A group of disabled hunters from the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council (INWC) and other groups toured a few of the potential routes in May and provided feedback to the Forest Service to consider as they complete an Environmental Assessment of the proposed routes this summer.  The Colville hopes to open up to four new routes by next year with the possibility of adding others in the future.  The routes have been targeted in areas that will provide disabled hunters the opportunity to hunt elk, mule deer, turkeys, and white tail deer on roads that will remain closed to other vehicle access.  The hope is to add at least one route each in Ferry, Stevens, and Pend Oreille Counties to the three existing routes on the CNF. The CNF started the Disabled Hunter Access Program in 1990 and is one of only two national forests in Washington to have such a program.

Members and volunteers of several groups, including INWC and the Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition, are teaming up for a day of field work doing brushing and other improvement work on one of the routes in the Ruby Creek area in Pend Oreille County on Saturday September 6.  If you’re interested in helping out, contact Coalition Board member Derrick Knowles at 435-1270. The Coalition is also seeking additional tax-deductible donations from organizations, individuals, and businesses to help leverage matching funds from the National Forest Foundation grant to complete the project.  Donations have already been made by the Ft. Colville Gun Club, Inland Northwest Wildlife Council, Conservation Northwest, American West Bank, and Hewes Marine Company in Colville.  Contact the Coalition’s Executive Director Claudia Michalke at 509-675-4265 for more information about financially sponsoring disabled hunter access projects on the Colville National Forest. 

For more information contact:
Claudia Michalke, Executive Director, Northeast Washington Forestry Coalition (509) 675-4265
David Bostick, Colville National Forest (509) 684-7213