Hello!

The past month here at the Carlsbad, NM field office has kept me very busy. Most of my recent task has been focused on birds, which I have absolutely no complaints about! As I believe I mentioned in my post from last month, I developed and was preparing to implement a protocol for surveying scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) for future management of the species. As it is a game species, it is important for this field office to keep tabs on the populations so the natural resource can be shared with public land users under the paradigm of sustainability. What I didn’t say before but what I’ll admit now, is that I first thought of this task as a cinch, but I quickly discoverd how difficult it was to create your own protocol that will be unique to the environment, culture, and condition of the land you’re working with. I couldn’t just translate one protocol from one region to the next, and I also didn’t have the same resources to work with. Needless to say, after some discussions and adaptations I accomplished the task, and over the past few weeks I have been putting it in practice successfully.

Two weeks ago I was able to participate in the celebration that is Public Lands Day. I was fortunate enough to help out at the BLM’s booth at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park. It was my first time getting to explore the facility in full. Overall, I found it to be one of those gems you stumble upon while living out your busy life. I had no idea they had so much biodiversity there, so although all of the displays and exhibits were exemplary, they don’t get enough attention… Anyway, I helped out at the booth by explaining the SOS program and melding that with the idea of successful restoration and wildlife management to fit the culture of the local community.

This week the wildlife crew took a nice little mid-week field trip to the Milnesand Prairie Preserve near the border of Texas and eastern New Mexico. Oh, and by “nice” I mean early, and by “early” I mean waking up at 3:00am to drive 2 hours to our work site. Only joking, or at least… it was a very enjoyable trip despite the extremely early morning. Our goal for this trip was to shadow a biologist who performs regular roadside surveys for the Lesser Prairie Chicken [(Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) for now on LPC]. The LPC is a federally threatened species of grouse that inhabits the arid and shortgrass grasslands in the west. Its habitat over the past century has been extremely reduced, unfortunately, and the species population has suffered. After solidifying our understanding of the surveying methods, the biologist took us on a tour of the prairie preserve where we scouted out old lekking grounds for LPCs as well as observing the different management practices seen throughout the property. The biologist we worked with was so informational, too! I loved every minute of listening to her talk. She was a local of the area, and has been working there for the past decade, so no wonder she served as such an amazing encyclopedia.

Interesting fact: I recently learned that a month ago a federal judge vacated the federal protection of the species temporarily from its listing in 2014. For reasons that are far too complicated for myself to explain, let alone understand completely, this action was taken. I’m not going to muddle your mind with my biased opinions, aside from the openingly admitted fact that this news initially frustrated me deeply for understandable reasons. However, I think this is only a temporary halt in the species’ protection.

Aside from work, here are a few representative pictures of my recent adventures!

That’s all for now! I only have one more month left, so be prepared for my concluding post of my experience in November!

P.S. October has thus far been an incredibly wet month here in Carlsbad. Is it “normal”? Can’t say, but it’s keeping the desert flora pretty rich in greenery.

Armand Cann
Carlsbad NM Field Office, Bureau of Land Management