Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery

This past week I attended the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Implementation Team meeting in Sacramento. The team is composed of biologists, researchers, and land managers with responsibilities affecting recovery of the endangered species. I learned a lot and it was humbling to be in a room with so many experts in the field.

Recovery Plan for the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep (pdf)

Inspired by the meeting, I took a hike up into Pine Creek Canyon where I heard that bighorns had been seen at lower elevations. On the way back down from the mill, we spooked a group of nine Sierra Nevada bighorns: three rams, three ewes, and three young. After scrambling a ways up a cliff face, the sheep felt safe enough to allow us to watch them while they fed. It was an amazing encounter with this highly endangered species.

Sierra Nevada Red Fox...Found!

The Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) is not listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act, but is California state Threatened. The only known current population is found around Lassen...or was until last month. Forest Service biologists had set up cameras for a potential project near Sonora Pass and were surprised by photos that appeared to be one of the elusive foxes. DNA from slobber on the bait (chicken parts inside a sock) confirmed it to be a Sierra Nevada red fox from the southern population, not recorded since the 1920s. A very cool find, not far from my backyard!

San Jose Mercury News article from September 4, 2010

Here There Be Grouse

When they're not strutting around the lekking grounds, sage-grouse can be difficult to find. Fortunately, they leave sign behind so we can tell if they've been using an area.

Winter scat is composed entirely of sagebrush leaves and, in keeping with the theme of food descriptions of scat, has been described as shaped like a Cheeto. The leaves of sagebrush are covered in glands that contain monoterpenes and sesquiterpine lactones. Whew ! The chemicals likely deter herbivory from most species. The monoterpenes give sagebrush its characteristic smell. The sesquiterpene lactones are indigestible to sage-grouse and are excreted in pasty, black cecal tar. Both types are shown in the photo below.

grouse sign

a cool caterpillar

Greater Sage-grouse Field Indicator Guide (pdf via ftp)

For (lots) more on sagebrush and its role in sage-grouse diet:

Rosentreter, Roger. 2005. Sagebrush identification, ecology, and palatability relative to sage-grouse. In: Shaw, Nancy L., M. Pellant, S.B. Monsen, comps. 2005. Sage-grouse habitat restoration symposium proceedings; 2001 June 4-7, Boise, ID. Proc. RMRS-P-38. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 3-16. (pdf)

A Tale of Tui Chubs

Today Joy, our other wildlife biologist, took me out to Mule Spring at the base of the Inyo Mountains outside of Big Pine and told me a tale of the tui chub there.

The Owens tui chub (Gila bicolor snyderi) is a Federally endangered fish only found in the Owens Basin. It is threatened by habitat degradation, non-native fish, and introgression with the Lahontan tui chub (Gila bicolor obesa), introduced as baitfish. In the early 90s, BLM and DFG biologists wanted to locate sites to establish new populations of Owens tui chub. A granite mining company with Mule Spring on their claim agreed to cooperate, and an artificial pond was created from the spring's outflow. Tui chub were introduced from a pool at Cabin Bar Ranch near Olancha and owned by Budweiser to provide water to their Van Nuys brewery.

The tui chub did well in their new man-made home, and the biologists decided to double down on endangered fish and introduced Owens Valley pupfish as well. On a later visit, the pool was teeming with pupfish, but tui chub were nowhere to be found. The pond was drained and three tui chub were rescued. Apparently the much smaller pupfish (2-3") were so fiesty that they outcompeted the 10-13" tui chubs ! A second pool was created for the pupfish, and the surviving tui chub were allowed to remain in the refilled upper pool. A visit to Cabin Bar Ranch was made to collect more fish to augment the decimated population, but the pools were dry and no fish remained.

As tenacious as the pupfish were, the introduction into Mule Spring turned out to be a good thing. A number of bass were introduced into Fish Slough by well-meaning but uneducated fishermen, and that population of Owens Valley pupfish was virtually eliminated. The bass were removed and pupfish were moved from Mule Spring back into Fish Slough. Talk about managed species !

As if this story wasn't convoluted enough, recent genetic work on the tui chub of Owens Valley determined that the fish of Mule Spring and (formerly) Cabin Bar are actually a genetically distinct subspecies, dubbed toikona tui chub (from the Paiute name for tui chub, ‘‘toikonanishu,’’ which means ‘‘standing in the cat-tails"). Whew ! This is why I prefer birds to fish. Then again, birds can often fly away from adversity, but there's something so desperate about fish only found in rapidly disappearing pools...

tui chub pool reflecting the Inyos

tarantula hawk on Asclepias fascicularis narrow-leaf milkweed

Want excruciating detail on the recent genetic work? Check out:

Chen, Y., S. Parmenter, and B. May. 2007. Introgression between Lahontan and endangered Owens tui chubs, and apparent discovery of a new tui chub in the Owens Valley, California. Conservation Genetics 8:221-238.

You know you're a biologist when...

...when someone leaves poop on your desk and you get excited !!!

I am yet to see pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis), but my coworkers came across a few, and Casey left me this inspirational note.

Pygmy rabbits are the smallest North American rabbit and are the only rabbit in the United States that dig their own burrows. They are found in the sagebrush habitat of the Great Basin and are dependent on sagebrush for food in winter. The pygmy rabbit is currently under review for listing as an endangered species.

Next time I hope to have pictures of the rabbits themselves...not just their poop, described by experts as "similar to what a Tic-Tac looks like end-on" haha !

Pygmy Rabbit Identification Worksheet (pdf)

Draft Pygmy Rabbit Survey Protocol (Word doc)

Tracking Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep

There are four herds of Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae) on the eastern side of the Sierras. They usually stay at higher elevations on Forest Service land, but they may venture down onto BLM land and into grazing allotments for domestic sheep. Domestic sheep may be able to transmit respiratory diseases to bighorns if they come in contact with each other. While this is unlikely to occur given the timing when grazing is allowed, we still keep an eye on the activity of the bighorn herds. The California Department of Fish & Game has fitted a number of bighorn sheep with radio collars that transmit coordinates via satellite. We're able to log into the system to see where the herds are hanging out and to make sure none of them are entering into areas where they may be at risk. It's a bit hard to see in this graphic, but this demonstrates locations of five radio-tagged rams over the past 6 months. They don't go far, do they?

What are these bighorns doing in the middle of Bishop?! And right across the street from my apartment?! The Fish & Game office is a half a block from where I live. Clearly these collars were still transmitting when they were turned on or returned to the office. We also sometimes get points from when the collars are sent back to Maine for repairs. Kinda funny. :)

In search of Willow Flycatchers at Dog Town

On friday, we were able to sneak in a survey within protocol for willow flycatchers (Empidonax traillii adastus, WIFL) on two grazing allotments up for renewal. As their name suggests, willow flycatchers are found in riparian areas dominated by willow or alder, including streams, ponds, seeps, and meadows. The loss of these habitats at lower elevations has restricted their range to elevations generally between 4,000 and 8,000 feet. This subspecies is currently considered State Endangered. This habitat near Dog Town was marginal and we didn't detect any WIFLs, but we did get eaten alive by mosquitoes and see a number of other bird species including: yellow warbler, song sparrow, red-winged blackbird, spotted towhee, green-tailed towhee, spotted sandpiper, Bullock's oriole, and black-headed grosbeak.

A Willow Flycatcher Survey Protocol for California (Bombay, et al. 2003)

What about Dog Town? Dog Town is the location of the first major gold rush to the Eastern Sierras in 1857. While never highly profitable, it is allegedly said to have produced the largest gold nugget found on the eastern slope and led to the discovery of more profitable areas nearby, including Bodie. This marker is along Highway 395, just south of the turnoff to Bodie.

A Visit to Fish Slough

After spending my first two days on the job in riparian assessment training, I got to slow down a bit today and spend a little time at Fish Slough with Martin, our botanist. Fish Slough is located about 5 miles north of Bishop on the Volcanic Tableland. The meager amount of precipitation we get passes through the porous volcanic rock, flows underground, and then escapes to the surface from three springs that form the slough. The area is home to a number of unique and sensitive species and is designated as a BLM Area of Environmental Concern (ACEC).

The only Federally listed plant species in our field office jurisdiction is found here: the Fish Slough milk-vetch (Astragalus lentiginosus ssp. piscinensis). It is found on the alkali flats surrounding the slough. It can be difficult to locate, but we were fortunate enough to have both blooms and fruits to help us. I think the fruits look like some sort of alien cocoon.

What could be more exciting than a Federally Threatened plant? How about a Federally Endangered fish! Fish Slough is the last remaining home of the Owens pupfish. Previously found throughout the Valley, they succumbed to water loss from diversions and the introduction of exotic fish species. Pupfish are adapted to survive in warm, salty water with little oxygen. The flashy males are territorial, and I spent some time watching them patrol the spring.