These graceful browsers are often seen at dawn or dusk, quietly moving across open slopes or forest edges. They help maintain plant community balance by feeding on shrubs and grasses, preventing any one species from overgrowing. Their browsing also opens gaps that allow wildflowers and young trees to grow. Deer are also a food source (directly or indirectly) for local predators and scavengers.
Smaller and more secretive than their mule deer cousins, black-tailed deer favor the dense woodlands and brushy canyons of Klickitat. They are skilled at navigating thick cover, browsing on tender shoots, leaves, and berries. By moving through understory vegetation, they shape the forest floor and disperse seeds, supporting a diverse plant community. Black-tailed deer are also a vital prey species, sustaining cougars, coyotes, and raptors, and their presence is a sign of healthy, connected habitat.
These small rodents are industrious nest-builders, often collecting plant debris, twigs, pine needles, and other materials to assemble stick nests (“middens”) in rock crevices or cavities. Their nests provide microhabitats for insects, reptiles, and small amphibians. By caching seeds and plant bits, they help disperse plants and contribute to ecosystem renewal.
Coyotes are adaptable predators and scavengers. They help keep in check populations of smaller mammals (rodents, rabbits) that could otherwise proliferate and overgraze vegetation. They also scavenge carrion, recycling nutrients back into the soil. Their presence is a sign of a healthy, connected ecosystem.
These flying insects are vital pollinators (especially bees) and pest controllers (especially wasps). Mason bees are solitary and wonderfully efficient pollinators, while honey bees add to flower pollination across the refuge. Wasps, meanwhile, prey on caterpillars and beetle larvae, helping to keep insect populations balanced. Together, they support the plants that sustain everything else.
There are over 154 recorded butterfly species in Klickitat County alone! Colorful and cheerful, butterflies are a joy to watch fluttering among wildflowers. As they sip nectar, they pollinate plants, ensuring seeds and fruits for birds and mammals. Their presence also signals a thriving, low-pollution habitat. Over time we have the goal of cataloging the species at the refuge. Presently we have had sightings of Juniper Hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus), Monarch (Danaus plexippus), Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) and Sandhill Skipper (Polites sabuleti).
These lively tree-dwellers help forests grow by caching acorns and pine nuts — and then forgetting some of them! The seeds sprout into future trees. They also spread fungi that aid tree roots. Their chatter and quick movements add energy and charm to the refuge.
Often found basking on rocks or logs, these spiny little reptiles feast on insects and spiders. That helps keep bug numbers in check. They’re also a key food source for larger birds and snakes, making them an important link in the food chain.
The star of your refuge! Rattlesnakes are skilled hunters of rodents, keeping small mammal populations balanced. Despite their fearsome reputation, they’d much rather avoid people. Their iconic rattle serves as a polite warning: “Stay back, I’m here.” They’re vital for a functioning ecosystem.
These impressive but harmless snakes are fantastic rodent-hunters. They patrol fields and burrows, reducing populations of gophers and mice. Sometimes mistaken for rattlesnakes because of their size, bull snakes actually help people by keeping pests down — and they do it all without venom.
The Klickitat people whispered of a creature they called Sk’ala-tánat (loosely “spirit cat of the cliffs”) — though around here we just call it the Apecat. Half mountain lion, half mischievous trickster, this elusive being is said to prowl the oak savanna at twilight.
No one has ever snapped a clear photo (our trail cameras mostly catch blurry tails and the occasional photobombed squirrel), but stories abound. In some tales the Apecat is a watchful guardian, in others a playful trickster, and in a few a lurking menace. Some say its glowing eyes can be seen reflected in the Klickitat River on still nights. Others claim it plays tag with coyotes.
To honor the legend, we named the Ape Cat Observatory after this beast — a lookout where visitors can scan the hillsides for the Apecat from a safe enclosure (this doubles as our outbuilding for tools and utilities)