Wing of trumpeter swan cygnet found on Placid Lake without flight feathers grown in.
Blackfoot Community Conservation Area Council on tour this summer viewing and discussing forestry restoration projects.
Thanksgiving greetings from your partners at the Blackfoot Challenge. Please read on for a few updates on what we've been up to. We hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day.
Trumpeter swan restoration program marks a milestone this year
The Blackfoot Challenge has been working with a host of partners to restore trumpeter swans to the Blackfoot watershed since 2003. We are excited to report that 2016 has seen the most pairs of trumpeters in the Blackfoot, the greatest number of nests and the most cygnets hatched here since reintroduction efforts began. That trend of success continued throughout the summer, with most cygnets from most nests surviving to fledge, developing the feathers and muscles necessary to fly.
There were eight active nests in the watershed this spring and six of those nests produced young. The numbers of cygnets that hatched from each nest ranged from two to five, for a whopping total of 24! This is more than twice the highest number of cygnets previously hatched, which was 10 in 2014. Survival to fledging was also great this year; 17 of those 24 cygnets are now flying around the valley with their parents!
There was an 18th cygnet that has survived but is not flying. A pair of trumpeters settled on Placid Lake last summer, and nested there this year. Markers set in the water to inform boaters to avoid disturbing the nesting swans were successful, and this pair hatched five cygnets in June. The family, along with a family of loons, were watched and enjoyed throughout the summer and fall.
Observant lake residents noticed that in September, when the family first began to fly around, one cygnet did not take to the air with the rest. The parents and four other cygnets flew at least as far as Salmon Lake, leaving the last one behind. When this situation hadn't changed after a month, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists were able to capture the non-flying cygnet by boat. It appeared otherwise healthy and strong, but had not grown the normal flight feathers on its wings. It was taken to the Wyoming Wetlands Society's captive breeding facility in Jackson, Wyo. It will be tested and cared for through the winter and hopefully will grow flight feathers when it molts next summer.
Wise irrigation one of the keys to surviving drought years
As part of the Blackfoot Challenge's collaborative approach to balancing water needs in times of drought, we began the Irrigation Efficiency Program in 2008. The purpose of the program is to provide irrigators with information and one-on-one assistance to help maximize water use efficiency.
Irrigation scheduling – which means applying the right amount of water at the right time to maximize crop production while minimizing adverse environmental effects – is a key component of this program. Barry Dutton, a Professional Soil Scientist we work with every summer, recently compiled his end-of-season report and in it details how we fared this year compared to others. We wanted to share some of those facts with you here.
2016 marked the 10th time the Blackfoot Drought Response Plan has been activated in the last 16 years. Compounding this fact, Dutton found that rainfall this growing season was below average for most local croplands. While the rainfall ranges from six to eight inches throughout the watershed during the growing season in an average year, this year it fell to between four and seven inches. While temperatures fell below average for a few scattered weeks throughout the growing season, they were above average most of the time. This warm, dry year led to above average crop water use, the second highest in the history of the program.
One of the most significant results of the Irrigation Scheduling Program is that it continues to reveal that over-irrigation is not common among sprinkler irrigators in the Blackfoot. Many sprinkler irrigators apply only 50-75 percent of the potential crop water use throughout the duration of the irrigation season. Earlier in the season, however, irrigators average applying 75-100 percent of potential crop water use. This is the key, Dutton suggests, to getting the best bang for your buck.
Natural moisture earlier in the year means it's easier to fill up the soil's water holding capacity and maximize growth. After seven years of the program, irrigators are taking note and incorporating these techniques into their practices, resulting in an overall strategy that provides for both good crop production and adequate flows for fish later in the season.
If you're interested in learning more about the Irrigation Efficiency Program, or are thinking about becoming a participant yourself, visit us at http://www.blackfootchallenge.org.
Also, keep your eye out for our bigger and better "Blackfoot Irrigation Guidebook," due out next spring. In it we'll be compiling the best practices and lessons learned over the lifetime of the program.
Blackfoot Community Conservation Area Council accepting applications
The Blackfoot Community Conservation Area (BCCA) is a 5,600-acre community-managed forest just north of Ovando. In existence since 2005, this unique area is managed for a variety of uses including timber harvesting, cattle grazing, motorized and non-motorized recreation and educational tours. The 15-member council meets every other month to discuss how to balance those uses.
The BCCA Council is currently accepting applications for the 2017-2019 term and invite all those interested to apply. If you use this area or have an interest in its management and would like to be a part of this exciting and innovative stewardship process, please consider applying at http://www.blackfootchallenge.org.
Join us Dec. 14 for some holiday cheer
And finally, we hope you will take us up on an invitation to join us Wednesday, Dec. 14th for some holiday cheer. We'll be celebrating another year of great people and great partners working together to get things done for the Blackfoot.
The Board Chair and Executive Director will provide an update on the organization, what we've accomplished this year and where we're headed. All program coordinators will be on-hand with materials to answer your stewardship questions. And there will plenty of good food and drink to go around. The fun gets started at 6:30 p.m. at the Bull Barn at Paws Up.
Visit our website, http://www.blackfootchallenge.org, for more details and we'll see you there.
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