Gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer) on a trail in Daley Ranch - Escondido,CA

A weekly walkthrough of what has been going on and a look at what is coming up!

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."

 — Frank Lloyd Wright

A mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) outside Palomar Mountain State Park grazing in a field with her herd.

Southern California Mountain Lion Project Update

Depredation Update

Last week I gave you a run down on the recent depredation of a local livestock owners flock of sheep. A few days after the email was sent out, I was able to sit down and talk to the owner. The details of which species was responsible is still not definitive, however, I did get a better insight into the area and recent occurrences.

Robere is the gentleman that owns the property and sheep. He was able to inform me that there had been a sighting of a supposedly young mountain lion of unknown sex in the area not long before the depredation event. This could merely be a coincidence as mountain lions move through large areas daily, especially young individuals dispersing and looking for a home range of their own. Coyotes being the other possible culprit still couldn't be completely ruled out due to the area of the body that was primarily fed on. Thus, the mystery continues.

What we can take from this is two very important lessons. First, if you live in landscapes occupied by larger predators and have domestic animals of any kind, there is a risk of depredation of your animals. This is just a fact of life and one that you must be able to cope with if you plan on having animals in these areas. The second is that sometimes things are not always as they seem, but trust the signs that are present. This refers to some livestock owners that live within mountain lion habitat and blame gets pointed there first. A few facts that people look for to determine if a mountain lion was the culprit of predation on sheep are dragging the carcass and multiple kills. The problem with using these as determining factors of a mountain lion kill is that these are also behaviors of coyotes preying on flocks of sheep. Often times the coyotes will drag the dead carcasses to a different location to feed on it and they will kill multiple members of the flock. These behaviors are likely triggered by similar natural wild responses in the two species. If we were to call these "macro" behaviors, then the "micro" behaviors would be how they handle the carcass during these overarching behaviors. For instance, mountain lions will drag a carcass away from the kill site, typically feeds on organs and meat richest in nutrients first, then the lion attempts to hide the kill by covering it with dirt and other natural debris near by. The hiding of kills, known as caching, is to hide the kill from scavenging species' sight and smell. Now, coyotes also are known to kill multiple sheep and drag one away to feed on. The difference here is in the micro behaviors. The coyote will feed on choice organs and portions of the carcass, but unlike the mountain lion, coyotes are not obligate carnivores which means they supplement their diets with other non-meat nutrient sources. Because of this very specific difference, coyotes will feed on the digestive organs of the carcass where mountain lions are known to remove these and bury them away from the carcass.

This is why that it is important to get an expert to look at the property to make an educated determination of the species of predator. This will help in future decisions in animal husbandry practices as well as implementing changes to structures such as barns or fences. The answer can never be to just get rid of the animals that initiate in these behaviors. It is because of these behaviors that they regulate the natural ecosystems around us and keep them healthy. The best course of action if you are worried about you or your animals' safety in predator habitat is to reach out to someone who knows. The Mountain Lion Foundation is a great source of information on coexisting alongside predators and limiting conflict at the same time. Don't discount members of your community either! Reach out to those who have experience with living conflict free alongside predators. Keeping predators from depredating on your neighbors is just as important for the safety of your flock/herd as it is for theirs.

In the News Now

Meaningful Practices that Allow You to Make a Difference

 The following list is from LISTVERSE and outlines 10 ways you can start making a bigger impact with conservation from home!

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

2. Sustainably commute to work (bike, e-scooter, carpool)

3. Protect pollinators in your gardens or yards

4. Stop using single-use items

5. Reduce the amount of your food waste

6. Use cleaning products that are not harmful to the environment

7. Limit the amount of waste with beauty products

8. Go paperless wherever possible

9. Buy items from second-hand sellers

10. Start your own compost

     

    To get more details on this list and how to start making changes at home, visit the LISTVERSE Article Here.

CDFW Salmon Release

 According to a news release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on April 18, 2024, the Department released 500,000 salmon below the Iron Gate Dam on the Klamath River in Northern California over the course of two days.

The article recounts the release of roughly 90,000 yearling coho salmon on April 16 at this location with more than 400,000 fall-run Chinook salmon released the following day. All salmon were released below the Iron Gate Dam.

To read more about the successful release of these salmon and the positive impact this has on our rivers checkout the article on the CDFW News Release Page.

BLM Stands Up with Sportsmen, Anglers, and Nature Lovers to Protect Over 13 Million Acres of Alaska Wilderness

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership published an article detailing the lengthy process that was taken on by hunters, fishermen, and members of the outdoor recreation community to protect a large tract of public land with the Central Yukon Resource Management Plan.

What is this plan exactly? In total, this management plan covers 56 million acres total of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It provides safeguards to the connectivity of important habitats that are treasured by a wide variety of outdoor enthusiasts. There are a total of five National Wildlife Refuges throughout this protected area. The scope of this management plan is to mitigate the amount of negative impacts on fish and terrestrial wildlife species and the landscapes they inhabit. Further, the plan takes into account the growing community of anglers, sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts as a whole and has plans built in to manage this growth. Along with the Central Yukon Resource Management Plan, the Bureau of Land Management is also presenting a motion to adopt a Backcountry Conservation Area to manage for the continued hunting and fishing throughout the area.

With specific protections for caribou and Dall sheep habitats, this management plan and proposed conservation area are huge wins for the conservation community. It also shows how stakeholders from different communities (i.e. sportsmen and non-hunting outdoors enthusiasts) came together to fight for this area and were successful. The article details the upcoming steps to finalize the process as follows:

BLM will issue an approved RMP and Record of Decision after a 60 day period. Once this is final the RMP will lead landscape-level management and different uses of the outlined areas of BLM managed land for the next 20 years or more.

To read more about the success of various stakeholders coming together with the Bureau of Land Management and what this means for future success in the conservation community, read the full article on the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership's website.

Coming Up

New Print Store

The new print store is still underway. With a planned unveiling of the new store in early to mid-may!

Podcast

With recent talks with a potential co-host, I have been working on putting together a podcast. This would be an extension of sorts to the Earth's Keepers: An Update from the Field. Diving into the SCML Project and other local, national and global conservation issues and accomplishments. There is no date determined to release the first episode, however, the work is being put in to have a new outlet of information!

Supporting Local Art, Small Business, and Conservation all in one!

There is a lot of time, effort and expense that goes into creating images and working towards conservation goals that protect the wild places we visit. It would be an honor to have my work displayed in your home as a way to keep doing this work!

Sessions at JABCECC

Sessions at the Judith A. Bassett Canid Education and Conservation Center are able to be booked year round! Contact information for any questions on booking and pricing can be found through the "book now" link.