Working for Wildlife: Maintaining Okanogan’s

working lands and wildlife heritage. A National Fish and Wildlife Foundation plan to conserve a crucial

linkage for lynx and other wide-ranging species

April 2014

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Cover photo credit: View of Carter Mountain Wildlife Area, Justin Haug, WA Department of Fish

and Wildlife

About NFWF The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (hereafter NFWF or the Foundation) protects and restores our nation’s wildlife and habitats. Created by Congress in 1984, NFWF directs public conservation dollars to the most pressing environmental needs and matches those investments with private contributions. NFWF works with government, nonprofit and corporate partners to find solutions for the most intractable conservation challenges. In 27 years, NFWF has funded more than 4,000 organizations and committed more than $2 billion to conservation projects. Learn more at www.nfwf.org.

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Table of Contents

What is a Business Plan?..................................................................................................................3 Executive Summary………………………………………………………………….…..4 Conservation Need ………………………………………………………………………7 Conservation Outcomes………………………………………………………………....11 Implementation Plan………………………………………………..…………………...13 Monitoring and Evaluating Performance…………………………………………………17 Core Metrics to Measure Progress………………………………………………………...20 Funding Needs……………………………………………………………………………21 Long-Term NFWF Support………………………………………………………………22 Ancillary Benefits………………………………………………………………………….23 Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………….………….24 Literature Cited……………………………………………………………………………31 Appendices:

Appendix A - Decision Support Tool maps and outcome tables

Appendix B – Working for Wildlife Logic Model

Appendix C - Complementary partner identified species specific actions

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What is a Business Plan?

A business plan serves two broad, primary functions. First, it provides specific information to those not familiar with the proposed or existing business (e.g., prospective investors), including its goals, the management strategy, financial considerations and other resources necessary to attain those goals. Second, a business plan provides internal guidance to those who are actively engaged in the operation of the business, allowing all individuals to understand the direction and path of the business. The plan helps keep the business from drifting away from its goals and key actions through careful articulation of a strategy. In the context of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s conservation efforts, business plans represent the strategies necessary to meet the conservation goals of the conservation program. Each business plan emphasizes the type(s) and magnitude(s) of the benefits that will be realized through the program, the monetary costs involved, and the potential obstacles (risks) to achieving those gains. Each of the Foundation’s business plans has three core elements:

Conservation Outcomes: A concrete description of the outcomes to which the Foundation and grantees will hold ourselves accountable. Implementation Plan with Strategic Priorities and Performance Measures: A description of the specific strategies that are needed to achieve our conservation outcomes, the quantifiable benchmarks by which we will measure success and make it possible to adaptively manage in the face of unexpected or unintended outcomes. Funding and Resource Needs: An analysis of the financial, human, and organizational resources needed to carry out these strategies.

The strategies and activities discussed in this plan do not represent solely the Foundation’s view of the actions necessary to achieve the identified conservation goals. Rather, it reflects the consensus or majority view of the many federal, state, academic or organization experts that we consulted with during plan development. In developing this business plan, the Foundation acknowledges other planned conservation activities that may indirectly benefit keystone targets. This business plan is not meant to duplicate ongoing efforts but, rather, to invest in areas where management, conservation, or funding gaps might exist in those broader conservation efforts. Hence, the aim of the business plan is to support the beneficial impacts brought about by the larger conservation community.

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Executive Summary

An impressive coalition of state, federal, tribal and nongovernmental interests have joined together, enabled and facilitated by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, for the purpose of protecting wildlife habitat, rural livelihoods and heritage in a key location, the diverse landscape of the central Okanogan Valley, WA. NFWF developed this document to guide its engagement, investments, and the measuring of progress toward the clear objectives of this program. The Okanogan Valley has long been an important home and migration pathway for both people and wildlife. Bordered to the north by Canada, to the west by the Cascade Mountains, to the east by the Okanogan Highlands and, beyond that, the Kettle River Range, this broad open valley of sagebrush grassland and Ponderosa pine forest is known for its special qualities: sparking rivers and lakes, rocky outcrops and highlands rising above the valley floor, productive agricultural lands, and a wide diversity of wildlife and habitat. Generations have cherished the land and sustained themselves on what it offered. Semi-nomadic First Peoples maintained camps in the valley through the winter, following the seasons, moving from place to place to hunt, fish and harvest food and cultural plants. The descendants of these aboriginal residents remain and continue their traditional and treaty-protected uses of the landscape. Wildlife in the region remains abundant. Mule deer annually migrate from the valleys to higher elevations in the warmer seasons. The healthiest lynx population in the Lower 48 States is anchored in the high country of the Okanogan. Cougar, elk and bighorn sheep are stable or increasing in numbers. One of the state’s only populations of sharp-tailed grouse moves within the arid lands of the Tunk Valley to find food, mates, and shelter. This wildlife diversity exists in harmony with the county’s rural agricultural character. Orchards, farms, ranches and sawmills are at the heart of the Okanogan economy and culture.

Figure 1. View of the Tunk Valley. Credit: Scott Fitkin

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Small towns and country roads connect people to each other and provide gateways to the miles of open space and beauty of the varied landscapes. Highway 97 is the major, vital north/south corridor conveying both products and people. Conservation Need Rivers and other obstacles to wildlife movement have always existed, but the additional effects of human development are raising concern. Continuing expansion of development into rural areas is fragmented habitat, reducing agricultural production, and diminishing the rural lifestyle of the Okanogan Valley. The resulting increase in traffic along Highway 97 has increased the risk to public safety from vehicle collisions with wildlife while making it more difficult for wildlife to safely move. On average, 350 deer are killed each year by vehicle collisions along the 11.7 mile stretch of Highway 97 north and south of Riverside with an average societal cost of over $7000 per collisioni. The spread of invasive plant species and a legacy of fire suppression efforts have caused forest health problems that directly impact habitat function. The network of duplicative and poorly located smaller roads on our public lands reduces security habitat for wildlife, strains reduced budgets, and increases fragmentation. The Working for Wildlife Initiative is working to finding ways to protect and enhance open spaces, migration paths for wildlife and winter range for mule deer in the Okanogan Valley. The initiative also aims to promote traditional agricultural uses and values that families have maintained for generations to ensure that we still have working ranches, forests and wildlife coexisting here a hundred years from now. This multi-year public-private effort will build on existing partnerships and facilitate new ones to maintain and conserve working lands, restore forest health and wildlife habitats, provide safer passage for wildlife and motorists on Highway 97, restore water rights to strategic habitats, and reduce wildlife conflicts with livestock and communities. The Working for Wildlife Initiative aims brings together partners to take advantage of timely opportunities to maintain and restore habitat connectivity between the Cascade Mountains and Kettle River Range for Canada lynx, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, and mule deer. By 2020 we aim to conserve existing habitat values on tens of thousands of acres of private land, construct three wildlife underpasses on Highway 97 to facilitate safer passage, restore habitat quality and resiliency on 20,000 acres, augment the local population of Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, lay the groundwork for recovery of Canada lynx in the Kettle River Range, and establish programs and relationships to increase the community’s tools and pride in co-existing with wildlife so this work will continue over time. Implementation Plan Strategies within this plan fall into six coordinated and complementary categories:

1. Lands conservation; 2. Habitat restoration; 3. Safe Passage on Highway 97; 4. Capacity, Outreach, Incentives; 5. Species-specific management strategies; and 6. Planning, Research, Monitoring.

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All of these strategies are supported by a science-based decision support tool and rigorous monitoring and communication plans to ensure that our actions are strategic and advance us toward our goal to measurably maintain and improve the ability for wildlife to move across this landscape.

Figure 2. Project area extent of the Working for Wildlife Initiative

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Conservation Need

Conserving a vital habitat connection

Wildlife requires the ability to move freely between habitats to find food, mates and shelter, and to respond to disturbances and changing conditions. The Cascade Mountains and Kettle River Range shared between Washington and British Columbia provide large intact habitats that are home to a wealth of species dependent on forested montane environments such as Canada lynx (Lynx Canadensis) and wolverine (Gulo gulo). Maintaining a connected network of habitats between these north-to-south-oriented mountain ranges is important to maintaining the region’s wildlife populations over time. The highest priority such linkage south of the Canada border is defined by the habitat and recovery needs of Canada lynx, and has been identified by three-peer reviewed scientific studiesii iii iv. The vital and last remaining linkage ties the forested habitat of the North Cascades eastward through the Okanogan Valley and Highlands to the Kettle River Range (Fig. 3). From the Kettle River Range eastward there are multiple options for maintaining connections with the vast wild lands of the Rocky Mountains. Therefore, initial success in ensuring a linkage between the Cascades and Kettle River Range would not only connect two important large intact habitats but also facilitate landscape scale connectivity further east to the Rockies, a critical regional conservation goal.

Figure 3. Project area and linkage values for Canada lynx for the Working for Wildlife Initiative.

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The Canada lynx is federally listed as a Threatened Species within the coterminous United States and is a priority species for collaboration between Washington and British Columbia wildlife agencies. Its distribution is associated with boreal and sub-boreal forest conditions, including upper elevation, coniferous forests in western mountains. Populations of lynx remain in three parallel north-south oriented mountain ranges: the Cascades, Kettle River Range, and Rocky Mountains. Islands of core lynx habitat are increasingly separated by unsuitable and peripheral habitat, human development and highways. The maximum number of animals of a particular species that a discreet land area can support is often below the minimum number necessary for long-term genetic and demographic viability. Such metaphorical islands are also vulnerable to large-scale, stochastic events (wildfire, disease, etc.) that could seriously jeopardize local populations. Within home ranges, lynx move 2.7-10km/day, and are known to make long-distance movements of 15-1000 km when conditions change or prey becomes scarce. These long distance movements inform the ability of the species to survive large-scale disturbance to their habitat, and to occupy high quality habitat over time while expanding the range and size of a population. The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2005 Recovery Plan Outline for Canada Lynxv identified core and secondary habitats in the Cascades and Kettles while noting that peripheral habitat throughout the linkage shown in Figure 3 “may enable successful dispersal of lynx between populations or subpopulations.” Maintaining viable connections between core habitats in the Cascades and Kettle River Range confers near-term population benefits in providing the option for dispersal and migratory response to dramatic habitat disturbances, while also increasing the adaptive capacity of the species in consideration of climate change. Washington’s Lynx Recovery Planvi calls for maintaining connections between core habitats and specifically “conservation of critical pieces of habitat connecting dry forest and shrub-steppe to prevent land uses incompatible with lynx dispersal”. According to a recent economic analysis, 45 percent of large ranches in the Okanogan Valley changed ownership between 1993 and 2008. Of the land that changed hands, 47 percent went out of ranch use to developers, investors, and amenity buyers.vii Projected growth patterns show the greatest concentration of development occurring in valley bottoms, where lynx linkage potential is most constrained. If we do not act, these patterns could interrupt connectivity within several decades. There is a window of opportunity open today to ensure that the future landscape of the valley and surrounding highlands is complementary to the needs of multiple species of wildlife including the lynx. In addition to land conservation, long-term function of this linkage to facilitate safe dispersal events for Canada lynx will also require addressing the barrier effect of Highway 97 and restoration of habitat quality. Highway 97, a scenic byway running north-south through the Okanogan Valley, is a vital conveyance for freight and people. The highway carries about 5,000 vehicles/day, which are subject to a safety risk where it intersects with the east-west habitat linkage. There is an opportunity to aid all concerned by providing underpasses to facilitate wildlife movement and reduce collisions. There are also opportunities to improve habitat on various ownerships adjacent to the highway in

Figure 4. Lynx captured by researchers in the Okanogan as part of a multi-agency

monitoring effort. Credit: WDFW

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the linkage zone through such means as prescribed fire, road restoration, native vegetation planting, riparian area restoration, removal of unnecessary fencing and control of invasive plants.

While the Working for Wildlife Initiative serves the core objective of linking habitats at the landscape scale for highly mobile and space -demanding species, from mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) to lynx, it also aims to improve conditions for other less space-demanding rare species. Specifically, local Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus ) populations depend on connectivity conservation actions that overlap and complement those required to restore habitat connectivity for Canada lynx. The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse is the rarest of six described subspecies of sharp-tailed grouse, a close relative of prairie-chickens. Its historical range extended from southern British Columbia to northeastern California to Utah, but only small portions of this area still support populations. The sharp-tailed grouse was listed as a Threatened Species by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission in 1998, and a recovery planviii has been established. Isolated small populations exist

on both sides of the Okanogan River, with about 75 birds now residing within the Working for Wildlife Initiative landscape. Recent analyses from the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group found that, “East–west movement across the Okanogan Valley is limited to the area north of the City of Okanogan. Conservation of this area is needed to prevent isolation of sharp-tailed grouse populations on the western side of the valley.”ix According to the state recovery plan, primary factors affecting the existence of the species are habitat alteration and the precarious nature of small, geographically-isolated populations. Restoring a larger population will increase its sustainability, as will increases in habitat connectivity including highway crossing structures and improved shrub-steppe habitat between populations. Without these actions, the future of these small and increasingly isolated populations is uncertain. This plan will help the state and other partners restore a sustainable population of 150 or more birds in the linkage zone by 2020 with complimentary actions to assure connections between populations.

Figure 5. Sharp-tailed grouse in Scotch Creek. Credit: G. Thompson

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The Okanogan is home to the largest migratory mule deer population in the state, valued culturally, ecologically, and economically. Current risks to mule deer within this initiative’s landscape include mortality on Highway 97, and reduced habitat quality. According to the Washington Department of Transportation, on average 350 mule deer are killed annually by vehicles along this 11.7 mile stretch of Highway 97, making it one the highest wildlife-vehicle collision hotspots in the state. Until removed by WSDOT staff, roughly one third of road-killed deer carcasses remain on the highway as hazards to drivers. On one full-moon evening in August 2012, four deer-vehicle collisions occurred in just a one hour period, with one vehicle needing to be towed from the scene. The estimated average societal cost for each vehicle-deer collision is $7,180, including vehicle repair costs, human injuries, towing, carcass removal/disposal, accident investigation, and the monetary value of the deer. Apart from the highway and its right-of-way, the mule deer conservation priority of the state and its partners is improving habitat quality. The Washington State Game Management Planx recognized the need to “Acquire critical mule deer habitat or conservation easements on critical mule deer habitat. Work with state, federal, and private land managers to conduct prescribed burns that will benefit mule deer. Work with county government growth management planners to limit the expansion of human development on mule deer range”, and to work with partners including the Mule Deer Foundation “to conduct projects that improve winter range for mule deer.” Mule deer evolved with the native vegetation types of this landscape and are susceptible to competition from white-tailed deer as land uses change. Projected growth trends threaten the narrowest portions of this linkage, which we call its “bottleneck.” Coupled with conversion of ranchlands, increased traffic on Highway 97, and degraded habitat conditions, risk to the viability of this linkage for wildlife is substantial. The Working for Wildlife Initiative aims to bring together partners to take advantage of timely opportunities to maintain and restore habitat connectivity between the Cascade Mountains and Kettle River Range for Canada lynx, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, and mule deer. Partners worked with foundation staff to create a conceptual model that identified the key issues negatively affecting the conservation target and the strategies needed to reach our goal of a functioning linkage providing value to wildlife and the local community (See Appendix B). This conceptual model will be revisited by partners periodically throughout this initiative.

Linking ecological and social communities

Life in the Okanogan Valley and its surrounding highlands has always included a near-nature

coexistence with the area’s wildlife. This coexistence is vital to success of this initiative. Recovery of

wide-ranging species rests on their ability to disperse between subpopulations and foster genetic

Figure 6. Mule deer walking parallel to Highway 97 in the project area. Credit: Robert Sinclair

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diversity. Their chances of survival are also directly tied to social acceptance by local people,

including ranchers and farmers. The Working for Wildlife Initiative hopes to foster a sense of pride in

the community for the value that landowners play in providing a home and pathway for wildlife, as

well as proactively reducing the risk of conflict between wildlife and people.

Building on existing conservation capacity There is a strong history of conservation in the project area by local and statewide partners. But to date there has not been a coordinated strategy to bring efforts together under a broader vision for a connected landscape that also understands community values and needs. Utilizing specific science to inform an integrated strategy that leverages each party’s investments and actions on the ground is critical to prioritize actions, increase efficiency, and measure the cumulative impact of all independent efforts within the project area. Local conservation capacity that existed prior to the Working for Wildlife Initiative included a local land trust, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation, local, state and federal agencies, sportsmen organizations, and regional and national conservation organizations. Examples include:

Safe Passage Highway 97 (www.safepassage97.org) was initiated in 2012 as a collection of individuals and organizations supporting efforts to improve safety on Highway 97 from Milepost 300 to 311.7 through solutions to animal-vehicle collisions. This effort includes the Okanogan Trails Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation, Colville Confederated Tribes, Okanogan Trails Scenic Byway, Via 97, the Mayor of Omak, and others.

Founded in December 2002, the Okanogan Land Trust (OLT) grew out of the North Okanogan Sportsmen's Council, when members became concerned about undisciplined fragmentation of open lands and destruction of agriculture and the rural lifestyle of the Okanogan Valley. The resulting organization continues the mission of preserving open landscapes, conserving water resources and protecting working farms and ranches in Okanogan County. These efforts result in enhancing wildlife and fish habitat while sustaining economically viable agriculture and forestry.

Through a series of interviews with ranchers, residents, land managers, and wildlife experts in the Okanogan Valley, the Trust for Public Land summarized three challenges facing this landscape: (1) economic hardship of agricultural production; (2) limited conservation funding, and (3) limited trust and communication. A summary report on these interviews concluded, “The process of working together for common goals in the Okanogan Valley is not new. Homesteaders have helped each other face remarkable adversity for many generations; but today the adversities look different, and the recipes for adaptation are also different.”xi The shared vision, strategies, and additional funding of the Working for Wildlife Initiative address these challenges with community-based conservation solutions for habitat connectivity on this landscape.

Conservation Outcomes The goal of this initiative is to maintain and restore a connected network of habitats between the Cascade Mountains and Kettle River Range that facilitates the long-term survival of wildlife, while balancing the needs for access and economic growth of the local communities today and into the future. Some outcomes from the initiative’s efforts can be measured immediately, while others will

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be realized over decades. For example, implementation of strategies will arrest the loss of habitat on a significant initial acreage within the most constrained portions of the linkage, while establishing the capacity and strategy for longer term conservation implementation that must continue. The strategies in this plan will prevent the loss of habitat connectivity through conserving private working agricultural ranches and farms, creating safer passage for motorists and wildlife on an 11.7 mile stretch of Highway 97, and restoring habitat quality. These outcomes can be visually and quantitatively measured against the risk of inaction, and their contribution to improving upon the current condition tracked with our GIS decision support tool (see Appendix A). Additionally, outcomes are established by their specific contribution to species management goals for Canada lynx, sharp-tailed grouse, and mule deer. The actions within this plan contribute to two of the objectives set forth in the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Canada Lynx Recovery Plan outline referenced previously: 1) ensure that sufficient habitat is available to accommodate the long-term persistence of immigration and emigration between each core area; and 2) ensure that threats have been addressed so that lynx populations will persist in the contiguous United States for at least the next 100 years. Specifically, this plan will prevent isolation of Washington’s lynx populations in the Cascades and Kettles by maintaining the best linkage for dispersal between core habitats. In the short and long terms, we will measure our landscape scale conservation outcomes for Canada lynx in terms of restoration of habitat connectivity within the linkage and contributions to population recovery in the Kettle Range core area. The measureable conservation outcomes to restore habitat connectivity within the linkage include three specific actions that would be accomplished in the short-term (1-7 years). Collectively, these actions would assure that the linkage will provide habitat connectivity between the Cascade Mountains and Kettle River Range for lynx and other wildlife, accomplishing a significant regional conservation goal.

First is to restore habitat connectivity within the identified bottleneck through the

installation of 3 wildlife crossing structures. This would restore habitat connectivity while

also making the highway safer for people. This action would improve habitat connectivity by

an estimated 20%.

Second, we will maintain open spaces that are vital for wildlife habitat connectivity on up to

20, 000 acres of secondary and peripheral habitat within the linkage. This would prevent a

reduction in habitat connectivity between core habitats of 3.3%.

Lastly, we will restore habitat quality within the linkage to assure that lynx, and other wildlife

have safe access through the linkage, further increasing habitat connectivity by 1.4%.

The second set of measureable conservation outcomes apply to the Kettle Range core area. These actions are aimed at restoring a population of lynx in the Kettle Range that is critical to accomplishing a well-distributed and connected population, making a contribution to their recovery and substantially increasing the resilience of their population to climate change. The actions include:

Complete a feasibility study for the Kettle Range that would define population outcomes

based on the capability of the habitat, prey base, and existing human influences. This

will be accomplished through an interagency/interorganizational effort within the first five

years.

Verify lynx presence. This will be accomplished through an interagency/interorganizational

effort within the five-10 year time period.

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Verify reproduction in the long-term (10+ years).

We will fulfill goals within Washington’s Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Recovery Plan by doubling the size of the population within this landscape, including measurable increases in leks following population augmentation, increased connectivity between populations demonstrated by GIS models, verified movement of birds, and increased habitat quality within grouse core habitats and linkages. These goals will be measured by annual species inventories conducted by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and its partners, analyses of data from collars on reintroduced birds, and through changes in permeability within the linkage visualized and quantified by our GIS decision support tool. We will reduce mule deer mortality on a 11.7 mile stretch of Highway 97 by 85%, while increasing habitat quality for this species on hundreds of acres with a focus on forage grounds, winter range, and security habitat. These goals will be measured by comparison of pre- and post-underpass construction road-kill collection data from the Washington Department of Transportation, and by accrual of restored acreage by partners within the project area that can be quantified and visualized through our GIS decision support tool. Finally, we will create a shared vision between local stakeholders for a landscape that provides values into the future for wildlife and the community. The true success of this effort will be measured not only by acres and species inventories, but by a legacy of partners committed to stewarding the land and living with the species that depend on it for the next 100 years.

Implementation Plan

Implementation of conservation actions to address the conservation opportunity and need in this landscape fall into six coordinated and complementary categories:

1. Lands conservation; 2. Habitat restoration; 3. Safe Passage on Highway 97; 4. Capacity, Outreach, Incentives; and 5. Planning, Research, Monitoring

Implementation strategies are guided by the

opportunities within each category, with

actions prioritized by their contribution to our

central conservation goal to maintain and

restore habitat connectivity function within the

linkage. Strategies will evolve throughout the

life of this business plan to be responsive and flexible to new ideas and changed conditions.

Figure 7. NFWF staff and partners on a guided tour of the Gotham Ranch protected with an easement funded in part by

this initiative. Credit: Jay Kehne

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Land Conservation In order to preserve the open vistas, wildlife habitat and agricultural working lands between the Cascade Mountains and Kettle River Range, the partners in this effort will work with public land managers, local ranchers, farmers, developers, families and other private landowners to maintain the conservation values provided on public and private lands within this important wildlife movement area. The Land Conservation portion of this program revolves around conservation of acreage that provides for conserving working agricultural lands. These lands also provide long-term connectivity value for the movement of species, while recognizing value for smaller-ranging species that live here. The primary goals are to prevent loss of permeability and connectivity through protection of agricultural lands that provide conservation value.

Over the life of this business plan, we will leverage years of collaborative conservation in this

landscape by investing in the capacity of local partners, especially the Okanogan Land Trust,

to 1) build relationships with willing voluntary landowners to maintain and preserve the

conservation values of their agricultural properties into the future: and 2) help these

landowners recognize the value of their property for connecting the habitats of multiple

species. Recognizing that many of these properties are working lands held by private individuals

who hope to pass the land down over generations, OLT will assist these voluntary private

agricultural landowners through the process of obtaining conservation easements. Additional

educational efforts will addresses local anxiety about the transition of private property into

conservation easements and the distinction between this private form of ownership and public land.

The land conservation component of the project will also facilitate conservation easements from

willing landowners on key properties adjacent to the proposed safe passage portion of Highway 97.

This strategy provides an early focus on the most constrained portion of the linkage, where loss of

overall linkage function is vulnerable and projected growth patterns show the greatest risk to

development.

Land conservation will require public and private funding to achieve agricultural conservation

easements, landowner and public educational outreach, planning, transaction costs, long-term

easement stewardship, and assistance with operations.

Habitat Restoration Within the program’s focal area, there is a need to increase the quality of wildlife habitat to provide

security and reduce factors that resist wildlife movement. An all-lands approach to restoration

Figure 8. Sunset view from the Tunk Mountain Lookout. Credit: Rob Sinclair

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will include projects on state, federal, tribal, and private lands with willing landowners.

Actions will include strategic forest management, prescribed fire, invasive plant management, native

understory vegetation restoration, road right-sizing and maintenance, invasive species control,

removal of obsolete fencing, and riparian area management.

Actions are prioritized based on their

contribution to increasing permeability of the

linkage with additional considerations for the

protection and resilience of core and security

habitats for Canada lynx, sharp-tailed grouse

and mule deer. Many prospective actions will

require planning, and those on public lands

may require environmental analysis and

public comment, which can involve long

delays. Therefore it’s essential to the

initiative’s success that priority restoration

needs be identified early. Other actions, such

as fence removals, will require a thorough

analyses of the linkage using our GIS decision

support tool before any investments can be

made. While removal of obsolete fence will

reduce habitat fragmentation, it is unknown

how many miles of it cross the landscape

presently, or the relative impacts of these

stretches on our conservation goals. In

contrast, the US Forest Service’s Crawfish

Restoration Project offers a ready

opportunity for restoration including fuels

reduction, commercial and pre-commercial

thinning, prescribed fire and roads management that has been already analyzed for contributions to

wildlife objectives.

Restoration work will be executed through a combination of existing agency and tribal capacity (i.e.,

Forest Service road crews), private contractors, and volunteer labor. Over the life of this business

plan, there is a strong ability to leverage National Fish and Wildlife Foundation support with other

funding sources for restoration to increase the health and resiliency of the landscape. This leverage is

needed to translate planning into implementation at the scale necessary to effect landscape change.

A living prioritized inventory of restoration needs will be maintained by partners. This inventory will

indicate each project’s location, contribution to initiative goals, land ownership, implementation

schedule, budget, funding strategy including leveraged sources, and monitoring plan. The impact of

restoration work toward initiative objectives will be monitored in the field. In those cases for which

Figure 9. Tonasket District Ranger Dale Olsen and silvaculturalist Paul Nash tour the Crawfish project with

initiative partners.

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appropriate data layers are available, effectiveness can also be established and measured with our

GIS decision support tool.

Safe Passage on Highway 97 Located in the Okanogan Trails Scenic Byway, Highway 97 is a key freight and auto corridor

through the valley. One of the places wildlife, especially mule deer, most often cross the Okanogan

Valley is along an 11.7-mile stretch of Highway 97 from Riverside to Janis Bridge. This intersection

of a north-south transportation corridor and east-west wildlife corridor presents a safety issue for

both motorists and animals.

The Washington Department of

Transportation has proposed to

improve safety along this stretch of

highway through construction of three

underpasses, augmented as needed by

fencing, cattle guards or gates, and

several deer jump-outs and foot-gates. To

ensure success of these structures, the

department is committed to working

with local landowners and stakeholders

on project design. In coordination with

supportive citizens, Safe Passage for

Highway 97, WSDOT has identified

two planning and construction phases

for the 11.7 mile stretch: Phase I (mile

post 305 to 311.7) and Phase II (mile post 300 to 305). These structures could significantly

increase habitat permeability throughout the linkage, translating to significant quantitative

improvements for wide ranging species over current conditions (see Appendix A for metrics), as

well as direct reductions in wildlife mortality on the roadway.

Cost savings in accidents avoided could, in addition to lives saved/injuries avoided, amount to over

$2M per year. The value of deer saved and reduced collision costs would offset construction costs

that are estimated to total $12M. Local stakeholders developed a website (www.safepassage97.org)

to provide information, facilitate feedback, share timely news and updates, and display strong

support for the proposed underpasses. The proposal has also been endorsed by various local

residents, businesses, the Colville Confederated Tribes, and numerous public and private landowners

along the pertinent highway stretch, who see the direct effects of wildlife collisions.

A newly formed local organization, the Okanogan Trails Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation, has

adopted the Highway 97 underpass proposal as its top priority. Working for Wildlife partners will

continue working with that chapter and other local stakeholders, along with the Washington

Department of Transportation, to establish and demonstrate strong local and regional support for

Figure 10. Graphic representation of a wildlife underpass for Highway 97 in the project area. Credit: Jones and Jones Architecture

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this project. This work will include communication with and engagement of adjacent landowners,

finalizing project designs, investing in necessary habitat restoration and conservation, acquiring

water rights for properties adjacent to the proposed crossing structures, and advocating for

construction funding.

Implementation will require NFWF funds to support capacity for local outreach and

communications, operations of the website, water rights acquisition, and potential capital

costs that either arise from creative solutions to address unique landowner needs (e.g.,

fencing) and/or leverage public dollars.

Capacity, Outreach, Incentives As this connected landscape is maintained and improved for wildlife, we must also provide the tools, opportunities and encouragement for local communities to co-exist with wildlife. In particular, we will build relationships with working farmers and ranchers within the area to reduce conflict between wildlife and livestock. This action has an indirect but significant impact on many of our objectives, as it can increase social acceptance for wildlife. In addition to one-on-one discussions with farmers and ranchers, we will host educational forums on living with wildlife, explore implementation of non-lethal techniques to protect livestock, and institute a carcass removal and composting program to eliminate the attractant of large carcass piles that result from road-kill and normal livestock mortality.

Planning, Research, Monitoring Lynx monitoring, research, and recovery will be lead predominately by the State but this Initiative will help with seed funding that can be leveraged to enhance such efforts and/or ensure they are focused on key areas for this Initiative. In order to fulfill goals within Washington’s Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Recovery Plan by doubling the size of the population within this landscape, we will support state translocation efforts by helping to improve the monitoring and population assessment work of the state. Finally, to ensure the coordination and success of this program, the Foundation will assist with planning and monitoring enhancements that will enable program evaluation.

Monitoring & Evaluating Performance

NFWF’s Monitoring & Evaluation Approach To better demonstrate results and improve the effectiveness of our conservation investments, a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation strategy has been incorporated into the entire lifecycle of NFWF’s initiatives. At initiative inception, NFWF works with scientists and practitioners to develop a business plan that identifies clear conservation goals, strategies to achieve these goals, and metrics for assessing progress. During proposal review, proposals are prioritized based on how well they align with the initiative’s priority strategies. At the project level, individual grantees will monitor and provide updates on key project activity and outcome metrics in annual and final reports.

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On an annual basis, data across individual projects will be scaled up into an initiative scorecard which will provide a snapshot of progress on the initiative’s primary strategies and focal species and habitat outcomes. Every three years, NFWF’s in-house evaluator will conduct an assessment to examine the factors that have facilitated and hindered successful implementation of the initiative. Towards the end of the initiative’s life cycle, a more comprehensive third-party evaluation may be conducted if resources are available. Findings from all monitoring and evaluation activities will be used to continuously learn from our grant-making and inform future decision-making to ensure initiative success. Monitoring & Evaluation in the Working for Wildlife Initiative We don’t expect lynx to move at a measurable rate between core habitats in the Cascades and Kettles in the near-term. We therefore are developing a GIS Decision Support Tool to allow short-term evaluation of the impact of our conservation actions on permeability and connectivity. This tool, developed by Bill

Gaines and James Begley, of Washington Conservation Science Institute, utilizes data layers that reflect attributes such as vegetation structure, land ownership, and roads as well as modeled resistance surfaces to movement of a species. It allows us to capture both the current condition of the landscape - including its permeability and connectivity - for our focal species, as well as to forecast future scenarios like growth patterns so we can analyze a no-action scenario. Then, we can input each of our conservation proposals and accomplishments into the model to visualize its contribution to improving the landscape. Planning our actions, setting priorities, and monitoring outcomes will be enhanced through the use of the Decision Support Tool. As conservation outcomes are completed, the tool will be used to track changes in habitat connectivity metrics and chart progress towards meeting conservation targets and outcomes. In addition, the tool will continue to be updated with additional data layers and automated so that it is more user-friendly, with the ultimate goal that it will be a valuable asset to the project partners that they will adopt and use. Ultimately all outputs from the tool rely on interpretation from partners and local experts, but they provide us a scientifically-informed starting point to guide and measure the individual and cumulative impact of an action. This tool is further explained in Appendix A.

Figure 11. Screen shot of the Decision Support Tool developed for the Working for Wildlife Initiative to measure permeability

of this landscape.

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Ecological Monitoring

The Decision Support Tool alone cannot measure the impacts of our work, and therefore we will also rely on field research and monitoring to complement it. To measure our effectiveness of increasing the ecological function within the linkage, we will allocate some resources for field monitoring to leverage external resources. Monitoring efforts are expected to include:

Pre- and post-construction (of underpasses) road-kill data, especially with mule deer, on Highway 97 throughout the 11.7 mile stretch of highway where safe passage is proposed in this business plan.

Remote camera monitoring of wildlife presence in habitat adjacent to the wildlife underpass locations, and within structures once constructed.

Sharp-tailed grouse population, reproduction, and movement monitoring through field visits and radio collars.

Pre and multi-year post habitat quality monitoring of restoration projects to immediately review implementation completion and over time evaluate effectiveness of change (i.e. re-establishment of native vegetation, effectiveness of closures to access).

Presence of lynx in the Kettle River Range including increased understanding of genetic profile of individuals.

Monitoring plans for independent actions will be prepared in project proposals and tracked under this business plan. Annual full partner meetings will reflect on monitoring and evaluation of actions taken to date, and discuss priorities for the year to come. In the early years of the business plan a living monitoring, research, and planning database will be developed to track and reflect these efforts.

Figure 12. WSDOT biologist and partners setting up remote camera stations on Highway 97. Credit: Jen Watkins

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Core Metrics to Measure Progress

Category Core Initiative Metrics 2013 Baseline 2020 Goal

FOCAL SPECIES

Linkage wide lynx permeability increase (measured by DST tool)

0 +25%

Kettle Range Core Area Lynx Population Metrics 0 Verified evidence of

presence

Reduction of mule deer road kill on 11.7 mile stretch of Highway 97

350 deer/yr 52 deer/year (85% reduction)

# of sharp-tailed grouse present in project area 75 150

# of sharp-tailed grouse leks 0 TBD

Verified movement of sharp-tailed grouse between population centers

n/a Yes

MULTIPLE CONNECTIVITY

BENEFITS

Linkage wide permeability increase by species guild:

Ungulate guild 0 TBD General carnivore guild 0 TBD

Shrub-steppe guild 0 TBD

HABITAT CONSERVATION

Acres Conserved 0 20,000

Permeability of linkage maintained against predicted risk by 2030 (measured by DST)

0 10.3%

HABITAT RESTORATION

Total acres of habitat restoration resulting in increase in permeability, resiliency, and/or increase in security habitat including:

0 20,000

Acres of secondary and periphery lynx habitat within linkage treated to increase permeability, habitat value,

and resilience to disturbance 0 15,000

Acres treated resulting in increase to adjacent core habitats, or increase in resiliency of cores

0 5,000

Acres of sharp-tailed grouse habitat restored 0 5,000

HABITAT MANAGEMENT

Acres of prescribed burn 0 2,000

SAFE PASSAGE ON 97

Underpasses constructed (with associated fencing) 0 3

Highway 97 increase in permeability (measured with GIS DSS tool)

0 23%

CAPACITY,

OUTREACH, INCENTIVES

# of people reached: Landowners, community members, landscape users

0 1200

Pilot programs initiated (carcass removal and compost, farmland programs, living with wildlife)

0 5

PLANNING, RESEARCH,

MONITORING Completion of DSS tool with exportable GTR 0 1

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Funding Needs

BUDGET CATEGORY YEARS 1-3 YEARS 4-7 TOTAL

Habitat Conservation

Community outreach, planning, and direct transaction costs (i.e. appraisals) $600,000 $800,000 $1.4 million

Conservation Easements $4 million $18 million $22 million

Habitat Restoration

Road right-sizing and maintenance $100,000 $145,000 $245,000

Invasive species management and native plant restoration $170,000 $250,000 $425,000

Trail management and signage $10,000 $5,000 $15,000

Project planning, management, landowner outreach, and volunteer coordination $50,000 $50,000 $100,000

*Additional restoration projects and budget may be added as planning is further along.

Habitat Management

Prescribed burning $60,000 $120,000 $180,000

Safe Passage 97

Community Outreach $89,000 $89,000 $178,000

Design and capitol construction of underpasses $800,000 $9 million $9.8 million

Water right acquisition $320,000 $320,000

Species-Specific Strategies (includes research)

Sharp-tailed grouse augmentation $30,000 0 $30,000

Leverage opportunities (i.e. mule deer census and movement studies, lynx presence and genetic work in project area) $25,000 $25,000 $50,000

Capacity, Outreach, Incentives

Carcass removal and compost program $19,500 $8,500 28,000

Farmland property owner and rancher outreach $180,000 $180,000 $360,000

Planning, Research, Monitoring

Decision and Evaluation Model and Tool $24,000 $24,000 $48,000

GIS support $10,000 $10,000 $20,000

Annual and partner meetings $3600 $3600 $7,200

Monitoring equipment $3000 $5000 $8000

Total: $35,214,200

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The budget on preceeding pages outlines funding needed to execute strategies within the business plan, including items where we intend to seek public capital funding. Examples include $9.8 million towards the design and construction of three wildlife underpasses with associated fencing on Highway 97 and implementation of commercial and pre-commercial thinning within Forest Service restoration projects. We aim to raise approximately one third of the budget in private and foundation funding, including National Fish and Wildlife Foundation dollars estimated at $5 million during the life of the business plan, to leverage the balance with state and federal public sources. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation dollars will be focused primarily on capacity of partners, community engagement, habitat restoration, monitoring and research, species specific strategies, and land conservation with the greatest catalytic and/or ecological impact within the linkage. The budget will be refined annually, with greater accuracy as opportunities are identified, designed, and prioritized.

Long-Term NFWF Support

This business plan lays out a strategy to achieve clear outcomes that benefit wildlife over a seven year period, after which we expect that conservation actions will have brought about new institutional and societal standards along with environmental changes. These will have set wildlife populations in a positive direction, such that maintaining or continuing successful trends will be possible without much further NFWF funding. To help ensure that outcomes over these seven years won’t be lost after the exit of NFWF, the partnership must seek solutions that are long-lasting, cost-effective, and maintainable at lower levels of funding or with other secure sources of funds. Therefore, part of the evaluation will address staying power. The adaptive nature of this initiative will also allow NFWF and partners to regularly evaluate the strategies behind our objectives and make necessary course corrections or additions within the seven year frame. Some corrections and additions may warrant increased investment by NFWF and other partners. It is also possible that NFWF would reduce or eliminate support for this initiative if periodic evaluation indicates that further investments are unlikely to be productive in the context of the intended outcomes.

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Ancillary Benefits

The conservation actions and coordination within this business plan will provide both aquatic and terrestrial benefits to the landscape. Habitat restoration projects in riparian areas will secondarily benefit the health of the associated water body and species within it. Road obliterations involving de-compaction of soil and establishment of native vegetation for wildlife will also improve the Okanogan Valley’s ability to naturally store water on the landscape. We hope to track and document the ancillary benefits of our projects as they are conducted, and identify partners during planning where we see these benefits ahead of time. In addition to the three identified primary species, we recognize that this landscape is home and thoroughfare to a suite of additional taxa that will benefit, including northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens), burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia), American badger (Taxidea taxus), gray wolf (Canis lupus), black bear, grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii), California bighorn sheep (Ovis Canadensis), and white-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii). We will note when specific projects have a direct impact on habitat for these species. Our GIS decision support tool is able to measure the ancillary benefits of our work to three guilds of species that were identified and modelled in the Washington Connected Landscapes Project: Statewide Analysis: montane, shrub-steppe, and generalist. This allows us to measure the contribution of our actions to maintain and restore habitat connectivity within this linkage to a larger suite of terrestrial species. Beyond the ecological contributions of this effort there will be socially and culturally important ancillary benefits including security for a tradition of large intact working farms and ranches and restoration of habitat with cultural importance to the Colville Confederated Tribes.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the time, knowledge, and support provided by individuals that have contributed to this business plan through input, review, discussions, and/or support for particular pieces of the plan and its implementation to date in small and large ways: Thank you to: James Begley (Independent GIS Spatial Analyst), Dave Brittel (formerly with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, deceased), Kirsten Cook (Okanogan Conservation District), Peter Dykstra, Scott Fitkin (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife), Scott Fisher (Washington Department of Natural Resources), Mitch Friedman (Conservation Northwest), Bill Gaines (Washington Conservation Science Institute), Justin Haug (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife), Jeff Heinlen (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife), Walter Henze (Okanogan Land Trust), Peter Hill (Trust for Public Land), Kodi Jo Jaspers (Colville Confederated Tribes), Jay Kehne (Conservation Northwest), Chris Loggers (Colville National Forest), Robert Long (Woodland Park Zoo), Andrea Lyons (Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest), Paula MacKay, Matt Marsh (Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest), Nelson Mathews (Trust for Public Land), Kelly McAllister (Washington Department of Transportation), Craig Nelson (Okanogan Conservation District), Rose Piccinini, Garry Schalla (Okanogan Land Trust), Sam Rushing (Colville Confederated Tribes), Peter Singleton (PNW Research Station), Jacquelyn Wallace (Okanogan Land Trust), Jen Watkins (Conservation Northwest), Dave Werntz (Conservation Northwest), Richard Whitney (Colville Confederated Tribes), and Cynthia Wilkerson (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife).

We thank the citizens that developed and maintain the Safe Passage 97 website (www.safepassage97.org) and the Okanogan Trails Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation for their leadership in supporting this work. We intend this list to grow as this initiative moves forward and further partners are engaged in future revisions and implementation of this business plan.

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Appendices

Appendix A: Decision Support Tool – maps and outcome tables

A GIS powered decision support tool is being developed for the Working for Wildlife Initiative to allow us to visualize the current condition of the linkage and test scenarios to define what impacts actions (or inaction) will have on connectivity function in the linkage. The tool can display and measure the potential change in permeability (defined as the lack of resistance to wildlife moving through a particular landscape) and connectivity (defined as the spatial arrangement of permeable areas linking habitats). The outputs from the tool can be expressed in tables to show the quantitative values of change, and in maps to show the spatial arrangement and impact of change. The tool is being set up to measure change to the total linkage, as well as 6 smaller subareas within the linkage: East-high, medium, low and West-high, medium, low (See Figures A1-2). These various spatial scales of analysis provide us with an ability to see the immediate and cumulative impacts of our actions.

Figure A1. Screen shot from the Decision Support Tool of the connectivity data layers within the tool as well as an outline of the analysis area for this project.

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The tool is currently only capable of setting quantitative values on the potential for change in permeability on the landscape, while utilizing maps to interpret our impacts on the connectivity function of the linkage as well. Over time, we aim to quantify connectivity values as well. Small changes in permeability can result in large changes for connectivity in the linkages, depending on the location within the corridor of that change. For example, development of housing and roads in one parcel located in the most constrained portion of the corridor will interrupt connectivity more dramatically than a similar size parcel elsewhere in the linkage. Using a cost-weighted distance analysis in our decision support tool, we can spatially analyze through maps not only our ability to increase permeability in a given area but the impact to overall connectivity function of the linkage.

The model will also have permeability and connectivity layers in which to view our contribution to connected landscape for a suite of additional resident species for which the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (www.waconnected.org) and Okanogan-Wenatchee and Colville National Forest Plan revisions have conducted connectivity analyses. These include general carnivores, ungulates, and shrub-steppe associated species guilds.

The initial decision support model has been developed and used to determine baseline conditions within the linkage. In addition, it has been used to determine what factors have the most effect on connectivity, both currently and in the future. The Decision Support model helped partners to set initial quantitative connectivity goals in additional to our permeability goals by strategy, prioritize conservation actions within our strategies for their contribution to our goals, and measure progress in achieving desired outcomes. These will be revised over the life of this business plan, but are meant to show the existing potential for influence this initiative may have. The cumulative opportunity to improve the permeability of this linkage for Canada lynx as quantified by our tool is 25% over the current condition. The opportunity to influence the permeability strategy is estimated to be:

Figure A2. Subareas within the analysis zone for the Decision Support Tool

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20% increase in permeability of the linkage by creating safer passage on Highway 97.

Prevention of a reduction in permeability of 3.3% due to loss of open space by land

conversion.

Increase in permeability of 1.4% through habitat quality improvements in the linkage.

These linkage-wide values can be viewed by the impact to the smaller sub-areas of the linkage as well by strategy. By installing three wildlife underpasses with associated fencing on the 11.7 mile stretch of Highway

97, we significantly increase the permeability of the immediate landscape adjacent to the highway in

the east and west low sub-area. These permeability increases are seen both by one of our individual

focal species, and can be measured by broader species guilds such as the one below.

Canada Lynx General Carnivore

West Low Sub-Area East Low Sub-Area West Low Sub-Area East Low Sub-Area

+14% +14% +22% +23%

Some of our restoration actions can be similarly viewed through the Decision Support Tool where relevant data layers are available to facilitate analysis. One example of a restoration action that we can prioritize and measure progress in through our tool is road restoration. The table below shows the potential increase in permeability of each subarea within the linkage with strategic road right-sizing to one of our focal species and two broader species guilds.

Species/Group Western Portion of the Linkage Eastern Portion of the Linkage

High Mod Low High Mod Low

Canada Lynx +3.5% +3.3% +1.8% +4.4% +3.0% +1.7%

General

Carnivore

+6.5% +6.1% +3.8% +8.5% +5.7% +3.4%

General

Ungulate

+17% +15.9% +10.4% +22.4% +14.9% +9.0%

In addition to measuring the potential to increase permeability of the landscape, we also can measure

the potential loss of permeability from development if we did not invest in land conservation. The

table below shows that the greatest risk to reduction in permeability from land conversion is within

the lower elevation subareas of the linkage, which coincides with the most constrained portion of

the linkage.

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Western Portion of the Linkage Eastern Portion of the Linkage

High

Elevations

Moderate

Elevations

Low

Elevations

Low

Elevations

Moderate

Elevations

High

Elevations

-3.8% Limited loss

anticipated

-7.1% -10.3% -2.3% Limited loss

anticipated

In addition to a table, we

can spatially view both the

values in the table above of

risk by of predicted

potential change in land

development on a map

(Figure A3).

A whitepaper will be

prepared during the life of

this initiative on the

methods and data layers

utilized to create the

Decision Support Tool, the

practice of utilizing it to

assist in setting priorities

and measuring success, and

lessons learned. Figure A3. Projected change in land conversion from open space to development from current condition to 2030 (data layers utilized in the Okanogan-Wenatchee and

Colville National Forest land management plan revision)

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Appendix B: Working for Wildlife Logic Chain Model

Figure B1. Conceptual model showing key issues driving declines in the initiative’s conservation target. In February 2013, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation staff walked partners through a strategic process to develop a conceptual model which depicts the relationships among the issues driving declines in the initiative’s conservation target and the key strategies needed to address those declines. This discussion provided an early foundation for the concepts that have been refined and presented in this business plan.

Figure B1. Logic chain model based on initial brainstorm of initiative partners to kick-off business plan development

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Appendix C: Partner identified complementary actions to this

business plan

Although three focal species are highlighted for special attention over the life of the business plan, partners within the Working for Wildlife Initiative recognize that many complementary efforts in monitoring, management, and conservation either are underway or have the potential to be within this landscape.

These include:

Population and genetic monitoring of wildlife species that help us understand wildlife’s use

of this landscape including field surveys, remote cameras, snowtracking, etc;

Scientific connectivity analyses through the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity

Working Group;

Land management planning efforts that overlap acreage within the landscape and/or

adjacent to it such as the Okanogan-Wenatchee and Colville National Forest Land

Management Plan Revision and Bureau of Land Management Plan Revision.

Individual species actions by federal, state, and/or tribal entities including reintroduction,

recovery plan development and implementation. Actions may include augmentation and

recovery planning for burrowing owls and white tailed jackrabbits, and townsend’s big eared

bat roost identification and protection.

Coordination with land and species managers in British Columbia on wildlife that species

that utilize habitat on both sides of the border and where both countries have shared

priorities such as badger.

This list is intended to be updated throughout the life of the business plan.

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Connectivity Working Group iii Singleton, Peter H.; Gaines, William L.; Lehmkuhl, John F. 2002. Landscape permeability for large carnivores in

Washington: a geographic information system weighted-distance and least-cost corridor assessment. Res. Pap. PNW-RP-549. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. iv Gaines, William, Barbara C. Wales, Lowell H. Suring, James S. Begley, Kim Mellen-McLean, & Shawne Mohoric.

2012. DRAFT Terrestrial Species Viability Assessments for the National Forests in Northeastern Washington v Nordstrom, Lori. 2005. RECOVERY OUTLINE: Contiguous United States Distinct Population Segment of the

Canada Lynx. US Fish and Wildlife Service. vi Stinson, D. W. 2001. Washington state recovery plan for the lynx. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife,

Olympia, Washington. 78 pp. + 5 maps. vii

Haggerty, Julia and Patty Gude. Headwaters Economics. 2008. Land Ownership Change and the Ranching Economy in the Okanogan Valley and Eastern Okanogan County, Washington. viii

Stinson, D. W., and M. A. Schroeder. 2012. Washington State Recovery Plan for the Columbian Sharptailed Grouse. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia. 159+x pp. ix Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group. 2013. Washington Connected Landscapes Project:

Columbia Plateau Ecoregion Addendum: Habitat Connectivity Centrality, Pinch-Points, and Barriers/Restoration Analyses. Sharp-tailed grouse chapter. x Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2003. Game Management Plan. Washington Department of Fish

and Wildlife, Olympia, Washington, USA. xi Bill, Katherine and Kitty Craig, Trust for Public Land. 2010. Agricultural Land Preservation and Conservation in

Okanogan County: Challenges, Opportunities, and Recommendations for Moving Forward