- Author
- The Nature Conservancy
- Publication Year
- 2009
- Species
- Streaked horned lark, Taylor's checkerspot, Western gray squirrel
- Region
- Puget Trough/Lowlands
- Habitat
- Upland Prairie, Wet Prairie, Woodland & Savanna
Fort Lewis continues to play a vital role in the regional effort to restore western Washington prairie and oak habitats. The Fort has the largest and best quality remnants of these threatened habitat types, and The Nature Conservancy is assisting the Fort to reach its conservation goals. Fort Lewis and The Nature Conservancy have a shared vision of conservation at the Fort which simultaneously promotes sustainable military training lands and robust natural ecosystems.
This report provides an overview of the past year’s conservation activities at Fort Lewis relating to the prairie/oak mosaic. It is a compilation of previous quarterly reports and provides general details relating to project objectives and outcomes.
In 2009, several programs on Fort Lewis that benefited from regional integration. Primary examples of this include: prescribed fire, butterfly habitat enhancement, prairie quality monitoring and tall oatgrass control. We also initiated a study on Fort Lewis to evaluate a streaked horned lark nest predator protection technique that will be scaled-up to the rest the state by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. In summary, 2009 was a productive year on Fort. In spite of the usual set of set-backs such as weather and access restrictions, Fort Lewis and TNC were able to achieve all major shared goals.