Big Valley Wildlife Area WA - Closed for Sandhill Cranes
Sad news for some but exciting for others – the Big Valley Wildlife Area a Unit of the Methow Wildlife Area is closed from May 17, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2024, to provide undisturbed space for a pair of Sandhill cranes. Big Valley Closure Map
There are about 40 breeding pairs of cranes in Washington State, mostly nesting near Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the Yakama Reservation. Having a pair nest at the Methow Wildlife Area’s Big Valley Unit for a fourth year is rare and promising for the species’ recovery in the state. The Big Valley Unit offers ideal nesting habitat with shallow wetlands and emergent vegetation, plus adjacent agricultural fields for foraging, managed by WDFW.
The Washington population size of greater sandhill cranes is critical but the trend is increasing; they number about 100 adult and sub-adult birds, with about 40 breeding pairs. WDFW has designated this subspecies as a “Species of Greatest Conservation Need.”