Continued from "I'll pass on the Pass" (6/6/10)
On Wednesday I went out to my site to find a huge section of riparian habitat destroyed. Someone had taken a tractor or bulldozer through it for NO apparent reason. There was tractor tread everywhere. They drove right through habitat located RIGHT next to a wide open sandy trail! The area they destroyed was right smack in the middle of one of my viero territories with the male present with a fledgling. I suspected he was re-nesting right in this vicinity and was not sure if his nest had been destroyed by the tractor or not. First of all this habitat is protected, and so are the birds nesting in it. Destroying the nest of ANY wild native bird will get you a $500 fine, but destroying the nest of the Least Bell's Vireo will get you a $150,000 fine and some possible jail time since it is an endangered species. I immediately took photos of the damage, and followed the tracks to more damaged habitat and then up to the freeway area where I found an RV, tractor, van, and some sort of drill. I knocked on the door of the RV to see who was occupying it to ask about what kind of work they were doing out here and was going to try and get information from them so that I could report them to US Fish and Wildlife. No one answered the dooor, although there were 2 dogs that barked at me from inside. I was so furious at the destruction that had been done, but decided to calm down and check some nests that were also located on this site.
I headed over to a horse stable I use to access the site and immediately noticed a large bulldozer in their parking lot. I thought it was quite a coincidence. I started heading over to where my nest was...the nest should contain 4 nestlings who were 9 days old. They leave their nest at day 11 usually. As I approached I started to realize that the entire area had been bulldozed. My heart dropped as it looked like my nest may have been destroyed. I ran over and found my nest on the edge of the new trail that had been cut. Originally it was further back from the trail and I had to go through some vegetation to get to it, but now..it is seeable from the trail itself. The parents were freaking out since I am sure they had been tramatized when a giant bulldozer had come with a couple feet from their nest. They scolded me when I walked near their nest..but luckily all 4 babies were still in it. Once again, lots of native riparian trees and plants had been flattened and destroyed. I ran over to question the horse stable people. We had an agreement that they would inform me of ANY trimmings, or cutting of vegetation along their trials so that I could flag off any nest areas so that they would know NOT to cut there. This arangement had happened a couple times in the past and worked out fine. The arangement all started because 2 years ago they came literally about 2 feet from chopping one of my nests down and I had to have a discussion with the manager telling him the laws and that I could report him for what he did. He agreed to letting me know their trimming schedule so I agreed not to turn him in if it did not happen again.
I started questioning the stable people and was immediately lied to, they told me the bulldozer did not belong to them but to a construction crew next door. After talking to 4 people I got the truth...and went over to the house to talk to the managers brother who was responsible for bulldozing the habitat. He claimed that he had no clue they were suppossed to inform me first and thought they did nothing wrong. He even went so far as to tell me that the bulldozing he did was NOT for their customers and was not even part of their regular horse trail, but he cut a path (wider than a freeway lane!) so that his wife could walk their dog to the river. I was fuming by this time, and could barely keep my composure after seeing not only this destruction, but the other destruction I had just come from. I almost feel like a mother when it comes to protecting these birds..it is like my maternal instincts kick in here, because if I see anyone messing with my nests..I usually react by wanting to tear someones head off! He claimed he had not done the other damage further out but had done the damage to the area by my nest. Once again I had to document with photos, and I threatened them with fines and prison and told them to expect to be hearing from US Fish and Wildlife. I use their stable to access my site, so now I am sure I will be blacklisted from the place or if I am able to continue to use it, I will be very unpopular there. Towards the end of our conversation he started to deny that he had done any of it. I am not positive they did the other damage as I did follow tractor tracks to the RV, but I know they did the damage near my nest..so now we may have to report two separate incidents to Fish and Wildlife.
I thought the rest of my week would be mellow..but I still had a couple surprises left...
Sunday, June 6, 2010
I'll pass on the Pass.
Don't get me wrong..I LOVE my job..but this past week was a test of my patience and I think I failed.
This week we participated in "assessments" where we go to different sites to look for our endangered species (The Least Bell's Vireo). We look for them across our watershed in places that we don't normally work during the rest of the season. We want to get an accurate count of ALL the birds within our watershed so we look in appropriate habitat outside our normal study sites.
My week started by doing an assessment up in the Cajon Pass. There is some very pretty habitat but we have yet to ever find a vireo there. We hope that they will one day discover this place. My coworker and I have been surveying this site for the last 4 years or so. I did one year detect a Willow Flycatcher and a California Gnatcatcher (both declining species) so the site has not been a total loss. However, we started to hear rumors that this area was not such a safe place to be in. My coworker and I survey at the same time, but we walk away from each other in different directions, so we contact each other by phone to make sure that the other of us is safe.
Apparently the safety issue comes from this area being a known pick-up spot for gay men...so being women, we are slightly safer than being a single man walking around out there. This area is also known for goldpanners, and trainspotters. I understand the prospect of finding gold to be appealing...but for the life of me cannot understand the fascination and excitment that goes with photographing and watching trains! Apparently these guys try and see as many different trains as possible and ID them by their numbers. They photograph them to prove that they saw that train. Bizarre! I guess birdwatching might sound similar to them..trying to see as many species as possible, and trying to obtain some proof of what you saw .
I have had a few odd encounters out there...mostly spotting men on the side of the road peeing. Seems they just pull over anywhere and everywhere and put on a show for whoever might be watching! Imagine if women did that!
I once had a guy almost climb into my car through my open window which I was trying to listen to birds through. He asked what I was doing and seemed a little disappointed to find I was there on official business doing my job. He kept leaning in my window and at one point offered to accompany me down in the canyon to look for birds! At this point I was tempted to roll up my window and choke him with it. I declined his offer and got out of there.
Another time a guy seeing my business magnets on my car (and assuming I was some sort of official) approached my window and asked me if he was safe being in this area. The guy looked like HE was the one people should be scared of...lots of tattoos and scars and just something a little creepy about him. I told him that this was a known pick up spot for guys and he went on to tell me that it was too bad he could not carry his gun anymore ever since he got out of prison! He thanked me and told me that he was not going to hang out there anymore. Cajon was just the start of my week, and it got progressively worse.
To be continued....stay tuned for my next post.
This week we participated in "assessments" where we go to different sites to look for our endangered species (The Least Bell's Vireo). We look for them across our watershed in places that we don't normally work during the rest of the season. We want to get an accurate count of ALL the birds within our watershed so we look in appropriate habitat outside our normal study sites.
My week started by doing an assessment up in the Cajon Pass. There is some very pretty habitat but we have yet to ever find a vireo there. We hope that they will one day discover this place. My coworker and I have been surveying this site for the last 4 years or so. I did one year detect a Willow Flycatcher and a California Gnatcatcher (both declining species) so the site has not been a total loss. However, we started to hear rumors that this area was not such a safe place to be in. My coworker and I survey at the same time, but we walk away from each other in different directions, so we contact each other by phone to make sure that the other of us is safe.
Apparently the safety issue comes from this area being a known pick-up spot for gay men...so being women, we are slightly safer than being a single man walking around out there. This area is also known for goldpanners, and trainspotters. I understand the prospect of finding gold to be appealing...but for the life of me cannot understand the fascination and excitment that goes with photographing and watching trains! Apparently these guys try and see as many different trains as possible and ID them by their numbers. They photograph them to prove that they saw that train. Bizarre! I guess birdwatching might sound similar to them..trying to see as many species as possible, and trying to obtain some proof of what you saw .
I have had a few odd encounters out there...mostly spotting men on the side of the road peeing. Seems they just pull over anywhere and everywhere and put on a show for whoever might be watching! Imagine if women did that!
I once had a guy almost climb into my car through my open window which I was trying to listen to birds through. He asked what I was doing and seemed a little disappointed to find I was there on official business doing my job. He kept leaning in my window and at one point offered to accompany me down in the canyon to look for birds! At this point I was tempted to roll up my window and choke him with it. I declined his offer and got out of there.
Another time a guy seeing my business magnets on my car (and assuming I was some sort of official) approached my window and asked me if he was safe being in this area. The guy looked like HE was the one people should be scared of...lots of tattoos and scars and just something a little creepy about him. I told him that this was a known pick up spot for guys and he went on to tell me that it was too bad he could not carry his gun anymore ever since he got out of prison! He thanked me and told me that he was not going to hang out there anymore. Cajon was just the start of my week, and it got progressively worse.
To be continued....stay tuned for my next post.
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