CONSERVATION NOTES

by Dave Johnson

Snowmobiles in Rocky

Mountain National Park

     The National Park Service has released its final decision document on snowmobile use in Rocky Mountain National Park. The good news is that Trail Ridge Road is permanently closed to snowmobiles.

     The only road in the park left open to snowmobiles is the North Supply Access Trail near Grand Lake. This is a short segment which connects Grand Lake and the Arapahoe National Forest. To ensure that snowmobiles will not have a significant impact on this small section of the park, a monitoring plan has been developed. If thresholds are exceeded, management will act to reduce impacts.

     This decision represents a significant improvement in management of RMNP. Now it’s time for Yellowstone and Grand Teton to get with the program!

DOW Moves Bighorns

     The Colorado Division of Wildlife reports that bighorn sheep have been released in two Western Slope locations this winter. Eighteen sheep were released in DeBeque Canyon northeast of Grand Junction, restoring a population in a historical bighorn range.

     Seven sheep were released in Ánimas Canyon to augment a herd reestablished two years ago. These sheep were brought into the canyon via the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway! The DeBeque sheep were taken from the Rampart range herd north of Colorado Springs. There are more than 7,000 bighorn sheep in Colorado today, triple the number of 30 years ago.

Whooping Cranes Gain

     Despite the death of the las whooping crane in the Rocky Mountain population last year, the overall whooping crane picture remains bright. The only self sustaining wild population, which migrates between northern Alberta and the Gulf of Mexico, currently numbers 173 birds.

     After the foster parenting program ended at Grays Lake, Idaho in the mid ‘80s the USFWS decided to establish a non-migratory population in central Florida. Currently there are ninety cranes in this group. An exciting first occurred in the spring of 2002 when the first whooping crane chick was born and fledged in the wild in the United States in over 60 years. Although not self-sustaining yet, the Florida population is moving in the right direction.

     Another exciting development may lead to the establishment of a migratory flock of whoopers that will nest in central Wisconsin and winter in the west-central coast and winter on the west-central coast of Florida.

     These captive bred birds are taught to migrate by following an ultralight aircraft over the 1,230-mile journey from Wisconsin to Florida. In the fall of 2001, seven cranes were successfully led on the southbound trip. Five survived the winter and returned to Wisconsin on their own in the spring of 2002. They also returned to Florida on their own in the fall

of 2002. More cranes are gradually being introduced into this flock and the recovery goal is 125 individuals and 25 breeding pairs.

     Currently there are a total of 421 whooping cranes in the wild and in captivity according to the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI and Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland.

     Thanks to the newsletter of the Friends of the San Luis Valley NWR for the information on the cranes.