Antelope survey

[wa.hunter]

We will be doing antelope surveys in the tri-city to goldendale in a couple of weeks.. if anyone is or has seen any in that area recently or in the next few week please pm me to help simplify where we need to concentrate our effort.

[Brushcrawler]

Great to see these animals in Washington. Just curious who is conducting this survey and could you share the results and locations of the current population on this site? Since they can’t be hunted they aren’t secret spots right?

[jstone]

Are there any North of 90?

[jrebel]

Are there any North of 90?

Yes, we have seen them north of I 90

[Bob33]

Are there any North of 90?

The Colvilles also reintroduced some.

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/jul/20/pronghorns-released-on-colville-reservation-doing-/

[Bushcraft]

Great to see these animals in Washington. Just curious who is conducting this survey and could you share the results and locations of the current population on this site? Since they can’t be hunted they aren’t secret spots right?

It's my understanding that SCI is doing it in conjunction with WDFW and perhaps the Yakima biologists, or vice versa.

The locations generally aren't shared in order to keep the poaching down.

[Roslyn Rambler]

Are there any North of 90?

Yes, we have seen them north of I 90

Where ( general vicinity ) did the Yakama Nation introduce their antelope?

[DeerThug]

The Yakamas introduced them on the northeast of their reservation.  They then expanded across the horseheavens north of Prosser and Bickleton.

[Bob33]

The antelope were released twice on the Yakama reservation. The Colvilles had a separate release on their reservation.

https://conservationnw.org/our-work/wildlife/pronghorn-antelope/

[Roslyn Rambler]

The Yakamas introduced them on the northeast of their reservation.  They then expanded across the horseheavens north of Prosser and Bickleton.

And the occasional ones I see near Mansfield migrated from? Any opinions?

[huntnnw]

years ago we saw a few near anatone,wa only saw them once there

[wa.hunter]

All of the antelope came from Nevada whom were very good to work with..we did 3 transplants over a 4 yr period..Did 100 on 2 of the relocations and 50 on the last one as the Colville Nation beat us over and took a few extra cutting back on what we could have. That particular plant of antelope did not go well as it turned very cold and due to capture and stress of the move we lost a lot of those antelope..however at this point I would believe all of the antelope in Washington were born here. If anyone sees a collared or ear tagged one it would be very interesting. Would be nice to know also as all of the collars are now dead and producing no signals.
All these efforts are a result of Safari Club Chapters and Shakar Safaris of SCI. After working with WDFW on spending a lot of funds, that partnership faded and the event took place by working with the Yakama Nation. All of the antelope as a result of working with them have been released on tribal lands out of Mabton. It is possible at this time of year to find as many as 60-100 antelope in some areas..poaching and pad kills still remain as an issue.. our SCI chapters have promised rewards for any convictions of antelope poaching in this state..when Rich Harris was working with WDFW as a biologist he was really good at recognizing them in the state and started a survey program to establish somewhat of a history of how they are doing.

[wa.hunter]

The antelope you are seeing north of I -90 are a result of the Colville Nation transplant. Their release also was on tribal lands north of the Columbia River. However these animals seem to know where they came from and also headed back to Nevada and swam the Columbia where a few did not make it..there were at one time 6 over by Ritzville north of the hiway which reduced somehow to just 2 does and they have not been seen in the last 2 years .. there are still sufficient numbers in the Mansfield/ Waterville area.. we are not a part of that survey so not sure what is going on with WDFW on surveys there.. I do know that some of the cattle grazing allotments on DNR land have those individuals complains about loosing grazing allotments due to the antelope.

[Dan-o]

Thank you for sharing. 

Very interesting.

Best of luck with the survey. 

[shootnrun]

We have a cabin off Pine creek outside Bickleton and see them frequently in the area. I hope the population takes hold and is able to expand. We go on drives just to look for them and watch them on the prarie.

[Brushcrawler]

Thanks for the information and the work on this project. Maybe someday they will take hold to the point they can be a growing population.

[Bushcraft]

The antelope were released twice on the Yakama reservation. The Colvilles had a separate release on their reservation.

https://conservationnw.org/our-work/wildlife/pronghorn-antelope/

I'm not sure why Con NW was mentioned since they didn't (and don't) have a frickin' thing to do with the reintroduction efforts.  For that matter, neither did WDFW!!!

Here's a video of what actually happened.  SCI, Nevada, and the Yakima tribe were the instrumental parties.

https://sci-washington.com/index.html

[dwils233]

The antelope were released twice on the Yakama reservation. The Colvilles had a separate release on their reservation.

https://conservationnw.org/our-work/wildlife/pronghorn-antelope/

I'm not sure why Con NW was mentioned since they didn't (and don't) have a frickin' thing to do with the reintroduction efforts.  For that matter, neither did WDFW!!!

Here's a video of what actually happened.  SCI, Nevada, and the Yakima tribe were the instrumental parties.

https://sci-washington.com/index.html

Well there seems to be two parallel reintroduction efforts- one by the Yakama Nation and the other by the CCT. Whereas the Yakama worked closely with SCI on reintroduction, it's not explicitly clear what the overlap/engagement of the CCT and Con NW is (or is not).

Might be worth asking the CCT?  might be quiet funding it, monitoring, working with the Tribal NR staff, etc.

At the end of the day, these are both TRIBAL releases because no one else (ie SCI or Con NW) can bring wildlife into the state for such an effort without a Tribe or the WDFW. Who supports them and how credit gets shared is their business really

[Bushcraft]

The antelope were released twice on the Yakama reservation. The Colvilles had a separate release on their reservation.

https://conservationnw.org/our-work/wildlife/pronghorn-antelope/

I'm not sure why Con NW was mentioned since they didn't (and don't) have a frickin' thing to do with the reintroduction efforts.  For that matter, neither did WDFW!!!

Here's a video of what actually happened.  SCI, Nevada, and the Yakima tribe were the instrumental parties.

https://sci-washington.com/index.html

Well there seems to be two parallel reintroduction efforts- one by the Yakama Nation and the other by the CCT. Whereas the Yakama worked closely with SCI on reintroduction, it's not explicitly clear what the overlap/engagement of the CCT and Con NW is (or is not).

Might be worth asking the CCT?  might be quiet funding it, monitoring, working with the Tribal NR staff, etc.

At the end of the day, these are both TRIBAL releases because no one else (ie SCI or Con NW) can bring wildlife into the state for such an effort without a Tribe or the WDFW. Who supports them and how credit gets shared is their business really

Agreed.  The reintroduction had to be facilitated by the tribes since WDFW was originally adamantly against bringing pronghorn back to Washington.  CCT used some shared information from SCI and Nevada, but they did their reintroductions autonomously.

In my opinion they have some of the best wildlife biologists in the state. 

[teal101]

Saw a decent buck this last spring on the Colville Rez.  Cool to see them around.

[wa.hunter]

Sure was hoping that there were some eyes in that area that had seen some antelope recently.  We are still doing he survey on the 18th and don’t want to miss any.  If you know of any recent sightings please let me know.. I will spend a couple days over there trying to find them in areas I am not familiar with them being in..

[TeacherMan]

Any idea the total numbers in Washington?

[Roslyn Rambler]

The antelope you are seeing north of I -90 are a result of the Colville Nation transplant. Their release also was on tribal lands north of the Columbia River. However these animals seem to know where they came from and also headed back to Nevada and swam the Columbia where a few did not make it..there were at one time 6 over by Ritzville north of the hiway which reduced somehow to just 2 does and they have not been seen in the last 2 years .. there are still sufficient numbers in the Mansfield/ Waterville area.. we are not a part of that survey so not sure what is going on with WDFW on surveys there.. I do know that some of the cattle grazing allotments on DNR land have those individuals complains about loosing grazing allotments due to the antelope.

To clarify, headed back towards Nevada, or, were actually successful on that journey?

( Edit to add )

I've watched a few documentaries on Antelope migration. Lots of articles and studies. I'll add a quote... "the “Great Migration” route of the pronghorns, one of the greatest migrations in North America.  Each fall and spring, 300-400 pronghorns (down from 6,000)  migrate 150 miles from their summer birthing grounds in Grand Teton National Park to their winter grounds near Pinedale, Wyoming.  This great migration, named by biologists as the “Path of the Pronghorn” is remarkable and one of the last long-distance animal migrations in the world"

I drew a straight line from the Yakama Nation to the Oregon / Nevada border. Assuming they came from NW Nevada. 350 miles +-. That's double the distance, or more, of the Wyoming antelope journey. Pretty remarkable and worth it's own amazing story. Thanks for sharing all the information. Super cool!!!

[wa.hunter]

For those interested the survey involved 7 groups of pairs. We covered from the Columbia River north to Yakama Nation property..from Richland to Goldendale. 3 of the 7 groups found antelope. Each group spent approximately 4 hours driving  their route and met in Bickelton. This survey was done primarily by 3 SCI chapters with the locations of antelope to be shared with WDFW whom I believe will do an airiel survey at some point.
Our groups found 183 antelope. With a high buck to doe/fawn ratio. A lot of areas were not covered do to access and time involved with the survey.

[Dan-o]

For those interested the survey involved 7 groups of pairs. We covered from the Columbia River north to Yakama Nation property..from Richland to Goldendale. 3 of the 7 groups found antelope. Each group spent approximately 4 hours driving  their route and met in Bickelton. This survey was done primarily by 3 SCI chapters with the locations of antelope to be shared with WDFW whom I believe will do an airiel survey at some point.
Our groups found 183 antelope. With a high buck to doe/fawn ratio. A lot of areas were not covered do to access and time involved with the survey.

Thanks so much for the follow up.

It sounds like they're doing pretty good. 

[kselkhunter]

Agreed, thanks for the follow up on how the survey went.  It's good to see the work being put in to track the antelope herds and monitor health and long term longevity. 

[lhrbull]

Did anyone hear the results