Protecting species on school grounds

WARDEN — Officials at the Warden School District and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are working on ways to save two species found on the school district campus. Data is being collected to determine if either creature is close to becoming endangered.

"They're declining in the state of Washington," said wildlife biologist Jim Tabor of one of the species, the Washington ground squirrel.

The other species known as the burrowing owl is, according to Tabor, also doing poorly in the state.

Tabor met with school officials in Warden last month to discuss ways the district could help preserve both species on campus.

Tabor said while the Washington ground squirrel can be found in several places throughout Washington, the Warden school campus hosts the largest colony that he knows of.

Burrowing owls are found in eastern Washington and primarily the Columbia Basin.

At the April meeting it was agreed that the school district would be sensitive to the presence of both species, with the understanding that the Washington ground squirrel may be removed if it became a nuisance in student pathways on campus or on fields used for school sports.

The district plans on making an artificial ground burrow for the owls as a current nest is located in a spot where the district is planning to build a soccer field.

Superintendent Larry Blades said the district has known about the presence of the burrowing owls for quite some time and just in the last three years noticed an increase in the number of squirrels on campus.

What Blades doesn't want is students or other visitors attempting to touch the animals and hopes the artificial burrow will provide a more protected location for the owls.

As for the ground squirrel, Tabor is in the process of talking with other Fish and Wildlife officials in Olympia about whether the squirrels can be relocated.

"It would be a logical thing to do if it is possible to move a doomed squirrel before it's killed," Tabor said.