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Ryan Mathis/NWTF |
Native Grasses in California and Montana Conservation Easements
NWTF projects are making it easier for wild turkeys in the West.
California’s Version of “Surf and Turf”
NWTF Regional Biologist Ryan Mathis takes an especially keen interest in efforts to restore native grasses and riparian habitat on the Sul Norte and Rio Vista Units of California’s Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge. As a boy, Mathis grew up near the Sacramento River and fished there, too. Now, he and others can turkey hunt there.
Most northern Californians know this area as a prime waterfowl destination, but thanks to the efforts of the NWTF, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and The Nature Conservancy, more turkey hunters will be enticed to hunt this under utilized area that lies close to urban areas. The refuge contains 27 units along 77 miles of the Sacramento River, totaling 11,739 acres; 11 of the 27 units are open to fall and spring turkey hunting. Turkeys aren’t the only ones to benefit from these improvements — valley elderberry longhorn beetle, western yellow-billed cuckoo, bank swallow and Swainson’s hawk have benefited from the project, too.
On the Sul Norte project, the NWTF is halfway into a six-year plan that requires its funding for herbicides. The same type project is under way at the Rio Vista location. “It’s a pretty cool project because folks are selling off these parcels of land by the river,” said Mathis. “So what we’re doing is bringing all the native riparian habitat back. It’s basically a conversion from walnut and prune orchards to native riparian vegetation.”
If you like fish, you’ll like the idea of the Chinook (King) salmon runs in the river each fall, where you might be able to land a trophy or at least, some good eating for your version of a “surf and turf” meal.
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Photo courtesy of Montana FWP |
In Montana, it’s the first… but not the last BMP
In 2006, the Montana NWTF State Chapter contributed $20,000 toward the purchase of a 402-acre conservation easement on the Bernie Hart property near Hinsdale, in partnership with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Already located in the Montana FW&P’s Block Management Program, this property seemed a natural fit with the goals of the NWTF to aid in providing more land for hunters. The BMP is a program set up to provide hunter access to private lands and is administered by Montana FW&P. Payments to the landowner are based on the number of hunter days provided; options vary from relatively open access to a limited number of hunters per day. The Bernie Hart easement was one of the first of several conservation easements that FW&P has been involved in along the Milk River corridor.
Since allocating funds to this CE, the NWTF has allocated funding to two more FW&P conservation easements in the Great Falls area.
Montana’s turkey seasons depend on spring and fall draws, with spring draws occurring in March and fall draws in August. Check the state’s FW&P Web site for information.
If you decide to hunt at the Hart area, you might want to stay in Glasgow, a quaint hamlet containing some motels, campgrounds, a few steakhouses and pizza joints. — Barbara Baird