Wild About Utah

April 10, 2014December 31, 2016

Birds and West Nile Virus

It’s that time of year again when we encounter a barrage of public health messages alerting us to take precautions during cold and flu season. However, a different disease outbreak has been making headlines this winter in Utah: West Nile virus.

Though West Nile virus is not a new name to most of us, our familiarity with it typically comes from summer time outbreaks amongst human populations. Yet this particular flare up has gained attention for causing the deaths of over 50 Bald Eagles and it happened during winter.

West Nile virus is maintained in nature by a transmission cycle between mosquitoes and birds. In this cycle, birds simply act as pathogen reservoirs, while the mosquitoes act as pathogen vectors passing the virus on to their eggs and infecting humans and animals through bites. Historically, in the locations of its origin – Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East – this pathogen is rarely fatal to its avian hosts. In fact, antibodies to West Nile virus have been found in the blood of birds native to this region.

It wasn’t until 1997, when a stronger strain of West Nile virus emerged and caused fatalities in a wide range of avian species, that the infection started to be considered pathogenic to birds. When the disease first reached the United States in 1999 it proved to be highly virulent in North American bird populations. The American crow was particularly susceptible. Within 4 months of detection in New York, nearly 5,500 crows died from the infection. Since this first outbreak, West Nile virus spread across the United States and has been isolated in over 250 species of birds, including Bald Eagles.

While wintertime infection amongst human populations is rare, infection during this season is not so uncommon for birds. This is because birds can contract the disease by a variety of routes other than mosquito bites and direct contact. This is especially the case amongst opportunistic scavengers like raptors. If a raptor consumes the carcass of a bird killed by West Nile virus it can contract the virus orally, as the Bald Eagles did after consuming the remains of infected Eared Grebes. Luckily, while bird-to-bird transmission does occur amongst birds that exhibit roosting and group behaviors, the likelihood of a Bald Eagle, which is typically a solitary bird, directly passing the disease to another Bald Eagle is quite low. Meaning that once the last of the infected food source is gone, hopefully no further infections will occur.

For Wild About Utah, I’m Anna Bengtson.

Credits:
Image: Courtesy US FWS
Text: Anna Bengston

Sources & Additional Reading:

World Health Organization. West Nile Virus https://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs354/en/
Utah DWR. Wildlife News: DWR Learns What Killed Bald Eagles https://wildlife.utah.gov/wildlife-news/1330-utah-dwr-learns-what-killed-bald-eagles.html

Koenig, W.D., Hochachka, W. M., Zuckerberg, B., and Dickinson, J.L. 2010. Ecological Determinants of American Crow Mortality Due to West Nile Virus During its North American Sweep. Oecologia, 163: 903-909. https://www.nbb.cornell.edu/wkoenig/K156TA_10.pdf

Powell, H. 2010. Counting Crows. BirdScope: Autumn 2010. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1956

Rappole, J.H., Derrickson, S.R., and Hubálek, Z. 2000. Perspectives: Migratory Birds and Spread of West Nile Virus in the Western Hemisphere. Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol. 6, No. 4, July-August 2000, pp. 319-328. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/6/4/pdfs/00-0401.pdf

Reisen, William K. 2013. Ecology of West Nile Virus in North America. Viruses, Vol. 5, Issue 9, pp. 2079-2105. https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/5/9/2079

April 3, 2014December 15, 2017

Cloud classification

Who has not indulged in the idle pastime of watching puffy white clouds pass overhead, naming their shapes as they form? Of course, such whimsical names do not serve comparative description and understanding. For this, a lexicon of clouds is needed. Our formal cloud classification system traces back to 1803, when an Englishman, Luke Howard, published “An essay on the modifications of clouds”. Luke Howard owned a profitable pharmaceutical company, which funded his gentlemanly meteorological pursuits. Mr. Howard wisely chose a Latin cloud vocabulary to name and illustrate three fundamental cloud types.

The highest flying clouds he named cirrus, meaning curl or tuft, as of hair. These wispy clouds often resemble fibers; one form is the aptly named horse-tail cirrus. Composed of ice crystals, cirrus clouds form at around 30,000 feet, about the cruising altitude of passenger jets. Wispy cirrus clouds often portend a stormy Pacific low-pressure system en route to Utah.

Howard dubbed a type of lower elevation cloud cumulus, meaning mass or heap. These grow from mere puffs to big flat-bottomed clouds with white cauliflower tops. For sheer meteorological beauty, nothing beats legions of fair weather cumulus scudding across a bluebird sky atop a montane backdrop.

The lowest cloud form is stratus. Forming below 8000 feet, they appear as an extensive deck of unbroken gray. Stratus clouds often bring Utah’s winter snowstorms and spring rains. Nimbostratus are responsible for Seattle and Portland’s endless winter drizzle. In contrast, our Utah summer rains fall from towering cumulonimbus thunder heads. These ominous clouds are powered by hot summer updrafts and the steamy humidity that flows northward with the North American monsoon.

Luke Howard’s cloud-naming convention includes 10 principal types in all which easily lend themselves to naming combinations. You can now envision the height and appearance of cirrocumulus clouds, for instance. Cirrus, cumulus, stratus, nimbus, the cloud lexicon of amateur meteorologist Luke Howard has endured for over 200 years. Pictures of these cloud types with a link to the pages of Howard’s original published treatise can be found at our Wild About Utah website.

This is Linda Kervin for Bridgerland Audubon Society.

Credits:
Images: Courtesy NOAA and
Courtesy & Copyright Jim Cane
Text: Jim Cane

Additional Reading:

Luke Howard. 1803. “Essay on the modifications of clouds by “3rd ed. Published 1865 by John Churchill & Sons in London .
https://archive.org/details/essayonmodifica00howagoog and
https://books.google.com/books?id=7BbPAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Riehl, Herbert. 1978. “Introduction to the Atmosphere.” McGraw-Hill, NY.
https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Atmosphere-Herbert-Riehl/dp/0070526567

International Cloud Atlas, World Meteorological Organization,https://cloudatlas.wmo.int/home.html

March 27, 2014March 1, 2018

The History of our National Forests

Click to view larger image of Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees clearing the land for soil conservation, Photo Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (NLFDR) — Civilian Conservation Corps
enrollees clearing the land
for soil conservation
Photo Courtesy National Archive
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (NLFDR)

Terraces near Mount Nebo trailhead
Payson Canyon
Photo Courtesy & Copyright © 2011
Lyle W. Bingham, Photographer

Albert Potter
Photo Courtesy USDA Forest Service
The Greatest Good
A Forest Service Centennial Film

Click to view larger image of Terraces near Mount Nebo Trailhead, Photo Courtesy & Copyright © 2011 Lyle W. Bingham, Photographer — Civilian Conservation Corps
enrollees clearing the land
for soil conservation
Photo Courtesy National Archive
Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (NLFDR)

Terraces near Mount Nebo trailhead
Payson Canyon
Photo Courtesy & Copyright © 2011
Lyle W. Bingham, Photographer

Albert Potter
Photo Courtesy USDA Forest Service
The Greatest Good
A Forest Service Centennial Film

Hi, this is Mark Larese-Casanova from the Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.

The History
of our
National Forests

Warm springtime weather brings clear trails up in the mountains, and hiking through the shade of Douglas-fir on a warm weekend day had me wondering about Utah’s National Forests and how they came to be.

Back in the days of the early pioneers, Utah’s mountains were recognized as resources for survival, providing clean water for drinking and irrigation and lumber for building homes. The high mountain pastures were also valuable summer forage for livestock. In the late 1840’s, Parley Pratt declared, “The supply of pasture for grazing animals is without limit in every direction. Millions of people could live in these countries and raise cattle and sheep to any amount.” Many settlers shared this view, and unmanaged grazing resulted in deteriorated rangelands in just 20 to 30 years. By 1860, some Utah towns were experiencing regular flooding and heavy erosion due to insufficient vegetation to stabilize the soil. Unregulated wholesale timber harvesting during the same period also contributed to these conditions.

In 1881, the US Department of Agriculture’s Division of Forestry (later renamed the Forest Service) was established, and its first job was to gather information about the condition of the nation’s forests. In 1902, Albert F. Potter, who was the inspector of grazing for the General Land Office, conducted a survey of potential Forest Reserves in Utah. Potter stated that “the ranges of the State have suffered from a serious drought for several years past, and this, in addition to the very large number of livestock, especially of sheep, has caused the summer range to be left in a very barren…condition.”

The demand for lumber and wool during the First World War again led to increased timber harvesting and grazing on our forests. During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to help implement conservation projects across the country. The CCC was fundamental in re-foresting much of the Wasatch and Uinta Mountain ranges, planting over three million trees in nine years.

Utah’s Forest Reserves were created in the years soon after Albert Potter’s surveys, and were gradually combined into Utah’s seven National Forests that now cover approximately 10,500,000 acres, or about 20%, of the state. Grazing and timber harvesting still occur on much of Utah’s National Forests, but our practices are supported by scientific research and over a century of experience, ensuring more sustainable multiple use and management of our forests today.

For Wild About Utah, I’m Mark Larese-Casanova.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy National Archives, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library

Text: Mark Larese-Casanova, Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.
Additional Reading:

Baldridge, K.W. The Civilian Conservation Corps in Utah. Utah History To Go.
https://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/from_war_to_war/thecivilianconservationcorps.html

Prevedel, D.A., and C.M. Johnson. 2005. Beginnings of Range Management: Albert F. Potter, First Chief of Grazing, U.S. Forest Service, and a Photographic Comparison of his 1902 Forest Reserve Survey in Utah with Conditions 100 Years Later. United States Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service. R4-VM 2005-01. https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_other/r4_vm20005_01.pdf

CCC Camps in Utah, CCClegacy.org https://www.ccclegacy.org/CCC_Camps_Utah.html

March 20, 2014March 1, 2018

Tick Tock

Hi I’m Holly Strand from the Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University.

It’s springtime–bringing warm light-filled days, colorful blooms, chirping birds and bloodthirsty ticks. Ticks are arachnids like spiders and scorpions. They vary in size, shape, and color. But they all have barbed feeding tubes that they use to excavate a hole in your skin so they can bury their heads and suck your blood. Their accordion-like bodies expand as they sip and sip and sip.

Most ticks go through three life stages after hatching: six-legged larva, eight legged nymph and then adult. The ticks need a single blood meal during each of these life stages. To get this meal, ticks wait for their victims–usually a mammal–using a behavior called “questing.” Questing ticks crawl up the stems of grass or perch on the edges of leaves and extend their front legs–like a toddler signaling he wants to be picked up. The presence of carbon dioxide, or heat, or movement let the tick know that a meal may be passing by soon and the tick gets ready. When a passing animal brushes the tick’s extended legs, the tick simply climbs on board. It doesn’t jump. It just feels and attaches. Some ticks will bore in immediately and others will cruise around looking for a spot where the skin is thin and blood vessels closer to the surface.

This head-burying and blood-sucking behavior alone gives ticks an unsavory reputation. But of course ticks are also dangerous in that they transmit disease through their saliva. The Rocky Mountain wood tick and American dog tick have been found to feed on Utahns. Both can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia, also known as rabbit fever.

The Western black-legged tick is another Utah native. It’s a vector for lyme disease. According to the Utah Dept of Public Health, it does appear that a small number of individuals may have acquired the disease in Utah. Human transmission from this tick has definitely occurred in California.

Ticks can be found in grasses, shrublands, forests—basically everywhere. Ticks in hotter, arid parts of the state reach peak activity in April and May while ticks at higher elevations are active from May through July. Ticks in all geographic areas are active in the fall as temperatures cool and moisture increases.

Now that I’ve frightened you, know that the chance of getting a tick born disease in Utah is still small. In spite of its name, the vast majority of Rocky Mountain spotted fever cases are reported in eastern and central states. And in any given year there will probably be less than 10 cases of each disease mentioned. And they are all treatable if caught early. So don’t let fear of ticks keep you inside. Just remember that they are out there and check for them when you’ve been brushing up against vegetation.

To remove a tick, do NOT burn it with a hot match or smother it in petroleum jelly. These methods can make a tick burrow deeper before dying. Instead, remove the tick as quickly as possible using the fine tipped tweezers that you carry in your first aid kit.

For more information including tips on tick avoidance and removal go to www.wildaboututah.org.

For Wild About Utah, I’m Holly Strand.

Credits:

Image: Courtesy Bugwood.org, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Text: Holly Strand

Sources & Additional Reading

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pages on Preventing Tick Bites; Life Cycle and Hard Ticks that Spread Disease
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/on_people.html [Accessed March 19, 2014]

James, Angela M. 2006. Distribution, Seasonality, and Hosts of the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick in the United States. Journal of Medical Entomology 43(1):17.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7272126_Distribution_seasonality_and_hosts_of_the_Rocky_Mountain_wood_tick_in_the_United_States

McDade, J E and V F Newhouse. 1986. Natural History of Rickettsia Rickettsii
Annual Review of Microbiology. Vol. 40: 287-309
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.mi.40.100186.001443

USU Extension. 2010. Ticks and Associated Diseases Occurring in Utah. Utah Pests News. Volume IV. Summer 2010.
https://utahpests.usu.edu/htm/utah-pests-news/summer2010&ticks

Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology.
Fact sheets on Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia and lyme disease.
https://health.utah.gov/epi/fact_sheets/Default.htm

Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology.
Historical Communicable Disease Reports 1980 to present.
https://health.utah.gov/epi/100yr/100yr.html

Skerrett, Patrick. 2013. Matchless strategy for tick removal; 6 steps to avoid tick bites. Harvard Medical School Health Blog. Posted June 7, 2013.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/matchless-strategy-for-tick-removal-6-steps-to-avoid-tick-bites-201306076360

Zimmer, Carl. 2013. Outside Magazine, June issue.
https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/science/feeding-frenzy.html