The Wenas Wildlife Area was approved as a wildlife mitigation project in 1996. The BPA-funded portion of the Wenas Wildlife Area encompasses 70,487 acres of state land, including 54,259 acres of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife land, 16,228 acres of Department of Natural Resources holdings and 3,485 acres managed on behalf of the Bureau of Land Management. This project partially meets BPA's mitigation obligation to compensate for wildlife and habitat losses resulting from the construction of Grand Coulee, McNary and John Day hydroelectric dams. BPA approved the Wenas Wildlife Area Work Plan effective October 2, 2001.

Past accomplishments include seeding and monitoring of ~600 acres of abandoned cropland to native and native-like shrub-steppe, with weed treatment and fertilization occurring as needed. Weed treatment on the project area, with emphasis on Scotch thistle, Russian knapweed, whitetop, perennial pepperweed and hound’s tongue. Removal of ~50 miles of old stock fence. Installation and maintenance of 15.75 miles of smooth wire fence (12.75 miles to protect shrub-steppe from illegal off-road use and 3 miles to exclude livestock from the wildlife area). Maintenance of 26 miles of boundary fence and installation and maintenance of an 8.6-mile fire break. Abandonment of seven miles of stream adjacent parallel road and maintenance of 7 miles of project area roads.

Biological objectives include protection and enhancement of shrub-steppe, riparian and wetland habitat, including protection of the microbiotic crust and restoration of the natural fire regime in shrub-steppe habitat. WEs are specifically tied to: a) shrub-steppe protection and restoration efforts. Road and parking lot maintenance and public road management protects shrub-steppe, riparian and wetland habitat from misuse by the public, including illegal off-road use. Other WEs address: a) operation and maintenance of the Mtn. Vale Headquarters facility; b) the leasing of WDNR lands that are checker-boarded with WDFW ownership, for habitat management; c) the monitoring and assessment of vegetation trends and recreation impacts; or d) are administrative in nature.

Notes [COTR]: (1) The project is in O&M mode, to promote and sustain the protection and enhancement of shrub-steppe, riparian and wetland habitats; (2) considerable challenges remain in managing the impacts of public recreational use, given a network of over 75 miles of historic roads; (3) the Wenas WLA was un-complexed from the L. T. Murray WLA in July 2009; and (4) the yearly project budget is inadequate to maintain an on-the-ground implementation staff at the level necessary to effectively manage a landscape the size and complexity of the project area (over 70,000 acres).