Project Title: Construct Improvements to Conboy Entrance Road (FFS #R1GA)

State: Washington

Project Description: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, has overseen the completion of a series of safety improvements at Conboy Lake NWR funded by a $46,100 contract under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The contract was awarded to McNealy Excavating, Inc., an excavation contracting company based in Washougal, Washington.

McNealy has completed a series of safety improvements to
a 0.75-mile stretch of the Conboy Lake NWR entrance road including addition of new gravel, construction of four vehicle pullouts, installation of signs, and rough and fine grading to allow suitable drainage.

“Improving the road surface and installing the additional pullouts greatly enhances our ability to allow safe access,” Refuge Manager Shannon Ludwig said. “We are able to do this with minimal impact to the watershed and without disrupting the natural, rustic components of the Refuge.”

The primary beneficiaries of the improved access project are the visiting public, refuge staff, and visiting researchers who use the access road. In addition, the newly improved road will allow better access for tour buses, supply vehicles, and tractor trailers carrying land management equipment.

“The new road will allow more visitors to experience the wonders the Conboy Lake Refuge has to offer,” Ludwig said. “All this without impacting the experience, which is critical.”

“It’s a job, and every job helps us out tremendously,” McNealy Excavating Project Manager Chris McNealy said. “Our employees like it because it’s close to home and working on and around the Refuge is like a paid vacation.”

Photos:

Crews working at the refuge entrance prior to construction.	A section of the new road surface.
Road surface on the entrance road at Conboy Lake prior to construction.	Road surface on the entrance road at Conboy Lake after grading.

The new sign at Conboy Lake NWR.

Fact Sheet

Name: Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Manager: Shannon Ludwig, shannon_ludwig@fws.gov, (509) 364-3410

Location: Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located on the east slope of the Cascade Mountains at the base of 12,307-foot Mount Adams in southern Washington, five miles south of Glenwood. The Refuge encompasses over 6,500 acres of the historic Conboy/Camas lakebeds, a shallow marshy wetland area drained by early settlers.

History: The use of Conboy Lake by Native Americans has a long history. Archaeological evidence shows encampments on the lakeshore dating between 7,000 and 11,000 years ago – possibly while ice age glaciers from Mt. Adams still reached into the valley. Conboy Lake Refuge was established in 1964 to provide habitat for migratory birds.

Recreation: Visitors can use the 2 ½-mile Willard Springs Foot Trail located along the edge of the open marsh and into the pines. Beginning at the refuge headquarters, it parallels the west shore of the old Conboy Lake lakebed, with views across the lakebed and north to the 12,000-foot Mount Adams.

Waterfowl and deer hunting are permitted on the refuge during the regular Washington State hunt seasons in public hunting areas designated on the refuge map. The refuge is open to modern rifle deer hunting. Hunting for goose, duck, coot and common snipe hunting is also permitted.

Fishing is permitted on the refuge in designated areas and in accordance with state and federal regulations.

Species: Conboy Lake Refuge is home to a number of species: 7 amphibian, 10 reptile, 40 mammal and 165 bird. This does not include a myriad of invertebrates and many plants, fungi, lichens, etc.

In 1992, biologists found the Oregon spotted frog here in healthy numbers, making Conboy Lake one of only four such populations in Washington. Spotted frogs occur in only 10-22% of their historic range in Washington, prompting a listing of this amphibian as a state endangered species. In addition, Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge is one of the two confirmed nesting places for sandhill cranes in Washington.

Some of the more common species at Conboy Lake National Wildlife Refuge include: Rainbow trout, tundra swans, pintails, mallards, elk, cranes, jays, grouse, marsh wrens, racers, American kestrels, snowshoe hares, coyotes, salamanders and toads, among others.

Originally posted 06/04/2010
Updated 10/11/2010
Updated 10/15/2010
Page Completed 03/15/2011