latest photos on his website, paulbannick.com.

In a recent interview on KOHO, Paul spoke to the power of wildlife photographs,

"When trying to get people's attention to conservation, I realized with photographs that I got a lot more response when there was the reflection of light in the eyes of an important animal in that habitat, so then I was drawn more to the creatures, particularly the ones that are indicator species who told us that something was going right or something was going wrong in a particular habitat...."

In Coupeville, Spokane or Lake Stevens? Enjoy Paul's photos up close in a traveling exhibit
Paul blogs on his award-winning book, The Owl and Woodpecker

Owl photos, copyright Paul Bannick
Photo of Paul by Wenyan Guo

"You follow wild animals around in the wilderness?!  Aren’t you afraid? Do you see lions and bears?!"

To them I reply, “If you are looking for street cred, you might want to join the winter tracking program.” Same holds true if you are looking for having fun while making a serious contribution to protecting wildlife. 

For six winters now, we’ve been going up to the I-90 corridor in teams of four or five, slipping on our snowshoes, and tromping around for a good cause smack in the middle of stunning beauty.

The Department of Transportation is expanding the highway and is putting in wildlife bridges and underpasses.  Our teams monitor the presence of wildlife at the future crossing sites, adding to the necessary knowledge for this kind of work. 

Knowledgeable wildlife trackers head up the teams, and the team members are a wide array of interesting people with a passion for the natural world.  Everyone learns about tracking whether they are beginners or experts, and everyone plays an important role on the team: photographing, documenting, scouting, and logistics.

Team members get an entire day of training in tracking, project protocol, and the documentation software, and then sign up for three day-long trips into the research area over the course of the winter. 

To tell the truth, we haven’t followed too many bears during the winter, but, on a regular basis, we do track lions, coyotes, and bobcats.

A recent trip report told a coyote tale with big implications for I-90 wildlife bridges.

Guest author's bio: Mallory teaches reading at Garfield High School and has been tracking for almost a decade. She says "I like having excuses to get outdoors.  I love that my tracking can be used to help people learn about and protect the natural world."

Today, however, our success is measured by a coyote.

And not so much by the coyote, really, as where it went for a walk.

Our volunteer Brian was near Gold Creek, tracking critters where the state is currently building an underpass that will give wildlife safe crossing under the newly expanded I-90. Our winter tracking program trains volunteers like Brian to collect wildlife data in this important link between the North and Central Cascades.

While investigating his study area, Brian noted signs and tracks from mule deer, coyote, and bobcat traveling in various directions. He found tracks from a beaver dragging a willow tree towards a pond, too. A good showing as far as a day in the field is concerned.

Then he followed a long coyote track cutting through new snow in open areas. In its travels, the canid meandered near the highway and then crossed a frozen pond. And here is where its trip got exciting: the coyote then ambled straight through the partially completed I-90 wildlife underpass. Brian noted this in his report as the "most significant find of the day." We'd say so, too.

What a success that the I-90 crossings aren't yet complete, and already wildlife are using them!

The underpass isn't complete on both sides of the highway, so the coyote had to then cross the west-bound lanes. Brian's expert tracking skills told the tale from there,

Although the photos show the danger and risk of crossing the highway, the discovery of the tracks was exciting, as it documented an animal intentionally diverting its route to use the new underpass...  The coyote accelerated to a gallop just prior to entering the underpass, which indicated to me it was familiar with using the underpass, as a burst of speed is needed to ascend the earth berm, jump into the roadway and leap over the New Jersey barriers.

Tracks do tell great tales!

The next trail could be over, not under

We're optimistic that the next crossing structure--Washington's first ever wildlife bridge--will see such an early success as well. This past week Governor Gregoire included funding for the wildlife overpass in her transportation plan, in what could be  seen as a resounding recommendation for legislators to connect wildlife habitat in the Cascades.

I wonder what critter will be the first to test that new bridge out?

Jay was the first to enthusiastically chime in for Revelstoke, BC, and looking at these photos, who can blame him.

Kit is excited to use his season's pass at Stevens this year, and Erin is an avid backcountry skier  who enjoys Mt. Herman in the North Cascades. And I happen to know that Derrick is enjoying his fair share of inland Northwest backcountry powder while on sabbatical this month!

Jodi spoke up for Bellingham's beloved Mt. Baker and another BC gem:

After a big snow storm when the sun comes out, I love cross-country skiing with a good friend by the Nooksak River off the Mt. Baker Highway and seeing the trees loaded up with snow, the ground all sparkling, and the force of the river pounding the rocks covered in snow. And I just know there are pine martens and other little critters running to and fro searching for food.  That is a great day.

I also love being at Mt. Baker Ski area when the snow is good and the sun is out. The view of Mt. Shuksan is just amazing.

She also recommends Mt. Washington on Vancouver Island. It is a worthy trip to ski down a slope and look out over see the water and the Canadian Cascades beyond. That is quite a view!

I'm a snowshoer, and while I don't miss snowshoeing to school back when I lived in rural New England, I love exploring the muffled forests of the North Cascades foothills in winter.

Sure, the snow here in the populated areas may make for crazy driving and slippery sidewalks, but you can beat the backcountry for amazing experiences in the snow!

All of the photos were collectedas part of our 2011 remote camera program. Intrepid volunteers placed remote cameras in 20 locations of Washington's Cascades and Olympic mountains. 

Volunteers installed and maintained remote camera stations from the Manastash area just south of Interstate 90 by Ellensburg all the way to the Iron Gate entrance to the Paysaten wilderness near the Canadian border.  A highlight of the season was when we captured a series of photographs of one of the pups from the newly confirmed Teanaway wolf pack.

But capturing videos and photos of much more common species still amazes me.  These images speak to why Conservation Northwest exists: to connect and protect wildlife and wild places from the BC Cascades to the Washington coast. 

Some of my favorites that I have viewed more than once this week include a deer and her fawn on video in the Central Cascades, four cougars visiting a scented station in the Teanaway, and a black bear taking a seat in front of our camera just south of Table Mountain.

Highlights from the whole season have been posted individually to our Flickr page, and in a video on YouTube.  (See both below!)

Want to be a part of this great effort, but not up for a long hike? Adopt a monitoring team. Your gift will fund equipment and mileage to bring in the next great photo!

Over the holiday break, we have volunteers in the field conducting our winter wildlife monitoring.  This winter we are in the Cascades, continuing to coordinate with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to monitor for grey wolves, assisting the Carnivore Connectivity Project to monitor pine martens in the I-90 corridor, and searching for the elusive wolverine in higher elevation remote habitats in the North Cascades.

Plans are already being laid for where we'll go in 2012 with our cameras in the spring as the search to document the presence of rare species in our state continues.  Along the way enjoy the images and videos that are placing a face to the well known landscapes of our state.

Our success is possible because of activists, volunteers, donors, and members, so it was a pretty busy year for you, too! You are a member of a community that doesn't just enjoy the outdoors, but actively works to protect it.

Thank you for all your help. It really adds up to a wilder Northwest!

BY THE NUMBERS

Here are the many ways your action and support have made a difference this year:

Our amazing supporter Margaret, owner of  DENISEBRAIN, an on-line merchant of top-drawer vintage clothing, has a wonderful array of vintage clothes and accessories, and 25% of every sale in December support our work. 

Margaret is particularly fond of bears, and she was thrilled to read of the photo taken by hiker Joe Sebille of a grizzly in the North Cascades. So she decided to support our work to recover grizzlies there and beyond.

And it gets personal for me. From my earliest memory I have loved bears and all they stand for...Conservation Northwest gives me hope for the grizzly, and so much more. ~From Margaret's blog

Stop by any of her stores this month (ebay, etsy, denisbrain.com, material girl bags) and lay your eyes on some of the coolest fashions that help the wildest places!

Margaret's charm and generosity has graced our work for several years, and we couldn't thank her enough!

Want to give health and habitat to wildlife this holiday in your own unique way? New this year! Shop online via our online portal to REI.com, and 5% of your total helps widllife!  Or shop at other major retailers via iGive or GoodShop, and find more unique items on ebay's Missionfish. 

Steve Osmek, wildlife biologist at Sea-Tac Airport, and Bud Anderson of Falcon Research Group are behind this visionary program, which includes capturing raptors (hawks, owls, eagles, falcons, etc.) at the airport and relocating them to safer climes in the Skagit Valley, thus saving both the birds and aircraft from potential collisions. Over 380 raptors have been successfully relocated in the past 10 years, with almost no incidence of return.

Whatcom County's Airporter Shuttle is an obvious choice for transport, as they routinely make the trip from Sea-Tac to Skagit County 11 times a day. “We’re happy to be involved in helping save these magnificent birds,” says Larry Wickkiser of Airporter Shuttle / Bellair Charters. The Airporter has transported 11 birds so far, since getting involved just a few months ago.

The Raptor Strike Avoidance Program is part of Sea-Tac Airport’s comprehensive Wildlife Management Program, which uses ingenious ecologically-based methods to discourage wildlife from occupying the airport and the airspace above it. Sea-Tac Airport was the first U.S. airport to employ a full-time wildlife biologist, and they continue to innovate new methods in this important field.

[Photos, info, and more video] [Seattle Times coverage] [Bellingham Herald story]

Joel Litwin is the Marketing Coordinator for Airporter Shuttle/Bellair Charters and also helps Conservation Northwest with online communications as a contractor.