Back at Big Bar Guest Ranch that evening, everyone gathered in the dining room for a BBQ dinner followed by an evening presentation by guest speaker Don Gayton. Friday’s presentations and discussion sessions provided participants with the knowledge and interpretive skills to understand the basic ecology of grasslands in conjunction with cattle grazing and range management.
Saturday morning everyone gathered early for a morning presentation by the GCC. Bruno Delesalle, executive director of the GCC, gave a presentation that covered the diversity of grasslands around the province, the importance of grassland conservation and stewardship, and some of the key GCC conservation initiatives currently underway intended to achieve the long-term conservation of our grasslands.
Several GCC Board members also recounted the beginnings of the GCC at Big Bar in 1996, urging those in attendance to engage in the pursuit to achieve healthy, sustainable grasslands in British Columbia.
Following the presentations, it was time to head back out onto the range, namely the historic OK Ranch – a large cow-calf operation that encompasses nearly 15,000 acres of deeded land. Owner Lawrence Joiner was a gracious host, and allowed the Saturday portion of the Workshop to be held on his ranch.
The “working grasslands” tour began with a stop at a range exclosure where recovery rates are being monitored. Here, participants discussed range reference areas, forest encroachment and the impacts of irresponsible off road vehicles. The site was also home to a badger burrow, and ecosystem officer Roger Packham enlightened participants on the emergence of badger burrow discoveries in the Cariboo region and the great pressure these red-listed mammals are under for survival.
Here's a summary of what Roger Packham discussed:
Until recently, very little information about badgers has been collected in the Cariboo. Less than 20 anecdotal sightings of badgers have been reported over the last 10 years and no formal research to locate badgers and define badger habitat has been conducted in the Cariboo. In 2002, active badger burrows were located in the Meadow Lake area. Further searches of adjacent areas led to the discovery of more burrows. In the winter of 2002/2003 FIA funding was secured via an MOU between Lignum Ltd and WLAP to conduct aerial searches of suspected burrowing habitat. Two flights and follow-up ground searches were conducted and now we have approximatetly190 sites where badgers are known to burrow.
General Distribution
What we know-we know badgers occur in the Green Lake, Alberta Lake, Meadow Lake, Alkali Lake, Churn Creek and possibly, in the Bonaparte Lake general areas. We know of approximately 190 sites were badgers are/have burrowed. Most burrows are located in grasslands and road cuts and we are also aware of a few burrowing sites in forested habitats.
Research Questions-Where else do badger live? What are limiting factors to distribution? (Most likely suitable soil is main limiting factor). Bill Chapman (MOF, Williams Lake) and hopefully, Weldwood of Canada Ltd., 100 Mile House Operations via FIA funding, will assist in documenting what suitable burrowing habitat is and where it occurs. HCTF/HSP funding will be used to locate additional burrowing sites.
General Abundance
What we know-we know we have at least 5 badgers but likely more (40?).
Research Questions-how many badgers are in the Cariboo? How big are home ranges? We have HCTF/HSP funding to collect hair samples for DNA analysis to determine sex and number of individuals and relationships between individuals. If enough hair samples are collected some preliminary home range sizes may also be determined.
Diet
What we know-we know very little about badger diet in the Cariboo. What we do know is what they don’t eat here in certain portions of the Cariboo that they prefer to eat elsewhere in BC. For example in the Thompson/Okanagan area pocket gophers and ground squirrels comprised approximately 50% of badger’s diet. Both pocket gophers and ground squirrels are known not to occur in the Big Bar area. Ground squirrels do occur north, south and east of Big Bar and are likely eaten by badgers where they exist.
Research Questions-what do badgers in the Cariboo eat? Does it vary from location to location? HCTF/HSP funding will be used to collect scat samples from burrows (hopefully) for DNA analysis to determine diet. Diet is most likely comprised of marmots, mice, voles, ground nesting birds/eggs, etc. If so, what role does range management play in the maintenance of suitable habitat for prey species?
Summary
Researches are just beginning to collect information regarding the general distribution, abundance and diet of badgers in the Cariboo. Research being conducted in the summer of 2003 will hopefully shed some additional light on badger ecology in the Cariboo.
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