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Cultivating Connectivity is a deep dive into the world of habitat connectivity in the Upper Feather River watershed. The series will be hosted in collaboration by Plumas Audubon Society and Friends of Plumas Wilderness. |
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The series aims to bring the community together to examine issues of habitat connectivity across the Upper Feather River watershed and examine the crucial role connectivity plays in biodiversity conservation. Habitat connectivity facilitates the movement of species, promotes genetic diversity, and supports ecosystem resilience. Regional biodiversity decline can be attributed to landscape fragmentation coupled with the effects of large-scale wildfire and climate conditions.
Together, Plumas Audubon Society and Friends of Plumas Wilderness have jointly organized a series of events featuring experts in connectivity. Speakers will discuss restoration, research, and citizen science initiatives within their respective fields. The series is designed to orient partners and community members about the importance of these initiatives in addition to gathering public input on key areas of focus.
All events in the Cultivating Connectivity series are free and open to the public!
April 17, 2024: Wildlife Corridors
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM at the Quincy Public Library, 445 Jackson St, Quincy, CA
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Join Plumas Audubon Society and Friends of Plumas Wilderness for the first in our Cultivating Connectivity speaker series program!
We’re thrilled to host Wildlands Network’s California Director, Mari Galloway, who will be sharing insights on intact landscapes, local highway wildlife crossing projects, and regional wildlife connectivity. Mari develops collaborative and strategic partnerships to further policy and land use initiatives that promote wildlife corridors and core habitat protections throughout California. Mari spent her childhood on a farm in the San Joaquin Valley of California and her summers in the Sierra Nevada, near Ebbetts Pass. Her outdoor exposure inspired her to study ecology, pursuing her bachelor degree in environmental science from Humboldt State University. Recognizing the threats to these ecosystems motivated her to protect them, prompting her to obtain a law degree at the University of Oregon in 2020. Mari has combined her passion for science and policy through working with wildlife and ecology experts to advance innovative legislation and on-the-ground landscape-scale initiatives. Mari lives in Sacramento, California. When not strategizing a connected California, you’ll find her outside with her dog, Bodie, either backpacking, trail running, sketching, and gardening. |
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May 11, 2024: Citizen Science
10:00 AM - 3:30 PM at the Quincy Public Library, 445 Jackson St, Quincy, CA
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Join us for a hybrid workshop and field demonstration led by Paul Hardy, founder of Feather River Land Trust, focused on amplifying citizen science efforts in the Upper Feather River Watershed. Paul will present about barriers to wildlife movement, facilitate participants’ registration to the California Roadkill Observation System (CROS), and lead a field trip focused on roadkill data collection and its importance at the local level.
Paul Hardy founded the Feather River Land Trust in 1999, where he served as its Executive Director for 18 years. His 35 years of conservation, land management, and non-profit experience includes working as an avian researcher for the University of Arizona for 3 years, a wildlife biologist on the Plumas National Forest for 5 years, co-creating the Sierra Land Trust Council and Northern Sierra Partnership, and serving on the boards of the California Council of Land Trusts and Plumas Audubon Society. |
Paul was born along the Middle Fork Feather River at the Western Pacific Railroad Hospital in Portola. He and his brother, Mark, were lucky to have parents (Richard and Becky Hardy) who took them fishing, hunting, hiking, wildlife watching, and camping throughout the Feather River Watershed and western U.S. After obtaining degrees in wildlife biology from the Universities of California and Arizona, Paul moved back to the Feather River region in 1998 to help start FRLT. Paul currently works as a consulting conservation biologist with Hardy Conservation; however, his primary focus and joy is currently supporting his teenage kids, Emmalyn and Andrew, as they transition into adulthood.
Roads and highways can have dramatic effects on wildlife movement and landscape connectivity. Some species may have complete aversion to roads, which would limit their movement through landscapes with roads. Other species may try to cross roads even with traffic present resulting in wildlife mortality and risks to drivers. UC Davis’ Road Ecology Center uses the California Roadkill Observation System (CROS), a volunteer driven citizen science database, to study the impact of roads on wildlife movement at multiple geographic scales, from individual animals at road crossing structures, to hypothetical movement pathways at the landscape scale. Information about where wildlife vehicle collisions occur, what animals are involved, on what roads collisions are frequent, and other data can help inform policy, management, and financial investment in reducing roadkill.
Paul will provide participants with a history of the database, context regarding its relationship to wildlife movement and barriers, as well as provide an overview of the state-wide funding environment in relation to this work. Paul will lead people through the CROS application process and explain the data entry process. Participants will then be split into up to 3 groups to head out into the field to collect data before returning to the library to review the data and enter it into the CROS.
Roads and highways can have dramatic effects on wildlife movement and landscape connectivity. Some species may have complete aversion to roads, which would limit their movement through landscapes with roads. Other species may try to cross roads even with traffic present resulting in wildlife mortality and risks to drivers. UC Davis’ Road Ecology Center uses the California Roadkill Observation System (CROS), a volunteer driven citizen science database, to study the impact of roads on wildlife movement at multiple geographic scales, from individual animals at road crossing structures, to hypothetical movement pathways at the landscape scale. Information about where wildlife vehicle collisions occur, what animals are involved, on what roads collisions are frequent, and other data can help inform policy, management, and financial investment in reducing roadkill.
Paul will provide participants with a history of the database, context regarding its relationship to wildlife movement and barriers, as well as provide an overview of the state-wide funding environment in relation to this work. Paul will lead people through the CROS application process and explain the data entry process. Participants will then be split into up to 3 groups to head out into the field to collect data before returning to the library to review the data and enter it into the CROS.
June 4, 2024: Local Carnivore Research
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM at the West End Theatre, 541 Main St, Quincy, CA
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The penultimate event in the series will consist of a panel discussion featuring California Department of Fish & Wildlife biologists, Jay Lombardi, Arjun Dheer, and Axel Hunnicutt, as well as National Council for Air & Stream Improvement Wildlife Biologist, Katie Moriarty, who specialize in Mountain Lion, Black Bear, Wolf, and Pacific Marten respectively. The panel will delve into newly initiated and ongoing carnivore research efforts in the region.
Research published by the Royal Society has highlighted the precarious situation facing large terrestrial carnivores, with 64% of species threatened by extinction, and 80% experiencing declining population trends. The loss of 60% of their habitat over the last several centuries underscores the urgency of understanding and conserving these species. |
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Carnivores play a vital role in ecosystem dynamics, influencing everything from prey population control to plant growth and disease prevention. The panelists will discuss newly initiated and ongoing research efforts focused on mountain lions, wolves, black bears and pacific martens in the Upper Feather River Watershed.
Throughout the summer of 2024, field crews will be actively collecting data across the watershed to contribute to these critical research projects. Topics of discussion will include emerging wolf parks, changes in mountain lion movement patterns due to increased wolf presence, and efforts to collar black bears to fill data gaps in their life history strategies.
Panelists include:
Attendees can expect a lively and informative discussion that illuminates the challenges and opportunities facing carnivore conservation in the region.
The panel is free to attend and begins at 6:30pm at the West End Theater in downtown Quincy, located at 541 Main Street.
Throughout the summer of 2024, field crews will be actively collecting data across the watershed to contribute to these critical research projects. Topics of discussion will include emerging wolf parks, changes in mountain lion movement patterns due to increased wolf presence, and efforts to collar black bears to fill data gaps in their life history strategies.
Panelists include:
- Dr. Katie Moriarity: forest wildlife ecologist for NCASI, specializing in Pacific marten conservation.
- Axel Hunnicutt, statewide gray wolf coordinator for CDFW, leading efforts in wolf conservation and research
- Dr. Arjun Dheer, statewide black bear coordinator for CDFW, coordinating modernized approaches to black bear monitoring
- Dr. Jason Lombardi, statewide large carnivore research coordinator focusing on mountain lion conservation efforts.
Attendees can expect a lively and informative discussion that illuminates the challenges and opportunities facing carnivore conservation in the region.
The panel is free to attend and begins at 6:30pm at the West End Theater in downtown Quincy, located at 541 Main Street.
July 3, 2024: Fish Passage &
Aquatic Connectivity
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM at the Almanor Parks & Recreation Building in Chester, CA
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The final event in the series is dedicated to aquatic connectivity and will feature Department of Water Resources’ Environmental Program Manager, Jason Kindopp, and Feather River Trout Unlimited board member, Vincent Rogers. The event will explore research efforts pertaining to the feasibility of salmon reintroduction and climate resilient watersheds in our region. The presentation will be followed by a field tour to the Chester diversion dam to observe the methods being used in the North Fork Feather River Fish Passage Feasibility Study in action.
More information TBA |
