Tag: wildlife

Last week, according to a press release, Governor Hickenlooper sent a letter to the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to advocate for the protection of greater sage-grouse on lands the BLM intends to sell or lease for oil and gas development. Over the past several years, the State of Colorado has been involved in efforts to protect this disappearing bird; in fact, the governor even mentioned it in his 2018 State of the State speech.
Several species of grouse live in Colorado. One species, the Gunnison sage-grouse, is federally designated as a threatened species. The other species, however – including the greater sage-grouse, the subject of the governor’s letter – are not recognized as threatened by the federal government. The State of Colorado, however, is concerned for the greater sage-grouse, which is found in northwest Colorado and whose numbers have been diminishing.
Since the federal government’s 2003 denial of listing the greater sage-grouse as endangered or threatened, Colorado has issued numerous plans, documents and strategies for conserving the species. The most significant document, finalized in 2008, is the state’s Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Plan, available online from our library. Five years later, the state issued The Colorado Package, a greater sage-grouse conservation strategy plan specific to Colorado (the BLM had been considering the species’ conservation in nearby states, as well).
For further information on the state’s efforts to conserve the greater sage-grouse, see the following State of Colorado documents and websites:

• Avian Research Projects: Greater Sage-Grouse (website)
• Dispersal Ecology of Greater Sage-Grouse in Northwestern Colorado (2007)
• Greater Sage-Grouse Biology & Habitat Requirements in Colorado (presentation from Colorado Parks & Wildlife)
• Grouse Getaway (blog post and video from Colorado Parks & Wildlife)
• Middle Park Sage Grouse Conservation Plan (2004)
• Northern Eagle/Southern Routt Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Plan (2004)
• Northwest Colorado Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Plan (2008)
• Parachute-Piceance-Roan (PPR) Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation Plan (2008)
• Watching Grouse, Prairie-Chickens and Ptarmigan (2014)

The governor’s July 17 letter also addresses big game migration corridors in the affected area.

Check out Marmot Fest at Staunton State Park this weekend, June 23-24, 2018 and maybe you’ll spot a yellow-bellied marmot!

Summer is officially here, and with it comes great opportunities for viewing wildlife in all parts of the state. Some species, like hummingbirds, are only here in the summer. Others, like mountain goats, live in alpine areas inaccessible to people except in summer. Still other species hibernate during the winter. So if you’re interested in viewing Colorado’s many amazing wildlife species, summer is your best bet.

Wildlife viewing is also a great activity for families while the kids are out of school. For a number of years the Colorado Division of Wildlife (now Colorado Parks & Wildlife) published Colorado’s Wildlife Company, a series of illustrated booklets for all ages to learn about the watchable wildlife in Colorado. The booklets have been digitized by our library and provide fun facts and wildlife viewing tips. Several titles were written especially for summertime wildlife viewing, including the following:

Watching Wildlife provides a simple introduction to wildlife viewing – when and where to go, what tools and techniques to use, and a code of ethics.

Summertime Reveals Secrets of the Alpine Tundra. Check out this fun brochure to learn about species that live at elevations above 11,000 feet, such as mountain goats, marmots, pikas, and ptarmigan. Included are suggestions for places to drive to see alpine wildlife, including Mount Evans, Trail Ridge Road, Independence Pass, Pikes Peak, and the Million Dollar Highway.

Summertime, and the Livin’ Ain’t Easy. What do animals do to protect themselves from the heat of summer? How have they adapted to our dry climate? Along with tips on viewing animals in summer, this edition tells about the many fascinating adaptations animals have made to survive and thrive in summertime. Download this title to find out what “daily torpor” and “gular fluttering” refer to!

Summer’s Hummers is all about hummingbirds. Learn about their amazing acrobatics and flight mechanics, and the innovative ways they search for food. You can also find out how to attract hummingbirds to your garden.

The Hawks of Summer profiles a very different kind of bird. Learn about the many different types and sizes of hawks found in Colorado and how to identify them. Many Colorado hawks, such as red-tailed, Cooper’s hawks, and prairie falcons, live in Colorado year-round. But some species, like Swainson’s hawks, spend the winters in South and Central America.

Listen… Wildlife viewing isn’t just about what you see with your eyes — it’s also about using your ears to locate and identify wildlife. From birds to frogs to elk, species have unique calls and sounds. And learning about animal sounds isn’t just about who’s making the sound, but why. Many of the birdcalls you hear in your neighborhood every day are actually alarm calls, warning of danger. Prairie dogs, marmots, and other rodents also sound alarms. Animal calls can also be about mating, or territory, or babies asking for food.

Photo by David Iliff, License: CC-BY-SA 3.0

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a disease of the brain that affects deer, elk, and moose and may be on the rise in our state.  Colorado Parks and Wildlife has recently convened a new advisory group to deal with the disease, which results show to affect as many as 16{66eaadba41c14e7e553ffe7a4ee73fbae213b19704eda0514b3dd79e37e4c0c5} of the animals tested.  To learn more about what CWD is, how to test for it, and what the State is doing to combat it, visit Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Chronic Wasting Disease webpage.  Our library also has some helpful publications about CWD:

• Chronic Wasting Disease: General Information, Hunter Guidelines, New Carcass Regulations, Research & Management
• Chronic Wasting Disease: Government and Private Sector Action
• Chronic Wasting Disease in Colorado 
• Chronic Wasting Disease Exposure Risks from Colorado Division of Wildlife Research Activities 
• Chronic Wasting Disease Overview: Hunter Information
• Chronic Wasting Disease & Theories of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy Transmission
• Economic Implications of Chronic Wasting Disease 

Photo by David Hannigan courtesy of Colorado Parks & Wildlife

Many Coloradans enjoy feeding birds, especially this time of year when hummingbirds are returning to the area.  But bird feeders can also attract hungry bears.  According to Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW), “some studies show that over 80 percent of human-bear conflicts can be traced back to the bear’s first encounter with a bird feeder…Once bears discover bird feeders, they’ll often visit every home in an area looking for more.”  For tips on how to safely feed birds while discouraging visits from bears, see CPW’s publication Attracting Birds, Not Bears.

For additional CPW resources on avoiding human-bear conflicts, see the following resources:

• Be Bear Aware in Colorado Bear Country
• Bearproofing Your Home
• Bearproofing Your Trash
• Deterrents Can Teach Bears to Stay Away
• Human-Bear Conflicts
• Living with Wildlife: Bears

Coyotes, foxes, and wolves all belong to the scientific Family known as Canidae, or canines — just like your pet dog.  There are some big differences, however, between all of these types of canines.

Native American legends often refer to the coyote as a trickster.  Colorado Parks & Wildlife calls them “opportunistic” and “naturally curious.”  Many people think coyotes are only found in more rural areas or in the high country, but this is not true – they are being found in increasing numbers along the Front Range due to continued loss of their natural habitat.  They’ve even been spotted in neighborhoods near downtown Denver.  Coyotes will usually leave humans alone, but they can be a danger to your pets, so be sure to closely supervise your pets.  If coyotes are in the area, you should make sure your cats stay indoors.  When walking dogs, make sure they are leashed and within your sight, and don’t ever let dogs and coyotes interact.  If you see coyotes nearby, it may be best to carry your dog, according to this brochure from Colorado Parks & Wildlife.  You can also learn more about coyotes in the publication Who is Coyote?

Foxes are also frequently found in urban areas and can also be a danger to small pets.  The species most commonly found in the Metro area is the red fox.  Red foxes can run at speeds of 30 MPH and have excellent sight, hearing, and smell.  Like coyotes they are “opportunistic” so to avoid attracting foxes, be sure food garbage is properly stored.  Learn more about red foxes at this “living with wildlife” page from Colorado Parks & Wildlife.  Other fox species, including gray, kit, and swift, are found in more remote areas.  The swift fox is a threatened/endangered species; you can read about Colorado’s swift fox conservation efforts in this report.

Of the different types of canids, wolves are certainly the most rare in Colorado.  For many years there were no wolves in the state, but recently there have been reintroduction efforts.  Unlike foxes and coyotes, which rely on their keen intelligence to find food, wolves are much stronger, fiercer predators, and as a result their reintroduction has been controversial.  To learn more see the publications Wolves: Knocking at Colorado’s Door and Findings and Recommendations for Managing Wolves that Migrate into Colorado.

Learn more about wolves, coyotes, and foxes by searching our library’s online catalog or visiting the Colorado Parks & Wildlife website.


Images courtesy Colorado Parks & Wildlife.

The July/August issue of Colorado Outdoors magazine features burrowing owls.  These fascinating creatures are much different than the tree-dwelling owls most of us are all familiar with.  Burrowing owls, as suggested by their name, are ground dwellers.  Unlike most owls, which live in forested areas, burrowing owls spend the summer on Colorado’s eastern plains, where they live in prairie dog towns.

No, the owls don’t eat the prairie dogs — the two species have a symbiotic relationship where the owls reuse and repurpose abandoned holes.  The two species also have common predators — coyotes, hawks, bobcats, badgers, snakes — so the owls benefit from the prairie dogs’ vocal warning systems.

Burrowing owls also differ from most other owls in that they are diurnal (active during the day) and they are also smaller than most other owl species (and cuter).  The owls mostly feed on insects, particularly grasshoppers and beetles, but they will also sometimes eat mice and small reptiles and amphibians.

Although burrowing owls migrate to Arizona, California, Texas, and northern Mexico in the winter, they are considered a threatened species in Colorado, their summer home, because of the elimination of much of their natural habitat.  Eradication of prairie dogs by humans has had an adverse effect on burrowing owls, illustrating the importance of understanding how Colorado’s different wildlife species affect one another.  Recommended Survey Protocol and Actions to Protect Nesting Burrowing Owls When Conducting Prairie Dog Control, a Colorado Division of Wildlife publication available from our library, addresses this issue.

In addition to the above-named resources, you can also find information on burrowing owls in several other Division of Wildlife publications available from our library, including The Little Owls and Conservation Plan for Grassland Species of Colorado.  See also Colorado Parks & Wildlife’s species profile for more information and links.

If you’ve been following local news lately, you’ve heard that human-bear conflicts are on the rise; according to the Denver Post, at least 34 bears have already been killed in Colorado this summer.  Bear-human conflicts are on the rise as more and more of the bears’ native habitat comes under development.  With bears and people living closer together, and with bears’ natural food sources disappearing as well, they have learned to forage at homes, dumpsters, even bird feeders.  What can you do to help protect your property from bears, while also helping reduce bear deaths?  Several reports and brochures from Colorado Parks & Wildlife, available from our library, offer helpful information:

• Attracting Birds, Not Bears
• Be Bear Aware in Colorado Bear Country
• Bearproofing Your Home
• Bearproofing Your Trash
• Deterrents Can Teach Bears to Stay Away
• Human-Bear Conflicts
• Living with Bears (available for checkout in print)
• Too Close for Comfort:  How to Avoid Conflicts with Wildlife in the City 

Colorado Parks & Wildlife also has produced four helpful “Bear Aware Videos” which you can view on their website.

Whirling disease is a parasitic infection that has been affecting Colorado trout since being accidentally introduced here in the 1980s. Since then, Colorado Parks & Wildlife has been working to prevent and control the disease, which has contributed to the decline in numbers of rainbow trout in Colorado’s waters.
The disease can be deadly to young trout; older, larger fishes with the disease may exhibit deformations or engage in a tail-chasing behavior that gives the disease its name.  Whirling disease does not affect humans, so you don’t have to be concerned about eating trout.  You can help control the disease, however, by thoroughly cleaning your fishing equipment. Also, never move fish from one body of water to another, as infected fish could spread the disease to trout populations that were previously unaffected.
For more information, see the CPW’s Whirling Disease webpage as well as their Aquatic Research site.  You can also learn about whirling disease in numerous research studies and publications available from our library, including the following.  Items without hyperlinks can be checked out in print.

• An Assessment of Fishery Management and Fish Production Alternatives to Reduce the Impact of Whirling Disease in Colorado
• Colorado’s Cold Water Fisheries:  Whirling Disease Case Histories and Insights for Risk Management
• Effects of Whirling Disease (Myoxis Cerebralis) Exposure on Juvenile Mountain Whitefish 
• The Empty Creel:  The Impact of Whirling Disease
• Facts About Whirling Disease in Colorado
• Impact Assessment of Some Physical and Biological Factors in the Whirling Disease Epizootic Among Wild Trout in Colorado
• An Investigation to Determine the Cause(s) of the Disappearance of Young Wild Rainbow Trout in the Upper Colorado River in Middle Park Colorado
• Resistant Rainbow Trout in Colorado
• Review of Strategies for Fishery and Hatchery Management in Relation to Impacts of Whirling Disease in Colorado
• Salmonid Disease Studies
• Whirling Disease and Colorado’s Trout
• Whirling Disease Facts
• Whirling Disease Habitat Interactions
• Whirling Disease Information and Status 
• Whirling Disease Investigations 

Photo by David Hanigan, Colorado Parks & Wildlife