04-01-19 Field Note

Snowstorms, conifer thinning, buck-and-rails, pond logs, long-eared owl

We created paths in the deep snow and drug the trees out whole.

We left several dead-standing trees behind for wildlife habitat.

The mule deer also found the stacked conifers and filled their starving bellies.

Ungulates struggle to forage and move across the landscape through the deep snow.

A  coyote’s wide paws and lighter body allow it to float across the snow surface.

This year we decided to fill 500 sand bags before the spring run-off started.

When the first spring pulse began, our crews worked hard to direct the runoff away from the roads

Bitterbrush continue to grow in the greenhouse.

The field crew erected several new buck-and-rail fences along the roadsides.

I saw the first marmots and ground squirrels on March 18th.

We added fifteen new floating logs to the pond before the ice melted.

We replaced our north center pivot a couple of days before the ground thawed.

A long-eared owl perched in Partridge Alley.