Signs of Spring

Visiting a project site near Manzanar, we came across nesting birds and wildflowers, definitely signs of spring!

	Sage Sparrow (Amphispiza belli) nest
	Linanthus parryae sand blossoms and Eriophyllum wallacei wooly easterbonnets
	Opuntia basilaris beavertail cactus

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.

Rare East Side Salamanders

Two salamander species are found in the Bishop BLM Field Office jurisdiction: Hydromantes platycephalus (Mount Lyell salamander) and Batrachoseps campi (Inyo Mountains slender salamander). Both species are California Species of Special Concern and B. campi is a BLM Sensitive Species.

Hydromantes platycephalus was discovered accidentally in 1915 in pitfall traps set to survey mammals on Mt. Lyell in Yosemite. Salamanders in the southern portion of the range in Long and Owens Valleys were believed to be a different species but were recently shown to be the same (Rovito 2010). Found from 4,000 to 12,000 feet, a couple individuals have been located on BLM lands. I am yet to find one, but hope to by resurveying the locations.

Batrachoseps campi wasn't discovered until 1973 and is only known from 16 canyons and springs in the Inyo Mountains. The canyons are difficult to survey, with steep, rocky waterfalls I had a hard time getting up. Fortunately, at one location I found an individual beneath a rock at the foot of a steep face. Nothing like locating a rare salamander to make a biologist's day!

	heading up the wash
	success!

Rovito, S. 2010. Lineage divergence and speciation in the Web-toed Salamanders (Plethodontidae: Hydromantes) of the Sierra Nevada, California. Molecular Ecology 19: 4554-4571. (pdf)

Greater Sage-grouse Lek Surveys

It's that time of year! The snow has melted off the meadows, so the Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are gathering at their traditional lek sites in Long Valley and Bodie. The hens initially come for a bite to eat, but the males are soon attempting to outdo each other for attention. It's quite a sight to see!

In cooperation with the California Department of Fish and Game, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the U.S. Forest Service, we're able to conduct "saturation counts," with at least one person surveying each lek. Because the birds can move between them, this gives us a fairly accurate estimate of their population. We're able to count each lek using a spotting scope from a distance away so we can view the entire area and not disturb the birds.

If you can't get over to the east side to see this amazing display, here is a video clip from the Montana NRCS website.

	view of strutting males through a spotting scope
	two males displaying at "Long Valley lek 9"

Prescribed Burning at Fish Slough

Earlier this week I was escorted out to watch a prescribed burn at Fish Slough. Why do we burn? Emergent vegetation chokes up the waterway through the slough, so burning off the vegetation opens up habitat for pupfish and migrating waterfowl. Yes, we use fire to manage for a fish. I think that's kinda neat. The burn also allows nutrient recycling in the system.

	shooting a flare to ignite vegetation out in the marsh
	in my Nomex and with an escort, I was able to be closer than I thought!
	using a propane torch to continue the burn

Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park

Continuing on the Death Valley Road out of Big Pine, you drop down into Eureka Valley, part of Death Valley National Park. A rather gnarly washboard road takes you to the Eureka Dunes, the tallest dunes in California at 700 feet. Being late in the day we only hiked up to the first ridge, but even that was enough of a workout! The dunes are home to 5 endemic beetles and 3 Endangered plants, but all we saw that day was evidence of wildlife left in the sand.

Common Raven

these tiny, unidentified tracks were everywhere!

Joshua Flat, Piper Mountain Wilderness

I took a trip over the Inyos along Death Valley Road into the territory of BLM's Ridgecrest Field Office. The road is almost surreal as the pinyon-juniper forest transitions into some of the most dense Joshua trees I've ever seen. The above picture doesn't quite capture it, but all of those specks on the alluvial fans in the background are Joshua trees! Something about them just makes me happy...

Old 4x4 roads have been closed to vehicle access, but allow you to hike through the area with relative ease. I headed up into one of the washes and climbed my way up and up...I was hoping to pop out on the other side and see Deep Springs Valley, but didn't quite make it. Bird highlights included a single Canyon Wren's song echoing in the rocks and a flock of 15 Pinyon Jays noisily escorting me out at the end of my day (shown below). I hope to return in the spring for wildflowers, herps, and rumored Scott's Orioles!