Volunteers are needed to keep access open for hunters on Weyerhaeuser’s St. Helens Tree Farm in the Coweeman, Toutle, Margaret and Winston game units.
For the fourth year, the timber company is prepared to give hunters holding special elk permits additional access to miles of private logging roads provided enough volunteers can be found to assure an orderly hunt.
The volunteers staff access points, orient hunters, and maintain safety buffers between sportsmen and Weyerhaeuser operations, said Sandra Jonker, regional wildlife manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The program had 54 volunteers in 2007 and 61 in 2008, but dropped to 49 a year ago, she said.
The arrangement opens up about 250,000 acres of private timber lands near Mount St. Helens.
“The amount of timber land that can be opened to hunting will be directly proportionate to the number of volunteers that sign up,” Jonker said.
Volunteers can sign up at the Department of Fish and Wildlife office at 2108 Grand Blvd., online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/about/volunteer/sainthelens, or at Bob’s Sporting Goods, 1111 Hudson St., Longview.
Participants will be required to attend one of three orientation sessions. The sessions will be on Aug. 25 in room No. 172 of the Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington St. S.E., Olympia; Sept. 23 at the agency office in Vancouver, or Oct. 27 at the Cowlitz Public Utility District office, 961 12th Ave., Longview.
All three sessions begin at 6 p.m.
Jonker said the access program, along with issuing additonal special hunting permits, has increased harvest of the Mount St. Helens herd in the past three years.
Washington’s plan calls for reducing the herd to bring the number of animals into balance with the habitat.
