Sage Grouse News

Get the latest news on sage grouse conservation around Idaho in fall newsletter. It includes information on the Owyhee juniper control project and a story by the Conservancy's ecologist, Alan Sands.

Sage grouse photo by Bob Griffith.

Long Distance Pronghorns

One of the longest mammal migrations remaining on the continent occurs in southcentral Idaho, a recent study commissioned by the Wildlife Conservation S0ciety and Lava Lake Institute found.

The study found that pronghorns annually move from the Pioneer Mountains across Craters of the Moon and the Idaho National Laboratory to the Beaverhead Mountains--a distance of 160 miles.

At one point, the migration path is less than 200 yards wide.

The Wildlife Conservation Society used radio collars and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to track the pronghorn movements.

This research demonstrates the importance of the Pioneer Mountains and Craters of the Moon area. Only 10% of the ranches in this area are protected by conservation easements. Energy development has been proposed.

Mammal migrations are among the most spectacular ecological phenomena on our planet.

The pronghorn is a survivor from the Pleistocene, an American original. Undoubtedly, these animals have been following this route for thousands of years.

Let's work together to make sure they can keep on moving. --Matt Miller

Ignite Boise

Five minutes, 20 slides. What would you say?

That's the premise of Ignite Boise, a fun event tomorrow night--Thursday, November 12--at 7 pm at the Egyptian Theatre in downtown Boise.

The Nature Conservancy's Matt Miller will be one of the speakers, with his presentation "How Eating Guinea Pigs Can Save the World (or at least part of it)," based on his experiences in South America.

While the event is advertised as sold out, all unused tickets will be released at 6:30 pm. The folks putting on this event say they have yet to have to turn someone away.

So come out and experience some inspiring, weird and innovative ideas from 15 Boise speakers. We hope to see you there!

Fall Fishing at Silver Creek

For most, fishing season may seem like a distant memory. But the season remains open through November 30 at Silver Creek Preserve.

And the fishing has been fantastic.

You can still find pods of large trout gulping mayflies and midges. Outdoor reporters David Sikes and Bryan Hendricks recently experienced a fantastic day on the preserve, catching several trophy trout. Read the story.

They had the best luck on tiny, tiny flies--like #26 baetis. This is not easy fishing, but there are still feeding fish and excellent hatches.

The crowds are mostly gone so you can have large stretches of stream to yourself. Moose and elk are easily seen, and large flocks of waterfowl circle overhead. On a beautiful fall day, Silver Creek is a great place to be. Get out and enjoy it!--Matt Miller

In The News

Congress yesterday approved funding for a Forest Legacy project that will fund conservation agreements that protect private working forests and wildlife habitat at McArthur Lake, located between Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry.

The funding will be used to purchase 3700 acres of permanent conservation agreements with the landowner, Forest Capital Partners, ensuring that the land will remain forest and provide public access, timber supply and jobs for the local economy.

The Nature Conservancy negotiated the easements. Read more.

Read the Spokane Spokseman Review's coverage.

David Sikes of the Corpus Christi Caller Times visited Idaho to see how the Conservancy works with anglers and hunters on conservation projects.

His story, Conservation Done Right, covers several of our projects in southern Idaho.

Congratulations to Lava Lake Land & Livestock

The Nature Conservancy extends its congratulations to our conservation partner, Lava Lake Land & Livestock, for recently being awarded the Cecil D. Andrus Leadership Award for Sustainability and Conservation by Sustainable Northwest, as well as national awards from the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

Mike Stevens, president of Lava Lake, summed up Lava Lake's philosophy this way: “The sheep and wildlife that use our lands have the same basic needs. They both require traveling long ranges to find forage. Why not preserve long-term viability for all?”

Lava Lake has been an important partner of The Nature Conservancy for the past nine years.

The ranch began its work by commmissioning a Conservancy ecologist to survey and create conservation and grazing management plans for the entire ranch, which were completed in 2004.

Lava Lake also donated a 7500-acre conservation easement to the Conservancy, the largest conservation easement to date in Idaho.

As its stated purpose is for its ranching operation to contribute to its conservation goals, Lava Lake remains actively engaged with Conservancy research and conservation efforts.

Lava Lake also has its own non-profit institute dedicated to rangeland research.

This year, wool from Lava Lake sheep was used in a blanket commissioned by the Design for a Living World exhibit, sponsored by the Conservancy.

This exhibit, shown at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum in New York, showcased artwork from sustainably produced materials around the world.

Dutch artist Christien Miendertsma believes that embedded in the wool are stories from the land.

The story of Lava Lake has been one of ranching working to the benefit of conservation.

Three prestigious national awards in one year is a remarkable achievement--and a strong testament to the success of Lava Lake's conservation work. We extend our congratulations to our partners at Lava Lake--and look forward to continuing our work that benefits the land, wildlife and ranching.

Photograph of wool blanket copyright Roel Van Tour; all other photographs copyright Ami Vitale.

Caddis Art

If you fly fish or have ever picked up a rock from an Idaho stream, you probably are well familiar with caddis fly larvae and their cases.

Caddis flies--a common aquatic insect in many Idaho rivers and streams--live as larvae on the stream bottom.

Caddis larvae use silk to spin protective cases. They incorporate bits of gravel, sand, crustacean shells, plant matter and other debris into their shell. The result looks like a dark tube, attached to rocks.

French artist Hubert Duprat put pieces of gold and jewels with caddis larvae in an aquarium. The results are astounding, as you can see above. See more photos of Duprat's work.

Caddis flies generally need clean water to survive--and fortunately, in Idaho, they can be found in great numbers from Silver Creek to the Salmon River, from the Henry's Fork to the Boise River. The next time you're walking along your favorite stream, pick up a rock and check it out for the caddis fly's intricate work.

Juniper Chomp

Photographs by Ken Miracle.

Junipers are a native tree in Idaho. So why is The Nature Conservancy helping to chomp them up?

Junipers may be native, but they are still spreading rapidly into sagebrush country--far too rapidly for wildlife. Why?

Improper grazing management, fire suppression and possibly climate change have created conditions for junipers to encroach and overtake sagebrush habitat.

In the Owyhees, analysts estimate that junipers are expanding their range by 2500 acres per year.

Sage grouse require open areas to display in the spring time. Junipers provide the perfect perch for raptors, so the grouse avoid these areas. In the shade of junipers, grasses and other plants important for wildlife disappear--leading also to increased likelihood of soil erosion.

When juniper encroaches, it affects the whole ecosystem.

Enter the juniper crunching machine. The Nature Conservancy is working the the Owyhee Local Sage Grouse Working Group and Jordan Valley Coordinated Weed Management Area to use this machine--called a juniper masticator--to chomp up the spreading junipers.

The project is focusing on meadow areas important for sage grouse.

The machine is relatively light so it has a very low impact on sagebrush and native grasses. It literally chomps up the entire juniper tree. The masticator chomps the tree all the way the ground--if even one branch remains, the juniper just regrows.

When the project is finished, nice meadows with sagebrush and native grasses will be all that remains--perfect for sage grouse and other wildlife.

The masticator leaves nothing but mulch, so the chomped up juniper is returned to the soil.

This is a demonstration project, and one of the hopes is that this form of juniper control can be applied to private ranchlands and provide a new source of income to ranchers.

If proven cost effective, the chomped-up juniper would be sold for biofuel or mulch--a sustainable industry that would also improve habitat conditions in the Owyhees and other sagebrush habitat.--Matt Miller

Tumbling Tumbleweeds

Story and photos by Ginny Glasscock, Silver Creek Preserve assistant manager

Drifting along…

Wide open spaces, a coyote howling against a full moon, tumbleweeds rolling across the prairie ….. except this last Western icon is not part of the natural landscape!

A tumbleweed may be one of several plant species, mostly introduced as hitchhikers in grain cargo shipments from Russia and Europe as early as the late 1800s.

They become a true tumbleweed when the stem of the dry, mature plant breaks off in the wind, leaving the whole above-ground section free to whirl away and spread seeds as it travels.

At The Nature Conservancy’s Silver Creek Preserve, the predominant type is the “tumbling mustard.”

It is less dense and thorny than the Russian thistle tumbleweed. These lightweight clusters bounce and skip along roads and fields in a stiff breeze.

They often end up in Silver Creek, rolling along on top of the water’s surface if the wind is strong enough.

While some people think of tumbleweeds as innocuous, or even romantic, many consider them an unsightly nuisance.

They pile up against any leeward obstruction, including road bank , gates, and fences. Their efficient seed dispersal method allows invasive weeds to displace native vegetation. And their tinder-dry branches are a fire hazard in the arid Idaho desert.

Balls of tumbleweeds are removed from the deck and perimeter of the Silver Creek Visitor Center after windstorms for this very reason.

But for all their drawbacks, tumbleweeds continue to inspire the imagination. We all know the famous cowboy song, penned by Bob Nolan of the Sons of the Pioneers in 1932.

Besides being recorded by many famous country and western singers, this song has also been covered by more unlikely artists, such as Pat Boone Elvis Presley, Clint Eastwood, and the Supremes.

The name “tumbleweed” has been appropriated for commercial use, including two movies (1925 and 1999), restaurants, clothing, a line of cowboy gear, a children’s gymnastics chain, a singing group, a comic strip, and dancehalls in Texas and Oklahoma.

An Arizona town decorates a tumbleweed each December for its Christmas tree. You can contact companies in Utah, Texas, Arizona, and Kansas to actually purchase a real tumbleweed and have it shipped to you.

Prairie Tumbleweed Farms markets logo T-shirts. Curious Country Creations is having a sale on their Giant Western Tumbleweed, marked down to $28.99 from $40.

Or better yet, from now until winter, you can admire the Silver Creek tumbleweeds for free !

Salmon Back in Big Springs Creek

Welcome home, salmon.

The Nature Conservancy has been working with partners in the Pahsimeroi River to remove barriers to fish migration, increase river flows when salmon are in the river and to reconnect tributary streams with the Pahsimeroi so salmon can access them.

The goal, of course, was to allow migrating salmon access to spawning areas they haven’t been able to reach for decades.

Has it worked?

Last year, salmon counts in the Upper Pahsimeroi revealed one salmon redd (spawning area) in Big Springs Creek.

For years, one or two hardy salmon made it up to Big Springs Creek. A diversion and cross ditch kept the rest of the salmon out of this habitat.

This year (with the diversion removed), preliminary counts show 69 redds—with salmon occupying much of the suitable habitat in Big Springs Creek and other tributaries.

This result was also made possible by the Conservancy’s purchase of a ranch in the Pahsimeroi Valley, which it then sold to organic beef ranchers Glenn and Caryl Elzinga. This partnership enabled the elimination of the diversion and cross ditch.

Almost half of the redds are located on Big Springs Ranch, recently protected by the Conservancy through a conservation easement.

So this year, we can truly say: Welcome home, salmon.