A Snowy

[Steven]

In2023-2024 Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) will be conducting habitat restoration work at Sitka Sedge State Natural Area, Nehalem Bay State Park and Bandon State Natural Area. This work may include ongoing maintenance outside of snowy plover nesting season.

OPRD successfully received a grant to conduct a habitat restoration project at Sitka Sedge SNA. Restoration will include removal of invasive vegetation (e.g., European and American beachgrass, Scotch broom), other vegetation that has encroached into the previous open sandy beach along with dune contouring to improve habitat for the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed western snowy plover. The habitat restoration work is required by the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), an agreement between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and OPRD. OPRD received an ocean shore alteration permit for the work, which included Tillamook County planning review and concurrence. Site investigations occurred to meet the Section 106 requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act and SPHO approval will occur prior to any site construction. Work is expected to begin this fall and will be completed no later than the end of February, 2022. Potential contractors may be meeting on site, using the access point at Tierra Del Mar during the first week of October to visit the restoration site for a pre-bid meeting.

The selected contractor met on site on 1/18 with state park staff and archeological monitors. The motor vehicle access point at Tierra Del Mar was used to access the ocean shore. The contractor met with staff, staged equipment at the restoration site and began restoration work. Now that the equipment is onsite you can anticipate daily passenger vehicle traffic which will include the contractor and OPRD personnel. We anticipate that the project will not take more than two weeks to complete at which time the equipment will mobilize off-site once again utilizing the Tierra Del Mar vehicle beach access.

European beachgrass within the Snowy Plover restoration area at Sitka Sedge on October 18th. The contractor will post notices around the site and at the trailhead kiosk within the park and has obtained a Drive on Beach Permit for this work.

As far as anatomy is concerned, snowy grouper are very similar in shape and size as other grouper. Their spots give them their name and set them apart from the other species. Snowy grouper are a deep drop species that inhabit much deeper areas than their other grouper relatives. I've caught snowy grouper as shallow as 250 feet but most of my good spots are 350-650 feet. As far as structure is concerned, snowy's like rocky bottom. Most of the water in 350-650 feet off Miami is mud so it definitely takes some looking around to find the right spots. If you do however, they can be pretty reliable as long as you don't try to catch too many. Like most deep drop fish and benthic species, these fish are slow to grow and reproduce.

Manual rigs can be a bit difficult to employ while deep dropping, especially when you are jumping from spot to spot. Snowy grouper are hard fighters but a rig with 80lb braid and 80+lb leader should do the trick. 50 lb class electric reels are ideal for deep dropping but many anglers decide to just go with overkill and use an LP or Hooker Electric. Either way, electric reels are far more efficient for plying the depths for snowy grouper.

"Deep dropping" with Chicken Rigs is the primary technique for getting down to snowy grouper. Because of the depth, electric reels are standard for targeting snowy's though we have caught them manually. 5 pounds of lead is usually the way to go. For chicken rigs we like to use 130lb pound test with 3-5 hooks and a light. Whole squid and bonito strips seem to work really well for producing bites. Snowy grouper are seasonal and have a poor survival rate when released due to air bladder inflation and the extreme depth. With this being said, it is best to only target them during the season and plan to keep them. They are absolutely delicious.

Assist park management in balancing wildlife protection and visitor recreation, specifically by helping to protect threatened Western Snowy Plovers from disturbance during the nesting season and creating awareness among park visitors on the beach and at trailheads.

Snowy Plover Docents must possess very good oral communication skills with a diversity of people, be able to work independently, and be non-confrontational. Docents must also be able to spend a majority of the time standing, walking, and/or hiking; tolerate wind, fog, cold, and blowing sand; and be comfortable around people and dogs . Knowledge of the park and teaching experience is helpful.

Snowy Plover Docents gain personal enrichment and experience working in a national park setting as well as training and education about the snowy plovers and related park resources. Docents enjoy the satisfaction in helping to protect threatened nesting Western Snowy Plovers in addition to communicating with and helping park visitors while representing the National Park Service.

No application is required but all new docents must attend the training day on Saturday, May 4. For more information or to register for this training, contact Fiona O'Kelly at 415-464-5147 or by email.

415-464-5100

This number will initially be answered by an automated attendant, from which one can opt to access a name directory, listen to recorded information about the park (e.g., directions to the park; visitor center hours of operation; fire danger information; wildlife updates; ranger-led programs; seasonal events; etc.), or speak with a ranger. Please note that if you are calling between 4:30 pm and 10 am, park staff may not be available to answer your call.

Brian Goedde is an Assistant Professor of English at the Community College of Philadelphia. He has written for The New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, among other publications.

I tried it myself, one snowy day last year. Crunch, crunch, crunch, my feet sank into the snow. While playing with my toddler after a new snowfall in the mostly white, suburban alleyway behind my duplex, I took twelve walking steps and looked back, then twelve hops and looked back. They made for very different moments of reflection. Walking allowed me to carefully place my footsteps; a dozen hops took the wind out of me.

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Snowy owls rank among the most charismatic wildlife species in the world. The heaviest of all North American owls, tipping the scales at 3 to 6 pounds, their bright white plumage, large yellow eyes, massive feathered feet and diurnal tendencies appeal to even the most casual nature lover. Equally appealing to some are their unpredictable movement patterns and the remote arctic wilderness they represent.

As their name suggests, snowy owls are generally a northern species, nesting worldwide on the treeless tundra above the Arctic Circle. During a typical winter, some remain close to their breeding areas while others head south into southern Canada and the northern United States. At least small numbers reach Wisconsin each year. However, large numbers move into the state every few years, an event known as an "irruption."

The winter of 2022-2023 has been a non-irruption year for snowy owls across the country and will go down as the worst year in over a decade for spotting this charismatic species in Wisconsin. Only three dozen owls have been tallied statewide as of mid-February, compared to over 140 at this time last winter and 200+ in the major irruption years of 2013, 2014, and 2017.

The good news is that there are some owls to be seen yet this winter. Sites with regular sightings recently include Superior, Crex Meadows State Wildlife Area, the lower Green Bay and Freedom areas, agricultural areas of Green Lake County northwest of Horicon Marsh, and Dane County north of Madison. View a map of observations here (free account required).

In short, no one knows with certainty. Most experts agree these periodic mass movements are associated in some way with their primary northern prey source, a small rodent known as a lemming. Traditional thought suggested that a temporary "crash," or shortage, of lemmings pushes owls southward in search of food. However, more recent evidence suggests nearly the opposite, that a temporary abundance of lemmings allows the owls to raise large families successfully. These young owls then disperse southward by the hundreds to avoid competition with older birds for winter territories.

It's even possible, perhaps likely, that not all irruptions are created equal, and both mechanisms play out in some years. Unfortunately, the population dynamics of lemmings are complex and poorly understood. The same can be said for snowy owls, largely because of the remote northern haunts they occupy most of the year. This no doubt elevates their intrigue but is a barrier to understanding and ultimately conserving the species.

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