Rich Landers: Potential wildlife threats equal inevitable restrictions

Trouble is stirring where only the deer, elk and sportsmen once roamed.

Washington’s wildlife recreation lands have been managed in decent harmony with hunters and fishermen over the past seven decades.

But suddenly there’s alarm over the rising tide of rock climbers, mountain bikers, snowmobilers, river rafters, dog walkers and all the other recreation groups who consider the 850,000 acres managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as just another public place to play.

New restrictions and emphasis on enforcing existing restrictions are inevitable, according to biologists charged with protecting wildlife on state lands.

The issue will be raised Saturday in Spokane during the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting at 8:30 a.m. at Mirabeau Park Hotel, 1100 N. Sullivan Rd.

This example illustrates some of the issues:

“Seasons and limits are set so that licensed sportsmen who satisfy state hunter education requirements can legally kill a few gray partridge in a day each fall with little effect on the number of birds in the field the next year.

“But pet owners, who are not restricted by seasons, education requirements or licensing, could wipe out entire broods of partridge by letting their dogs romp through bird habitat during the spring-summer nesting season.

“Historically, the department has had a liberal public access policy on public lands, which have primarily been the domain of hunters, fishermen and trappers,” said Mark Quinn, the agency’s lands manager in Olympia.

“As Washington’s demographics changed, so has the nature and volume of use on wildlife areas. Lots of diverse user groups are discovering that liberal policy. The cumulative effect is creating conflicts and has the potential to threaten fish and wildlife resources.”

Pet use is a huge issue on wildlife lands in Western Washington where any public open space is a magnet to people – and dogs – in need of for open space, Quinn said.

Washington already has a law that prohibits letting dogs loose on wildlife lands when wild species are raising their young from April 1-July 31. “But only hunters know that because the (law) is published in the hunting regulations pamphlet,” he said.

Shooters have long used wildlife areas for zeroing in their hunting rifles and target practice. “Now we have people out there with AK-47s and 50-caliber guns shooting tracer rounds and incendiary ammunition that can cause wildfires and put people in danger even when they’re long distances away,” Quinn said.

Snowmobilers can disturb the critters during the rigors of winter and mountain bikers, motorcyclists and ATVers are disturbing them in spring and summer.

When the state bought its first wildlife lands in 1939, Washington’s population was less than 2 million. Now it’s more than 6 million and growing.

“There’s simply more people out there,” Quinn said.

Quinn’s presentation to the commission will set the stage for reeling in the public use on wildlife areas.

Rock climbers can expect seasonal closures to some routes in the Tieton area west of Yakima to avoid disturbing nesting golden eagles.

Fishing access areas, most of which were purchased with money raised from taxes on fishing equipment, are likely to be scrutinized to make sure nonsportsmen have vehicle access permits and prevent vendors from commercializing the sites.

Campers can expect formal rules on where they can camp and how long they can stay.

Shed antler hunting is likely to be prohibited on all state wildlife lands until a certain date in the spring.

The cost of a Washington Fish and Wildlife vehicle access permit is likely to increase as emphasis on the rules requires more enforcement. While sportsmen get a free vehicle access permit for state wildlife areas and fishing access sites with their hunting and fishing licenses, nonsportsmen can get the permits for $10.

“Vehicle access to nearly a million acres for $10 a year is a pretty good deal nowadays,” Quinn said.

Indeed, Inland Empire Paper Company charges more than six times that much for an individual to access 115,000 acres.

Grazing on state wildlife lands is another hot issue that will be discussed at the meeting.

In several pilot projects, designated ranchers are being allowed to run livestock in sections of state wildlife areas, such as the Chief Joseph Wildlife Area in Asotin County.

Some conservation groups are protesting the projects, saying that no livestock should be allowed on lands reserved for wildlife. The protest, and at least one lawsuit, seems to be reacting primarily to the fact that the grazing projects were requested by the state cattlemen’s association.

However, Quinn said the pilot projects are being monitored to test the theory that careful grazing and livestock rotations can improve wildlife habitat by munching weeds that are unpalatable to big-game and cropping overgrown brush to stimulate new browse.

“Most people who are criticizing us are basing their opinions on 125 years of intense overgrazing in parts of the West,” Quinn said. “We’re not doing anything like that. We’re being very conservative.”

The operator working the pilot project on the Chief Joe’s 4,200-acre Pintler Creek Unit is allowed to tap only 5 percent of the areas productive capacity and he must move the cattle almost daily for the few weeks the grazing is allowed, Quinn said.

“We took before and after photos for the first year and we could hardly see the effects, except where we wanted impacts – on the infestation of annual mustard. The cattle removed the old stocks and disturbed the old rank grasses.

“The ‘after’ pictures show the area lush and green compared to the ‘before’ pictures.”