Pend Oreille Wildlife Management Area
The Pack River Flats and delta showing the natural hay meadows prior to the construction of the Albeni Falls dam. The photograph was taken from the old highway looking west toward the Sunnyside Peninsula.Amenities
No amenities, boat-in only.
History
The Pend Oreille Wildlife Management Area was created in 1956, with additional land being purchased in 1974 and 1996. It is now 4,908 acres.
The Pack River, a major tributary to Lake Pend Oreille, carries water from many creeks in the Selkirk and Cabinet Mountains. The Pack River Flats and river delta are home to a wide variety of wildlife, from muskrats to moose. Most visible are the geese, swans, and ducks that congregate here during their spring and fall migrations. Canada geese often nest on the platforms set in the delta marsh.
Before the Albeni Falls Dam began impounding water in 1952, the lake level dropped in early summer, leaving the flats as a natural meadow. Archaeological evidence has revealed rock-lined pits where native people baked camas bulbs to preserve one of their staple foods for winter. In more recent times, local residents cut wild hay each summer in the meadow. “It was a beautiful place,” remembered Dal and Teddie Hawkins, whose family settled in the area. It “smelled so good, so fresh. The hay would be fresh because there was no silt on it at all. It had a great feeling.”