Mayberry 2012

(Note: For those who are not familiar with Mayberry, that’s what we call our Sherman Island duck club. We owned it for years and sold it to the State (under threat of condemnation) in the ’90s. Since that time we’ve been in a lease agreement with management of the property our responsibility – until about four years ago. That’s when California decided to put a new program into place. We still have a hunting lease, but do not manage the property. This update may interest those who have followed my duck hunting and property management stories on this blog.)

The Mayberry transformation is complete. There is no longer any habitat that is prime for dabbling ducks and wading birds. The property has been changed from a shallow-water seasonal wetland to a deep-water marsh inhabited by tules (hardstem bulrush) and cattail, but very little wildlife. Yes there are a few river otters, fish and blackbirds, but a census of wildlife would show a fraction of  the inhabitants from just a few years ago. To be fair, it is  a fact that the bulk of migrating waterfowl have not reached the area yet, so things will get better.

I’m on the outside looking in, but the way I understand it, the primary purpose of the ongoing project at Mayberry is two fold – study the subsidence of delta islands and also evaluate carbon sequestration associated with the dense stands of tules and cattail. It is hoped that covering the land with water will stop the sinking of the islands by reducing oxidation of the highly organic soils. And, that a study of tules and cattail will provide insight into ways to improve air quality and reduce global warming trends.

These are lofty goals, but the losses associated with this study are by far more clear, to me, than the gains.

Mayberry looks like a lake.

During  my last three trips to Mayberry, I’ve not spotted a duck on the ponds, not even a coot. The closest I’ve seen to a duck has been a cormorant that landed on the water. The good news, I can take my fishing rod out with me on opening day of duck season.

There is still hope for some waterfowl activity, but it’s sketchy. I’ve been told that there are a couple pair of honkers using the property and the shallow seasonal ponds next door hold quite a few ducks that could possibly flyover Mayberry. Maybe ducks will begin to use the property as the waterfowl migration arrives, but there is very little food for them.

Here’s a photo of a shallow pond next door. This is what we used to see at Mayberry before the ponds were converted to permanent water.

The sad part of the story is that 300 acres of great duck and shorebird habitat has been destroyed. It’s too bad that at least some of the property wasn’t left as seasonal marsh. It would have been a nice compromise and it would have allowed for more use by migratory waterfowl – both game and non-game. Or better yet, they could have left the seasonal marsh in place and converted 300 acres of cow pasture to marsh. I guess the pasture was too valuable.

Thousands of waterfowl formerly used Mayberry as a significant winter feeding area.

The bottom line is that management of the property in is the control of others and I have been blessed with great opportunity to hunt there for many years, so no matter what happens, I will always be thankful that my partners and I have had such incredible good fortune.

The good old days with shallow marsh and seasonl wetland habitat.

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Supporting Deer and Deer Habitat

The Livermore/Pleasanton Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation (MDF), has been working to “Conserve and Protect” California deer and their habitat since 1993. During that time we’ve raised funds in support many projects that enhanced habitat, supported California’s Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), reduced deer deaths on highways, educated youth, supported hunting programs and firearms safety – to name a few.

In recent years, MDF has worked with the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA) and a coalition of various conservation organizations to support programs within CDFG during these times of change. In addition, legislative efforts, coordinated by COHA, have created a new environment where our voice as outdoorsmen and women is louder than ever.

Hunters purchased 175,000 deer tags last year with a harvest about 30,000 California deer in 2011. About twice that many deer were likely hit by cars on California highways. We do not know how many deer were killed as depredation for agricultural crop losses. We can only imagine how many deer were killed by poachers. Sale of 175,000 deer tags raised several million dollars to support California wildlife programs.  MDF and other conservation organizations, like COHA, led the fight to pass legislative reform requiring public oversite over these user fees. Deer killed by cars, depredation, poachers and mountain lions raised no money for wildlife.

But, automobiles, hunters, poachers and farmers are not a serious threat to the long-term health of California deer herds. Despite the fact that mountain lions prey heavily on deer they too are not a huge threat to the viability of healthy deer herds.

During California’s lengthy run of economic success, industrial prosperity, population growth, agricultural expansion and residential construction, deer have declined. Deer habitat is disappearing  and that loss of habitat is the biggest problem  facing deer and other wildlife.

Hunter or not, many people appreciate deer as one of the remaining large mammals that live in our open spaces both nearby our cities and in the remaining wild places of California. The Livermore-Pleasanton Chapter of MDF is asking you to support our efforts to keep deer relevant.

It is concerned citizens that will make the difference for deer in the long haul. We are making it our business to stay involved with our wildlife managers to track deer numbers, better evaluate population changes, improve habitat and educate the public about how important deer are to our  culture and outdoor experience. Please help MDF  accomplish its mission.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City Utah, the Mule Deer Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization with 2,500 California members, 11 California chapters and over 13,000 total members. Donations are tax deductible. Membership is $35 per year and entitles members to attend MDF functions and receive “MDF,” its offical magazine, each year.

Bob Holm and I are co-chairs of the Livermore-Pleasanton Chapter of MDF. We are very interested in helping you help deer. Contact information follows. We would like to expand our committee, find merchandise donors, new members and people who want to support our efforts. We have no magic, but we do have an organization, a good mission and cooperation from people who can get things done.

Rich Fletcher (925)989-4372 richfletcher@sbcglobal.net

Bob Holm (925)447-2044  rholm@hughs.net

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Grasslands Visit an Eye Opener

Per my plan, which was to revisit a Volta duck hunt of 25 years ago, I rose early and headed south. I was antsy and couldn’t stay in bed until the 5 AM alarm went off. It was about 4 AM when I gave up on sleep climbed out of bed.

This was something I’d been thinking about for a while. Hard to believe 25 years had passed. I haven’t been hunting the refuges much for a while. How would this trip be different? For the most part the marshes are constant – or at least that has been my impression.

My eyes were opened on this trip. The grasslands had expanded tremendously over the past 25 years and public hunting abounds. It’s late and I’m tired. I’ll expound on this soon.

Arriving at shooting time, I elected to park at lot 3A. I was the only car parked there. Lola enjoyed chasing coots.

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Nevada Muzzleloader Hunt

I was jazzed about the opportunity to hunt mule deer with my muzzleoader in Nevada. After great debate, I decided to hunt the Robert’s Creek Mountains first and follow up with the Diamond Peak Range and finally the Cortez Mountains if all else failed.

My friends Pat and Jerry Lowery came along for company and support. They were a welcome sight when they showed on Saturday morning, the first day of the hunt. They left Reno at 3:00 AM and made it to camp by 10:00 AM.

Our camp was located at about 7,000 feet elevation and we hunted up hill from there. Roads were everywhere and it seemed as though a big buck would have very few places to escape hunters. We came across several other deer hunters and many grouse hunters as it was the opening of sage grouse season. That didn’t help our chances.

We did find does and a few small bucks.

Although I wanted to bring home some venison, I wasn't inclined to kill one of these small bucks which stood around about 100 yards from me and my ATV.

I spoke to a couple grouse hunters who told me they’d had limited success on bucks in this area. It seemed to have more activity from people than other places I’d visited while hunting deer in the Nevada desert.

By Monday morning I was convinced we needed to move on, so we headed for the Diamond Mountains. It took bout two hours to travel to a likely spot. By late afternoon we picked out a camp site on an open ridge overlooking many acres of good looking deer country.

We set up the cook stove in between the vehicles to cut the wind and slept out in the sage brush as the weather was mild. Both Pat and Jerry spoiled me with excellent meals.

We glassed the mountain tops and also cruised around in the sage brush areas to locate deer. We still could not locate any bucks that made me excited.

We carried folding chairs on our ATVs so we could sit and glass for extended periods of time. Pat and Jerry are experienced mule deer hunters.

I got within range of these two bucks, but they were not what I was after. I considered shooting at them anyway, but in the end, watched them walk away.

Pat and Jerry have taken their share of big mule deer. Both have killed 30 inch bucks and Jerry bagged a 202 inch typical with his muzzleloader. I had experts on my side.

Wild horses were sighted every day.

Seeding Native Grasses

It would have been nice if European annual grasses had not replaced most of our native bunch grass.

On our hill ranch there are about as many native plant species as any place in the region, but invasive grasses still make up a huge percentage of the flora.

Well intended is the State of California requirement to use native grass seed when re-seeding areas disturbed by grading or dirt moving. I’m not sure how deep this policy is ingrained in our agencies, but it is appears to be beyond the influence of people of reason.

There may be occasions when native grass seeds have a chance to root and outcompete non-native annuals, but it’s not usually the case. To require native grass seeds to be used for re-vegetation after dirt work is folly.

Here’s photo of our property on Sherman Island. (click on photos to enlarge.)

Following construction, the berms at Mayberry were seeded with native grass seeds.

 After seeding, the rains came and the native grass seeds germinated. For a while, it looked as though they might work out. In the meantime, nearby non-native plants grew rapidly. (The native grasses were green with envy.)

I took a photo this week with my phone camera, not the best source, but you’ll get the point.

Took this photo yesterday from the levee overlooking Mayberry.

Non-native broad-leaf vegetation took off along the sides of the berm and the project managers were forced to spray it with herbicides to prevent it from taking over the native grass planting. This effort can be compared to dumping buckets of fresh water into the ocean in an effort to dilute it.

Native grass seed is more expensive, less available, less competitive and therefore requires more followup work to give it a chance to succeed. Once left unmaintained, the plants will fail.

Not only will the native grasses eventually fail, in the meantime we will have no vegetation at all on the berms to provide any habitat. Non-native vegetation has value, even if it’s not original.

Why are we wasting our resources in this feeble effort?

While grading around our ponds on the hill ranch last fall, we went through the same routine . The requirement to seed with native grasses may be well intended, but the effort is folly. We cannot be successful while planting native grasses on little patches of land surrounded by oceans of non-native plants, which have taken over because the native grasses could not compete with them to begin with.

I believe it’s time to put our resources where they make a difference. Sometimes we need to use common sense.

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Mayberry, March 2011

 

White front geese greeted me on the way to Mayberry. I recall seeing them at this same small pond during March of previous years – one of their last hangouts before they head north. (Click to enlarge photo.)

White-front geese near Antioch Bridge.

Another common site on the way to Mayberry in late winter is goats grazing on the levees. This levee maintainance is a necessary evil.

Levee goats 3-14-11.

Maybe the goats are early enough that the cover can recoup in time for pheasant nesting season. The levee is the only part of the property that has suitable cover for nesting.

Here's something new at Mayberry, Canada geese. Maybe they'll hang around to nest, if they can find a bush to hide behind.

 The weather was not good for photography, so I drove around the levees hoping to find something encouraging. A kildeer posed for me.

Kildeer are something else that's new.

I imagine we’ll have kildeer for a year or two, until the habitat matures. Then they look for another site with no cover.

A look at the neighboring pasture, brought back memories of the days when we had seasonal marsh.

A look at the Mayberry ponds was discouraging.

Mayberry’s ponds held a few ducks in the remaining shallow spots, but most of the ponds were deep and void of waterfowl use.

A flock of snows passed by and then a larger flock of white-fronts lifted off to the west and passed overhead.

These geese made a lot of noise.

The specs came by even closer.

White-front geese at Sherman Island

Waterfowl was evident all around, but mostly not using Mayberry.

A few sprig were using the shallowest portion of the ponds. As the skies lightened, I got a pretty good photo of one passing by.

Pintail drake over Mayberry.

Light conditions were very poor for photography of birds in flight, but the sun did come out to illuminate this pintail.

A few attempts to photograph the goldeneyes of Mayberry slough resulted in one pretty good shot.

The goldeneye live on the slough, but seldom travel over the ponds.

It’s almost time for the goldeneye to depart northward. They’ll be back again next Thanksgiving.

Cliff swallows are ever present at Mayberry.

Cliff swallows are tough to photograph in flight.

Antioch Bridge view from Mayberry.

I suppose the swallows make their nests on the bridge.

Along the Sacramento River bank, I photographed this snowy egret. He showed well on a gray day.

Snowy egret hunting.

He lifted off and the photo in flight came out pretty well too.

Things will improve at Mayberry as the habitat matures. It’s interesting to see how wildlife use changes with the habitat.

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Some Would Like to Stop the Alameda County Tule Elk Hunt

 

Somebody from the Alamea Creek Alliance would like to put an end to the Alameda County tule elk hunt. Check out their reasoning on their web site at:  http://www.alamedacreek.org/Alerts/Tule%20Elk%20Hunt/Tule%20Elk%20Hunt.htm

I disagree with their conclusion, but I also believe their information is inaccurate. They comment that the hunt could interfere with breeding as it takes place during the end of the elk rut.  That’s close, but most of the breeding goes on in August. (The hunt takes place in October.)In August,  many of the elk concentrate near Maguire Peaks in a valley that is very private, but it’s close to the Sunol and proposed Apperson Ridge quarry. That’s the quarry supported by the Alameda Creek Alliance – a quarry that will just about eliminate the best tule elk habitat in Alameda County.

They also claim that the hunting will disrupt breeding because the hunter will be looking for the largest mature bull in the herd. Yes, the hunter will likely do that, but in October the bulls are dispersed and hang out in batchelor groups separated from the cows. Even if one of the mature bulls were to be killed during the rut, which they won’t, another bull would be happy to step right in. Therefore, their premise is wrong on several counts.

Habitat loss is the biggest enemy of tule elk. Hunting, in comparison, does nothing but enhance their chances for survival. Hunting creates a reason to manage tule elk and creates value in the eyes of humans. Establishing an economic and emotional tie to wildlife makes it relevant. When wildlife is relevant it has a better chance of competing with human habitat - human habitat which is typically not compatible with elk. The Alameda Creek Alliance has its own plan for tule elk. http://www.alamedacreek.org/Press_Releases/Final%20Apperson%20Agreement%20PR%205-21-09.pdf

The Alameda Creek Alliance doesn’t own or control the elk, or any other wildlife, especially big game species which are managed by the State of California. It could be that their interest is more centered on building their organization than a good faith effort to create wildlife habitat. Only their insiders know for sure if this is the case. They do plan to receive money from the Quarry developers in return for blessing the project to go ahead.

Here’s a quote from the agreement between the developer (Oliver-DeSilva Comany) and the Alliance (aka The Center For Biological Diversity, CBD).

• Conditioned upon Approval of Revised SMP-17 and initiation of mining activities at SMP-17, ODS will commence an annual payment to CBD or an entity designated by CBD of up to $250,000 for mitigation for potential noise and disturbance impacts to the Sunol tule elk herd.

 

You can read the agreement at: http://www.alamedacreek.org/Alerts/Apperson/CP-17%20(12-18-08).pdf

 

 The Alliance cannot legally manage elk without permission from the California Department of Fish and Game, an organization that understands big game management and the significance of a hunting program. If the Alliance were to work with the state, do an about face and incorporate hunting into their program, a plan to conserve and protect the Apperson Ridge tule elk herd would become feasible and enabled.  

Its been proven that with a hunting program in place, a tule elk herd can survive. Without hunting, they’ll be irrelevant and endangered. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alameda County tule elk bull

 

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A New Look for Opening Day

Cleaned out my trailer today. Boy what a mess. Got rid of a bee hive and put out decon for rats.

Jacked the trailer up and got it nearly level.

More work to do, but had to tour the property first. The new canals are open water and most of the areas that have feed are just beginning to hold enough water to attract ducks. Looks like we’ll be ok for opening day.

Here are some photos.’

The sun was rising through a thin layer of fog as I arrived. Made a nice photo.

Egrets and herons take advantage of flood up as it exposes lots of prey for them.

Ducks were on the water as I arrived.

This pond is likely to hold birds on opening day.

Lola got some scent, but didn't find a pheasant.

A few mallards worked the pond and landed.

Gadwalls came in as well.

That was about it. Wading birds, like stilts, sandpipers and phaloropes outnumbered ducks, but I’m sure there will be enough to make things interesting come Saturday.

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Many Changes at Mayberry this Year

Our duck club on Sherman Island has undergone a tremendous overhaul this summer. Formerly a seasonal marsh, it is now a permanent marsh. This is a drastic change (the equivalent of a sex change), but we hope it will work out.  

Yesterday we raised several of our blinds in an effort to prepare for the changes.  

We uncovered several of our blinds and raised them so they will work at the new water level.

 The “new” Mayberry will have water year round and the depths will as much as five feet, with much of the area two feet or less. Wading may be a little treacherous at times. 

Here’s one of our barrels ready to be buried. Looks like a redneck did the work. Guess I’ll take the credit. 

The boards were "carefully" placed around the blind to make sure it does not float up.

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Nevada and California make game management decisions based upon Science.

Recently, the California Fish and Game Commission approved limited sage grouse hunting based upon DFG surveys that showed the sage grouse populations stable or rising in the hunting zones where grouse hunting will take place. This decision shows the wisdom of the Department and Commission.

Game management decisions based upon scientific knowledge produce a product that serves wildlife and the public interest. If game management were based upon emotion and politics, who knows where we would end up.

In a recent press release, the Center For Biological Diversity published the following misguided statement about Nevada:

“Nevada is making it OK to hunt a species that federal biologists say needs more protection. What does that say about the state agency charged with protecting Nevada’s wildlife?” said Rob Mrowka, a Nevada-based ecologist at the Center for Biological Diversity, which is seeking federal protections for the grouse. “State and federal wildlife agencies should be working together, rather than at cross purposes, to help this magnificent bird survive.”

Hunters agree that the sage  grouse is a magnificent bird, but they also know its population is primarily based upon remaining habitat. Regulated hunting that takes into account population trends has no adverse effect upon grouse numbers.

Nevada’s decision to hunt grouse shows that, just like California, they believe in making science-based decisions.

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