WERC Highlights -- March 2000

A Conference on Creative Cooperation in Resource Management: As in other areas of the Sun Belt, southern Arizona has a rapidly expanding human population which often results in intense conflicts over limited natural resources. On May 16-18, natural and cultural resource managers will gather in Tucson, Arizona, with scientists, agency managers, and non-government conservationists to showcase the collaboration and coordination efforts that are taking place on behalf of the resources of the Southwestern deserts. Oral presentations, discussions, and posters will highlight the vast amount of energy going into natural and cultural resource management, including research, interagency planning, interagency management, and public education. USGS is among nine principal sponsors of the conference. (Bill Halvorson, Tucson, AZ, 520-670-6885) Official news release

USGS Study on Desert Tortoises Highlighted in a New Website and Flyer: The Federal Highway Administration has developed the website and flyer titled "Critter Tracks" that talks about the use of various passageways by wildlife to cross over or under highways. Research wildlife biologist Bill Boarman's project, which involved the cooperation of seven federal and state agencies, evaluated the effectiveness of a barrier fence at aiding the recovery of the threatened desert tortoises and the use of culverts by tortoises to cross beneath a busy California state highway. Read about his and other projects from around the United States at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/wildlifecrossings/. (Bill Boarman, Riverside, CA, 909- 787-5152)

Recovery Plan for California Sea Otters in the News: Since a high count of 2,377 sea otters in 1995, the threatened California sea otter population has declined by more than 12 percent. In a recent article in the San Jose Mercury News, USGS research ecologist Jim Estes was interviewed by Judie Marks (reporting for the Monterey County Herald) regarding the five-year plan that proposes sea otter studies in disease and contamination, fisheries, demography and foraging, and food. In May researchers and volunteers will begin the annual survey, which can take several weeks to complete depending on weather conditions. Data compiled from the survey will provide federal and state resource managers an indication of the current status of the California sea otter. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820)

Mojave Rattlesnake in San Diego County?: Patricia Dibsie writing for the San Diego City Tribune recently asked USGS herpetologist Robert Fisher the likelihood that the Mojave rattlesnake has found its way into San Diego County. Fisher discounted the rumors about the species, which in California is found in the Mojave Desert. Readers of the article are sending Fisher dozens of photos asking him to confirm if any are Mojave rattlesnakes. The Mojave is considered one of the more dangerous rattlesnakes because its venom contains a poison that acts on the nervous system, in addition to the vascular system. (Robert Fisher, San Diego, CA, 619- 594-8026)

Research in National Parks to be Featured: On March 15, Jocelyn Kaiser interviewed Nate Stephenson of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center for an upcoming news article in the journal Science. The article will focus on the National Park Service's renewed emphasis on science-based resource management. A book that appeared in 1997 suggested that science has historically played too small a role in National Park Service decision-making. Stephenson gave examples of basic research that has changed the management of national parks. (Nate Stephenson, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3176)