The Fish and Wildlife hunting prospects will continue in this column, as we did last week, first with the rest of District 6 and then on to District 7. Remember District 6 is Okanogan County and includes Game Management Units: 203 (Pasayten), 204 (Okanogan East), 209 (Wannacut), 215 (Sinlahekin), 218 (Chewuch), 224 (Perrygin), 231 (Gardner), 233 (Pogue), 239 (Chiliwist), 242 (Alta). Read on.

District 6 Hunting Forecast continued:

Upland birds

Forest Grouse

The Okanogan supports strong populations of ruffed, dusky (blue) and spruce grouse, which are found throughout the forested areas of the district. Ruffed grouse are generally associated with deciduous tree cover at lower to middle elevations, particularly in riparian habitats. Dusky (blue) grouse are found in the mid to upper elevation conifer forests, often on ridge tops. Spruce grouse are located in higher elevation conifer forests throughout the district.

Dusky (blue) and Spruce grouse populations continue to remain below historical norms within the boundaries of recent wildfires including the massive 175,000-acre Tripod Fire, which burned in 2006 in some of the Districts best forest grouse habitat.

Grouse habitat within the burns is improving annually, and bird numbers outside of burned areas appear to be relatively stable. In general, forest grouse prospects should be fairly good, although spring rains may have negatively affected chick survival in some area locations. Best bets for hunting are US Forest Service lands throughout the district, as well as forested portions of the Sinlahekin and Methow Wildlife Areas.

2012 District 6 Forest Grouse Harvest Summary: Despite the lingering effects of recent wild fires, sprawling Okanogan County remained the top forest grouse producer in Washington last year, yielding a harvest of 7,649 blue, ruffed and spruce grouse. While impressive, that number represents an 8 percent decline from 2011 and a 48 percent drop from the five-year average.

Wild Turkey

Turkeys are found in scattered groups throughout the district and often concentrate on private land near agriculture areas.

District 7: Chelan and Douglas counties

Background

The Wenatchee District

Split in two by the Columbia River and composed of Chelan and Douglas counties, the Wenatchee Distinct is centered at the heart of Washington State. From the Crest of the Cascade Range to the shrub-steppe of the Columbia Basin, District 7 offers an incredibly diverse range of habitats and hunting opportunities. Hunters in District 7 have access to a variety of small and big game species, with hunting opportunities ranging from agricultural fields and sagebrush to alpine wilderness.

Douglas County on the east side of the district is a plateau of shrub-steppe and farm lands. It is primarily privately owned yet offers incredible opportunities to hunt a variety of species. Game Management Units in Douglas County are 248 Big Bend, 254 (Saint Andrews), 260 (Foster Creek), 262 (Withrow), 266 (Badger), and 269 (Moses Coulee).

Chelan County descends from the Cascade Crest in the west to the Columbia River along its eastern boundary. A series of five dominant NW to SE oriented mountain ranges create the terrain in the County; ranging from over 8,000 feet in elevation to below 1,000 ft. in roughly 40 miles.

Home to some of the best mule deer hunting in the state, Chelan County is a destination for many hunters. With its large public land base, the county offers almost unlimited opportunity to find a place of your own. Game Management Units in Chelan County are 243 (Manson), 244 (Clark), 245 (Chiwawa), 246 (Slide Ridge), 247 (Entiat), 249 (Alpine), 250 (Swakane), 251 (Mission).

2013 prospects

Deer:

Mule deer hunting is the bread and butter of the Wenatchee District. While the district does support a few white-tailed deer, it is mule deer that dominate the attention from hunters. Chelan County has become a destination hunt for many mule deer enthusiasts across Washington.

2013 should be another great opportunity year for harvesting adult bucks in Chelan County. Our management goal of a minimum of 25 bucks per 100 does post season was met in all our survey areas, along with retaining a high ratio of adult bucks in the population.

Across Chelan County, the post season ratio was 28.8 bucks per 100 does, with a range from 26.7 to 30.5 in 2011. Juveniles composed 38 percent of the bucks and fawn ratios were high. Winter conditions were reasonable, with snow levels across most of the winter range at low to normal levels. All these factors point to a good recruitment of yearling and adult bucks into the next hunting season.

2012 deer harvest summary

Hunters took 1,777 deer off the district in 2012, 1,488 bucks and 289 antlerless. The highest harvest came off GMU 247 in Chelan County at 257 deer and in Douglas County GMU 248 with 208 deer. The percentage of 4-point bucks in the antlered harvest was the same for both counties at 38 percent. Douglas County had a greater percentage of 3-point bucks at 48 percent, whereas Chelan had 39 percent. Chelan County, on the other hand, produced a higher percentage of 5-point bucks at 22 percent and Douglas the lower percentage at 14 percent.

Douglas County is a consistent producer of mule deer opportunity, and conditions should be similar in 2013. Unlike Chelan County, Douglas County is dominated by private lands, and as such, access to those private lands dictates the amount of impact a hunting season has on the population. Douglas County is composed of relatively open habitat with an established road network. These factors make deer more vulnerable than in the rugged closed canopy mountainous terrain of the Cascades.

Our general firearms seasons seem to have been unseasonably warm and dry over the past few years, making deer hunting tough. The Chelan County mule deer herd is migratory, spending winters on the breaks along the Columbia River, but dispersing into the large expanse of the Cascades during summer.

As early as mid-September, deer start responding to changes in vegetation by moving downward in elevation and occupying north facing slopes where conditions are cooler and wetter, and forage is of better quality. From mid-September through the onset of winter, deer are responding to changes in the quality of the available forage and utilize those areas that best meet their needs. By mid-November bucks are in a rut condition and focused on breeding, however, before that time (during our October general season) they are focused on food and security.

If we were to observe a typical hillside of mule deer habitat in the Cascades over the growing season and through the fall, we would see it change from bright green in the spring and summer to light green to yellow, to orange, to red, to brown, then to bare branches. While we are seeing changes in color, mule deer are perceiving changes in forage quality. The summer forage that support deer and give them the opportunity to produce young and grow antlers does not retain its high quality all year, so as it changes, so do the habitats that deer occupy.

While hunting on winter range is appealing because hunters can see long distances, the majority of deer will still be in areas of better quality forage and higher security. Most deer will be in thick cover where the food is better and they are better protected; these are usually the brushy north facing slopes or at elevations much higher than typical open mule deer winter range.

Douglas County offers a similar but different situation for deer hunters. Because of the private lands issue, hunters have less opportunity to freely pursue deer across habitats. The drier nature of shrub-steppe habitat dictates that deer use those areas where forage quality remains higher longer while balancing the need for security. Large expanses of sagebrush, while not providing the best forage, can give the security deer need as well. In the broken coulee county, topography becomes security and riparian vegetation provides food resources. Deer in these areas often become expert at living in small secure habitat pockets where they meet their needs and avoid hunters.

Elk:

Almost the entire harvest of elk in the Wenatchee District comes from Chelan County; part of the Colockum herd. A few scattered elk do get harvested from Douglas County, however, that harvest is not consistent from year to year. Liberal harvest seasons have been put in place in Douglas County to keep elk from becoming established in the farming dominated landscape.

The Colockum Herd is currently over its population management objective at an estimated 6,500 elk. While Chelan County elk are the northern extension of that herd, there has not been a dramatic increase in elk numbers and we feel the population is stable.