More than 100 state parks will remain open throughout the winter this year. Most parks will accept tent and RV campers on a first-come, first-served basis but cooler temperatures and wetter weather make this a good time to try other types of shelter.
Comfortable cabins are available at Camano Island, Cama Beach, Kitsap Memorial and Wallace Falls state parks; yurts at Cape Disappointment, Grayland Beach and Seaquest; and vacation houses at Millersylvania, Fort Flagler, Fort Worden and Moran state parks.
All are reservable year-round.
State parks that accept year-round camping reservations are Cape Disappointment, Deception Pass, Dosewallips, Grayland Beach, Kitsap Memorial, Ocean City, Pacific Beach and Steamboat Rock.
A list of all parks with winter closing and opening dates, and day and overnight camping hours is available at www.parks.wa.gov/newsreleases/.
For a list of parks with extended reservation dates, visit www.parks.wa.gov, and select reservations. Or call 888-226-7688. Fort Worden State Park has its own reservation system at 360-344-4400.
Feeding time: It can be difficult to engage children with wildlife in the outdoors, with the exception of birds, slugs and an occasional raccoon. There are educational opportunities at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, however, particularly at feeding time.
Zoo visitors can watch zookeepers feed reticulated pythons at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 30, Nov. 27, Jan. 29, Feb. 26, March 26, April 30, and the yellow anaconda snake at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 2, Nov. 6, Dec. 4, Jan. 1, Feb. 5, March 5, April 2).
The zoo also offers a raptors-training demonstration at 2:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at the Raptor Center; discover how raptors learn new behaviors.
All events are subject to cancellation because of weather or animal behavior.
For more information, call 206-548-2500 or see www.zoo.org.
Hopping free: About 500 Oregon spotted frogs recently were released into the wild after spending their first seven months in a program to re-establish the populations of the endangered species.
“This is the first-ever captive rearing and release program for the Oregon spotted frog in Washington and represents a significant first step in our joint effort to help recover this fragile species,” said Harriet Allen, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife endangered species program manager.
The captive-rearing strategy, called “head starting,” is based on the premise that juvenile frogs are thought to be less vulnerable and better able to survive when released back into nature, Allen said.
“Also, previous studies in British Columbia show that releasing large numbers at the same time has been the most successful approach,” she said.
The goal of the program is to establish a self-sustaining population of Oregon spotted frogs at Fort Lewis and set the stage for a recovery effort that will continue for several years.
Farewell: The well trodden 51/2-mile Brown Farm Dike Trail at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge near Olympia will soon be off limits, then gone. The refuge is starting to restore more than 750 acres of farmland to saltwater marsh; the dike and its trail must go, probably next year.
Other options are also closed, including the observation tower and the Ring Dike Trail. A new boardwalk over the marsh and trail will be built but it won’t be a loop.
To find out your options, call 360-753-9467 before you go or check www.fws.gov/nisqually.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
