I often ask myself how I got so lucky when I’m out in the field hiking the canyons and foothills of central Washington. After all, how many people can say that the work they do for a living is exactly what they’d want to be doing in their leisure time? Observing the landscape, exploring wild places, and (of course) learning all the plants I can get my hands on…none of this even feels like work to me. Out in the field, there are days when I can’t keep a cheesy grin off my face, simply because I’m in awe of my own luck at having found my passion. However, that giddy feeling was never so strong as it was these past two days, when I was introduced to the cutest endangered species there ever was…the unforgettable pygmy rabbit!
Pygmy rabbits are the most critically endangered species in Washington, due mainly to habitat loss. The Department of Fish and Wildlife is trying to help boost their population by keeping rabbits in protected enclosures to breed, then trapping them, taking data on them, and releasing the young into the wild. Luckily for us CLM interns, our supervisor Erik volunteered us to help out with the trapping. The result was the most fun two days of work I’ve ever had!
The smallest rabbit we captured! The young ones were incredibly docile.
We used two methods to capture the rabbits. The first was setting live traps in the enclosures at the entrances of burrows, and plugging the other exits. Pretty straightforward, but also time-consuming. The second, more exciting method was the herding–it was like a cattle drive, but with bunnies! It was also the most comical thing I’ve ever had to do for work. The enclosure was divided into “funnels” with traps at the narrow end, and the burrows were all plugged. Then, everyone took two pillow cases, lined up at the wide end, and slowly started walking forward, flapping our pillow cases wildly as we went. Each time we saw a rabbit, we had to keep it moving forward, towards the trap. The best thing about this method was the escalating excitement as more rabbits appeared, and then the final push at the end to get them safely into the trap. I won’t even try to describe how goofy we all looked flapping and yelling, since words can’t possibly do it justice. Once the bunnies were captured, we weighed them, sexed them, took tissue samples, and gave them a flea treatment. This meant lots of rabbit handling time–yay!!! Finally, we took the young ones out of the enclosure to pre-determined release points, and set them free!
Helping collect data meant bunny snuggling time!
Katherine releases a rabbit!
Although the pygmy rabbits were the highlight of the past two weeks, our ESR work also continues to be fun and rewarding. We did recon of post-fire treatment at some really incredible sites, and I continued to geek out as I saw new plants beginning to flower (the penstemon is starting now, woohoo!) As June rolls around, I’m preparing myself for hotter temperatures, dustier conditions, and the threat of wildfire. But for now, I’m just enjoying the beauty of Central Washington in the spring, and all of the amazing things I get to do here.
A site near Salmon Creek
My first horned lizard! I had no idea how tiny they were.
Katherine Schneider, BLM, Wenatchee WA Field Office