County hears from fish and wildlife officials

Wolves, cougars, federal layoffs, the new jail and tribal gaming were among the wide range of topics discussed Wednesday night at an Asotin County town hall meeting.

Commissioner Chuck Whitman told an audience of about 50 residents that the new Asotin County Jail won’t be open until early June because of delays.

The 144-bed building near the landfill is coming along, but it won’t be ready as early as expected. Overall, the project is looking good, he said.

“It is what it is on the schedule,” Whitman said.

As for the Nez Perce Tribe’s plan to place the Red Wolf Golf Course property in trust to allow gaming, Whitman said the county has outlined its concerns in a letter sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Traffic, parking, loss of tax revenue and potential impacts to other businesses were included, he said.

“We’re not happy about it,” Whitman said of the proposed change. “I know no one is happy about it…However, what the tribe is doing is perfectly legal.”

No one from the tribe was in attendance at the town hall session at the Asotin County Fire District session in the Clarkston Heights. Most of the folks in the crowd were ranchers, farmers, students and government officials.

The commissioners recently had a cordial meeting with tribal leaders and hope to have future “heart-to-heart” discussions as the land change moves forward, Whitman said. The process could take five years or so.

A representative from Lancer Lanes and Casino in Clarkston said adding gaming at the golf course would be extremely detrimental to the nearby Bridge Street business. The bowling alley, restaurant, arcade and casino draw a lot of visitors and revenue to the city, provide jobs and make significant contributions to the community, she said.

The majority of time during the town hall was devoted to Fish and Wildlife topics. Led by Eastern Regional Director Mike Kuttle Jr., nine WDFW officials filled the stage to give updates on wolves, cougars, state-managed lands, Blue Mountain elk herds and chronic wasting disease.

Dan Button, of Clarkston, thanked the representatives for visiting Asotin County and asked how recent federal layoffs and funding cuts will affect WDFW services. Kuttel said he’s “very concerned” about the potential loss of staffing and monitoring in the forest. The department has been advised to download any information it may need because some federal websites are being scrapped by the new administration.

Wolf packs in the area always generate concerns among ranchers and hunters. The agency will release its latest counts in early April, officials said.

Larry Scoggin, of Pomeroy, said he’d like to drop a wolf off on the courthouse steps in Olympia. There seems to be many more of the predators on the east side of the state, he said.

Warren Ellison, a longtime hunter from Clarkston, said he was “astonished” at the number of wolf tracks he spotted in the Blues during elk season.

Bob Dice, who has worked as a state wildlife manager since 2002, updated the crowd on the aftermath of the Cougar Creek Fire and recent vandalism. Salvage logging in the Grouse Flats area has wrapped up, and about 500 log truck loads were filled, he said. No salvage logging has taken place on the Mountain View west side of the 4-O property because it was logged after a 2018 sale.

About 85,000 trees, from seeds collected locally, will be replanted in areas damaged by the 6,000-acre fire last summer. Approximately 600 acres will be seeded with grass using helicopters, Dice said.

Vandalism in wildlife areas is worse than ever this year, Dice said. In January, a winter closure gate was damaged at Lick Creek, a lock was broken at South Fork, and thieves have stolen cones, signs, chains and binders. A few days later, another lock was broken on a Lick Creek gate, and a shop at a shooting range has lost a mower, pressure washer and other tools. The locks and gates were vandalized again in February by people making firewood.

“We’ve had a lot of trouble this year, and it affects the county, too,” Dice said.

Anyone who sees criminal activity in the mountains is asked to report it to local authorities.

The declining number of elk continues to be a major problem in southeastern Washington, officials said. The main predators identified in calf losses are cougars. Kuttel said community input on how to deal with the problem is welcome.

The benefits of state-managed land was covered by Kuttel, who said several landowners have approached the agency about selling property to WDFW. Concerns from county officials about losing money from property taxes have been heard, he said.

“We do pay our fair of taxes,” Kuttel said.

WDFW is a major contributor to state coffers and quality of life, he said, listing recreational activities that contribute about $20.5 billion to the state’s economy.

In addition, Asotin County has more acres under lease than any other county in the state, the director said. Grazing and agricultural leases and timber harvests are economic drivers, along with employing local residents, paying weed control assessments, and drawing fishing and hunting tourists.

“There is a misconception that counties lose money on WDFW-owned properties,” Kuttel said. “WDFW is in a tax system and has made payments in lieu of tax (PILT) statewide for more than 50 years.”

The nine-member panel encouraged residents to submit comments on a variety of issues on the state’s web page and to reach out to lawmakers as significant budget cuts loom.

More information about the state’s rules concerning chronic wasting disease, monitoring of wolf packs in the region and mortality monitoring of elk are available at wdfw.wa.gov.

Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com.