November 28, 2006

Partnering to Protect Critical Deer Habitat

The Eastern Sierra Land Trust, a local nonprofit, has received a grant from the California Deer Association to protect critical winter range and migration corridor habitat of the Round Valley deer herd along Wheeler Ridge, in the community of Swall Meadows.  The grant of $50,000 was awarded this fall to apply as matching funds for the purchase of an important conservation easement.  “Our goal is to keep the migration corridor open and this parcel is a critical piece of habitat for the deer,” stated Doug Brown, State Projects Committee representative for the Eastern Sierra Chapter of the California Deer Association.  The Eastern Sierra Land Trust (ESLT) is currently seeking additional funding from public and private sources to complete the purchase.  In addition, the ESLT is working with several other landowners in the area who are interested in permanently preserving their land as wildlife habitat.

Unlike many other migrating deer herds in California, the Round Valley deer herd in the Eastern Sierra is actually thriving!  This herd is approximately 3000 animals strong, up from a low of about 900 in the late 1980s.  With the help of local landowners, the California Deer Association and the California Department of Fish and Game, the Eastern Sierra Land Trust has been investing resources to insure the continued existence of this important herd.

It has become clear that the future of this herd depends on maintaining an adequate and unobstructed winter range and migration corridor.  Most of the Round Valley deer herd’s habitat lies on public land but the migration corridor bottlenecks to about one mile wide precisely where the rapidly growing community of Swall Meadows sits.   “We know there is going to be building going on in Swall Meadows, but we think it is important to make sure that a corridor is maintained so that the deer can pass through,” said Brown.   Approximately 2200 mule deer travel through this bottleneck twice a year and it is feared that when the community is fully built out, the deer will face an insurmountable roadblock of human disturbance and fragmentation. 

The mule deer migrate to the high elevations of the Sierra Nevada in the late spring to give birth and to reach good summer forage.  In the fall, the deer turn around and make the long journey to the low elevations of Round Valley to avoid the deep snows and to find winter food sources.

The Eastern Sierra Land Trust has worked with landowners along Wheeler Ridge to place voluntary land protection agreements, known as conservation easements, on 62 acres to restrict future subdivision.  “Conservation easements are effective tools because the easement is permanent and stays with the land if ownership changes. The land remains private property and the landowner can use it and enjoy it, as long as the conservation values are maintained,” stated Karen Ferrell-Ingram, ESLT Lands Director.  As agreed upon in the conservation easement, the Eastern Sierra Land Trust monitors the property at least once a year to insure that the terms of the easement are being followed.

In addition to protecting important wildlife habitat, the ESLT has completed land conservation projects on farmland and scenic properties in the Eastern Sierra. 

For more information about the Eastern Sierra Land Trust, please call (760) 873-4554.