As part of the NRCS Sage Grouse Initiative Lava Lake is currently working with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and NRCS to restore sagebrush steppe habitat on the Ranch. Our goal is to improve sagebrush habitat to benefit sage grouse and other wildlife.

Lava Lake Employees Tim Bennett and Melendez Orihuela refilling the seeding hopper

The treatment involves the use of a Lawson Aerator, generously loaned to us by the Salmon office of the BLM, a tool we have never used before and were eager to try out. The aerator/seeder is pulled behind our tractor and will thin sagebrush cover and seed forbs (e.g., wildflowers).  We’re working in areas identified to have overly dense sagebrush cover to promote a a healthy sagebrush plant community with a diverse mix of plants including sagebrush, forbs and bunchgrasses.

Fall is here and with that brings a flurry of wildlife habitat restoration work. Fall is the time for riparian and wetland restoration, because the work is best done when these areas are at their driest. Months of planning work are now being translated into the delicate and not so delicate maneuvers of what my son calls vroom vrooms. Big machines are out at the Lava Lake Main Ranch, continuing the work we started in 2008. This year, we’re converting an old irrigation ditch into a natural stream channel along Barn Creek, at the entrance to Lava Lake right on the edge of the lava flows.

We’ve also created two small ponds to enhance two springs that are located right in the mix of our irrigated hayfields. These ponds have nesting islands built into them to attract nesting ducks and other waterbirds. We will be seeding these areas with native plants this fall and following up with plantings next spring. We have to keep in mind that these things take time, the new plantings will take a few growing seasons to establish and flourish, and right now things look disturbed and definitely not complete.

We are looking forward to watching as the habitat diversity on the ranch continues to expand. Finally, we are so grateful to our many partners on the project. This year we’ve been working with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Later this season, we’ll report back on our sagebrush habitat restoration that is planned for October in Fish Creek.

Barn Creek restoration in progress

As part of our efforts to make the ranch more wildlife friendly, we have been in the process of removing some unneeded fencing. Last fall we removed the wire from this fence along West Fork Fish Creek, but we waited until this spring when the ground was softer to remove the posts.

Fences can pose a lot of problems for wildlife who can get tangled in the wires. Young animals like deer fawns and elk calves, adult and young pronghorn and sage grouse and many other animals can have trouble with fences.

This was an old pasture fence from when this area was used by cattle. Now that we are using it for sheep and the animals are herded, we don’t need the fence. We’re glad to remove this obstacle to make the habitat even better for wildlife.

Outfitted with antennas and radio frequency tracking equipment, Justin, Scott Bergen from the Wildlife Conservation Society, and 1 year old Duncan and I headed out into the field to find the GPS collars that were a part of our long distance pronghorn migration study.  Last year, the collars did not release as anticipated and recovering the collars turned into an epic adventure. We were prepared again for a difficult period of finding the collars and I was certainly wondering whether bringing a one year old along would be an epic parental disaster. The day turned out to be anything but epic as we found one collar after another with relative ease. Scott started out early and had already found 2 collars by the time we met up with him in the Pioneer foothills at 9 a.m. We reviewed the maps, divided terrain and headed out. Duncan, Justin, and I found a pair of collars up a short, gentle draw after about a 10 minute walk.From the spot, it seemed like the pronghorn must like having a nice view of the spectacular Pioneer peaks.

Several naps later, we had recovered 8 of 9 collars and were quite please with our success.

We’ll report back after we download the data and see how the migration route compares with year 1.

One of the best days of each year for my retired sheep dog, Buddy Boy, is the spring day that he returns to his roots and helps move one of our bands of sheep through Ketchum. That day came this Sunday and Buddy eagerly joined up with Ernesto’s flock. We met the sheep at the south end of Ketchum and helped the herders as they moved through town early Sunday morning. It was also my son Duncan’s first opportunity to join in the herding. The roughly four mile trek goes past the elementary school, along a short stretch of bike path, and then up Highway 75.

Buddy, Jeremy, Duncan, and Osso

Buddy ran up and back along the edge of the band, eagerly pushing the sheep forward. Every so often, he’d look back at me for confirmation, always with a big smile. I rarely needed to use my favorite spanglish herding command, learned from the herders, “Push-a”, and more often needed to encourage Boy to be “Tranquila.” Buddy even had the important job of assisting the band in moving to the side of the highway to make room for a fire engine. The fire engine was not responding to an emergency, but we still all did our best to allow him through as quickly as possible. Buddy will definitely be counting sheep in his dreams, and looking forward to his next opportunity to reunite with his old pals.

Sheep on Highway 75