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The Scotch Creek Wildlife Area is a complex of 6 separate management units located in Okanogan County in North-central Washington State. The project is located within the Columbia Cascade Province (Okanogan sub-basin) and partially addresses adverse impacts caused by the construction of Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee hydroelectric dams. With the acquisition of the Eder unit in 2007, the total size of the wildlife area is now 19,860 acres. The Scotch Creek Wildlife Area was approved as a wildlife mitigation project in 1996 and habitat enhancement efforts to meet mitigation objectives have been underway since the spring of 1997 on Scotch Creek. Continuing efforts to monitor the threatened Sharp-tailed grouse population on the Scotch Creek unit are encouraging. The past two spring seasons were unseasonably cold and wet, a dangerous time for the young of the year. This past spring, Scotch Creek had a cold snap with snow on June 10th, a critical period for young chicks just hatched. Still, adult numbers on the leks have remained stable the past two years. Maintenance of BPA funded enhancements is necessary to protect and enhance shrub-steppe and to recover and sustain populations of Sharp-tailed grouse and other obligate species. |
