Little Pend Oreille opens

For the first time in years, the entire 40,000-acre Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge in Stevens County will be open for hunting from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.

The phase out of the Air Force Survival School training on the refuge is complete and the south half of the refuge no longer has to be closed during the month of September, said Lisa Langelier, refuge manager.

The refuge is open for most hunting opportunities authorized by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department. Notable exceptions include waterfowling, which is prohibited on streams within the refuge, and hunting with hounds.

The refuges prohibits hunting in several small areas near buildings and campgrounds, and some roads are closed to motorized vehicles.

Grouse and white-tailed deer are the main hunting opportunities, Langelier said, noting that of the 16,900 hunting trips recorded in the refuge last year, most were seeking whitetails and about 3,000 were grouse hunting.

“We have a few moose and a handful of elk show up at one time or another, but they’re pretty scarce here,” she said.

While ruffed and blue grouse appear to have had a poor hatch on the refuge this year, deer numbers have generally been increasing, said refuge biologist Jerry Cline.

“Our surveys counted 20 deer taken on the refuge in 2003 and 28 last year,” he said. “We don’t talk to all the hunters, but the survey indicates and upward trend.”

For the past four years, refuge mangers have been using spring controlled burns to thin the understory of the refuge forest.

“The 390 acres we burned this greened up beautifully with all the spring rain,” he said. “It should be great for wildlife while reducing the fire danger.” If the refuge meets its goal of eventually burning 800-1,000 a year, the increase in grassy areas could eventually attract more elk, he said.

The headquarters for the sprawling refuge is east of Colville off Highway 20. However, the refuge has eight other public access points.

The new Colville National Forest map shows much of the refuge access, but Langelier recommends topo maps for hunters serious about scoping out the refuge hunting prospects.