Scatter Creek Fire Prompts WDFW to Redirect Release of Pheasants

Less than a month after a wildfire charred nearly 385 acres in Grand Mound, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced plans to alter popular pheasant hunting opportunities at the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area. 

This year, instead of releasing farm-raised pheasants for hunters to stalk on both sides of the wildlife area, officials have opted to keep birds and hunters out of the southern section that was touched by fire. 

That fire, which spanned both sides of Interstate 5, burned 345 acres of the wildlife area south of Scatter Creek in addition multiple homes, a business and other private property.

Each hunting season, the 926-acre wildlife area, which is owned by the WDFW, is typically loaded up with 4,000 farm-raised pheasants from the Bob Oke Game Farm in Centralia. This year, that release will be altered so that the section north of Scatter Creek receives 3,500 birds with the remaining 500 pheasants set to be redistributed to other local release sites including Lincoln Creek, Skookumchuck and the Chehalis River site in Brady.

"Fortunately, firefighters prevented the blaze from jumping Scatter Creek, so we can still have a hunting season in the wildlife area," said Christopher White, WDFW pheasant manager for the wildlife area, in a press release. "We had to improvise a bit, but we think this distribution will support a good hunt this year."

The Scatter Creek Wildlife Area has been one of the most popular pheasant hunting areas in Washington for the past 50 years, but the fire in August left little cover for birds south of Scatter Creek and the remaining vegetation is situated adjacent to a road. Officials say the temporary change this year is necessary out of concern for public safety.

"We don't want to attract hunters to the southern portion of the wildlife area," explained Brian Calkins, WDFW regional wildlife manager, in the release. "Putting birds and hunters in that area would create an unsafe situation."

As adjustments are made on the hunting front, the WDFW says it is continuing to assess damage inflicted by the fire. The original size of the fire was estimated at nearly 500 acres, but was walked back to 385-acres after a follow-up perimeter walk. The fire is believed to have been sparked in a nearby residential area. The WDFW currently estimates the cost of restoring the scorched wildlife area south of Scatter Creek at $1 million.

"Recovery actions are already moving forward, starting with the removal of snags and repair of dozer lines left in the fire's aftermath," Calkins said in the release. "Larger-scale weed control efforts and replanting will commence in the coming weeks."

Scattershot Pheasant Releases

Where the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area will see a slight reduction in the number of pheasants released for this fall’s hunting season, other local release sites will receive a boost. The north side of Scatter Creek will still receive the most farm-raised pheasants with a slated delivery of 2,910 birds. The Skookumchuck release site will receive 1,815 pheasants and Lincoln Creek will be delivered 795. The Chehalis River release site is tabbed to receive 688 pheasants and the Kosmos release site is scheduled for a load of 600 birds.

Calkins said that wild pheasants are increasingly rare in Western Washington, but because of the Bob Oke Game Farm, Centralia happens to be a hotspot of sorts for the fine-feathered fowl.

“Typically pheasants don't do well in the wild in Western Washington and that’s why we have this release program for hunters, but there are a few that survive each year and a few that escape the game farm, so they might be more commonly seen around Centralia than other places in Western Washington,” Calkins said.

He added Southwest Washington also happens to be home to some of the best pheasant habitat remaining west of the Cascades. 

“Finding sites that are large enough and have the right kind of habitat anymore is quite a challenge for us. The sites that are identified in this press release have been used for pheasant releases for many years,” said Calkins. “We used to actually have more release sites across Western Washington but slowly those have dwindled due to a variety of reasons.”

Calkins primarily blamed the loss of pheasant hunting grounds on changes in landowner preference. Those diminishing opportunities, coupled with an increase in the cost of associated licenses and permits, has lead to a decline in the total number of pheasant hunters.

“That plays into it. We don’t have as many hunters, obviously, as we once did,” said Calkins. “The sport became a little bit more expensive and we had some hunters drop out of the program at that time, but since then the numbers have been slowly picking up.” 

Calkins says this isn’t the first time that unforeseen circumstances have forced the WDFW to shift their pheasant release plans at the last minute. He remembers a few years ago when military training exercises on Joint Base Lewis McChord forced the department to shift pheasants away from the on-base release site.

“We obviously have to work around their training activities and other things they have going on at the base, and a few years ago those opportunities became a little bit more tricky,” said Calkins. 

These days, hunters must call the base Adventure Center in advance for updates and permission before heading out.

Of all the WDFW pheasant release sites in Southwest Washington, Calkins said the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area is probably the most popular. That popularity, along with its sheer size and quality of habitat, is why it receives so many birds each year. However, with all other things being equal, most pheasant hunters typically head for the area closest to home.

“I would say probably the next most popular one on this list is Skookumchuck, and I think that’s probably because of the habitat and size of that area,” noted Calkins. “It has pretty good size and pretty good access to it, so it gets a fair amount of pressure as well.”

Each year, the WDFW orchestrates the release of 35,000 to 40,000 farm-raised pheasants in Western Washington that are spread between 25 release sites. Hunting pheasants in Western Washington requires a Western Washington pheasant license and nontoxic shot is required for all upland bird, dove and band-tailed pigeon hunting on all pheasant release sites statewide.

In Western Washington, the pheasant hunting season will begin today and Sunday with a youth-only hunt. From Sept. 25-29, a hunt for seniors 65 and older and the disabled is scheduled. The regular pheasant season on the wet side of the mountains is scheduled to run from Sept. 30 through Nov. 30 when hunting is allowed from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day. During the general season, hunters will be held to a two-bird daily limit and a possession limit of 15 birds.

Additional information about pheasant hunting in Washington can be found online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01923/.