scholarly journals Distribution of trespass cannabis cultivation and its risk to sensitive forest predators in California and Southern Oregon

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0256273
Author(s):  
Greta M. Wengert ◽  
J. Mark Higley ◽  
Mourad W. Gabriel ◽  
Heather Rustigian-Romsos ◽  
Wayne D. Spencer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Public Lands ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
High Likelihood ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Species Of Conservation Concern ◽  
Strix Occidentalis Caurina

Illegal cannabis cultivation on public lands has emerged as a major threat to wildlife in California and southern Oregon due to the rampant use of pesticides, habitat destruction, and water diversions associated with trespass grow sites. The spatial distribution of cultivation sites, and the factors influencing where they are placed, remain largely unknown due to covert siting practices and limited surveillance funding. We obtained cannabis grow-site locality data from law enforcement agencies and used them to model the potential distribution of cultivation sites in forested regions of California and southern Oregon using maximum entropy (MaxEnt) methods. We mapped the likely distribution of trespass cannabis cultivation sites and identified environmental variables influencing where growers establish their plots to better understand the cumulative impacts of trespass cannabis cultivation on wildlife. We overlaid the resulting grow-site risk maps with habitat distribution maps for three forest species of conservation concern: Pacific fisher (Pekania pennanti), Humboldt marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis), and northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). Results indicate that cannabis cultivation is fairly predictably distributed on public lands in low to mid-elevation (~800-1600m) forests and on moderate slopes (~30–60%). Somewhat paradoxically, results also suggest that growers either preferred sites inside of recently disturbed vegetation (especially those burned 8–12 years prior to cultivation) or well outside (>500m) of recent disturbance, perhaps indicating avoidance of open edges. We ground-truthed the model by surveying randomly selected stream courses for cultivation site presence in subsets of the modeling region and found previously undiscovered sites mostly within areas with predicted high likelihood of grow-site occurrence. Moderate to high-likelihood areas of trespass cultivation overlapped with 40 to 48% of modeled habitats of the three sensitive species. For the endangered southern Sierra Nevada fisher population, moderate-high likelihood growing areas overlapped with over 37% of modeled fisher denning habitat and with 100% of annual female fisher home ranges (mean overlap = 48.0% + 27.0 SD; n = 134) in two intensively studied populations on the Sierra National Forest. Locating and reclaiming contaminated cannabis grow sites by removing all environmental contaminants should be a high priority for resource managers.

Cybaeus (Araneae: Cybaeidae): the aspenicolens species group of the Californian clade

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4926 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-244
Author(s):  
ROBB BENNETT ◽  
CLAUDIA COPLEY ◽  
DARREN COPLEY
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Identification Key ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Kern County ◽  
East Central ◽  
Central California ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Moist Forest ◽  
Species Groups

Species of North American Cybaeus L. Koch (Araneae: RTA clade: Cybaeidae) are common moist-forest spiders classified in Holarctic and Californian clades. Here, in the second paper in a planned series reviewing the six Californian clade species groups, we review the species of the aspenicolens group. We recognize five species in two subgroups: the aspenicolens subgroup (Cybaeus aspenicolens Chamberlin & Ivie, C. blasbes Chamberlin & Ivie, and C. coylei Bennett spec. nov.) and the fraxineus subgroup (C. fraxineus Bennett spec. nov. and C. thermydrinos Bennett). The species of the aspenicolens group have very restricted distributions on the western slopes of the central and southern Sierra Nevada mountain range from Tuolumne County south to northern Kern County in east central California, U.S.A. Descriptions, illustrations, distribution maps, and an identification key are provided for the five species as well as a discussion of conservation issues of relevance to the group. 

Cybaeus (Araneae: Cybaeidae): the consocius species group of the Californian clade

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4965 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-436
Author(s):  
ROBB BENNETT ◽  
CLAUDIA COPLEY ◽  
DARREN COPLEY
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Identification Key ◽  
Central Coast ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
The Third ◽  
Sierra Nevada Mountains ◽  
Moist Forest ◽  
Species Groups

Species of North American Cybaeus L. Koch (Araneae: RTA clade: Cybaeidae) are common moist-forest spiders classified in Holarctic and Californian clades. Here, in the third paper in a planned series reviewing the six Californian clade species groups, we review the species of the consocius group. We recognize nine species: Cybaeus consocius Chamberlin & Ivie, C. hesper Chamberlin & Ivie, C. hummeli Bennett spec. nov., C. opulentus spec. nov., C. pan Bennett spec. nov., C. penedentatus Bennett, C. simplex Roth, C. ubicki Bennett spec. nov., and C. vulpinus Bennett. Eight of these species have restricted distributions in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California, U.S.A (C. opulentus, C. pan spec. nov., and C. vulpinus) or the central coast of western California (C. consocius, C. hesper, C. hummeli spec. nov., C. penedentatus, and C. ubicki spec. nov.); a single species (C. simplex), is relatively widely distributed in western Oregon, U.S.A. Descriptions, illustrations, distribution maps, and an identification key are provided as well as a discussion of conservation issues of relevance to the group. 

Cybaeus (Araneae: Cybaeidae) in the Nearctic: the devius and tardatus species groups of the Californian clade

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5026 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-479
Author(s):  
ROBB BENNETT ◽  
CLAUDIA COPLEY ◽  
DARREN COPLEY
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
North American ◽  
Southern Coast ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Identification Keys ◽  
Sierra Nevada Mountains ◽  
Moist Forest ◽  
Species Groups

Species of North American Cybaeus L. Koch (Araneae: RTA clade: Cybaeidae) are moist-forest spiders classified in Holarctic and Californian clades. Here, in the fourth paper in a planned series reviewing the six Californian clade species groups, we review the species of the devius and tardatus groups. We recognize five species in the devius group (Cybaeus bilectus Bennett spec. nov., C. bryoncavus Bennett spec. nov., C. devius Chamberlin & Ivie, C. echo Bennett spec. nov., and C. wilsonia Bennett spec. nov.) and four in the tardatus group (C. orarius Bennett spec. nov., C. piazzai Bennett spec. nov., C. tardatus Chamberlin, and C. topanga Bennett spec. nov.). All of these species are rarely encountered and have restricted distributions either in the central and southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of eastern California, U.S.A (devius group) or the southern coast of western California (tardatus group). Some of these species are likely endangered or already extinct; most have not been seen in many decades and none have been collected more recently than 1995. Descriptions, illustrations, distribution maps, and identification keys are provided as well as a discussion of conservation issues of relevance to the group.  

scholarly journals Using forensic geochemistry via fish otoliths to investigate an illegal fish introduction

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (11) ◽  
pp. 1778-1783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel L. Bourret ◽  
Niall G. Clancy
Keyword(s):  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Bull Trout ◽  
Introduced Fish ◽  
Fish Introduction ◽  
Oncorhynchus Clarkii ◽  
Ecosystem Impacts ◽  
Swan Lake ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Species Of Conservation Concern ◽  
Fish Otoliths

Illegal fish introductions create some of the most challenging problems for resource managers because of their potential to harm existing recreational fisheries and their impact on species of conservation concern. Determining the origin of a suspected illegal fish introduction can aid managers in preventing the colonization and subsequent ecosystem impacts of introduced species. In this study, we used forensic geochemistry via fish otoliths to investigate an illegal walleye (Sander vitreus) introduction in Swan Lake, Montana, which provides critical habitat for threatened bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and native westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii). Core to edge geochemical profiles of 87Sr/86Sr and Sr/Ca ratios in the walleye otoliths revealed that these fish had been introduced to Swan Lake within the past growing season, and their geochemical signature matched that of walleye sampled from Lake Helena, Montana, located 309 road kilometres away. This research highlights application of a tool fisheries managers can use to identify the natal waterbody source of illegally introduced fish.

scholarly journals Control of plague vectors on diurnal rodents in the Sierra Nevada of California by use of insecticide bait-boxes

1960 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan M. Barnes ◽  
Leo Kartman
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Ground Squirrel ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Flea Species ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Sierra Nevada Mountains ◽  
Citellus Lateralis ◽  
Residual Control

Trials were conducted in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California to test the effectiveness of 10% DDT dust in insecticide bait-box stations against the fleas of native diurnal rodents. The principle host species involved were the chipmunks Eutamias amoenus and E. speciosus, and the golden-mantled ground squirrel, Citellus lateralis. The important flea species were Monopsyllus eumolpi and M. ciliatus on chipmunks, and Diamanus montanus and Oropsylla idahoensis on ground squirrels. When baited daily for 12 days and furnished with 50 g. of 10% DDT dust, the bait-box stations reduced fleas strikingly within 24 hr., but very little residual control was obtained. A second application in which boxes were baited only twice weekly but for 28 days, also resulted in rapid knockdown and a residual control still effective 42 days after removal of the bait-boxes. The effect of the DDT was apparent at a distance of 400 ft. from the nearest bait-box due to the relatively extensive home ranges of the hosts. Although, in these trials, bait-box stations were spaced 100 ft. apart, 200 ft. spacing probably would be as effective with these hosts.

scholarly journals Bimodal habitat use in brood parasitic Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) revealed by GPS telemetry

The Auk ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 136 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Csaba Moskát ◽  
Miklós Bán ◽  
Attila Fülöp ◽  
Judit Bereczki ◽  
Márk E Hauber
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Utilization Distribution ◽  
Minimum Convex Polygon ◽  
Reed Beds ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Distribution Maps

Abstract Obligate brood parasitic birds have evolved a rare avian strategy for reproduction by laying eggs in the nests of other species. In doing so, their breeding ranges, but not necessarily their foraging habitats, have become intimately related to the nesting territories of their hosts. We studied home range sizes and distribution patterns in Common Cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) on their breeding grounds in central Hungary, where cuckoos parasitize only Great Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) in channel-side reed-beds at a high frequency (>50%). The geographic coordinates of tagged cuckoos were monitored by high-precision, remotely downloadable non-Platform Terminal Transmitter global positioning system (GPS) loggers, attached to 9 females and 6 males. Our results revealed bimodal use of habitat patches: (1) the home ranges of male and female cuckoos were packed densely along the channels where the hosts breed, and their distribution maps had high overlaps between sexes; (2) ~71% of cuckoos also visited nearby woodland patches, presumably for foraging, where the host species was not present. The size of cuckoo home ranges varied to an unusually great extent: 0.3–185 km2 as calculated by the minimum convex polygon method (85%), or 1–17 km2 when calculated by the more suitable kernel density estimation (KDE) method (Utilization Distribution 85%) for patchy habitats. Male and female cuckoos had similar home range sizes as estimated by the KDE method, consisting of 1–4 areas within the 2 habitat types of channel reed-beds and woodlands. No preference was revealed for night roosting locations between the 2 habitats or sexes. Female cuckoos were more likely to use reed-beds in the afternoons, when females parasitize host nests. Remote downloadable GPS methods offer an effective way of tracking cuckoos across large areas, but the estimation of home range sizes requires caution due to this species’ patchy and disconnected habitat use.

Idaho's Timber Harvest Projections by Ownership to 2000: An Issue-Based Survey of Resource Managers

1995 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-113
Author(s):  
Craig M. Hamanishi ◽  
Francis G. Wagner ◽  
Jay O'Laughlin ◽  
Thomas M. Gorman
Keyword(s):  
Public Lands ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Forest Industry ◽  
Cumulative Impacts ◽  
Forest Resource ◽  
Base Period ◽  
Sensitive Species ◽  
Private Lands ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Year 2000

Abstract Fifty of Idaho's forest resource managers were queried about their outlook for sawtimber harvests and issues impacting future harvest levels. Identical questionnaires were sent to managers representing national forests, other public lands, forest industry, and nonindustrial private lands. Managers were first asked to estimate the impacts of 12 specific issues on past and future harvest levels, and then to provide estimates of future harvest levels for the lands directly under their control or jurisdiction. Managers expected sawtimber harvests in Idaho to decline through the year 2000. Idaho harvest levels between 1994 and 1996 were expected to fall 4.6% from average levels in the base period of 1991-1993, with further declines of 14.6% expected in 1997-2000. Across all ownerships, the most significant issues expected to affect harvest levels in Idaho are threatened, endangered, and sensitive species; cumulative impacts; and new forestry techniques. West. J. Appl. For. 10(3):109-113.

scholarly journals Reducing the impact of summer cattle grazing on water quality in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California: a proposal

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Derlet ◽  
Charles R. Goldman ◽  
Michael J. Connor
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Public Lands ◽  
Organic Pollution ◽  
Cattle Grazing ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Sierra Nevada Mountains ◽  
The Impact

The Sierra Nevada Mountain range serves as an important source of drinking water for the State of California. However, summer cattle grazing on federal lands affects the overall water quality yield from this essential watershed as cattle manure is washed into the lakes and streams or directly deposited into these bodies of water. This organic pollution introduces harmful microorganisms and also provides nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus which increase algae growth causing eutrophication of otherwise naturally oligotrophic mountain lakes and streams. Disinfection and filtration of this water by municipal water districts after it flows downstream will become increasingly costly. This will be compounded by increasing surface water temperatures and the potential for toxins release by cyanobacteria blooms. With increasing demands for clean water for a state population approaching 40 million, steps need to be implemented to mitigate the impact of cattle on the Sierra Nevada watershed. Compared to lower elevations, high elevation grazing has the greatest impact on the watershed because of fragile unforgiving ecosystems. The societal costs from non-point pollution exceed the benefit achieved through grazing of relatively few cattle at the higher elevations. We propose limiting summer cattle grazing on public lands to lower elevations, with a final goal of allowing summer grazing on public lands only below 1,500 m elevation in the Central and Northern Sierra and 2,000 m elevation in the Southern Sierra.

Paddlefish Management, Propagation, and Conservation in the 21st Century

2009 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
The United States ◽  
Habitat Destruction ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
The Status ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Similar Survey

<em>Abstract</em>.—The status of paddlefish <em>Polyodon spathula </em>in the United States was first described in two surveys published in 1986 and 1997; in this paper, we report the results of a similar survey of state and federal agency personnel that we conducted in 2006. From the 1970s through the 1990s, the status of paddlefish stocks was on a downward trend throughout much of the species’ range. The 2006 survey results suggest that the status of paddlefish stocks has improved since the first survey was conducted; 17 of 26 states in 2006 reported that their paddlefish populations were stable or increasing, compared to only 14 states in 1983 and 1994. The number of states with closed fisheries (i.e., no commercial or sport harvest) increased to 12 in 2006 from 8 in 1983. The number of states reporting declining or stable/declining paddlefish populations dropped from seven states in 1983 to only three states in 2006. The two principal reasons cited for reported declines have remained the same for more than three decades: habitat loss and overfishing. Two states where paddlefish were listed as extirpated (New York and Pennsylvania) have begun restoration efforts that may one day allow the status of paddlefish in those states to be changed. As long as the demand for caviar remains strong, pressure on paddlefish stocks will undoubtedly remain high in the seven states where they are commercially exploited. However, earlier fears of a basin-wide collapse in paddlefish stocks should continue to diminish if resource managers are successful in combating overfishing and continued habitat destruction, which will always threaten the long-term viability of paddlefish stocks throughout the Mississippi River basin.

Habitat selection by parturient elk (Cervus elaphus) in agricultural and forested landscapes

2010 ◽  
Vol 88 (10) ◽  
pp. 968-976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan K. Brook
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Minimum Convex Polygon ◽  
Forage Crops ◽  
Resource Managers

I examined the home range and habitat selection of 146 radio-collared female elk ( Cervus elaphus L., 1758) from 2002 to 2005 during the calving period (15 May to 24 June). I determined the proportion of home ranges of parturient cow elk during the calving period and the proportion of birthing sites of elk that were in either forested protected areas or the adjacent fragmented agriculture-dominated matrix in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. Overall, 73% of the minimum convex polygon home ranges were entirely within a protected area, 6% were only on farmland, and 21% included both. Home ranges including farmland and protected area (mean = 17.9 km2) were 3.8 times larger than those entirely inside a protected area (mean = 4.7 km2) or only on farmland (mean = 4.5 km2) (U = –2.79, P = 0.005). Female elk remaining solely in protected areas selected deciduous and mixedwood forest, marsh and fen, and water at the scale of the home range. Elk exclusively on farmland selected forage crops only. At the scale of the birthing site, females on farmland and those in protected areas selected only deciduous forest, and both types avoided agricultural cropland and marsh and fen. Identification of calving habitat will allow resource managers to manage bovine tuberculosis in the population more effectively.

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