Scatter Creek Wildlife Area

Oversight and management

The multiple units of Scatter Creek are overseen by a cooperative that includes The Nature Conservancy, Thurston County Parks Department, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), along with several volunteer associations.^[5][4]

Black River Wildlife Area Unit

The Black River Wildlife Area Unit is located between Gate and Rochester, Washington on the Black River. Open for the fishing, hunting, and viewing of wildlife, the 120-acre (49 ha) grounds features a sedge meadow.^[6] The unit is also known as the Black River Habitat Management Area.^[b]

The Nature Conservancy purchased a pair of wetland tracts totaling 124 acres (50 ha) near the refuge in 2002.^[9]

Davis Creek Wildlife Area Unit

The Davis Creek Wildlife Area Unit is located near Oakville and contains numerous animal and bird species, including deer, elk, and various types of waterfowl. The 654-acre (265 ha) riparian unit is situated near the Chehalis River and visitors are able to fish and hunt on the grounds.^[10]

Glacial Heritage Wildlife Area Unit

The Glacial Heritage Wildlife Area Unit, also known as the Glacial Heritage Preserve, is located east of Mima, Washington between Littlerock and Rochester, directly south of the Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve on the Black River. The 80-acre (32 ha) prairie grassland unit, part of a larger prairie oak ecosystem,^[1][c] protects rare and threatened plant species located within the preserve; the unit is open to the public only one day per year, known as Prairie Appreciation Day.^[11][12][d]

The preserve and unit are joint-owned by Thurston County and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Oversight and management of the lands have been under the Center for Natural Lands Management (CNLM) since 2011 and a volunteer group, known as the Friends of Puget Prairies since 2004. The CNLM also operates a nursery near the preserve, storing native seeds to help replenish the overall protected wildlife corridor.^[1]

The southern end of the Gate to Belmore Trail is near the preserve and under plans by the county's Trail Connectivity Program, the pathway is to be extended by 1.6 miles (2.6 km) to the site. The project would connect the corridor of natural areas and preserves to the Yelm-Rainier-Tenino Trail and other hiking routes in the region.^[13]

Several species of animals and birds, such as elk and western meadowlark, have returned to the Glacial Heritage Wildlife Area. Native plants, which include camas and the endangered golden paintbrush, have thrived in the protected habitat. The golden paintbrush is a crucial food source for larvae of the Taylor's checkerspot butterfly, an endangered species. Conservation efforts include persistent attention to the removal of Scotch broom, an invasive, non-native plant.^[1]

Scatter Creek Unit

The Scatter Creek Unit is a 915-acre unit that is split into two sections, the North site and the South site and is located near Grand Mound, Washington and Rochester. The parcel is the site of a former homestead.^[14]

A brush fire in August 2017 burned approximately 345 acres (140 ha) in the South site of the Scatter Creek area. An historic home and barn were lost during the blaze, thought to be caused by human activity. Restoration of the prairie immediately after the fire was estimated to take years and potentially cost $1 million.^[15] The WDFW, which annually released pheasants equally to both the North and South parcels, divided their September 2017 release heavily in favor of the south portion to offset losses from the fire.^[16]

The Scatter Creek Unit is home to one of the few remaining sections of south Puget Sound prairie. Garry oaks can be found growing in riparian areas, along with Oregon ash. In the forested hills on the north side of the reserve, conifers such as Douglas fir predominate. Mima mounds can be found at both the North and South site.

The stream, Scatter Creek, meanders through the unit. The creek is a tributary of the Chehalis River and is home to a population of native coho salmon. A fish hatchery outside the unit, in the early 2000s, was the only such facility to raise Atlantic salmon in the state. In 2003, the non-native species was spotted in Scatter Creek.^[17]

The unit has been used by visitors as a hunting ground and as dog-training site.^[2] The unit was dedicated for use for field trials in the 1960s but horses and most hunting was eventually banned in order to protect various native species;^[18] pheasant hunting is allowed.^[19]

Skookumchuck Wildlife Area Unit

The Skookumchuck Wildlife Area Unit is located downstream of the Skookuchuck Dam. The 883-acre (357 ha) parcel contains a mix of habitats, including grassland, forest, meadow, orchard, and wetlands. Various species in the unit include pheasant and elk, and salmon and steelhead exist in the Skookumchuck River. The unit is under a partnership agreement between the WDFW and the owner of the land, TransAlta. Hunting of fowl and fishing in the river is allowed.^[20]

Violet Prairie Wildlife Area Unit

The Violet Prairie Wildlife Area Unit is located east of Tenino on Old Highway 99.^[21] The lands, originally a 1,567-acre (634 ha) ranch owned by Dr. William Barnett, were purchased by The Conservation Fund in June 2021.^[22] The unit was completely acquired by the WDFW in 2024 and listed at approximately 1,500 acres (610 ha). Until that year, the prairie was closed to public access due to the necessity to determine how visitation would affect certain parts of the protected grounds.^[21] The prairie was opened for public use by 2025 and visitors can participate in several recreational activities including hiking and hunting; horses may be ridden within the grounds.^[23]

The preserve is home to the endangered Mazama pocket gopher as well as various creatures listed under the Species of Greatest Conservation Need program, including the Oregon vesper sparrow, and butterflies such as the Puget blue, and the Taylor's checkerspot.^[21]

The soil at Violet Prairie is sediment deposited after the Last Glacial Period. Precipitation drains quickly through the ground leaving the grassland drier than is typical in western Washington. As the prairie was historically cleared of trees and other brush by indigenous people through controlled burns, and had been used for agricultural and livestock feeding since early pioneer settlement in the 1800s, the WDFW allows cattle to continue to graze the lands. Though an official study had not yet been conducted as of 2025^[update], anecdotal evidence suggests bare soil from livestock feeding allows native seeds and vegetation to replenish the prairie while keeping fire dangers at low levels; native species are also suggested to rebound in numbers due to the nature of the grazing allowance.^[23]

West Rocky Prairie Unit

The West Rocky Prairie Unit, also known as the West Rocky Prairie Wildlife Area, is located near Tenino. The unit is 119.0 acres (48.2 ha) and contains Oregon white oak, Oregon ash, Douglas fir, and maple. In 2023, the WDFW undertook a tree-thinning operation to restore the prairie oak habitat by removing heavy densities of ash, fir, and maple. The project would also overhaul the roads in the parcel.^[24]

Amphibians and reptiles

Pond turtles and Oregon spotted frogs, endangered and declining in the state, are native to the prairie units.^[2]

Birds

Restoration efforts in the early 2000s led to the return of native birds such as Western bluebirds and white-tailed kites.^[26] The lands also include killdeer, kingfishers, meadowlark, raptor, and Savannah sparrow.^[5][19]

Butterflies

Two rare butterfly species, the Whulge checkerspot and Mardon skipper are located among the Scatter Creek units. The Mardon skipper was listed on Washington state's endangered species list.^[26]

Mammals

Pocket gophers and Western gray squirrels are located throughout the Scatter Creek units.^[2] Predators such as bobcat, coyote, and fox, along with herbivores such as deer and rabbits, live among the units. Aquatic or water-dwelling mammals include beaver, muskrat, and otter.^[25]