By Sharon Wootton
Herald Columnist
The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife’s supplemental feeding program at the 49,000-acre Oak Creek Wildlife Area west of Yakima is an effort, along with about 100 miles of 8-foot-high fencing, to keep elk on public land and out of nearby agricultural areas, as well as maintain healthy elk for hunting season.
Watching elk being fed alfalfa hay is akin to watching penned cattle being fed, but with a big difference: The cattle are being fattened to show up on dinner tables while the elk are being fed to help survive the winter.
And the elk are far more interesting, if for no other reason than most of us will never get this close.
The unintended consequence of elk feeding at the public trough was that people started to show up in large numbers. At this time of year, visitors might see 900 elk, and 60 or more of them will be branch-antler males plus a few dozen spiked males.
Now there’s a visitor center, and popular truck tours offer a chance to move through the elk while hay is being tossed to the ground.
But you don’t have to ride through the herd because great views start from the parking lot, which makes this ideal for families with small children.
Fish and Wildlife also runs a California bighorn sheep feeding station at the nearby Cleman Mountain site.
Here are the basics:
When. January and February are the best months. Elk feeding is at 1:30 p.m. daily; bighorn sheep at mid-morning.
Where. The visitor’s center and feeding area is about 20 miles west of Yakima on Highway 12, 2 miles west of the junction of Highway 12 and Highway 410. Before the parking lot, pull off at a sign explaining the history of the Oak Creek Game Range. Climb the stairs to see elk feeding on the hillside. Drive another mile to the center.
Visitor’s center. It is staffed by Wildlife Education Corps volunteers and has a video program, exhibits and a children’s corner. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Donations are welcomed.
Truck tours. Ride through the elk on a first-come, first-served basis or by reservation. Call the Visitor Center at 509-653-2390 to reserve a seat on the truck. Donations are welcomed.
Warning! A Discover Pass is required to view the elk here.
For more information, call the Oak Creek Wildlife Area at 509-653-2390.
Snow geese. Thousands are congregating in the Skagit Valley, particularly on the Fir Island Farms Reserve Unit of the Skagit Wildlife Area. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages 225 acres of agricultural land to create an upland snow goose reserve for winter feeding and resting adjacent to the Skagit Bay estuary. A farmer, with a lease agreement with the department, plants an over-wintered cover crop of winter wheat for forage.
Bald eagles. Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center near Rockport is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends in January. Guided hikes and presentations are scheduled. For information, go to skagiteagle.org.
Meander. Enjoy a winter’s walk at the 180-acre Sehome Hill Arboretum in Bellingham. There are 5½ miles of gravel trails meandering through wood terrain. Climb an 80-foot observation tower for a view of the Bellingham area and the bay.
Bird sightings this month. An Arlington resident spotted an adult Ross’s goose among 8,000 or so snow geese … A Lake Stevens birder was entertained by a pugnacious yellow-rumped warbler’s persistent, aggressive behavior, although, he wrote, the bushtits were able to overwhelm it with superior forces.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or songandword@rockisland.com.
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