Critters of Idaho

Our little office crew of CLM interns have been busy working on completing a GIS map of fences along 2 allotments in our field office. Many days this means driving for up to an hour and a half to the site that needs “ground truthing” for certain features and confirmation of fences. We’ve gotten proficient at using Avenza on our mobile devices and converting the data to allow compatibility for ArcMap. We’ve also gotten pretty good at figuring out if a figure in the distance is actually a cow or a rock. Inexperienced range techs may see the rock moving, but that doesn’t mean it’s a cow, the heat can fool you!

Coworker searching for fences, cows, and canyons

Every so often we get the chance to follow along and perform a riparian area management protocol called Proper Functioning Condition Assessment. Our mentors then take us through the questionnaire at the end of the transect, to determine if the riparian area and stream are properly functioning or not

On one of the many eventful days out in the field, I found some bear scat. The following week, a coworker found one of these little horny toads. They are pretty much my favorite wildlife we’ve found out in these deserts. As cute as they are, apparently some species of this genus squirt blood from the corners of their eyes (Ocular autohemorrhaging) as a predatory defense mechanism. Thankfully, these little guys haven’t perceived us as threats (or just aren’t the spp that has this capability), so none of us have been squirted with lizard blood, yet.

horny toad (horned lizard)

One hectic week we got the chance to check out a Bat BioBlitz organized by Idaho Department of Fish and Game. We arrived just in time to set up our tents on site, have a meeting about the nights’ event and help set up mist nets.

Momma bat, master of the night

The following morning we drove back for an opportunity to go caving in the second largest lava tube cave, Gypsum Cave

me, smiling for the camera in the cave

CBG interns, GeoCorps and BLM crew all out exploring lava tubes in our PPE

More recently we’ve gotten the chance to tag monarch butterflies, but with little to no success. Unfortunately, “Monarch butterflies living west of the Rocky Mountains are on the brink of extinction, according to a new study”

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/west-coast-monarch-butterflies-are-close-extinction-180964829/