WDFW Taking Comment On Closing Part Of A Methow Wildlife Unit For Sandhill Cranes

WDFW is taking public comment on a preemptive closure of a portion of a state wildlife area in the upper Methow Valley where sandhill cranes have been nesting in recent springs and summers.

Under the proposal, the southeastern 240 acres of the Big Valley Unit along Highway 20 between Winthrop and Mazama would close this year from April 17 through September 30, a period which overlaps archery deer and grouse hunting seasons on the latter end.

A breeding pair or pairs of the rare-in-Washington birds has been nesting here since 2021, leading to similar closures but which have been announced later in the year. This year WDFW has made a formal request for public input before the sandhills’ arrival.

The agency says the Methow Valley “offers core nesting habitat” for the birds, which are listed as endangered by the state. In the past, closing this particular area, which includes wetlands, and barring entry to people and dogs has been “shown to provide a large enough buffer zone to prevent displacement of the nesting pair,” according to WDFW documents.

Last year, the local newspaper reported two colts fledged and flew off with their parents in 2023, one of two was believed to have survived and migrated with its parents in 2022, and both of 2021’s colts died, probably due to predation.

Much of WDFW’s 34,000-plus acres in the upper Methow help conserve mule deer winter range and migratory corridors and host recreation such as hunting and fishing; the Big Valley Unit was purchased for “biodiversity and endangered fisheries protection” between 1991 and 2022 with federal endangered species grants and state restoration and wildlife and recreation grants, according to the agency.

Comments on the Big Valley sandhill crane closure, which may be repeated in coming years, is being taken through 5 p.m. March 10 online or by emailing MethowCraneClosure@PublicInput.com.

In recent winters, WDFW has been closing portions of five Methow Valley wildlife units here to reduce human disruption on a wintering mule deer herd that is among the state’s strongest and one of the most important for hunters.