July 1st - 15th, 2024 Range Rider Update
Range riders have been out riding regularly. All participant producers are in the valley, and the Team has been rotating through the herds, riding each herd ~2-3 times a week. By-and-large, herds have been healthy, with two losses very recently with cause of death related to natural causes. Game cameras at the carcasses will help document what predators are in the vicinity, which will then be communicated to the producers and community in the next report.
The last couple weeks have brought hot days and lots of biting flies. It has also brought fires and smoke from across the region. Range riders have been paying extra attention to water sources with the recent heat and trying to keep sane with all the flies!
With recent hot days, the Team documented very little predator activity in the first part of July. There were no grizzly bear observations, four black bear observations (all on game camera), and one wolf track observation made by a producer. Moose, whitetail deer, and pronghorn were documented throughout the valley floor and up into some of the foot hill areas. Mule deer and elk were most frequently observed at higher elevations, in or near timbered areas across the valley.
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 Erika Nunlist, Wildlife Program Coordinator, at wildlife@centennialvalleyassociation.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
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