Chirps in the Granite Tors

Golden-mantled ground squirrel, Citellus lateralis

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Least chipmunk, Eutamias minimus

Least Chipmunk

Columbian ground squirrel, Citellus columbianus

The mountain snows lingered on the high ridges but the valley bottoms were open and dry.  The first signs of spring were there with a few flowers and grasses making a stubborn show of green.    We were on a hike up the narrow canyon cut by Warm Springs Creek.  One of the creeks that feeds the South Fork of the Payette River.  The ridges and peaks were snow covered, where the clutch of winter held tightly.  

The mountain meadows were alive with the sounds and movement of chipmunks and ground squirrels, as they scurried about and chirped, whistled and squealed.  The Golden-mantled ground squirrels and Least chipmunks stayed near the large rocks.   Their gray granite dens, forts, and bastions of safety.  The Colombian ground squirrels stayed in the open grassy areas, near their underground tunnels, and they kept up a lively conversation compared to their other cousins.          

I spotted the three species of squirrels, all within a small area, and it was easy to identity with the help of a handbook on mammals.  The Lewis and Clark Expedition didn't have such a book, but they did have the pleasure making the discovery of many mammals and birds that were unknown to science at that time.    

One of the first references to a ground squirrel, in the Lewis and Clark journals, was noted by Meriwether Lewis at the Great Falls of the Missouri River, in what is now the State of Montana, on July 8th, 1805.  A member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition captured a ground squirrel, which turned out to be an unknown species.   

Meriwether Lewis colorfully describes that squirrel as follows: 

"the men also brought me a living ground squirrel which is something larger than those of the U' States or those of that kind which are also common here.  this is a much hadsomer anamal. like the other of it's principal colour is a redish brown but is marked longitudinally with a much greater number of black or dark brown stripes; the spaces between which is marked by ranges of pure white circular spots, about the size of a brister blue shot.  these colours imbrace the head neck back and sides; the tail is flat, or the long hair projecting horizontally  from two sides of it only gives it that appearance.  the belly and breast are of much lighter brown or nearly white.  this is an inhabitant of the open plain altogether, wher it burrows and resides; nor is it like the other found among clifts of rocks or in the woodlands."

The animal Meriwether described was the 13 lined ground squirrel, Spermophilus, tridecemlineatus.  In the Lewis and Clark journals there is no mention or description of any squirrel similar to the Least chipmunk or Golden-mantled ground squirrel, but they surely must have encountered them in Montana, Idaho or North Dakota.   Perhaps they did spot these types of squirrels but didn't take note of them for some reason.   I didn't see any 13 lined ground squirrels that day, because they aren't found in the mountains but on the open prairie of the central United States.   

The chipmunks and squirrels bring a certain liveliness to mountains with their running about, their calls and sounds and antics, and they are like your partners on the trail.  Compadres. Hombres. Comrades.   As the afternoon moved on, shadows from the tall trees wedged across the canyon and we hiked back out to the trail head, and loaded our gear in the truck.   We had an easy trip ahead of us, compared to what Lewis and Clark had to endure, traveling thousands of miles on foot, sometimes on horseback or pulling canoes upstream in frigid arctic cold rivers.   

Dispatch from the South Fork Payette River

Spring in the Rocky Mountains. Snow packed peaks wedged into jet blue skies, and the sun actually felt warm. The snow pack is retreating very fast, and the valleys are snow free for the most part. There were lots of elk on the south Fork of the Payette River of Idaho, last week. They seemed to be in herds of 6-12 animals, and they looked good; a bit shaggy with their winter coats but otherwise they faired well this winter. The elk seemed to be everywhere I looked and you didn't need to look to hard. In the middle of the day there were herds along the river, in the lower and upper meadows, on the steep slopes. In the woods.

The elk herds in this region seem very healthy and plentiful. The wolves have done them good, by culling out the weak animals, keeping the herds of elk healthy. The elk are plentiful because of good management practices by the Idaho Fish and Game Department, and because the range is in very good shape. There are no domestic cattle to compete with the elk. They have a good winter range on the south slopes of the South Fork. There are few roads or trails in this region which promotes higher elk populations, because the elk like their isolation especially during calving.

I noticed several small stands of aspen in one canyon, each having 10-20 mature trees. These mature trees were probably 30 foot tall and they were surrounded by new aspen trees or shoots. There were hundreds of them, and they were all about 4 to 6 feet high. Most likely the wolves have kept the elk on the move which has kept them from overgrazing the aspen shoots which they so dearly love. The aspen appear to be thriving which is good for other wildlife, and it provides feed for the elk during the winter when the snow is deep.

I see no evidence of any sort that wolves are decimating elk herds. In fact it's quite the opposite. A robust population of wolves will allow other critters to thrive and protect the range from being overgrazed by elk. Diseased and injured elk are quickly removed from the herd by wolves which makes the rest of the herd stronger.

This could easily have been some location in Yellowstone Park. And how lucky to have this virtually in my back yard.