- Recreation opportunities on the Swegle Road Unit include hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing. Acquired for fishing, the unit provides fishing access to 0.5 mile of the Walla Walla River; but the unit has no boating access. Much of the unit is limited to natural riparian zone along the river, which supports good quality woody cover, and creates opportunity to hunt upland birds, turkey, and deer.
- June l1th [of 1853]. George Sna-te-lum is chief of the Skagits and is encamped near by. But as Sla-hai is half Kikealis, I took the opportunity of arresting Patch-ka-num, chief of the Kikealis, just as he was landing. In the meanwhile Sna-te-lum, whom I had told Capt. Fay to watch, wisely decamped into the woods. I had put Patch-ka-num into a tent with a sentinel. He took the first opportunity to strip himself, and with a sudden dart he split open the back of the tent with his knife, and with nothing on but a shirt he ran swifter than a deer over the logs and along the beach. He was pursued by the sergeant and the sentinel, but they had no orders to fire, as a collision was not desirable, but this the Indian probably expected or he would not have attempted to escape. A returning hunting party forced him into the woods and it was useless to follow him. I soon realized my mistake in making such a half-hearted arrest in deference to Capt. Fay’s opinion. I should not have made any or have made it in earnest. Fay, however, maintained that the moral effect on the Indians was just as good, and would probably lead to the ultimate surrender of Sla-hai.
- W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area (wdfw.wa.gov)
The W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area spans approximately 17,000 acres. The main unit, W.T. Wooten, covers 16,445 acres in Columbia and Garfield counties. The wildlife area also includes the smaller McDonald Bridge and Swegle Road access areas in Walla Walla County. The main W.T. Wooten Unit is 25 miles east of Dayton and 14 miles south of Pomeroy. About 17 miles of the Tucannon River are located within the boundaries, and elevations range from 4,100 feet on Hopkins Ridge down to 1,800 feet on the lowest section of the Tucannon River.