Introducing . . . The Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge

Home on the Little Pend Oreille
by Lisa Langelier

Ice Age events shaped the landscape now known as the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge. Since the ice receded more than 10,000 years ago, this landscape has been traversed by Native Americans, fur trappers and traders, miners, loggers, and homesteaders. While many people once called this place home, it now provides habitats or homes for a variety of wildlife, fish, and plants. The spirits of the past animate this land and tie the history of former occupants to many place names.

Scarce information has been recorded about Native American use of the Little Pend Oreille region. A few trails, collectively called Calispell Trail, bisected portions of the Refuge and were used by Interior Salish-speaking Indians and others traveling between two culturally important areas -- the salmon fishery at Kettle Falls on the Columbia River and the camas gathering grounds in the Pend Oreille Valley. Settlement altered the fate of fish and edible bulbs.

Between 1891 and 1925, more than 180 individual homesteads were patented on the Refuge. At least 53 of these were eventually sold to timber companies. Cleared fields, cabin remnants, spring board marks on cedar and larch trees, and orchard trees mark some of these locations. Homesteaders worked hard to make a living in this harsh climate. Jumbo, a cross between a buffalo bull and Holstein-Shorthorn cow, was raised by T. M. Wilson in 1929 and trained to pull a covered wagon which crisscrossed the country promoting the agricultural potential of this new hybrid -- "cattalo." The 40-acre "Buffalo" ranch, Jumbo's former home, is privately-owned land surrounded by Refuge, off the Buffalo Wilson Road. The Refuge near Jumbo's old home supports growing wild turkey numbers, wintering white-tailed deer, and mountain lions, to name a few.

Another cat follows the spine of Cliff Ridge which forms the Refuge's southern boundary. The bobcat slips past the site of the Bear Mountain Shaft which yielded zinc, silver, lead and gold when the mine was worked in the early 1900s. If the cat continues west, his trail may lead to the old Iron Mountain Lode which produced iron, manganese, and some uranium.

Northeast of these abandoned mines, swallows wheel and dive near the site of a 125-foot railroad suspension bridge that once spanned the Little Pend Oreille River. The bridge was part of the Winslow logging railroad that traversed more than 20 miles of forest and ended at the mill off Orin-Rice Road. About 16 miles of the old grade, as well as scattered ties and decaying trestles, can be traced through the western flank of the Refuge. Several Refuge campgrounds were originally logging camps including Camp 1 (renamed River Camp), Camp 2 (renamed Cottonwood Camp), and Horse Camp. Horses were used extensively to log huge ponderosa pine, fir, and cedar trees. Recent Refuge harvests strive to accelerate tree growth and provide more mature and large trees that are vital to many wildlife species.

Lilac bushes mark the spot where the Bear Creek School stood, one of two one-time schools on Refuge land. Learning of a different sort still occurs in this site as young snowshoe hares take their first tentative hops from the warren. A short walk from the old school site lies the Biarly post office and home of the Christianson family. The Christiansons cleared enough land to raise a cash crop of potatoes or hay. Today the ruined remains of two houses and several outbuildings still stand and the snow-laden Calispell Peak towers to the east. Wood rats, bats and birds have moved into the structures. The large old field nearby serves as an early spring restaurant for the wintering white-tailed deer herds who nibble tender green shoots. Later in the year feathered diners, including bluebirds, kestrels, meadowlarks, and flycatchers, relish the insect fare the field provides.

J. W. "Jim" and Effie Bayley established a commercial fish and game operation at Bayley Lake in 1930. The Bayleys supplied venison and trout to the Davenport Hotel and kept their operation going through the Depression. No evidence remains of the deer ranch, but some of the hatchery raceways can be traced below cedar canopies. A few weeks ago, waterfowl, including 18 tundra swans, covered Bayley Lake. Now a pair of bald eagles nest on the water's edge, and the Columbian ground squirrels are active again after months of hibernation.

Named for the river that flows through its northern expanse, the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge is located about 13 miles southeast of Colville. Situated on the west slope of the Selkirk Mountain Range, it is the only mountainous, mixed-conifer forest refuge in the contiguous United States. The Refuge was established in May 1939 as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. It is one of more than 535 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System, begun in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt. This System is the world's largest and most diverse network of lands and waters devoted specifically to wildlife.

The 40,200-acre Refuge protects six forest types ranging from low elevation (1,800 ft.) ponderosa pine to high elevation (5,600 ft.) subalpine fir. These forests provide habitats for hundreds of species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and plants. The Refuge enhances quality of life in the area by offering opportunities for wildlife observation, fishing, hunting, photography, environmental education, interpretation, hiking, camping, horseback riding, and cross country skiing.

Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge strives to be a secure home for fish and wildlife, an archive of historic landscapes, and a place for people to enjoy our wildlife heritage. Thinking about Jumbo from the Buffalo-Wilson place, the Bayley Lake hatchery, Bear Creek school, Winslow Logging Company, and other untold histories make us realize we are just passing through . . .

Lisa Langelier manages the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge.

North Columbia Recreation
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