spectr17
09-25-2002, 07:38 PM
GLOOMY PICTURE FOR BIGHORNS -- Jim Matthews-ONS 22sep02
San Gabriel bighorns are threatened with extinction due to lions, fire policy
LOS ANGELES -- The San Gabriel Mountains bighorn sheep subpopulation, once considered one of the healthiest and largest of the desert bighorn sheep populations, is now in imminent danger of extinction, according to a report prepared for the Los Angeles County Fish and Game Commission and presented at its meeting here last Thursday.
http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/images/sheep-dbh-ram-ls-virg-small-ds.jpg
Steve Holl, a former U.S. Forest Service biologist who worked with this sheep herd during his tenure with the federal agency and who is now a private consultant, told the Commission that the San Gabriel bighorn population has plummeted from a high of 750 animals in 1980 to the current population estimate of just 90 animals spread over four groups in the mountain range.
"At this point we've got a serious situation and there's enough evidence to questions the viability of the population," said Holl, who was instrumental in having this subpopulation removed from the "sensitive" list when he was with the USFS. He said that three of the four groups could actually be gone within five years unless serious measures are taken to prevent the loss of the species.
Holl suggested in his report that three measures be taken immediately. First, the species needs to go back on the USFS' list of sensitive species, which would force the agency to evaluate projects that might have an impact on the sheep. Second, there needs to be a management plan drafted that has goals and objectives along with a timetable that must be followed. And third, three issues must be addressed immediately so this distinct subpopulation doesn't become extinct -- mountain lion predation, habitat restoration, and stopping further habitat fragmentation.
Mountain lion predation has been identified as one of the critical factors that has led to the decline of this San Gabriel sheep herd and is currently keeping it from recovering, and Holl said that removal of lions in sheep habitat is a high priority to start the recovery process.
Prescribed burning, especially in wilderness areas where sheep occur, is currently not allowed under the Angeles National Forest management plan, but it is an essential component to sheep recover, according to Holl. He said that on the critical winter-spring ranges of the sheep 40 to 65 percent of the habitat is unusable because the vegetation is too old. "The policy that doesn't allow burning, must be changed," said Holl.
As the four groups of sheep become smaller, they are more isolated from the others and habitat fragmentation. Holl said the proposal to reopen Highway 39 and continued expansion of developed recreation sites -- especially ski areas -- need to be closely examined for their impacts on further isolating the sheep herds.
Holl said that if the three management tools he outlined aren't implemented immediately, this subpopulation of sheep could and should be listed as threatened under the Endangered Special Act, which would force some immediate action.
"As a biologist, I'd like to stay away from [federal] listing," said Holl. "My job is to do everything to keep the sheep off that list."
But both the U.S. Forest Service and Department of Fish and Game, which had staff on hand for the presentation, offered little hope that their agencies could respond to the problem quickly.
Bill Brown, chief biologist for the Angeles National Forest, was blunt in saying "unfortunately, nothing happens overnight." He said that while the USFS and DFG had a conference call recently to set up some strategies to work together on helping the sheep, nothing concrete has come of any of the discussions. He also said it would be at least 1 1/2 years, until a new forest management plan is adopted, before controlled burns could take place in wilderness areas to benefit sheep.
"Some of these things [proposed by Holl in his report to the Commission] are going to be very political.... but we know there are some critical actions that need to be taken now," said Brown, referring to the proposal to control mountain lions.
Mountain lion control has been undertaken in California to assist other populations of wild sheep. In the Eastern Sierra, lions have been removed in two areas to assist in the recovery of the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn, and the sheep have responded with increased survival of young and have begun reusing prime habitat they once used but abandoned when lions started preying on them heavily in those areas. In Canada, sheep populations responded very favorably when lions known to be preying on sheep were removed selectively.
Even if lion control could be initiated immediately, the issue of habitat loss would need to be addressed before the herds could recover significantly. Since the population decline first began in 1981, the Angeles National Forest has not initiated a single burn in sheep habitat and many wildfires that could have benefited sheep were extinguished before they reached sheep habitat. While only a portion of the San Gabriel Mountains are in the San Bernardino National Forest, there has only been one small, 500-acre controlled burn this year in that portion of the sheep range.
Holl said that even without lion predation, the population is likely to become extinct in just 35 years under current land management policies.
BIGHORN COMMENTARY -- matthews column -- 25sept02
Bighorn decline due to inaction by DFG, USFS
During the mid-1970s when I was attending college, I regularly hiked up the South Fork of Lytle Creek in the San Gabriel Mountains to watch and photograph bighorn sheep. Seeing 20 to 50 animals a day was not uncommon, and when the rams were battling for the attention of the ewes, you could hear horns crashing together, the sound echoing up and down the canyons.
It seemed incredible that one of the largest and healthiest sheep populations in the nation could exist within eyesight of 20 million people. Back then the San Gabriel sheep population was estimated to be from 500 to 800 animals.
Today, that number has dropped to about 90 animals, and they are in danger of becoming extinct in the San Gabriels. Three of the four herds could be gone in five years or less, according to a new report written by former U.S. Forest Service biologist Steve Holl for the Los Angeles County Fish and Game Commission.
http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/images/sheep-dbh-lil-ram-ls-pose-rocks-virg-lrg.jpg
The report tells a chilling story about how a healthy population can go from being the most robust herd in the lower 48 states to being on the verge of extinction in less than 25 years.
While the report doesn't say so, the decline is a story of incredible hand-wringing and inaction by the two agencies charged with managing the sheep population and its habitat -- the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Fish and Game. By the mid-1980s, it was pretty clear the sheep herd was in decline in the San Gabriels and by the 1990s the seriousness of the problem was frightening. But nothing was done.
The two biggest reasons for the decline -- mountain lion depredation and declining habitat conditions -- had long been suggested as the reasons for the huge downturn by veteran wildlife observers, but the two agencies refused to take action to protect and improve the plight for bighorn sheep.
It wasn't until two years ago, the DFG would even acknowledge that lion predation might be a factor in the decline. It wasn't until this year that any type of habitat restoration effort was initiated -- and that was a single, small controlled burn in the Lytle Creek area. The report done for Los Angeles County is as much a documentation of inaction than it is a prescription for what needs to be done to help the bighorns. All of the biologists and scientists involved with the sheep know what needs to be done, and they knew what was needed long before Holl's report. The problem is getting either of the agencies to make decisive moves to help save this herd.
Will we see mountain lions removed from the San Gabriels in the near future by the DFG? Will the U.S. Forest Service begin an aggressive burning program in sheep habitat? I doubt either will happen soon. I would bet we lose one or more of the subherds before anything is done. Holl suggests that listing the species as endangered, affording it federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, might be the only way to assure that any action occurs.
Listing means the agencies in charge of sheep and its habitat have failed. In my mind, the DFG and USFS are to blame for the decline. Hopefully, Holl's report will be a wake up call for the public to demand that action be taken.
San Gabriel bighorns are threatened with extinction due to lions, fire policy
LOS ANGELES -- The San Gabriel Mountains bighorn sheep subpopulation, once considered one of the healthiest and largest of the desert bighorn sheep populations, is now in imminent danger of extinction, according to a report prepared for the Los Angeles County Fish and Game Commission and presented at its meeting here last Thursday.
http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/images/sheep-dbh-ram-ls-virg-small-ds.jpg
Steve Holl, a former U.S. Forest Service biologist who worked with this sheep herd during his tenure with the federal agency and who is now a private consultant, told the Commission that the San Gabriel bighorn population has plummeted from a high of 750 animals in 1980 to the current population estimate of just 90 animals spread over four groups in the mountain range.
"At this point we've got a serious situation and there's enough evidence to questions the viability of the population," said Holl, who was instrumental in having this subpopulation removed from the "sensitive" list when he was with the USFS. He said that three of the four groups could actually be gone within five years unless serious measures are taken to prevent the loss of the species.
Holl suggested in his report that three measures be taken immediately. First, the species needs to go back on the USFS' list of sensitive species, which would force the agency to evaluate projects that might have an impact on the sheep. Second, there needs to be a management plan drafted that has goals and objectives along with a timetable that must be followed. And third, three issues must be addressed immediately so this distinct subpopulation doesn't become extinct -- mountain lion predation, habitat restoration, and stopping further habitat fragmentation.
Mountain lion predation has been identified as one of the critical factors that has led to the decline of this San Gabriel sheep herd and is currently keeping it from recovering, and Holl said that removal of lions in sheep habitat is a high priority to start the recovery process.
Prescribed burning, especially in wilderness areas where sheep occur, is currently not allowed under the Angeles National Forest management plan, but it is an essential component to sheep recover, according to Holl. He said that on the critical winter-spring ranges of the sheep 40 to 65 percent of the habitat is unusable because the vegetation is too old. "The policy that doesn't allow burning, must be changed," said Holl.
As the four groups of sheep become smaller, they are more isolated from the others and habitat fragmentation. Holl said the proposal to reopen Highway 39 and continued expansion of developed recreation sites -- especially ski areas -- need to be closely examined for their impacts on further isolating the sheep herds.
Holl said that if the three management tools he outlined aren't implemented immediately, this subpopulation of sheep could and should be listed as threatened under the Endangered Special Act, which would force some immediate action.
"As a biologist, I'd like to stay away from [federal] listing," said Holl. "My job is to do everything to keep the sheep off that list."
But both the U.S. Forest Service and Department of Fish and Game, which had staff on hand for the presentation, offered little hope that their agencies could respond to the problem quickly.
Bill Brown, chief biologist for the Angeles National Forest, was blunt in saying "unfortunately, nothing happens overnight." He said that while the USFS and DFG had a conference call recently to set up some strategies to work together on helping the sheep, nothing concrete has come of any of the discussions. He also said it would be at least 1 1/2 years, until a new forest management plan is adopted, before controlled burns could take place in wilderness areas to benefit sheep.
"Some of these things [proposed by Holl in his report to the Commission] are going to be very political.... but we know there are some critical actions that need to be taken now," said Brown, referring to the proposal to control mountain lions.
Mountain lion control has been undertaken in California to assist other populations of wild sheep. In the Eastern Sierra, lions have been removed in two areas to assist in the recovery of the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn, and the sheep have responded with increased survival of young and have begun reusing prime habitat they once used but abandoned when lions started preying on them heavily in those areas. In Canada, sheep populations responded very favorably when lions known to be preying on sheep were removed selectively.
Even if lion control could be initiated immediately, the issue of habitat loss would need to be addressed before the herds could recover significantly. Since the population decline first began in 1981, the Angeles National Forest has not initiated a single burn in sheep habitat and many wildfires that could have benefited sheep were extinguished before they reached sheep habitat. While only a portion of the San Gabriel Mountains are in the San Bernardino National Forest, there has only been one small, 500-acre controlled burn this year in that portion of the sheep range.
Holl said that even without lion predation, the population is likely to become extinct in just 35 years under current land management policies.
BIGHORN COMMENTARY -- matthews column -- 25sept02
Bighorn decline due to inaction by DFG, USFS
During the mid-1970s when I was attending college, I regularly hiked up the South Fork of Lytle Creek in the San Gabriel Mountains to watch and photograph bighorn sheep. Seeing 20 to 50 animals a day was not uncommon, and when the rams were battling for the attention of the ewes, you could hear horns crashing together, the sound echoing up and down the canyons.
It seemed incredible that one of the largest and healthiest sheep populations in the nation could exist within eyesight of 20 million people. Back then the San Gabriel sheep population was estimated to be from 500 to 800 animals.
Today, that number has dropped to about 90 animals, and they are in danger of becoming extinct in the San Gabriels. Three of the four herds could be gone in five years or less, according to a new report written by former U.S. Forest Service biologist Steve Holl for the Los Angeles County Fish and Game Commission.
http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/images/sheep-dbh-lil-ram-ls-pose-rocks-virg-lrg.jpg
The report tells a chilling story about how a healthy population can go from being the most robust herd in the lower 48 states to being on the verge of extinction in less than 25 years.
While the report doesn't say so, the decline is a story of incredible hand-wringing and inaction by the two agencies charged with managing the sheep population and its habitat -- the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Fish and Game. By the mid-1980s, it was pretty clear the sheep herd was in decline in the San Gabriels and by the 1990s the seriousness of the problem was frightening. But nothing was done.
The two biggest reasons for the decline -- mountain lion depredation and declining habitat conditions -- had long been suggested as the reasons for the huge downturn by veteran wildlife observers, but the two agencies refused to take action to protect and improve the plight for bighorn sheep.
It wasn't until two years ago, the DFG would even acknowledge that lion predation might be a factor in the decline. It wasn't until this year that any type of habitat restoration effort was initiated -- and that was a single, small controlled burn in the Lytle Creek area. The report done for Los Angeles County is as much a documentation of inaction than it is a prescription for what needs to be done to help the bighorns. All of the biologists and scientists involved with the sheep know what needs to be done, and they knew what was needed long before Holl's report. The problem is getting either of the agencies to make decisive moves to help save this herd.
Will we see mountain lions removed from the San Gabriels in the near future by the DFG? Will the U.S. Forest Service begin an aggressive burning program in sheep habitat? I doubt either will happen soon. I would bet we lose one or more of the subherds before anything is done. Holl suggests that listing the species as endangered, affording it federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, might be the only way to assure that any action occurs.
Listing means the agencies in charge of sheep and its habitat have failed. In my mind, the DFG and USFS are to blame for the decline. Hopefully, Holl's report will be a wake up call for the public to demand that action be taken.