Excerpt: WDFW local prospects good

WDFW 2020 District Two Hunting Prospects report --- including Whitman, Lincoln and Spokane counties:

Deer and Elk:

Elk in District Two appear to be expanding into new areas, and harvest in Game Management Unit (GMU) 139 (Steptoe) and 142 (Almota) has increased over the last five years. Some of these elk appear to move back and forth between Idaho and Washington, so timing and access to private lands will be the key to successful elk hunting in these GMUs. Complaints of agricultural damage have been on the rise, especially in areas where crops have been recently converted to legumes. Scattered groups of 20–100 elk have been reported causing damage in areas including Fairfield south to Tekoa in GMU 127, the area from Dusty east to Palouse, south to Uniontown, and along the Snake River breaks in GMUs 139 and 142, and from Tyler near the Lincoln/Spokane County border to Sprague and north to Edwall in GMU 130. There has also been an increase in reported crop damage by 60-80 elk along the river breaks in northern GMU 133 (Roosevelt) over the past five years.

WHAT TO EXPECT FOR 2020 SEASON

Overall, the white-tailed deer population is down in District Two due to a series of events starting with the drought and blue tongue (BT) outbreak of 2015 that lasted well into October and had deer dying (in Region One) from Canada to Oregon. The relatively mild winter of 2015-16 helped a little, as did more normal precipitation that spring and summer, however, the winter of 2016-17 was one the hardest in the past 10 years and decreased overwinter fawn survival.

The population got a break in 2017 and started showing signs of recovery, however, the winter of 2018-19 was another difficult winter (though not as bad as 2016) and there was a small outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) in north Lincoln and northwest Spokane counties. 2019-20 was a mild winter and 2020 spring precipitation has been up, which should increase forage availability.

All of these should help the white-tailed deer population start to rebound. Overall, the mule deer herds are near their long-term averages. The mule deer populations suffered losses due to the same series of events noted above, however, mule deer do not typically die from BT and EHD, and the snows left the basin a bit sooner than in the northeast.

In general, the best opportunities to harvest a white-tailed deer in District Two occur in GMUs 124 and 127 (Mt. Spokane, Micah Peak). The best opportunities to harvest a mule deer in District Two occur in GMUs 136, 139, and 142 (Harrington, Steptoe, Almota). For archery hunters, GMUs 124 and 127 (Mt. Spokane and Micah Peak) provide the best terrain, whereas the terrain in GMUs 136–142 is better suited for muzzleloader and modern firearms.

White-tailed and mule deer hunting opportunities in District Two vary from marginal to excellent, depending on the GMU and if private land access has been secured.

Pheasant:

Pheasant populations in District Two should remain relatively similar to last year with potential for a small bump given the mild winter and if broods survived the spring showers. The extra precipitation along with relatively mild summer should increase forage and help with brood survival and recruitment.

The majority of pheasant hunting occurs in Whitman County, which has about three times the harvest and about two times more hunters than Lincoln or Spokane counties. District-wide trends in harvest show an overall decline over the past 10 years, but harvest has been up the past two years. Hunter numbers have been relatively stable, mirroring statewide trends.

Days per hunter and harvest per hunter have remained relatively stable in the district, with a slight increase in both in 2018.

Since most of the land in this district is private, hunters will need to spend some time knocking on doors to get access to the better sites. Many private landowners have enrolled in WDFW hunter access programs recently in southeast Washington.

The full report for deer, elk, pheasants and more may be found at wdfw.wa.gov/hunting.