Women on the Wing Clean Up with “Barbed Wire and Beer”

Extreme forecasted heat failed to stop nearly a dozen passionate women who gathered to clean debris from a public access property on the outskirts of Walla Walla in July. The event, dubbed “Barbed Wire and Beer,” encompassed just that – about 1,400 pounds of metal and debris, including a massive tangle of barbed wire, followed by lunch and a cold brewski at Hop Thief in College Place.

Barbed Wire and Beer was the latest event of Blue Mountain Pheasants Forever’s 2024 Women on the Wing program. Aimed at giving back to landowners who enroll in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s “Feel Free to Hunt” program, event attendees rounded up everything from errant metal and fence posts to discarded barbed wire and forgotten fencerows, as well as random litter. Two truckloads of debris were collected and hauled to the county landfill in just under two hours.

Conservation takes many forms, with habitat enhancement often coming to mind first. But keeping quality habitat free from safety hazards benefits wildlife, landowners, hunters, and bird dogs and supports long-term habitat management. Thanks to the Women on the Wing Committee for organizing the event, and all the attendees for supporting conservation and Blue Mountain Pheasants Forever.