Episode Archive - Page 83 of 211

March 4, 2019February 9, 2020

Habitat Heroes Explore Utah Biomes

Utah is a wildly diverse place. Ecological and biological diversity are usually tied to an abundance of water; but here in Utah, despite our relative lack of the wet stuff, we boast of at least nine unique biomes spanning from the low-elevation Mojave Desert around St. George to the high Alpine Tundra of our many snowcapped mountain ranges. You can think of a biome as a large community of similar organisms and climates or a collection of similar habitats. Just recently, my third grade students wrapped up a semester-long investigation into seven of those biomes found in Utah including the high Alpine Tundra, Riparian/Montane Zone, Sagebrush Steppe, Wetlands, and the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Mojave Deserts. We explored those biomes by way of researching a specific animal endemic in Utah to each of those biomes. We called our project “Habitat Heroes.” I’ll let a few of my students explain their findings.

(Student readings)

Asher's Gila Monster Courtesy & Copyright EBLS (Full Student Name Redacted) — Asher’s Gila Monster
Courtesy & Copyright EBLS
(Full Student Name Redacted)

Asher’s Gila Monster:
My name is Asher, and my animal is the Gila Monster. The Gila Monster lives in the Mojave desert biome in southwest Utah. Gila Monsters look like a lizard, just black and orange or pink and yellow with a black face and a short thick tail. Gila Monsters eat the eggs from ground birds, lizards, and snakes. Gila Monsters live in the Mojave desert in sandy areas and on rocky shelves and in burrows.

Jane's Pygmy Rabbit Courtesy & Copyright EBLS (Full Student Name Redacted) — Jane’s Pygmy Rabbit
Courtesy & Copyright EBLS (Full Student Name Redacted)

Jane’s Pygmy Rabbit:
I am Jane, and I am going to tell you about the pygmy rabbit. The pygmy rabbit lives in the sagebrush steppe biome in Utah. Did you know that a pygmy rabbit can protect itself by hiding in the sagebrush? They eat sagebrush and they drink lake water and river water. They have to chew on food to keep their teeth short.

Haven's Red Fox Courtesy & Copyright EBLS (Full Student Name Redacted) — Haven’s Red Fox
Courtesy & Copyright EBLS (Full Student Name Redacted)

Haven’s Red Fox:
My name is Haven, and my animal is the red fox. The red fox lives in the alpine tundra biome in Utah. Red foxes eat small mammals, berries, insects, and other food, too. They have huge ears so they can hear when other animals are coming. The red fox is a really tricky and aggressive animal because it can do a lot of really tricky and aggressive things!

In addition to researching the different biomes and learning about the adaptations animals must possess in order to survive there, these third graders have been visiting the several biomes local to Cache Valley and investigating their research animals’ habitats. These experiences have been powerful in helping students realize what it’s really like to exist in the wilds of Utah.

I’m Josh Boling, and I’m Wild About Utah!

Investigating Beaver Habitats Along Temple Fork Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, EBLS	Exploring an alpine-type biome along beaver creek Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, EBLS
Flying like the birds; Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, EBLS	Looking at tree migration in Green Canyon Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, EBLS
Investigating Beaver Curtis Creek wanderings; Hardware Ranch; Blacksmith Fork Canyon Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, EBLS

Credits:
Images:
Artwork Courtesy & Copyright Josh Boling’s 3rd Grade students
Special thanks to Lisa Saunderson, Edith Bowen Lab School Art Teacher, for her help in instructing the students toward the creation of their artwork
Photos Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Edith Bowen Laboratory School Field Experience Director
Sound:
Text: Josh Boling, 2017, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Sources & Additional Reading

Boling, Josh and students, Habitat Heroes Explore More Utah Biomes, Wild About Utah, Apr 8, 2019, https://wildaboututah.org/explore-utah-biomes/

Edith Bowen Laboratory School, https://edithbowen.usu.edu/

Biomes, Kimball’s Biology Pages, https://www.biology-pages.info/B/Biomes.html

Mission Biomes, NASA Earth Observatory, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/experiments/biome

The World’s Biomes, University of California Museum of Paleontology, UC Berkeley, https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/

February 25, 2019May 17, 2019

Beaver Creek Greenback Cutthroat Trout

In 2009, officials from the US Division of Wildlife Resources who were out searching for isolated populations of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout found something better—and far more perplexing. Within a 1.2-mile stretch of Beaver Creek, which runs down the eastern flank of the La Sal Mountains near Moab, Utah, surveyors discovered a small, but genetically pure population of a subspecies of Cutthroat Trout known as the Greenback. The fish is not only rare among its fellow Cutthroats; it was heretofore unknown to Utah waters.

The natural history of the Greenback Cutthroat is fascinating! As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, Greenback Cutthroat Trout trace their lineage back about 2 million years to Salmonid ancestors that chose to forego their return to the Pacific Ocean and instead pursued habitat further and further up the Columbia and Snake River drainages into the Green and Yellowstone River Basins. From here, cutthroat predecessors diversified into subspecies we know today: the Alvord, Bonneville, Humboldt, Lahontan, Yellowfin, Yellowstone, Colorado River, and, among others, the Greenback Cutthroat.

Greenbacks took a particularly arduous path to what is now their native home range. About 20,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene Epoch’s glacial maximum, Greenbacks hitched a ride via advancing ice sheets and their runoff, crossing eastward over the Continental Divide. And, historically, that’s where they’ve been found—east of the continental divide. However, in a 2014 summary report of a meeting among experts on the Greenback Cutthroat Trout’s whereabouts in Colorado, the US Fish and Wildlife Service says this about the fish’s home range: “Until recently, delineations of subspecies of cutthroat trout in Colorado were believed to follow geographic boundaries within the state, with greenback cutthroat trout on the eastern side of the Continental Divide and Colorado River cutthroat trout on the western side.” That seems to have changed.

Beaver Creek Greenback Cutthroat Trout were found in Beaver Creek in the La Sal Mountains — Greenback Cutthroat Trout
were found in Beaver Creek
in the La Sal Mountains

Experts are at a loss as to how Greenbacks came to occupy the waters of Utah. Speculations abound from rogue fishermen stocking their favorite backwaters with favorite species from the Colorado Front Range to a remnant population of an ancient strand that may have ridden the glaciers all the way to La Sal runoffs. What’s even more perplexing is the population’s pure genetic makeup. Cutthroat Trout hybridize easily with other fish; but the Beaver Creek population hasn’t. One reason may be the creek’s inaccessibility. Disease and non-native trout haven’t threatened the resident Greenbacks; and so they have lived on undisturbed, unadulterated, and, until about a decade ago, unknown to their human counterparts. This gives the wildlife conservation community some hope for the fish’s viability moving forward.

Greenbacks currently only occupy roughly 1% of their historic native range and were once thought to be extinct altogether. This hardy and adventurous fish refuses to call it quits, though. Who knows, maybe the valiant reclamation of its old territory has already begun along so many other inaccessible and unadulterated creek beds.

I’m Josh Boling, and I’m Wild About Utah!

Credits:

Images:
Greenback Cutthroat Trout, Courtesy Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior, Bruce Roselund, Photographer
Beaver Creek, LaSal Mountains, Courtesy Utah Division of Wildlife Resources,
Audio: Includes audio provided by Friend Weller, UPR
Text: Josh Boling, 2018

Sources & Additional Reading

Georg, Ron, Rare trout found in La Sal Mountains, The Times Independent, Moab, UT, May 14, 2009, https://moabtimes.com/bookmark/2560140-Rare-trout-found-in-La-Sal-Mountains

Prettyman, Brett, Greenback or not wildlife officials work to expand cutthroat population, The Salt Lake Tribune, Nov. 19, 2010, https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=50632061&itype=cmsid#gallery-carousel-446996

Thompson, Paul, A lifelong passion for native cutthroat trout, Wildlife Blog, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, April 10, 2017, https://wildlife.utah.gov/blog/2017/a-lifelong-passion-for-native-cutthroat-trout/

Greenback Cutthroat Trout, Western Native Trout Initiative, https://westernnativetrout.org/greenback-cutthroat-trout/

Greenback cutthroat found in Utah for first time, KSL/The Salt Lake Tribune/The Associated Press, May 1, 2009, https://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=6338134

February 18, 2019July 16, 2020

Spring Testosterone

Love is in the air! While shoveling snow, it seems a bit ludicrous to say “spring has arrived”, but here it is! I first noticed it 3 weeks ago when a burst of house finch tumbling notes filled the vapors. That was followed by a robin dusting of some rusty phrases which will soon be heard across the mid-latitudes of N. America.

What is one to think of such outrageous behavior as the snow continues to fall and the thermometer dips well below freezing? In one word-testosterone! This magical chemical is surging once again entirely dependent on the ratio of daylight to dark which has changed to such a degree that life helplessly submits to the urge for love.

Boxelder at Court of the Patriarchs, Zions National Park Courtesy NPS Amy Gaiennie, Photographer — Boxelder at Court of the Patriarchs,
Zions National Park
Courtesy NPS
Amy Gaiennie, Photographer

Even plants are getting in the mood due to hormonal change in response to increasing length of daylight. If I were still teaching science at Logan High we would be tapping a spile into a box elder tree to catch the dripping sap and boil down on the Bunsen burner to delicious maple syrup. When we began this activity 32 years ago March was the month. It gradually changed to mid-February as the winter season shortened.

Death Camas Bryce National Park Courtesy US NPS — Death Camas
Bryce National Park
Courtesy US NPS

I’m guessing the tiny pink flower of stork’s bill geranium and yellow of biscuit root is already blooming beneath the snow on south facing slopes. Death camas leaves are beginning to poke through moist soil.
Snow geese and tundra swans are beginning to populate our open waters with sandhill cranes and many other species of waterfowl soon to follow.

Mountain Bluebird Pair Courtesy & Copyright Milt Moody, Photographer Utahbirds.org — Mountain Bluebird Pair
Courtesy & Copyright Milt Moody, Photographer
Utahbirds.org

In the heavens you may see golden eagles performing their talon locked tumbling courtship death plunge, and paired ravens cavorting in mid-air. Outrageously beautiful Mountain bluebirds begin decorating fence posts in the countryside. Clark’s nutcrackers are beginning their migration to ridgetops for nesting activities.

Great horned owls present a special case. Their hoots reached a fevered pitch during their January courtship period. Nesting begins in February but no nest building needed. They take the easy out by occupying other raptor nests, especially red tail hawks, crows, or a handy ledge. They are fierce defenders of their young and have caused injure to clueless humans who approach to near. The family unit will remain together into the fall season.
Coyotes and fox are in full courtship mode showing overt affection. Parents of both of these wily canids help with den preparation and rearing pups born a few months later. Both are common in native legends for the cunning and trickery.

“If the day should ever come when one may camp and hear not a note of the coyotes joyous stirring song, I hope that I shall long before have passed away, gone over the Great Divide.” Earnest T. Seton, American naturalist, author, activist and father of the Rocky Mountain N.P.

This is Jack Greene and I’m Wild about Wild Utah!

Credits:

Images:
Male House Finch, Courtesy US FWS, Gary Kramer, Photographer
Boxelder at Court of the Patriarchs, Zions National Park, Courtesy NPS, Amy Gaiennie, Photographer
Death Camas, Bryce National Park, Courtesy US NPS
Mountain Bluebird Pair, Courtesy & Copyright Milt Moody, UtahBirds.org
Audio: Contains Audio Courtesy and Copyright Kevin Colver
Text: Jack Greene

Sources & Additional Reading:

Körner, Christian, Plant adaptation to cold climates, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5130066/

Have BoxElder Maple Trees? Make BoxElder Syrup! Quirky Science, https://www.quirkyscience.com/make-boxelder-syrup/

February 11, 2019August 3, 2020

How to find Wolves in Yellowstone

Yellowstone wolf running in snow in Crystal Creek pen; January 1996; Accession No. 15606 Courtesy US National Park Service — Yellowstone wolf running in snow in Crystal Creek pen; January 1996; Accession No. 15606
Courtesy US National Park Service

Outlying wolves of the Northern Rocky Mountain population occasionally wander into Utah, but seeing one is rare. If you want to increase your chances of viewing one of these majestic beasts, the best place to go is the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park.How to find Wolves in Yellowstone

Wolf standing in water, in Grand Teton National Park, close to Yellowstone. Courtesy US National Park Service. — Wolf standing in water,
in Grand Teton National Park,
close to Yellowstone.
Courtesy US National Park Service.

For over six decades, wolves were missing from Yellowstone’s ecosystem. But on a cold January day in 1995, eight gray wolves from Canada were released in the park in an effort to restore the predator to this native habitat.

Before their release, wolves were the only indigenous mammal missing from the Park. The last pack of wolves were killed in the 1920s.

The Park is now one of the few ecosystems in the temperate world to have the same mammals wandering around, as it had hundreds of years ago.

A mother wolf nursing her pups outside their den. 7-16-2010 Courtesy US National Park Service — A mother wolf nursing her pups outside their den. 7-16-2010
Courtesy US National Park Service

Today, approximately 88 wolves live in Yellowstone.

Finding one of these gray wolves is challenging, but if a person knows where to look, with the right equipment, the chances increase considerably.

Nathan Varley, a naturalist guide with Yellowstone Wolf Tracker says, “Wolves are usually spotted from long distances, using high quality optics. Recently, I guided a group that had their first wolf sighting over two miles away. We patiently watched the pack of 11 wolves move until they were less than a mile away.”

Leopold wolf following grizzly bear Courtesy US National Park Service, Doug Smith Photographer, April 2005 — Leopold wolf following grizzly bear
Courtesy US National Park Service,
Doug Smith Photographer, April 2005

“The pack encountered a bison herd and attempted to single out a calf. The herd rallied, surrounding the calf so the wolves couldn’t get to it. Snow began to fall so we lost sight of the hunt, but learned later the pack was unsuccessful. We found them the next day, many miles away.”

Before arriving in Yellowstone, visitors may want to learn how to distinguish coyotes from wolves.

Two wolf pups gnaw on bison bones Courtesy US National Park Service — Two wolf pups gnaw on bison bones
Courtesy US National Park Service

Rick McIntire, who researched Yellowstone wolves with the U.S. Park Service since 1995, explains, “In a given wolf pack territory which may be 300 square miles, there could be 10 coyote packs. So the chances of visitors seeing coyotes before wolves is high.

McIntire gives the following tips for identifying coyotes and wolves:

“It may be hard to tell smaller wolves from bigger coyotes. One thing to look for is coyotes have big ears and narrow jawlines like a fox, whereas wolves have ears that are proportional to the size of their heads, and strong stout jaws.

Their vocalizations are also different. Wolves have a deep howl, while coyote’s howl has a high pitched tone.

The wolves color may also help. Roughly half of Yellowstone wolves are black and since coyotes are never that dark, if you see a group of canines and one of them is black you have found a wolf pack.

The best place to begin the search is the northeast corner of the park at Lamar Valley – the “Serengeti” of the Yellowstone. Many prey gather here, which attract the large predators like bears and wolves.

Once you arrive, find an appropriate place to park, set up your viewing equipment close to your car, then settle down for a relaxing couple hours of observation. Patience often pays off, so be alert.

Daniel MacNulty, associate professor in the Quinney College of Natural Resource at USU, who has been studying the Yellowstone wolves for the past two decades said, “Watch for prey standing alert looking at something, follow their gaze, they may point you directly to a wolf pack.”

So if you’re ready to find one of these majestic beasts, gather some family or friends, your high quality optics – and head north. The northern road in Yellowstone which passes Lamar Valley is open all year long, so you won’t have to wait till spring.

This is Shauna Leavitt and I’m Wild About Utah.

How to find Wolves in Yellowstone-Credits:

Images: Courtesy US National Park Service:

Wolf Running in Snow, National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/27005DD0-155D-451F-679427474DA6F247

Wolf standing in water, National Park Service, Teton National Park, https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/view.htm?id=FE17C7EA-155D-451F-67DC664510E13410

Yellowstone Wolf Gallery, National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/954C625C-155D-451F-677BDC6CBFBC8061” target=”newWindow”>https://www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?id=954C625C-155D-451F-677BDC6CBFBC8061

Audio: Contains audio Courtesy & Copyright Friend Weller, Utah Public Radio
Included Links: Lyle Bingham, Webmaster, WildAboutUtah.org
Text: Shauna Leavitt, Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Quinney College of Natural Resources, Utah State University

How to find Wolves in Yellowstone-Additional Reading

Wildlife Viewing, Yellowstone National Park, US National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/viewanim.htm

Yellowstone National Park, US National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm

Inside Yellowstone Videos – Lamar Valley and Wolves, Yellowstone National Park, US National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/0031lamarvalley-iy.htm

Wolves, Yellowstone National Park, US National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/wolves.htm

Maps, Yellowstone National Park, US National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/maps.htm

Blakeslee, Nate, American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West, Crown; First Edition edition (October 17, 2017), https://www.amazon.com/American-Wolf-Story-Survival-Obsession/dp/1101902787

Lamplugh, Rick, Deep into Yellowstone: A Year’s Immersion in Grandeur and Controversy, https://www.amazon.com/Deep-into-Yellowstone-Immersion-Controversy/dp/1546448322

Allphin, Don, Not crying wolf: There really are wolves in Utah, Herald Extra, Logan, Jan 9, 2015, https://www.heraldextra.com/print-specific/columnists/not-crying-wolf-there-really-are-wolves-in-utah/article_4c19beea-06c2-59d4-b963-49fe2fd48136.html

Wolves in Utah, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, https://wildlife.utah.gov/wolf/

Utah Wolves, Sierra Club Utah Chapter, https://utah.sierraclub.org/content/utah-wolves

Utah Wolves, The Wildlife News, https://www.thewildlifenews.com/category/wolves/utah-wolves/
See also:
https://www.thewildlifenews.com/about/
How to find Wolves in Yellowstone