Michelle Vessel

The Pacific Northwest's enormous range of habitatmany habitats—from glacial ice to marine waters, to pungent sagebrush plains, to mountains so high that their uppermost zone is Arctic-Alpinefrom glacial ice and marine waters to sagebrush plains and arctic-alpine heights—isare home to an equally diverse range of wildlife. The states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho are known for their forests that, whether eastside or westside, are alike in offering habitatAcross Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, forests provide habitat for animals small and largelarge and small, from chattering squirrels to stately deer, from inch-long ice worms to 6six-ton orcas.

The wildest, shyest animals--—the snowshoe-footed lynx; the curious, stalkingstealthy cougar; the shaggy, sure-footed mountain goat--—still have wild places in which to live: across the many wilderness areas of the Pacific Northwest. Idaho alone providesis home to more than 4four million wilderness acres. Its Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness is the largest in the Lower 48; through its 2.336 million acres runs the Wild and Scenic-designated Middle Fork of the Salmon River. The Wild and Scenic Middle Fork of the Salmon River runs through its 2.37 million acres. Oregon preserves habitat for wild animals in 35thirty-five wilderness areas, and Washington in 30thirty.

Bald eagle. You needn't be eagle-eyed to identify the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), with its hawk's beak, fierce eyes, strong, sharp talons, and brilliant white head and tail feathers. The female, larger than the male in most birds-of-prey species, stands 3 feet tall, weighs 10 to 15 pounds, and flaunts a wingspan of nearly 8 feet--the largest bird of prey in the Northwest. The head and tail feathers of a young bald eagle turn white only after it reaches 5 to 7 years of age.The white plumage develops when the bird is five to seven years old.

As in most birds-of-prey species, the female is larger than the male. It stands three feet tall, weighs ten to fifteen pounds, and has a wingspan of nearly eight feet, making it the largest bird of prey in the Pacific Northwest.

SeveralGroups of up to five hundred bald eagles (peaking at 500) congregate annually at Washington's Skagit River Bald Eagle Natural Area, one of the four most significant bald eagle wintering spots in the Lower 48. The eagle's primary food at the Skagit River is, where they feed on spawned-out chum salmon carcasses.

Oregon and California share the largest group of wintering bald eagles in the Lower 48--600 to 1,000--—it comprises six hundred to one thousand birds—in the Klamath Basin complex of six national wildlife refugesNational Wildlife Refuge Complex, which spans both states.

The birdsEagles fiercely defend their nesting territory and build the largest nests in the world, 200 feet high in broken-top trees in broken-top trees, sometimes as much as two hundred feet above the ground. One record-setting nest was 9 1/2nine and a half feet across and 20, twenty feet deep, and weighed 2two tons. Eagles fiercely defend their nesting territory.Author query: Please confirm the two-hundred-foot placement.

Canada goose. Honk if you love Canada geese. (Branta canadensis). They used to stop hereThey once made temporary stops in the Pacific Northwest on their migrations, but more and more are now staying at Pacific Northwestan increasing number now remain year-round at wildlife refuges, city parks, and golf courses. The gander (male), whose wingspread may reach 5five feet, stands 48 inches highfour feet tall and can, whenif provoked, knock down a manan adult.Author query: Please provide a source for the height and knockdown claims.