USFWS proposes moving white-tails from Island

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to translocate up to 35 Columbian white-tailed deer from Puget Island to the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-tailed Deer in 2014 and an additional 10-20 deer to Ridgefield NWR in 2015.

The draft environmental assessment of the proposed translocation is available for public comment. The draft EA public comment period is open for 30 days, from December 12, 2013 to January 12, 2014.

Columbian white-tailed deer are unique to southwest Washington and western Oregon and are listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, Julia Butler Hansen Refuge and Ridgefield NWR contain existing populations of white-tails, suitable habitat, and are within their historical range. The Service will capture and move the deer in partnership with the Cowlitz Tribe, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Service has proposed the translocations to promote the recovery of the Columbian white-tailed by stabilizing both the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge and Ridgefield NWR subpopulations. The proposed translocations would occur from January 20 - April 15, 2014 and December 15, 2014 - April 15, 2015.

The draft environmental assessment can be downloaded from the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge website https://www.fws.gov/jbh/translocation.html or the Ridgefield NWR website http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/ridgefield/.

Comments, and requests to obtain a copy of the draft EA on CD-ROM, can be sent by any one of the following methods: Email - willapa@fws.gov; Fax - Attn: Project Leader, (360) 484-3482; or U.S. Mail - Project Leader, 3888 State Route 101, Ilwaco, WA 98624.