Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt today praised the announcement by President Clinton that management of 57,000 acres owned by the Department of Energy would be transferred to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as an expansion of the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge.
"I have floated the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River and I was privileged to see this last undammed stretch of the Columbia with its last healthy population of Chinook salmon. Clearly, the Wahluke Slope is a very special place that well deserves the extra protection afforded by adding these lands to the Saddle Mountain Refuge. I am grateful to the President, the Department of Energy and the State of Washington for their assistance in making this happen," Babbitt said.
The U.S. Department of Energy and Washington State agreed to transfer management of the 57,000-acre Wahluke Wildlife Recreation Area to the Service in August. The Record of Decision, signed today by Service Deputy Director John Rogers, formally extends the boundary of the 31,000 acre Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge to include this area. In addition, the Department of Energy signed its own Record of Decision today for future use at the entire Hanford Site.
"This transfer of management is an excellent example of partnership," Rogers said. "We are all committed to doing the right thing for this unique and precious place."
The Wahluke Slope is part of a 90,000-acre swath of primitive high desert that forms a buffer between farmlands and the Hanford Reach, a relatively pristine stretch of the Columbia River that is home to the Columbia River Basins healthiest population of chinook salmon. One of the last remaining parcels of undisturbed shrub-steppe habitat in the Columbia River Basin, the Slope provides habitat for more than 200 species of birds, including several species on the State of Washingtons list of sensitive birds. The Slope also contains several plant communities with native flora unique to the area. Mule deer, elk and mountain lions use remote areas of the Slope.
Saddle Mountain is a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System, a 93 million acre network of lands and waters protected and nurtured as habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants. Acquisition of additional habitat on the Wahluke Slope is consistent with Fulfilling the Promise, the refuge systems roadmap for the future, which calls for the strategic expansion of the system to represent Americas diverse ecosystems.
By law, hunting, fishing, and other wildlife-related recreational and educational activities are "priority uses"of the system and all recreational uses currently allowed on the Wahluke Slope will continue, said Rogers.
The Service will now manage almost all of the North Slope, excluding about 640 acres, which the State will manage as a boat launch and parking site immediately west of the Vernita Bridge, and approximately 110 acres where the Department of Energy (DOE) has cleanup responsibilities. There are no nuclear production facilities on the North Slope. The Service will manage the North Slope under a DOE permit, and DOE will continue to have primary jurisdiction. The Hanford Reach section of the Columbia River will not be managed by the Service.
The area is rich in natural resource values.
Nationally significant features are:
The Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. The Hanford Reach is the last non-tidal 50 miles of the Columbia River that is not a dammed reservoir. In this stretch, the river has current and a channel width similar to what once existed throughout its length, providing habitat conditions similar to the era before dams. The abundance of native species, both large and small, is greater here than anywhere else on the Columbia River. The Reach and its environs provide great expanses of view, allowing river travelers a sense of wildness and isolation.
Fall chinook salmon and their spawning and rearing habitat. This is the last section of the main stem Columbia River where salmon can build spawning nests known as redds. Fall chinook salmon weigh 40 to 60 pounds and they retain their high quality flesh throughout their 390-mile journey from the ocean. These "upriver brights" are prized in both sport and commercial fisheries. Almost all fall chinook harvested are spawned in the Hanford Reach.
The intact ecosystem of the Reach. This includes a continuous, contiguous gradation of riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian , wetland, bluff and shrub-steppe habitats. The area represents a primarily intact representation of the biodiversity once found along most of the Columbia River. Sensitive species consist of American white pelican, trumpeter swan, common loon, sandhill crane, Lewiss woodpecker. Preservation of the reach and Wahluke Slope would represent an ecosystem approach to species protection rather than species by species.
Archaeologic artifacts of many indigenous cultures have been preserved along the river. This portion of the Columbia River has been continuously inhabited for more than 9,000 years. The climate and stable land forms have preserved many artifacts. The closure of the reach for military purposes has protected cultural resources from disturbance for the last 50 years. Under Service management, tribal peoples will have access to the Reach and the Wahluke Slope for cultural and religious purposes.
Regionally significant features include:
The white bluffs along 31 miles of the north bank of the Hanford Reach. The landmark bluffs are a scenic and unique geologic feature as well as a geologic hazard. Claystone and siltstone become unstable when saturated. Sloughing (landslides) of the bluffs into the River has occurred in the last 30 years, partially as a result of a variety of human activities, including irrigation of crops.
Sport Fishing. The Reach is one of the most heavily used sport fishing areas in the State, generating more than 50,000 visits. Anglers seek anadromous fish that spawn and migrate through the Reach, such as fall chinook salmon, steelhead, sockeye salmon, coho salmon and summer chinook salmon. Resident fish such as sturgeon and small mouth bass are sought as well.
Hunting. More than 150,000 waterfowl, primarily Canada geese and mallards, migrate through or winter in the Reach, providing excellent hunting opportunity. Hunting is further enhanced since the Reach is frequently the only open water available in the area during extended cold weather. Pheasant, chuckar, quail and deer are hunted on the Wahluke Slope in areas managed by the Washington Department of Wildlife.
State endangered plants and animals. State endangered species are American white pelican, sand hill crane, pygmy rabbit, Merriams shrew, pallid bat, sagebrush sagebrush
The western United States’ sagebrush country encompasses over 175 million acres of public and private lands. The sagebrush landscape provides many benefits to our rural economies and communities, and it serves as crucial habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including the iconic greater sage-grouse and over 350 other species.
Learn more about sagebrush vole and persistent sepal yellowcress. Threatened species are ferruginous hawk and Columbia milkvetch. Forty-eight additional species are considered sensitive.
Historic sites. The area contains historic sites showing progression of land use associated with historic tribal settlements, European settlers towns and farms that displaced tribal settlements and the Hanford reactors and facilities that replaced the towns and farms.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprising more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
Expansion of Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge
Commonly Asked Questions and Answers November 5, 1999
What is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doing? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has managed the 31,000-acre Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, which is on the North Slope of the Hanford Site, under a permit from the U.S. Department of Energy since 1971. The boundary of the refuge has been expanded to include an additional 60,000 acres on the North Slope.
Why would the Service establish a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge at the Hanford Site?
Although the Hanford Site has much notoriety for its nuclear reactors and waste storage, much of the site is untouched sagebrush, known as shrub steppe. Few undisturbed shrub-steppe areas this large remain in the Columbia Basin, due to conversion of shrub-steppe to agricultural and residential use. By managing this area as wildlife habitat, the Service will be able to protect a wide range of plants, wildlife, and even endangered fish along the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. The Hanford Reach is important as the last stretch of the Columbia River above tidewater that is not dammed, and it is the last place on the main stem river where salmon spawn. The Hanford Reach provides spawning habitat for the 60-pound fall chinook salmon, and migration habitat for endangered steelhead and spring chinook salmon.
Why is the Service managing the area, and not another agency?
The Service has managed Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge since 1971. It is ready and available to expand its management to a larger portion of the North Slope so the habitat can be protected as a single ecosystem. No other Federal agency has the mission of providing a national network of lands and waters for the conservation of fish, wildlife and plants for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
What will Service management accomplish?
1) The Service has authority to acquire or otherwise protect wildlife habitat as a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Protection of Hanford Site lands follows careful analysis with the Department of Energy to determine which areas still need cleanup, and which are ready for management as refuge land.
2) The Service will manage, enhance, and restore the North Slope for the benefit of native wildlife and fish species.
3) The Service will develop compatible wildlife-dependent recreational activities in partnership with local communities. The six priority public uses of national wildlife refuges are wildlife observation, wildlife photography, education, interpretation, hunting, and fishing.
Will the public still be able to hunt and fish on the North Slope?
The Service has made an interim determination that hunting and fishing are compatible uses of the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge. The Service will conduct hunting and fishing programs in accordance with State and Federal regulations. In the future, the Service will prepare a management plan that would replace this interim determination. The Service will involve the public in this planning process, which is called a Comprehensive Conservation Plan.
What role will the Department of Energy play?
The Department of Energy will continue to have primary jurisdiction over the North Slope because of its cleanup responsibilities. The Service will work cooperatively with DOE to ensure that wildlife habitat is protected to the greatest extent without unduly slowing cleanup.
What management challenges will the Service face?
The Hanford Reach is bounded on the north by the White Bluffs, which are scenic cliffs of chalky silt and sandstone that rise 200 feet above the water. The White Bluffs are breaking off in large pieces and falling into the Columbia River, changing the rivers flow and damaging water quality and salmon spawning areas. The Service will be cooperating with other agencies to try to find ways to stabilize the cliffs.
How do I contact the refuge?
Please direct your inquiries to:
David Goeke, Project Leader Arid Lands National Wildlife Refuge Complex 3250 Port of Benton Blvd. Richland, Washington 99352 Telephone: (509) 371-1801 Fax: (509) 375-0196
