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Endangered Species Spotlight: Ozark Hellbender

October 26, 2012 By 2 Comments
ozark hellbender1 300x200 Endangered Species Spotlight: Ozark Hellbender

courtesy of Kory G. Roberts

What is it?

The Ozark Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi) is one of the world’s largest salamanders.  It can reach lengths of nearly two feet long!  Yet despite its size, the Hellbender is a sensitive salamander that can live only in clean, clear rivers of the Ozarks. One of the most distinct features of the Hellbender is the fleshy folds along its sides, which provide more surface area for it to breathe underwater.  It absorbs oxygen through the frills under its side folds and needs high dissolved oxygen levels found in cold streams to survive.

Where does it live?

The Ozark Hellbender lives in a few counties in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, preferring the cold waters of the Current and Jacks Fork rivers.  It requires areas with swift moving water and irregularly shaped rocks to hide and breed. These salamanders are habitat specialists, requiring very strict conditions for survival.  They are predator and prey in their environment.

How many are there left?

One of the biggest threats the Hellbender faces is degradation of suitable habitat.  Their habitat is affected by siltation, sedimentation, water pollution, dams and other obstacles that block their migratory routes and cause water quality to decrease.  They are also affected by certain diseases and specimen collection.  The Ozark Hellbender was listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on October 5, 2011 (www.fws.gov).  It is estimated that there are fewer than 600 hellbenders left in the wild.

What can we do to help protect it?

There are many ways we can all help protect the Ozark Hellbender.  Discourage anyone from taking specimens for collection.  This has led to a decline in some cases.  You can also report pollution violations in areas where the hellbenders are known to reside.  Sediment buildup from roads is one of the largest causes of water pollution in the Ozarks.  If you have roads on your property, make sure there is a buffer between the roads and creeks nearby so that sediment does not run off into the creeks during storms.  You can also volunteer with local organizations to help clean up natural areas where you live to improve habitat.  Also, do not let oil and other fluids from your vehicles leak on roadways because these eventually end up in streams and rivers.  Lastly, you can use less toxic chemicals for garden and home care that are safe for wildlife and practice permaculture when possible.  Together we can make a huge difference!!!

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Endangered species spotlight: ivory billed woodpecker

October 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

ivory billed woodpecker 300x168 Endangered species spotlight: ivory billed woodpeckerThe endangered ivory-billed woodpecker holds a special place in my heart. It inhabited the same wetlands in which I spent a large amount of time as a child duck hunting with my father. The decline of this magnificent bird during the late 1800′s and early 1900′s is mostly attributed to the timber industry and its expansion after the Civil War. Before this time, the delta regions of the South were blanketed by millions of acres of bottom land forests.  This area, called the Big Woods, is also known as the “Amazon of North America.” Today, only small fragments of these forests remain leaving little space for the ivory-billed woodpecker to make its home.

The woodpecker enjoys eating beetle larvae, which can be found in the trunks of decaying trees in such bottom land forests. Amazingly, bird collectors in the post Civil War era also prided themselves on collecting these woodpeckers, a factor that also contributed to their decline.

The woodpecker was first sighted again in 2004 in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in the Big Woods region of Arkansas.  Some people still believe that the sighting was a hoax, but there is significant audio evidence which suggests that the bird may still be flying the bayous of the Big Woods.  Less than 10 percent of the old growth forests in this region remain today.  Much of this land is now covered with agricultural fields that produce rice, soybean and cotton among other crops.  Bears, panthers and wolves once roamed these dense forests. The sighting of the woodpecker has provided much fuel for efforts to preserve the remaining forests in this area.

Ivory-billed woodpeckers mate for life and each pair needs about ten square miles of uncut forest to live. There are few areas of the South left with that much uncut forest where these birds can inhabit.  Habitat fragmentation from development is one of the largest causes of decline in suitable habitat for the woodpecker.  Other culprits include the extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers for agricultural and other applications, alterations in the hydrology of its habitat via dams, levees and channelization.

One of the most important things you can do to help the recovery of this bird, if they do still exist, is to spread knowledge about it.  One of the biggest threats to its habitat and habitat for other sensitive species in the mid-South and deep South are the expansion of the timber industry.  You can help on an individual level by buying lumber is that is responsibly sourced and for which you know the source of the lumber.  Also, check out the National Audubon Society‘s work as well as Ducks Unlimited in their efforts to preserve areas that may provide habitat for such species.

 

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Endangered species spotlight: California tiger salamander

March 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

cal tiger salamander Endangered species spotlight: California tiger salamanderThe California tiger salamander is a stocky, colorfully spotted salamander that enjoys vernal pools found in California’s grasslands and small streams for breeding.  They do not breed in years where there is not enough rainfall.  This salamander is listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  In Sonoma County, the expansion of housing and other development projects threatens 95% of the tiger salamander’s habitat. Most of their populations in the central valley have been eliminated by development and agriculture.

Burrowing amphibians

The health of tiger salamander populations is also threatened by the use of pesticides in and upstream of areas of their habitat.  Due to their sensitivity to chemicals such as pesticides, salamanders are good indicators of the overall ecological health of an area.  The absence of native tiger salamanders is a good indicator of poor ecological health.  Tiger salamanders rely on the burrows of ground squirrels, gophers and other burrowing critters for shelter.  They spend most of their lives underground. The elimination of these ground squirrels due to concerns about their effect on cattle grazing is a threat to native tiger salamander populations.

Don’t smash me!

The best time to spot a tiger salamander is during the rainy season (November to May) when they make their mass migrations to vernal pools for breeding.  Unfortunately, they often have to cross roads, which leaves them vulnerable to traffic when they are making their way to vernal pools at night.

Predation by non-native bullfrogs and hybridization are additional threats to California tiger salamanders.  According to one study, when non-native tiger salamanders breed with native tiger salamanders, the hybrid offspring survive in higher numbers than the native offspring.

That is my wetland, buddy!

In August of 2011, with the diligent legal efforts of the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated 47,383 acres as revised critical habitat for the California tiger salamander in Sonoma County.  This decision still left out important pieces of their habitat, but it was a big step in the right direction for the survival of the California tiger salamander.

How you can help

There are many things that we can do to help improve and preserve habitat for the California tiger salamander. We can use less water for showers, washing dishes and watering plants by always turning the faucet/hose off when we are not using it.  Less residential water use means more water for rivers and wetlands that provide habitat for native tiger salamanders.  One way to be sure where your food comes is to know your farmer.  Knowing your farmer also gives you information on whether the farmer uses chemicals on his/her crops.  Pesticides pollute streams and wetlands in which tiger salamanders live.  You can also help out this salamander by donating time and/or money to organizations like the Center for Biological Diversity that are working hard to secure habitat for endangered species such as the California tiger salamander.

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Endangered species spotlight: northern spotted owl

March 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
northern spotted owl1 Endangered species spotlight: northern spotted owl

courtesy of USGS

The northern spotted owl is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.  It inhabits the old growth forests of California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.  Studies estimate that there are fewer than 2,360 pairs of these owls left on earth.

 

 

 

 

Silent Raptors

These owls are adept predators and the have a distinct flight pattern that allows them to sneak up on their prey.  They also have special feathers that are serrated like a comb at the edge, which reduces turbulence thus reducing sound.  They have large wings that allow them to flap less making less noise in flight.  These features combine to make the owl a stealthy hunter.

Owls vs. jobs

The northern spotted owl is a symbol of the larger conflict that exists between balancing economic opportunities with the preservation of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. These owls like to make their homes in the cavities of large, broken or hollowed out trees that are more prevalent in old-growth forests.  Such forests provide cool and damp conditions preferred by the owls and are home to their favorite food source, small mammals.

These owls are an indicator species for old-growth forests.  This means that they give us a larger picture of the health of the ecosystem in which they live.  If the owls become extinct it is a good indicator that the health of their forest ecosystems are declining.

Good decisions

On March 7, 1991, U.S. District Court judge William Dwyer made a decision to block all logging in old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest.  This was a monumental victory for the habitat of the northern spotted owl, but a harsh blow for the timber industry in this part of the country.  The argument between environmentalists and the timber industry was often coined “owls vs. jobs.”  This is a familiar argument.  It represents the larger battle between balancing economic development with environmental conservation.

Do we really need more wood?

This conflict is often seen as a zero sum situation: if we preserve more forest, this automatically means fewer jobs for people in the timber industry.  However, there are many other options for jobs.  One possibility is to create organizations that offer jobs in conservation to those that lose their jobs in the timber industry.  These could be positions that help manage the forest sustainably rather than just cutting it all down.  Tourism is also another possibility.  There are many possibilities for tourist ventures such as eco-resorts, retreat centers and camps that would have much less impact on the forest ecosystems and provide good jobs for people who live in these areas.  It only requires some flexibility and ingenuity on our behalf.  Change in our culture and our economy is inevitable.  We control the direction of change.

How we can all help

Our decisions impact not only our well-being as the dominant species on this planet, but also the well-being and survival of many other species like the spotted owl that have no voice other than a soft cry only heard in the canopies of the largest and oldest trees in the world.  There are ways that we can all help ensure the health of owl habitat.  One of the easiest things we can do is buy sustainably certified wood and/or use old/recycled lumber for building projects. We can also contribute to organizations such as the Nature Conservancy that are working to preserve habitat for northern spotted owls.

 

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Endangered species spotlight: California red-legged frog, el mariachi

March 2, 2012 By 1 Comment

California red legged frog Endangered species spotlight: California red legged frog, el mariachiThe California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) is currently listed as endangered.  It is found primarily in the state of California.  This was frog was made famous for its mention in Mark Twain’s short story The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.

 

 

Froggy serenades

The male red-legged frogs arrive early at the breeding grounds in groups to serenade the females with their guttural grunts.  For this reason, the title of this blog post has the phrase “el mariachi” at the end. They are the mariachis of the amphibian world.

Red-legged frogs enjoy the shade.  They cannot tolerate excessive heat and they like to hang out in ponds and streams with slow-moving water.  The population of red-legged frogs has decreased significantly in recent decades and they are now reported in only 238 streams in California. The frog has disappeared from 70 percent of its original range.  Amphibians such as the red-legged frog are good indicators of ecosystem health.  The fact that this frog population is in decline reflects the declining health of many wetlands and streams which it inhabits.

Adiós wetlands

The main threats to red-legged frogs include habitat loss, predation by invasive American bullfrogs and dwindling water resources due to increased demand for water from human activities. California has lost an estimated 90 percent of its original wetlands.  Most of this loss is due to increased water use by irrigation and energy generation.

Your call to action

There are many simple ways we can all help save critical habitat for endangered species like the red-legged frog.  We can decrease our personal water consumption by turning the water off when we are not using it, taking shorter showers, watering plants with recycled water, use a water catchment system and we can buy food that is grown locally and organically to decrease water and energy used in transportation and growing of food.   Many organizations in California are working to help conserve habitat for the red-legged frog. They include the Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and many others like the Sonoma Land Trust and Pepperwood Preserve.

Watch this cool video of a red-legged frog gobbling up an earthworm with its quick tongue!

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Endangered species spotlight: polar bear

February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

polar bear Endangered species spotlight: polar bearWho wants to live in a world without polar bears?! There is no other animal that conjures up such majestic and fearful images of the wild Arctic than Ursus maritimus.  Polar bears are the largest land-based predators on the planet.  They survive exclusively on ringed seals, which provide them with a very high calorie source of fat for surviving the extreme cold of the Arctic. They are actually thought to be as smart as apes and must employ this intelligence to hunt down tricky ringed seals.

Nicknames

I have a very close attachment to the fate of polar bears because of a nickname that I developed while in my first year in undergraduate school.  I was going home one weekend with some friends to a high school football game and it was quite frigid outside.  I believe the temperature was around 27 degrees.  I had the urge to stick my head out the window and feel the chilly air so I did.  One of my friends yelled at me to close the window and then said, “It’s freezing out there, close the window!  What the hell are you, some kind of polar bear?!” Because of this comment, my height and my fair skin and hair, the nickname stuck and I have been interested in polar bears ever since.

Where’s the ice?

Like many other species on the planet, the survival of polar bears is threatened by habitat loss.  However, the effects of global warming on the habitat of polar bears are greater in polar bear habitat because temperatures at the poles are rising faster than those on other parts of the globe.  This means that much of the sea ice that polar bears depend on for hunting and breeding is melting away, leaving them with smaller amounts of ice to inhabit.

Research by the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group show that 8 out of 12 polar bear populations studied in 2009 are declining compared to only 5 populations that were declining in 2005.  Even if we stopped pumping out all  the greenhouse gases we put into the Earth’s atmosphere tomorrow, the results of global warming would still carry on for several years into the future.  This means that we have to act soon to reverse the trend of warming in time to save enough sea ice for polar bears to survive. If we do not, I will have a meaningless nickname and this would be horrible.

Your call to action

There are many simple ways that we can all reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere: carpooling, buying a fuel-efficient vehicle, composting our food waste rather than sending it to the landfill, conserving water in domestic use helps reduce energy use significantly and buying local and/or organic reduces the amount of fuel burnt for food transportation and pesticide use.  These are all simple things that we can do without putting a large dent in our wallet to help curb greenhouse gases.

Here is a great informational video on polar bears and the threats they face.

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Endangered species spotlight: Coho salmon

February 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

coho salmon2 Endangered species spotlight: Coho salmonCoho salmon is the first species featured in the endangered species spotlight.  This spotlight series will focus on the factors responsible for the decline of key species that have become endangered and simple ways that we can help the recovery of these species.  Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) existed historically in the entire west coast of the United States, Alaska, Japan, regions of eastern Russia and possibly as far inland in the U.S. as Idaho.  Current levels of the Coho salmon are only 6-15% percent of what they were in the 1940s, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Why are they endangered?

Some of the biggest obstacles for this species include dams, erosion and siltation in breeding areas of freshwater streams/rivers, lack of water due to the diversion of freshwater for irrigation and electricity generation purposes and a rapid decline in the quality and quantity of wetlands in areas where Coho salmon exist and breed.  This salmon species is particularly sensitive to stream quality issues in their fry stage.  Dissolved oxygen is very important for their survival and may be affected by human activities such as recreation, mining, logging, channelization of steams and other changes in the banks of streams. Human activities have had a pronounced effect on Coho salmon habitat in the state of California, where only about 9% of the original wetlands in the state still exist!

WE NEED OXYGEN!

Dams and erosion into streams/rivers cause increases in water temperatures, which lessen the amount of dissolved oxygen for salmon necessary for breathing.  Dams also pose a physical obstacle for Coho salmon that are trying to reach spawning destinations upstream in coastal rivers.  Irrigation systems take water from rivers such as the Russian River in Sonoma County, California, and divert it to agricultural use such as growing grapes for wine.  Many agricultural areas that are close to such rivers containing Coho salmon and other species contribute to pollution in the water from fertilizers (particularly nitrates and phosphates) and pesticides.  Storm water drains in urban areas that drain in to rivers where Coho salmon live and breed may also create pollution from runoff and products thrown into storm drains near residential areas. These fish must have good gravel beds to lay their eggs in or their offspring will not survive!

What YOU can do to help

There are many small things that we can all do to help the recovery of endangered Coho salmon and other endangered species.

-Do not throw trash or any liquids (other than water) onto the street or in storm drains.  These drains go directly into streams and rivers that effect fish and other river dwellers.

-Buy dry farmed wine and sustainably farmed produce. One of the biggest users of water in our country is agriculture.  Wine grapes and other crops that are dry farmed use no water and thus  do not take water away from local streams or rivers.

-Follow fishing regulations.  If you are fishing, do not take more fish than is allowed by the law.

-Do not buy farmed salmon.  In some areas, farmed salmon populations threaten wild populations of salmon.  The best way to find out is know your salmon source.

-Volunteer in environmental restoration activities.  There are many local and national organizations that restore habitat to help endangered species recover.  The Nature Conservancy does great work in restoration.  Google your local watershed and find out what group is actively restoring the watershed.

If we all take these small steps in caring for our natural world, species such as Coho salmon may soon be as plentiful as they were 70 years ago!!! Check out this great video on Coho salmon in West Marin!

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Endangered species, jaguars and lonely men

February 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

jaguar Endangered species, jaguars and lonely menMyths are what make a place interesting.  They give it color and a sense of magic. In my recent stay in Cabuya, Costa Rica, I sometimes found it difficult to distinguish between myths and reality so I just accepted that they were one and the same.  One of the myths I heard revolved around the largest cat in the Americas, the jaguar.

 

The Big Cat

Many of the locals in Cabuya told me that there was a jaguar that was six feet in length that roamed the dry forests of the area.  This would be among the largest jaguars ever seen if their stories are true.  My favorite story about a jaguar involves a strange man named “Tigre”, meaning jaguar or big cat in English.  Tigre lived by himself in a house close to the middle of town.  He had a large backyard that butted up against the mountain separating both sides of the Nicoya Peninsula.

Vegetarian Jaguar?

The story goes that he would go out at night in his backyard and put bananas and avocados in his pants to lure a jaguar in.  He reportedly did so to have romantic relations with the jaguar.  I was never witness to any of this activity so I must rely solely on second-hand sources.  Admittedly, the options for dating in this isolated town were few, but there are two major problems I have with this story.  First, jaguars are strict carnivores and thus I cannot imagine why they would have any interest in a banana or avocado unless it was covered with deer scent.  Also, if one could succeed in luring a jaguar into one’s backyard, the possibility of having intimate contact with a jaguar seems very slim.

The Threat and The Solution

The status of jaguars is near threatened and they are most likely going to become extinct within the next few decades.  Most of the decline in jaguar populations is due to destruction of their habitat from logging and ranching.  Poaching for their skins and competition with humans for food are also reasons for their decline.  Jaguars are apex predators, which means that they eat a wide variety of species below them and the food chain and they have no predators other than humans.  Jaguars are critical to maintaining the health and structural integrity of the forests they inhabit. The Jaguar Conservation Fund is an organization in central Brazil that does research on jaguars and is trying to help create corridors of habitat where jaguars can thrive.

The larger issue that envelops the survival of the jaguar is habitat destruction. We cannot hope to ensure of the survival of many species without increasing the amount of suitable habitat for wildlife. To do this requires effort on everyone’s part.  We must educate people about why wildlife habitat is decreasing and expose the companies that are the major offenders of this destruction.

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The big, bad wolf

January 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Wolf and Moon02 The big, bad wolfYellowstone National Park is a magical place.  In 1997, I had the pleasure of working in the park.  One summer weekend I took a backcountry hiking trip with three friends on the Montana border.  The hike was long and arduous and my pack was heavy due to my decision to bring along a bottle of gin and various citrus fruits for making some sort of ridiculous cocktail (beer was too heavy).  By the time we reached our site, ten miles into the backcountry, I was exhausted.  I built a fire, shared my two cans of chunky soup and then washed out the cans to use them as mixing containers for my cocktails.  No one really wanted the drinks but me so I did as any good Arkansan would and drank most of them.

Ridgetop Sighting

Needless to say, I was somewhat intoxicated by bedtime.  I tucked myself in and dozed off into dreamland.  As I can best recall, I woke up around 3 a.m. and had to go to water the lawn.  I stopped by a little creek about one hundred feet from the tent to do my business and stared into the night sky.  To my amazement, I saw a large wolf staring at me across the ridge in front of me and I froze!  Even in my intoxicated state, I knew this was a moment unlike any other.  It was as if the wolf was telling me that I was in his territory and I should respect it.  He eventually turned and walked away, but it made a lasting impression on me.

The Return

Many of you may already know that on December 28th, 2011, the first wolf in California since 1924 was spotted in Siskiyou County.  He came over from Oregon and was originally part of a pack from Idaho.  Well, this is fabulous news for me because I love wolves.  The health of wolves is so symbolic of the overall health of the ecosystems they inhabit and the health of our planet as a whole.  What do I mean by this…?

The Importance of Wolves

Wolves are at the top of their food chain.  If they disappear, their prey species can increase rapidly causing ecological imbalances such as erosion due to overgrazing of riparian areas by prey species like deer and elk.  There must be a balance between the number of wolves and their prey species.  Like most large predators, wolves need a lot of space to roam and hunt.  One estimate suggests from 50-100 square miles for one pack of wolves and some even reach 1,000 square miles!

Early Americans hunted wolves to near extinction and some ranchers have done their best to get rid of them because of the threat they pose to their livestock.  However, I ask the reader to consider: who was here first, the people or wolves?  The loss of a few chickens or sheep pales in comparison to the loss of an entire species that holds together an ecosystem and running wolves to exhaustion from helicopters is about the weakest form of human activity I can think of.

Saving wolves is symbolic of our level of commitment to environmental health because we must be willing to ask ourselves: are we any more important than any other species? And how can we meet our own needs and allow other species to exist in harmony with us? We are all connected.

Your Call to ACTION

So this all sounds touching and inspiring, but what can YOU do about it??? One thing that everyone can do is know their food source.  If you buy meat from a local rancher, you can get information about them and their relationship with wildlife on the farm. What are their grazing practices?  Are they wolf haters? Eatwild is a great resource for this!!!

There are many organizations that work to preserve habitat for wolves.  I can personally vouch for The Nature Conservancy because I have worked with them in many parts of the U.S.  They buy land and manage it, negotiate with other landowners to restore habitat and use field science to mimic natural processes. Wolf Haven also does great work with wolves.  Even a small donation to these organizations, in time or money, can make a difference.

Ultimately, I hope that everyone can have an experience like I did with the wolf in Yellowstone (hopefully, a bit more sober than I was). No matter who we are or where we come from, there is a part of us that wants to connect with the wilderness.  After all, it gave us life…

4DH8KM8D9RUF

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