Help Wanted: Saving California’s only freshwater turtle
August 18, 2021
Food, water and shelter for California’s only freshwater turtle are all becoming scarcer across the Western U.S. Wildlife experts say that worsening drought conditions, habitat loss and fragmentation, and invasive species could threaten the long-term survival of western pond turtles in the wild.
“Turtles, in general, are among the most imperiled vertebrates in the world,” said Cat Darst, assistant field supervisor with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Ventura, California.
That’s why federal, state and private partners across four western U.S. states and Mexico have developed a range-wide management strategy to help guide efforts to enhance, protect and restore habitat that is vital for western pond turtles in the future.
Seeds for Success
Drill seeding project creates pollinator habitat
After being used as a firefighting base during the 2020 Dolan Fire, Arroyo Seco Ranch was left with highly compacted soils and minimal native grasses or flowering plants remaining. Seed drilling helped restore pollinator habitat and improve soil health. Photo courtesy of Catherine Stanley
By Olivia Beitelspacher
August 25, 2021
In February of this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Big Sur Land Trust completed a 5-acre pilot drill seeding project at the Arroyo Seco Ranch, west of Greenfield, California. This seeding project marks the beginning of a long-term goal to establish “waystations” for monarch butterflies and other pollinators along the Central California coast.
Arroyo Seco Ranch had been managed as a livestock grazing operation for generations, which maintained the area as a grassland with native grass and flowering plant species that provided good pollinator habitat. However, during the Dolan Fire in 2020, the area was used as a base for firefighters and firefighting equipment which resulted in compacted soil and very little grass cover remaining. After the fire, the Land Trust was reimbursed to help restore pollinator habitat that was damaged by the firefighting activities.
“The drill seeding project was located within the footprint of the firefighting base and aimed to re-establish the native plants important for habitat value, improve soil health, increase the amount of healthy forage for cattle and counter the invasive weed species that threaten the site,” said Patrick Riparetti, Director of Stewardship for Big Sur Land Trust.
Improving overwintering habitat for western monarch butterflies in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties
Andy Spyrka, the project manager and leader from the Ventura County Resource Conservation District, explains the proper planting techniques to a group of volunteers. Credit: Mary Teague/USFWS
By Ventura Fish & Wildlife Office public affairs
August 13, 2021
Mary Teague, Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began working with the Ventura County Resource Conservation District and private landowners in 2020 to restore and enhance three monarch butterfly overwintering groves in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
The Monarch Species Status Assessment identifies the loss, senescence and incompatible management of overwintering sites in California as one of the primary drivers of the decline of the western population.
“Monarchs are most vulnerable during the overwintering and breeding stages of migration, which makes the preservation and enhancement of these sites incredibly important in increasing the western monarch population,” said Teague.
The Directorate Fellows Program
A life-changing opportunity to work in conservation
“I loved my DFP project,” said former fellow Amy Walsh. “I was based in Colorado, working on a system that makes consultation processes easier for biologists and developers by showing how their projects can impact wildlife. It was overwhelming at first, being in an office I never worked at and being in a city I’ve never been to, but everyone was so welcoming and helpful which overall made the experience great, in addition to the work we’re doing.”
By Rebecca Fabbri
August 5, 2021
Are you an active college or graduate student interested in joining the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service? Well, the Directorate Fellows Program may just be your golden ticket.
“Growing up, I always had an admiration for wildlife,” said Dimitri Pappas, fish and wildlife biologist for the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office. “I was always so impressed that animals didn’t have grocery stores — that they were responsible for surviving off their surroundings. The moment I learned species have gone extinct from human-related causes, was the moment I knew that my dream would involve helping them.”
Pappas, along with many others, is a former directorate fellow who landed a job at the Service after graduating from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a degree in wildlife ecology and management.