Maintaining Basking Sights for California Red Legged Frog at Big Gun Conservation Bank

Back in 2010 we announced the approval by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of our Big Gun Conservation Bank.  The Bank, located in Michigan Bluff, outside Foresthill, is home to what may be the largest remaining documented population of California red-legged frogs (CRLF) in the Sierra Nevada.  The California red-legged frog, made famous by the Mark Twain story of the “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, is listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This species once spread far and wide throughout western California and northwest Baja, however mining activities, intensive agriculture and development has limited the range of the species. Historically, the 48-acre site was hydraulically mined for gold in the late 19 century and as a result large pools were formed and have since become prime habitat for the CRLF.  Since 2010, Westervelt Ecological Services (WES) has been working diligently to maintain the site and the population of the species. 

One of our most recent maintenance activities included the removal of dense vegetation in several locations around some of the ponds to increase basking sites for the CRLF.  Each of the areas selected for vegetation removal was selected based on several factors.  First, CRLF’s had been observed in the pond during previous surveys.  The pond edge had a gentle slope and shallow water, allowing the water to warm quickly in the late spring.  Finally, vegetation or other escape cover was immediately adjacent to the basking site, acting as a nearby retreat from predators.  All vegetation removed from the basking sites was removed by hand in the late spring under the supervision of a biological monitor.

Why is this critical for the frogs?  Basking is important for absorbing solar energy and raising the body temperature of the adults and tadpoles.  This helps a frog have a temperature higher than its environment.  An increased body temperature accelerates growth, digestion and produces fat deposits.

You can see from the photos posted below the difference in vegetation from 2010 to 2011 – after the vegetation has been removed.

Here at WES we are just weeks away from the first round of sampling for California Tiger Salamander (CTS) larvae at our Burke Ranch Conservation Bank, assuming the rains continue.  The California Tiger Salamander is listed both as a federally threatened and California State threatened species.  It is a terrestrial salamander with a broad, rounded snout.  The adults are black and can have white or pale yellow spots on its back and sides. The belly varies from almost uniform white or pale yellow to a variegated pattern of white or pale yellow and black. The salamander's small eyes protrude from its heads and a yellow pattern along the upper edge of its mouth makes it look as if it is smiling.  Salamander larvae look very different than the adults. They are yellowish-gray with a broad dorsal fin extending well onto the back. The head is large and broad with feathery gills on each side. The larvae are what we hope to find during this stage of monitoring.

CTS monitoring on  the Bank is an activity outlined in our long-term management and monitoring plan which gives us the opportunity to understand the status and trends of the species population on the Bank.  It also allows us to document that the site continues to provide food, shelter, and breeding areas for the animal over time and to document and evaluate any changes in the salamander population over time.  Monitoring results also provide important information for the habitat management feedback loop where management activities on the Bank may be adjusted to promote the species life history needs.

Sampling for CTS larvae is conducted under a Section 10(A)(1)(a) of the federal Endangered Species Act by a biologist who has received a special permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to sample for this species.   Sampling is conducted in aquatic breeding pools where the larvae live until they develop legs, lungs, and the ability to survive in upland areas. Each pool with the appropriate ponding characteristics for the larval study is systematically sampled using seines and dip nets. Seines are best used to sample first the perimeter and then the remaining portion of the pool.  Dip nets are used in areas where seining is too challenging due to water depth or proximity to pool edges.  One- to two-seines can be used in each pool, depending on the size of the feature being sampled.  The contents of the seines and dip nets are examined after each sweep.  All CTS larvae observed are measured and are development stage cataloged on field data sheets along with any other species of interest such as vernal pool fairy shrimp or tadpole shrimp.  After recordation, each captured larvae is quickly placed in buckets that have been filled with water from the pool being sampled and kept there until the entire sampling effort for that pool has been completed.  This prevents the same CTS from being counted twice and also reduces the stress to that animal. As soon as the last net has been emptied, all CTS are quickly returned back into the same wetland where they were captured. As the pools dry down the larvae develop their legs and soon begin their terrestrial life.

Pictures are the results of last years monitoring of the larvae. Enjoy! -Matt Gause, Senior Ecologist

Recently, we highlighted our cooperative burn conducted on our Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank in the Garcon peninsula of Florida.  The site has a number of listed plant species including the carnivorous white-topped pitcher plant, which is a Florida state listed species.  Many other cool (and rare) plants such as the snake mouth orchid, pot of gold lily, pine lily, Curtiss' sandgrass, spoon-leaved sundew, bog button, sweet pitcherplant, Harper's yellow eyed grass, Dral's yellow-eyed grass, and small flowered meadowbeauty also make their home here.  What most people don’t realize is that strategic prescribed fire is necessary to restore and maintain these Gulf Coast pitcher plant prairies and additional endangered plants.  This is why we at WES invest so much time and energy (along with a lot of blood, sweat and tears!) into fire management on our sites in the Southeast.

Gulf Coast pitcher plant prairies are coastal plain wetland systems with some species endemic to the region.  It is estimated that only 1% of the former extent of the habitat type remains, degraded from development into housing or agriculture, and by fire suppression that allows an overstory of Titi (Cyrilla racemiflora; Cliftonia monophylla) or scrub oaks and pines that shade out the normally sun-loving plant assemblages of these systems.  Repeated fire limits organic accumulation, and in fire maintained wet prairies it is not unusual to see mineral soil, typically sand, exposed at the surface.  Periodic flooding or soil saturation is also a feature.  The systems are oligotrophic, and harbor a high species richness and density of carnivorous plants, typified by the pitcher plants (Sarracenia spp.) that give the habitat type its name, although wiregrass (Aristida stricta) is a dominant feature.

Within weeks following a prescribed fire, many native plants such as pitcher plants and toothache grass flourish while flowering and seed production is triggered.  You can see the results on our Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank, as our pitcher plant population is certainly thriving!

Prescribed Burn at Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank

Prescribed burning is a complex task best left to experts in the field; and the more experts involved in such a project, the better.  Recently, Westervelt Ecological Services’ John McGuire and the Garcon Point Stewards combined their expertise to jointly burn roughly 200 acres in the Pensacola Bay area of Florida.  Garcon Point Stewards is a subgroup of the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership (GCPEP), which is a unique organization reintroducing fire as an ecosystem management tool in one of the most important conservation landscapes in the Southeast.  The GCPEP is a made up of private, public, and not-for-profit landowners partnering to manage more than a million acres in Northwest Florida and South Alabama, including some of the highest quality remaining longleaf pine habitat in the world.  WES has been proud to be a participating member since 2008.

This burn on November 30, 2011, consisted partly of our Pensacola Bay Mitigation Bank and the adjoining Yellow River Marsh Preserve, owned by Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), also a member of the GCPEP.  Ecologically, it made more sense to conduct a joint burn on both areas instead of constructing fire breaks between the properties.  Also, both WES and the FDEP have the same goals of restoring longleaf pine and wet prairie habitat.  Prescribed fire is an important tool in this restoration process.  Because WES had proactively laid the groundwork for such a circumstance by joining the GCPEP, a joint burn was eagerly agreed upon and conducted flawlessly, benefitting all parties and habitats involved.  

The Timing of Restoration

They don't let me out of the office much these days, but I was recently invited to revisit a property our team here at WES worked to restore back in 2008.  Historically, this area was part of a riparian flood zone that, during years of intense rain, was inundated by water from a bordering creek.  About fifty years ago, the land was cleared, leveled and set up for flood irrigation.  The irrigated crops took the place of native flora, displacing wildlife and altering the hydrology.  When the property was acquired by our friends at Placer Land Trust WES had the opportunity to help restore this area back to its historic habitat.    

Unlike some of our projects that require moving large amounts of dirt, this restoration project was primarily installing 5700 plants.  The plant pits were dug in October/November using an auger attached to the front of a tractor, making them ready to receive by the time early November rolled around and the plants started to arrive.  Planting took roughly two months to complete with the timing dictated by the weather.  Sure, we had the option to plant during a warmer time of year, and possibly complete the project in a matter of weeks but by choosing to plant during the fall we were giving our plants a better chance of survival.  Why?

In the fall, the soil, still warm from summer, encourages root growth. Roots continue to grow through the winter until the ground freezes.  In areas like Sacramento, with more mild winters, roots may continue to grow below ground while above ground the plant remains dormant. In early spring, roots begin new growth or start to develop at a faster rate, and top growth can really begin. Conversely, a plant put in the ground in the spring gets a slow start due to cool soils, not allowing it to be as well-established as fall plants. Hence, the spring plants lag behind. This means that when summer finally arrives, the fall plant is far better equipped to deal with heat and drought, largely due to its well-established root system.  This means less irrigation and management effort is needed.

Of course, there are plenty of other good reasons to plant in the fall, too, such as occasional rainfall, cooler weather and fewer pest and disease problems. 

As the years have passed, the plants in this restoration area have developed at an impressive rate.  During this past fall, we completed our final year of monitoring.  Now it's up to mother nature to take what we started and complete the restoration for us.  I hope the next time I visit I will see that the restoration has come full circle and observe the plants installed in 2008 producing seed that will continue to revegetate the site for many years to come.

-Lydia Renz, WES Sales Associate