June 1st - 15th Range Rider Update
Most of the cattle herds the Range Rider Team rides through are in the Valley now, with a few more set to arrive later in the month. Range Riders are out riding more regularly as well as setting and checking game cameras, meeting the community, and getting oriented with the Valley. There have been three cattle deaths due to larkspur poisoning that were reported to the Team, but no depredations or other conflict.
The Team is happy to report that the grass is looking pretty good! A little more than 3” of rain was logged on the north side of the Valley in the last couple weeks. As usual, the Team has been watching out for poisonous plants and documented larkspur popping-up. The plants that are about 6” tall and it’s expected to really shoot up with the warm weather.
CVA also hosted a small workshop with Graeme McDougal of Wildlife Services and Kim Johnston with People and Carnivores. Graeme talked about identifying depredations and Kim talked about bear biology and safety. Both were very informative for range riding efforts and for others in the region dealing with livestock-predator conflict.
There was no grizzly bear activity reported in the last two weeks. The Team suspects that grizzly bears are keying into newborn elk, deer, and pronghorn fawns being born. Ungulates calve throughout the Valley, but if you are recreating, be extra vigilant in areas with low visibility, including areas of tall sagebrush.
The Team had one black bear observation on a game camera in the north-central portion of the Valley, and a gray wolf observation on a game camera in the south-central portion of the Valley.
Moose, deer, elk, and pronghorn have been observed consistently, including many newborn calves and fawns. Most observations have been at lower elevations, but as the summer progresses more observations may come from the foothills and higher elevations.
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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