Seasonal wildlife gates open in Olympic National Forest

The Olympic National Forest opened seasonal forest service road vehicle access gates in the southern part of the forest on Wednesday.

The seasonal openings provide vehicle access to the following forest road systems and areas:

■ FSR-2451 access to North Fork Skokomish River Watershed.

■ FSR-2354, FSR-2353 and FSR-2361 access to South Fork Skokomish River Watershed.

■ FSR-2294 and FSR-2270 access to Wynoochee River Watershed.

The access gates will remain open to vehicle traffic until Sept. 30.

The closing of vehicle access between Oct. 1 and April 30 is done in cooperation with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife for wildlife management purposes.

Restricting vehicles to late spring and summer increases wildlife use of the habitat, provides recreational hunting opportunities, and reduces siltation of lakes and streams.

For questions concerning seasonal vehicle gate closures and how they help wildlife management, contact Olympic National Forest Wildlife Biologist Betsy Howell at (360) 765-2230.