Introduction
Summary
In June 2016, the Eastern Klickitat Conservation District (EKCD), the Central Klickitat Conservation District (CKCD), and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (Appendix B) to facilitate the habitat conservation and stewardship of lands in the Simcoe Mountains, in Klickitat County. One of the agreements in the MOU called for the development of a Simcoe Mountains Unit Property Management Plan using the established guidelines of the Coordinated Resources Management process. The Simcoe Mountains Unit Coordinated Resources Management (CRM) community process was initiated in September 2016 by the EKCD, CKCD, and the WDFW. The CRM planning process was designed to provide a collaborative approach to the development of an adaptive property management plan to include components for each of the Conservation Values within the MOU which are: Recreational Values, Fish Habitat Values, Wildlife Habitat Values, Water Quality, Quantity, and Hydrology Values, and Working Lands Values, including grazing and forestry.
Participants in the CRM and the development of this Property Management Plan includes representatives from: WDFW, EKCD, CKCD, Yakama Nation, Klickitat County, grazing permittees, NRCS, Western Pacific Timber, Columbia Land Trust, neighboring landowners, and the local outdoor recreation community. Anyone is welcome to participate in the CRM process at any time.
All participants in the CRM process agreed to the following Objectives Statement for the Simcoe Mountains Unit management plan:
“Collaborative management, habitat stewardship, and conservation for multiple uses – cultural, recreation, working lands, fish and wildlife.”
Participants also agreed to a plan format, which would include chapters addressing forest management, range management, wildlife/and habitat management, recreation management, hydrology, cultural resources, and infrastructure and maintenance. Subgroups from the CRM participants were assigned to write individual chapters, which were each then reviewed by all participants for review and comment. Participants reviewed the plan again together and reached consensus on the final drafts of each chapter. This was accomplished by meeting monthly until all chapters had been completed. The final Simcoe Mountains Unit Management Plan is included as an addendum to the Klickitat Wildlife Area Management Plan, though the process of writing the content of the Simcoe Mountains Unit Management Plan is unique and distinct from the other portions of the Klickitat Wildlife Area Plan. The MOU amongst WDFW, the EKCD, and CKCD was dissolved in March 2023, however the commitment to participate in the on-going and adaptive CRM process for the development and implementation of the Simcoe Mountains Management Plan remains in place.
Property Description
The 10, 892 -acre Simcoe Mountains Unit is located in the Simcoe Mountains, which define the southeastern extent of the Cascade Range in Washington (Figure 1 and 2). The Simcoe Mountains are the initiation point for the Rock Creek drainage, representing one of the most diverse fish and wildlife habitats in southcentral Washington. The upper riparian zones of the Rock Creek basin are comprised of ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and Oregon white oak communities, while the mid-elevation riparian areas are made up of a unique, high-quality white alder plant community not found in other areas of eastern Washington. The area within the Simcoe Mountains Unit includes mixed conifer forest, Oregon oak woodlands, white alder, grassland, shrubsteppe, basalt cliffs, talus, riparian, and in-stream habitats. Collectively, these habitats support the life needs of a variety of wildlife and fish species. Priority species protected in this area include federally listed steelhead, Chinook salmon, state-threatened western gray squirrel, and a significant mule deer population. Recreation uses include deer and turkey hunting, hiking, and wildlife and wildflower viewing. The Simcoe Mountains Unit connects lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Yakama Nation, The Nature Conservancy, Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, and other large private forest and ranch lands.
The management of this Unit presents a unique partnership opportunity between WDFW, East and Central Klickitat County Conservation Districts, and multiple partners organized through the CRM process. Goals for the Simcoe Mountains Unit include long-term protection of riparian and upland fish and wildlife habitat that provide connectivity from the upper Rock Creek watershed to the Columbia River, within a working lands framework of compatible grazing and forestry.
Manageability and Viability
The Simcoe Mountains and Rock Creek drainage have abundant fish and wildlife resources partially because ownership is in a large intact block. The watershed is either in federal, tribal, state, or private ownership. The CRM process includes state, federal, tribal, county, and private entities to support a long-term partnership within a working lands framework of compatible grazing and forestry. Each entity is committed to continued watershed, wildlife, and habitat management with compatible grazing and forestry, while at the same time ensuring long-term protection of important wildlife habitat through the development of a management plan using the CRM process. While the 2016 MOU among the EKCD, CKCD, and WDFW has been dissolved, all parties remain committed to the CRM process and outcomes.
The Yakama Indian Reservation for the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation neighbors the Simcoe Mountains Unit. As such, it is important to understand the legal Treaty (June 9, 1855) rights of the Yakama Nation as well as the cultural values that the Simcoe Mountains Unit holds for the Yakama. These include hunting, fishing, gathering, cultural sites, access, and many more, that are all culturally significant. As good neighbors and stewards of the land, it is important to be respectful and ensure management of the Simcoe Mountains Unit acknowledges and is inclusive of these rights and values.
Multiple Benefits
The land ownership and management program for the Simcoe Mountains Unit will reflect the community values of working lands while providing long-term habitat protection and public access to a part of eastern Klickitat County, which has little public land ownership or access.
The Simcoe Mountains Unit offers non-motorized recreational activities including hiking, biking riding, horseback riding, wildlife viewing, hunting, and mushroom and berry picking. This area has significant historical, cultural, and recreational value to the local community.
Established management practices will be used to enhance habitat and species diversity and complexity. A myriad of opportunities for stream and riparian enhancements are possible. Aquatic-related enhancements might include elimination of fish barriers, fencing of key riparian areas, restoration of riparian vegetation, introduction of wood structures into the stream environment, and nutrient enhancement. Habitat enhancements for terrestrial species may include activities such as road maintenance, forest management activities designed to improve forest stand health, weed treatments, restoration of native plant communities, prescribed burns, recovery of previously burned areas, and grazing with the development of a rotational grazing strategy. Long-term monitoring of the habitats associated with these management practices will be conducted. This area protects habitat and species diversity, helps contribute to steelhead recovery, supports working lands with sustainable grazing and forestry, and promotes outdoor recreation and healthy lifestyles by securing public access.
Climate Change
Washington is experiencing the effects of climate change consistent with those observed globally. These changes include higher temperatures, increased drought frequency and severity, a longer frost-free season, decreased spring snowpack, warming stream temperatures, shifts in streamflow timing and magnitude, and longer and more widespread wildfire seasons. Researchers project these shifts will accelerate in coming years and are expected to fundamentally alter certain ecological processes, creating challenges for the survival of imperiled species and the integrity of vulnerable ecosystems. Despite the uncertainty associated with projecting future landscape conditions, it’s important to evaluate risks to climate-sensitive activities and integrate appropriate responses into decision-making, project design, and implementation.
This management plan incorporates climate change considerations into each chapter, with the goal of assessing climate change impacts in the context of other conservation threats or stressors, where relevant, and including appropriate measures to mitigate those risks.
Adaptive Management Process
Each January, WDFW will coordinate a facilitated meeting for Simcoe Mountain Unit CRM participants to evaluate progress toward plan goals. CRM participants will contribute agenda items 30-days prior to the annual meeting date and the facilitator will develop the agenda. The agenda will include all known updates, plans, and issues that may affect the Simcoe CRM for the coming year. This may include any of the objectives, strategies, and tasks listed in the management plan. This review would also include WDFW policy work that may affect the Simcoe Mountains Unit, WDFW and Conservation District project funding opportunities, and an after-action review of previous year’s communication and coordination.
The meeting will also provide an opportunity to update and identify projects for the coming year with discussion of goals, objectives, strategies, and tasks. The Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Tasks list as well as the identified project leads will guide the implementation and timing of the projects. CRM participants will have the opportunity to provide input, recommendations, and participate in project development (either at the meeting or in committees as needed). The Wildlife Area Manager will oversee all the projects and ensure the leads are communicating progress to the CRM participants. As projects arise during the year that need immediate attention, participants can contact the Wildlife Area Manager and then the project lead will communicate with the CRM participants.
In response to non-consensus a participant can request the Wildlife Area Manager to convene the Simcoe Unit CRM for a facilitated discussion. The participants/committee will present the issue to the CRM participants, and will use a variation on basic consensus, as defined below.
In discussing an issue participants agree to:
- Listen with an open mind and be willing to consider perspectives and ideas that come up in the discussion.
- Try to understand the reasoning of the other participants.
- Describe their reasoning briefly so others can understand them.
- Avoid trying to make other people change their minds.
- Resist changing a position simply to reach agreement, while still having significant reservations.
- View differences of opinion as helpful rather than harmful.
- Remember the overarching goal of the property is to balance habitat conservation, non-motorized recreation, and working lands values.
- Consensus does not mean every CRM participant agrees 100% in favor of a given decision. It does mean that at the end of the discussion, when a decision needs to be made, that no participant is willing to stand in the way of the decision moving forward (ideally, all voices and concerns have been fully aired and discussed).
Each January meeting will conclude with clear expectations as to who, what, when, and how information is to be shared throughout the coming year.
Communication for and about the issues/topics will be handled in two ways:
- Regular updates will be posted to the WDFW website.
- There will be an internal email listserv including all participants of the CRM. A good faith effort will be made to keep all CRM participants apprised of issues that arise throughout the year.