Tag: conservation

Species Spotlight – Northern Alligator Lizard

Lindsie Lawson

Species Spotlight: Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea)

This month, we cast the Species Spotlight on the Northern Alligator Lizard!

The northern alligator lizard is one of only two lizards in Washington state with square scales and folds on the side of its body. Its dark eyes help differentiate it from the southern alligator lizard.

The northern alligator lizard looks exactly like one might think- akin to a baby alligator. It is known to be a bit secretive and is rarely seen in the open. Luckily, our Stewardship Manager Jake was able to spot this one up close while visiting one of our properties!

Physical Description

This is one of two alligator lizard species commonly found in Washington. Both species differ from other lizards in Washington in that they have square scales and folds on the sides of their body. Although the northern alligator lizard can vary greatly in color, it is typically gray-brown to brown with dark brown eyes. This is one way to differentiate it from the southern alligator lizard, which has yellow or gold eyes.

The northern alligator lizard can grow up to nearly 4 inches long and has a long tail, which it can easily shed if threatened by a predator. For example, the northern alligator lizard is often preyed on by house cats. In this situation, the lizard drops its tail, which will continue to wriggle around, distracting the cat and providing an opening to escape.

Tail loss can negatively impact its reproductive ability and make it more vulnerable to adverse environmental factors. However, in most cases the tail will regrow in a matter of weeks.

The northern alligator lizard has a long tail, which can be shed if threatened by a predator.

Habitat

The northern alligator lizard typically prefers cool temperatures and forested habitat, especially rocky openings, grassy areas, and woody debris. It is known for being adaptable to various conditions. Although it is not currently threatened, the northern alligator lizard can be impacted by large-scale habitat destruction with increasing development.

Habitat Restoration and Protection

Much of our work at the Nisqually Land Trust includes habitat restoration projects to restore and protect forested land. By acquiring forested areas, removing invasive plants, and planting native trees and shrubs, we work to create and conserve healthy habitat for the many species that call the Nisqually Watershed home.

Species Spotlight – Western Red Cedar

Lindsie Lawson

Species Spotlight: Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata)

This month, we cast the Species Spotlight on the Western Red Cedar!

Western Red Cedar sapling at a Nisqually Land Trust planting near Ohop Creek

As we near the end of planting season, we are highlighting the Western Red Cedar.

This evergreen conifer has long been important in the Pacific Northwest. Culturally, it holds great significance for tribes across Western Washington, having been utilized for millennia in homes, canoes, fishing gear, art, medicine, and more. It is naturally insect- and fungi-resistant, and the wood is evenly grained, making it economically valuable. The Western Red Cedar also provides shade critical for salmon, keeping stream temperatures cool and allowing them to thrive.

This planting season, Nisqually Land Trust staff and volunteers have planted Western Red Cedar saplings, along with other native trees and shrubs, on one of our properties along Ohop Creek.

NLT Stewardship Manager Jake Pool noted that the Western Red Cedar is “not commonly replanted in wetland areas, and when logged it is often replaced with timber species.” One reason it can be difficult to replant is that it needs to be protected from deer and elk, as they like to eat it. Those who have planted with us over the years have noticed that we stake and tube the new trees and shrubs. In doing so, we provide extra protection for the saplings until they have grown tall enough to thrive.

Black bears and other small animals often strip Western Red Cedars for sapwood.

The Western Red Cedar is also heavily utilized by other wildlife. Jake captured the photo on the right, showing a Western Red Cedar on NLT property where a black bear had clawed open and chewed on the tree, stripping it for the sapwood underneath. Smaller animals, such as porcupines and squirrels also strip the bark to line their nests and for food.

The Western Red Cedar has been heavily impacted by climate change in recent years. While it is a member of the Cypress family, it is not drought tolerant as are other Cypress trees. Since it does not have a taproot, but rather a shallow and wide-spreading root system, it cannot extend deeper for water sources when moisture levels are low. As a result, it has suffered widespread die-off over the past decade in the Pacific Northwest with warmer temperatures and repeated droughts.

One of our greatest priorities for our properties is habitat restoration. For this reason, our Stewardship Team works to plant Western Red Cedars in areas we believe they can thrive, while also removing invasives to minimize competition for water resources.

Species Spotlight – Western Bumble Bee

Lindsie Lawson

Species Spotlight: Western Bumble Bee (Bombus occidentalis)

This month, we cast the Species Spotlight on the Western Bumble Bee!

While its coloring varies, it is commonly identified by a black abdomen and a tail that appears to be dipped in white.

Upon visiting one of our properties north of Ashford, Stewardship Manager Jake Pool found 14 different pollinators on one goldenrod patch in just 30 minutes of observation! Among these was the Western Bumble Bee.

The Western Bumble Bee is native to the west coast of the United States and Canada. What was once a common species across a vast region is now in decline and even considered quite rare.

As a generalist pollinator, the Western Bumble Bee is very important to the local ecosystem, pollinating a wide variety of flowering plants. It lives in small, annual colonies that depend on diverse flora, as well as logs, stumps, and abandoned nests throughout the nesting season. It prefers the cooler temperatures found in subalpine and montane areas.

Currently, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has classified its sensitivity to climate change as Moderate-High, as shifts in temperature, precipitation, and snowpack impact its nesting and other practices.

Conservation Concerns

The Western Bumble Bee is currently designated as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need under the State Wildlife Action Plan, as well as a Priority Species under the WDFW Priority Habitat and Species Program. In a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey alongside bumble bee research groups, data showed a 93% decline in occupancy from 1998 to 2018. This trend of decline has continued, and recent surveys in Washington show a small number of remaining populations across the state. WDFW has requested that these be reported whenever seen.

NLT Protects Habitat

Much of our field work by partners, volunteers, and staff includes planting native plants such as Willows, Maples, Goldenrod and Pearly Everlasting, as well as invasive weed management across Nisqually Land Trust properties. By replenishing these plants which are especially popular among pollinators, we hope to support a healthy habitat for the Western Bumble Bee, along with many others.

Photo/Video Credit: Jake Pool

 

 

Species Spotlight – Nisqually Chum Salmon

Dom Feola

Species Spotlight Graphic

January Species Spotlight

Nisqually Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) 

By Heather Paladini

Each month, we will spotlight a species of fauna, flora, or fungi from within the Nisqually Watershed. Stay tuned to see what’s being spotted in the watershed each month!

This month, we cast the Species Spotlight on the Nisqually chum salmon. 

The Nisqually chum salmon run in the winter. They use the lower parts of prairie streams in the Nisqually River watershed for spawning, including both Muck and Yelm creeks. Muck Creek supports four species of salmonids, with chum being the most numerous of the anadromous fish in the creek. Muck Creek is also the most significant stream for Nisqually chum, as the largest proportion of these chum spawn here. Up to one-third of the entire Nisqually River chum run use Muck Creek.  

The Nisqually winter chum run is the latest-timed chum run in the Pacific Rim.  While other Puget Sound chum spawn in November, the Nisqually chum spawn in late December through January. Why do these salmon run so late? What makes these chum salmon different from others?  

Nisqually Chum: Unique Adaptations

These chum are thought to be genetically unique. By reacting to different environmental conditions over time, they have adapted to prairie streams including Muck Creek, and the hydrology of the river and its tributaries at this particular time of the year. 

A Pierce County report on the Muck Creek Basin suggests that the chum that use Muck Creek for spawning have been influenced by its intermittent stream flow conditions. As a result, they have timed their runs to coincide with passable stream flows which happen later in the season. Adapting to the unique stream flows of this creek, which favor late-arriving fish, is a phenomenon seen in other spawning fish populations elsewhere. 

This adaptation may give these chum an advantage over their fall counterparts. It enables them to avoid most of the winter floods responsible for displacing salmon eggs within the gravel or smothering them with silt. Additionally, this allows for faster incubation: the later they arrive, the warmer the water will be for the incubating eggs.  

Another advantageous attribute of the chum is that half of the adult chum in any given year returning to Muck and Yelm Creeks are 3 years old and the other half are 4 years old. This makes them more resilient to unusually calamitous stream flow years, because it would only affect half the population of a brood, with the other half returning a different year. 

Cultural Significance of Nisqually Chum

The late-timed chum are culturally significant to the Nisqually Tribe because they are the only fresh fish returning at a time when other salmon runs are over. Historically, the winter chum run was an entirely wild salmon run that could support a harvest. Unfortunately, the runs in recent years have been declining and are no longer large enough to support a fishing season.   

NLT Protects Nisqually Chum Salmon Habitat

The Nisqually Land Trust works to protect and steward important salmon habitat lands including the lower reach of Yelm Creek, an important habitat for the Nisqually chum. The photo and video shown here were taken at Yelm Creek on the Petersen Farm. NLT has a conservation easement at Petersen Farm and works closely with the Petersen family to conserve salmon habitat for this genetically unique species of salmon.  

Nisqually chum salmon in Yelm Creek

This chum was spawning in the lower Yelm Creek a couple of weeks ago, and he gave our ED Jeanette a close-up chance to meet him. Notice his beautiful purple-red vertical markings and his well-developed teeth. These canine-like teeth may be what gave the chum their common alias dog salmon.  Photo credit: Jeanette Dorner

Stay tuned for next month’s Species Spotlight!