NorthwestDecember 24, 2019

Sara Gentzler Of The OlympianTNS

OLYMPIA — The Mazama pocket gopher should stay on the state’s threatened species list, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife writes in a draft status recommendation.

But the department is seeking public comment on that recommendation and a draft recovery plan for the gophers.

This is the first state status review since 2006, when the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission first listed the gophers, which live on prairies in Thurston, Pierce and Mason counties and in sub-alpine areas of Olympic National Park.

According to WDFW, the gophers “play an important role in ecological communities by altering soil structure and chemistry, affecting plant occurrences, serving as prey for many predators, and providing burrows” that are used by other animals.

Habitat loss and degradation has caused the species’ population on south Puget Sound prairies to decline, according to WDFW, and the trend is expected to continue as the human population grows.

“Nothing’s changing” as a result of the draft plan, WDFW endangered species section manager Hannah Anderson told the Olympian.

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“The big things it does is it sets the tone, goals and targets for how we’re going to get to a place where it doesn’t need protection. ... It’s better for everyone when we’re at a place where we’ve got persistent populations doing their things, contributing to our ecosystem and landowners don’t feel restricted.”

The recovery plan isn’t regulatory — in other words, it wouldn’t tell anyone to do anything, Anderson said. Rather, it will guide conservation and recovery efforts.

During this public comment period, which lasts through March 15, Anderson said the department is interested in what people think of its approach in the draft plan, what’s not clear in its approach, and whether there’s information missing.

The full draft is available online at wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01449. Written comments can be emailed to TandEpubliccom@dfw.wa.gov or mailed to: Recovery Section Manager, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091.

The department has tentative plans to meet with the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, which has the final word on the gopher’s state status, in April.

Four subspecies of the Mazama pocket gopher found in Thurston and Pierce counties also were federally listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2014. Those subspecies are part of a separate 5-year federal status review that began in June 2019.

Locally, Thurston County has been working on a long-term mitigation plan to streamline what can be a burdensome permitting process for people who want to build on land that’s suitable gopher habitat. The county Community Planning and Economic Development department is planning to brief the Board of County Commissioners on the third draft of that Habitat Conservation Plan January 8, according to county staff.

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