In 2004 and 2005, many Inland Northwest Land Trust donors and members made special contributions to help acquire Reardan’s Audubon Lake as a watchable wildlife site. After INLT purchased Audubon Lake and then sold it to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, we asked our major donors what to do with the remaining money. They agreed that WDFW should use this money to acquire items, such as viewing binoculars, to improve the bird watching experience at Audubon Lake.

The following is a letter from WDFW thanking INLT and its donors for their generosity and support.

***

First off, I want to thank the Inland Northwest Land Trust (INLT) for their efforts in helping to obtain the Audubon Lake area. Now that we have ownership of the property I have obtained another grant from the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) for building parking lots, toilets, trails and blinds. Two Blinds will initially be built – one on the northwest side and another on the southeast corner. What WDFW plans on using the money being donated by INLT is to purchase and install a pair of heavy-duty binoculars in each of these blinds. This will definitely increase the use of this area by “non-birdwatchers” – those people not already sporting a pair of binoculars to the area. So again, thank you to the members of the Land Trust in donating these pieces of equipment!

If you have any questions, please contact me at (509) 892-1001.

Sincerely,

Howard L. Ferguson
District Wildlife Biologist