June 16th - 30th, 2024 Range Rider Update
Range riders have been out riding regularly. All but one of the producers are in the Centennial Valley, and it has been great to catch up with folks. By-and-large, herds have been healthy, although there has been some pneumonia in calves. Temperature swings, especially following the snow in early June, contributed to the bout of pneumonia. Fortunately, the sickness has mostly been doctored for by producers and herds are back to being pretty healthy overall.
The second half of June brought several losses, all due to pneumonia or other natural causes. Range Riders put game cameras on most of the carcasses and documented several grizzly bears coming into the carcasses to scavenge. Other than these observations on carcasses, grizzly bear and wolf activity has been relatively slow.
The Team has been grateful for some beautiful summer days recently, with almost no mosquitos or other bugs so far. A little bit of snow is still hanging on in the mountains and there has been just enough moisture to keep things green. There have been a few big thunderstorms, but luckily no signs of wildfires. Larkspur is in full bloom in the hills right now, which range riders have been keeping an eye on due to its toxicity to cattle.
This year, the Team has been exposed to a new technology, virtual fencing. Several agencies and NGOs have partnered up with ranches in the area to deploy electric collars on cattle. This technology is like the E-fence collars you might use to keep a dog in an unfenced yard. Although CVA was not one of the partners to get the technology on the cattle, the collars are on a few of the participant herds, and it has been an interesting tool to pair with riding. Electric collars can get an idea of where the cattle are at before being ridden through and highlight if there have been any interesting movement patterns that should be investigated. For example, if all the cattle rapidly move from one side of the pasture to another or run through the virtual fence line, it could indicate predation activity. The Team is learning alongside the producers and NGOs about the utility of this technology and look forward to seeing how the rest of the season goes.
CVA game cameras, range riders, and community members have been busy documenting wildlife activity throughout the Centennial Valley. Predator activity has by-and-large remained relatively slow, although carcasses did draw in a few bears in one area. Nine grizzly bear observations were made in the second half of June. This included one sighting and nine game camera events associated with carcasses. Observations included at least three individuals, all adults or subadults.
The Team made five black bear observations, all were on game cameras, and included at least two different individuals.
There were two wolf observations over the last couple weeks. Observations were all on game camera, and included at least two individuals.
The Team has been documenting regular moose, deer, elk, and pronghorn activity throughout the Centennial Valley, both via game camera and observation. These species are mostly done calving, and with increasing temperatures have transitioned to more forested and mid-elevation areas.
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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