Smith’s Blue Butterfly |
One of the main limiting factors for Smith’s Blue Butterfly is the abundance of its obligate host plants: E. latifolium (coast buckwheat) and E. parvifolium (seacliff buckwheat). These two plant species provide the food for the larvae, cover for the larvae while they pupate, the primary adult nectar source, and the location for mating and egg-laying.
Recommendations for supporting Smith’s Blue Butterfly around grazing lands:
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Western Burrowing Owl and American Badger |
Western Burrowing Owls prefer to breed and nest on flats lands with sparse vegetation, which is why they are often attracted to grazed fields. Allowing grazed land to revegetate can actually negatively affect their populations. Though the owls are attracted to areas with lower vegetation, such as moderately or heavily grazed areas of pastureland, they also forage for food in taller vegetation that can occur along borders and ponds. Though these owls can dig their own burrows, they tend to rely on other animals’ abandoned burrows to construct their nests. Therefore, they prefer areas with burrowing mammals, like ground squirrels, and badgers. Owls tend to have more than one burrow to avoid predators. All of this behavior is important to consider for ranch management.
Recommendations to support Western Burrowing Owl populations on grazed lands include the following:
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Tricolored Blackbird |
Recommendations for supporting Tricolored Blackbirds living on and around ranchlands include the following:
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All burrowing and ground nesting species |
Recommendations to support all species of burrowing and ground nesting animals on grazing lands:
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