July 16th - 31st Range Rider Update
Range Riders have been out regularly, and things have been going smoothly. There has been minimal sickness or other concerns to report in the participant herds. All the good feed and good weather are both factors helping keep the herds happy and healthy. The Team hopes that things keep going as well as fall approaches!
There have been some recent cattle deaths due to larkspur and other causes, and the Range Riders will have cameras out on some of the carcasses with activity to report next time. There have been no conflicts or depredations that the Team is aware of. Based on previous years, however, August could see an increase in activity coinciding with the onset of hyperphagia in grizzly bears.
The Centennial Valley experienced hot weather throughout July, but the landscape is still looking pretty green overall. Several fires have sprung up around the region and smoke conditions have been variable in the Valley. Notable fires that have affected air quality sporadically include the Clover Fire (798 acres as of 7/29) in the northern Gravelly Range and the Moose Fire (43,226 acres as of 7/29) near Salmon, ID.
Since the last report, the Team had one grizzly bear and two black bear observations on game cameras. One black bear was a brown-phased bear and the other was black, both on the smaller side.
There were two wolf observations, including one sighting and one game camera event. One of the wolves was grey colored and the other was a brownish grey.
The mountain lion returned, but with a better picture this time! The Team believes it is the same mountain lion based on location.
There were a ton of deer events on CVA game cameras in the last couple weeks, especially in higher elevation areas in or near trees. The Team has also noticed larger herds of pronghorn throughout the Valley. Although it’s still early, this could be in preparation for mating season that typically occurs late August and September.
The Team and the cameras cannot capture the entire Valley each day, so community reports are extremely valuable to understand how wildlife use the Valley. If you have any wildlife reports to share (big or small!) please contact one of the Range Riders. We look forward to hearing from you!
Erika Nunlist, Wildlife Program Coordinator: wildlife@centennialvalleyassociation.org
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