Wildlife biologist’s career spans 33 years
Steve Zender – the mild-mannered northeastern Washington wildlife biologist who has kept the pulse of critters ranging from pine martens to moose – has retired after 35 years with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Zender anchored his career for 33 years in the Chewelah area, where he oversaw the staggering range of wildlife management in Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties.
Agency biologists dub this area “the zoo” for its tremendous wildlife diversity, including some of the state’s few nesting loons, the rare occurances of mountain caribou and grizzly bears, plus the first significant infiltration of gray wolves.
Zender’s career has spanned the ups and downs of deer populations, the introduction of wild turkeys, and releases of elk and bighorn sheep, the state initiave banning hound hunting for bears and cougars, the removal of bald eagles from the endangered species list and much more.
Zender has been recognized for his expertise in managing white-tailed deer in their most prolific region in the state. He’s the only WDFW employee to be honored twice in his career as Employee of the Year, first in 1993 and again in 2006.
“He’s been in that position so long and handled the public and hot topics so evenly and calmly, he’s become an icon of sorts,” said Madonna Luers, department spokeswoman in Spokane.
Dana Base of Colville, the district’s assistant biologist for 11 years, will assume Zender’s duties.
Rich Landers
NATIONAL FORESTS
Palouse enacts OHV plan
Beginning May 15, cross-country travel will be prohibited and all motorized vehicles will be required to stay on designated roads and trails in the Palouse Ranger District of the Clearwater National Forest.
The Palouse is the first district on the forest to complete its travel-planning analysis and proceed with off-highway vehicle travel management the U.S. Forest Service is requiring across the country.
Kara Chadwick, district ranger, said she’s following through with commitments to enhance opportunities for all-terrain vehicle users, noting that 32 miles of trails and two new trailheads have been constructed in the Upper Palouse River drainage.
Another 18 miles of trails on Bald Mountain will be under construction this summer.
Trail work partners include Idaho Parks and Recreation Department, Lewis and Clark ATV Club and Panhandle Trail Riders Association, she said.
Idaho’s OHV sticker sales help fund trail work.
•The Clearwater National Forest Travel Guide, which describes roads and trails and allowed uses, is online at www.fs.fed.us/r1/clearwater/VisitorInfo.
•A Palouse District map showing recently designated trails is at www.idaho-ohv.org/maps/palouse.pdf.
Rich Landers
NATIONAL FORESTS
OHV planning on St. Joe
A citizen’s focus group working on the St. Joe National Forest travel management met for its fourth meeting Saturday in St. Maries.
Notes from the meetings are posted on the forest’s Web site at www.fs.fed.us/ipnf/stjoe/travelplan.
For details on future public meetings, check the Web site or call (208) 245-6054.
Rich Landers
WILDLIFEE
Mountain quail at Tubbs Hill
With a go-ahead from Idaho Fish and Game, a North Idaho man has released captive-raised mountain quail at Tubbs Hill in Coeur d’Alene.
David Moseley released about 80 mountain quail in the popular lakeside nature area three weeks ago, and 11 more in his neighborhood in Sanders Beach.
Slightly bigger than the California quail common to the area, mountain quail are native to Idaho but not native to the Coeur d’Alene area, said Jim Hayden, IFG regional wildlife manager.
Staff and wire reports