Access point at 57th an Hatch Road closed through mid May | Field reports

From staff reports

The trail access point at 57th Avenue and South Hatch Road will be closed for the next couple of weeks as fire crews work to reduce fuels on about 22 acres of private land known as Tuscan ridge.

The Spokane Fire Department and the Spokane County Wildfire Mitigation Coalition are working with a contractor to thin smaller-diameter conifers to reduce fire risk. Work will attempt to create 15-to-20 foot spacing between pine trees along with pruning limbs up to about 10 feet.

Fire Department officials estimate that about 3,500 of the city’s 12,000 acres of publicly owned lands need immediate treatment and follow-up efforts every 10 to 15 years.

Working with the Washington state Department of Natural Resources, the mitigation coalition has already reduced fuels in about 2,000 acres on adjacent city ownership.

The work at 57th Avenue and South Hatch Road began Monday and will continue until mid-May, according to a news release.

Snowy owl expert

Coeur d’Alene Audubon will meet May 13 at the Coeur d’Alene Library to welcome Denver Holt, who will speak about his research of the ecological link between snowy owls and brown lemmings.

Holt will present, “Snowy Owls & Lemmings: 35 Years of Predator-Prey Dynamics in the Arctic” from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on May 13 at the library, located at 702 E. Front Ave. in the Lake City.

For more than three decades, Holt and his team from the Owl Research Institute, located in Charlo, Montana, have conducted field research near Utqiaġvik, Alaska (formerly Barrow), which is the northernmost community in the U.S.

Each summer, researchers traverse more than 100 square miles of tundra to monitor nests, track breeding success, and study the owl’s primary food source, the brown lemming, according to a news release.

Holt’s research has documented dramatic fluctuations in both species. In some years researchers find dozens of nesting owls, while in others there may be none.

The event is free to attend.

Shooting range closure

The Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife is inviting public comments on the permanent closure of the shooting range at the Asotin Creek Wildlife Area in Asotin County. The range was closed following flood damage in March.

“Unfortunately, the cost both financially and environmentally to put the creek back where it was to protect the range would be astronomical,” Wildlife Area Manager Bob Dice said in a news release. “The work required also exceeds typical land management approaches for land acquired primarily to provide habitat for fish and wildlife.”

Because of the topography of the area, funding constraints and proximity to private homes, department officials have been unable to identify a feasible or practical area to relocate the shooting range on the wildlife area. Over time, the range site will be rehabilitated into habitat by planting willows and cottonwood.

“We understand that this is a loss to the public as the shooting range is very popular and there aren’t many alternative shooting sites in the area,” Dice said in the release.

Members of the public can comment on the State Environmental Policy Act determination for the proposed closure through the Public Input comment portal links at Asotin Shooting Range or by emailing AsotinShootingRange@PublicInput.com.

Comments can also be mailed to Lisa Wood, care of WDFW, at P.O. Box 43200, Olympia, WA 98504-3200. Comments must be received by 5 p.m. on May 18. Staff will consider the comments received and make any needed adjustments to the proposal.