W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area river restoration work requires campground, lake closures

A project planned for the Tucannon River will improve salmon habitat by adding man-made log jams. The work starts in early June and will require closures to parts of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife -managed W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area in Columbia and Garfield counties.

The Monday through Thursday closures will include Campground 3, Rainbow Lake, Deer Lake, and Watson Lake and will tentatively start on June 7. Camping and fishing are the uses of the wildlife area most likely to be impacted. The closures, to ensure public safety while large trucks haul material from south of Deer Lake to the project area behind Rainbow Lake, are expected to last into July. The plan is to have the affected areas open on weekends for people to enjoy.

The W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area is approximately 14,680 acres east of Dayton and south of Pomeroy and provides superb fishing, camping, and wildlife viewing opportunities. About 17 miles of the Tucannon River flow within the boundaries and there are eight artificial lakes that are very popular with anglers.

Acquisition of land to create the W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area took place mainly between 1941 and 1943 to provide winter range for elk.