July 1st - 15th Range Rider Update
Range Riders have been out regularly checking cattle, documenting wildlife activity, maintaining equipment, and communicating with participants. Things have gone very well in the last two weeks, and there isn’t too much to report on. All of the participant cattle are in the Valley at this point, and the Team is making rounds trying to get to each herd as often as possible.
The Team has documented consistent grizzly bear and wolf activity throughout the eastern half of the Valley. There have been no conflicts or depredations so far. Based on previous years, expect to start seeing more activity, especially from grizzly bears, in August. This coincides with early stages of hyperphagia.
It has been very warm and sunny in the Centennial Valley over the past couple weeks. The landscape is starting to dry out a bit, although sporadic rain events have been keeping things green. The tall larkspur looks like it will be blooming soon. Grass around the valley, especially up in the hills, is growing like crazy compared to last year. Areas with mountain brome and basin wildrye are especially noticeable, up to 3-4 feet tall.
The Team recorded 6 grizzly bear observations (4-5 individuals). This included 4 game camera events and 2 sightings. Although there has not been conflict to speak of thus far, more conflicts occur starting in August due to hyperphagia.
There were 3 black bear observations, all of which were of the same bear on game camera.
The Team had 3 wolf observations (1-2 individuals), all on game cameras. Two of the three events included grey-brown individuals and the third was a nighttime photo and indiscernible.
A CVA game camera captured one blurry picture of a mountain lion, which doesn’t happen often!
Game cameras captured a ton of deer and elk events, especially up in higher elevation areas in or near trees. Many of the observations where of females with babies in tow. There were also a handful of bucks and bulls showing some nice new antler growth.
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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