Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Habitat Mapping topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners propose Landsat habitat analysis and review beaver relocation protections
Summary
Committee members asked staff to scope a 'blue sheet' for high‑resolution historic habitat mapping (Landsat/eDNA) to assess landscape change and discussed whether beaver relocation sites should be identified for protection or recovery planning.
During the Feb. 12 Wildlife Committee meeting commissioners discussed potential future work on statewide habitat change analysis and beaver relocation/recovery.
Commissioner Woody Myers proposed using high‑resolution Landsat and related datasets to chronicle landscape change and inform questions about local declines in species such as whitetail deer. "If we had a picture of how the state's landscape has changed over time, it might help us to evaluate that and use as a point of discussion with these folks and others," he said, and offered to draft a blue sheet to scope feasibility and costs.
Commissioners and staff supported scoping the idea via a blue sheet to define scale, expected products and resource needs. Chair Lorna Smith and staff offered to work with Myers on the scope to keep the work manageable and useful for both east‑ and west‑side constituencies.
The committee also returned to beaver relocation and recovery topics. Commissioner Melanie Roland said past work and a prior blue sheet addressed beaver management and relocation and urged an updated assessment; she noted the potential for relocated beavers to restore riparian habitat and benefitting other species. Agency staff confirmed the relocation rule is designed to move beavers out of conflict areas and not to create automatic protections for every relocated animal. WDFW staff said eDNA surveys and other tools are being used by game division staff to identify watersheds where beavers are missing and where focused recovery or restoration could be appropriate.
Members agreed to follow up with an updated review of prior blue‑sheet work, to scope a habitat‑mapping blue sheet, and to receive updates on beaver relocation program progress and eDNA mapping as staff develop those products.
