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>> "Arizona Wildlife Views,"
brought to you by the sale of
hunting and fishing licenses and
the heritage fund.
Lottery dollars working for
wildlife.
Some projects made possible by
the sport fish and wildlife
restoration fund.
>> Welcome to "Arizona Wildlife
Views."
I'm Jim PAXon.
This week we'll check on the
health of the deer herd, then
we'll go over to Safford for the
first ever stocking of catchable
gila trout, but first it's been
a long time in the making.
Finally, bighorn sheep have safe
passage over highway 93.
>> They look like overpasses
that come from nowhere and go to
nowhere.
But they're actually very
important to the bighorn sheep
that call this country home.
On February 1st, 2011, a young
ram bighorn sheep took the first
tentative step onto the newly
construct the wildlife overpass
on highway 93 near Hoover dam.
>> We were so excited and very
pleased to see the first video
images of a bighorn sheep
actually using the ore passes.
Not only do these overpasses
protect motorists traveling this
highly traveled corridor on U.S.
93, but they also protect the
bighorn sheep of course native
to the black mountains.
ADOT has nearly half a billion
dollars over the last decade
improving U.S.
93 from
Wickenberg in Maricopa County,
to the new Hoover dam bypass.
The improvements continue.
ADOT's long-term vision is to
transform this highly traveled
route into a four-lane divide
highway.
>> U.S.
highway 93 is the route
most Arizonans use to access
Las Vegas.
It's also been designated as
part of the North American free
trade agreement trade route, as
welt as part of the CANAMEX, the
Canada-Mexico trade corridor.
Increasing traffic levels and
accidents, desert Brisenia
sheep-vehicle collisions, and
compromised Hoover dam security
led both federal and state
agencies to act.
To address these issues, Arizona
department of transportation and
the federal highway
administration constructed the
Hoover dam bypass.
Completed in the fall of 2010,
this new roadway circumvents
Hoover dam by allowing traffic
to pass over the Colorado river
on a bridge downstream, but
within sight of the Hoover dam.
Arizona, 15 miles of two-lane
roadway from the Hoover dam
bypass south tarred kingman is
now widened to four lanes.
To alleviate the bighorn-vehicle
collision component, three
wildlife overpasses and adjacent
funnel fencing were constructed
to allow wildlife to cross the
road safely and exclude desert
bighorn from the roadway,
thereby reducing risks for
motorists.
>> before they started
reconstruction of the roadway we
were seeing as many as bighorn
sheep killed per year.
That also poses a safety concern
for the people driving up and
down the highway.
>> State and federal law does
mandate that the Arizona
department of transportation
look at all of the environmental
impacts prior to building any
roadway in Arizona.
>> In 2004, ADOT and federal
highways funded a project to
evaluate where these crossing
structures would be placed.
>> Arizona game and fish
department went out and collared
sheep and let the sheep tell us
where to put the structures with
the GPS collars.
We got the data back from the
GPS collars, identified several
locations where the sheep were
trying to cross or were crossing
the road, one of those is the
overpass you see behind us here.
>> This research showed that
desert bighorn sheep focused
their movement along ridges that
were intercepted by the highway
to approach and cross U.S.
93.
The ridges offered the bighorn
good visibility to avoid
predators, higher quality forage
compared to surrounding
landscapes and terrain that
offered the best possible link
to larger areas of suitable
sheep habitat.
Data suggests crossing
structures built at these
locations would be the most
effective locations for crossing
structures.
>> We've learned desert bighorn
sheep don't look underpasses and
culverts.
They shy away from them because
of the predators that might be
in there.
So overpasses have become a good
option for bighorn sheep.
>> Additionally, the cost of
building overpasses was less
than underpasses.
In support of the
recommendations, Arizona game
and fish, ADOT, and federal
highways committed to designing
and building three overpasses.
The first ever in Arizona, and
the first anywhere in the world
for desert bighorn sheep.
The three sites chosen are at
milepost 3.3, 5.2, and 12.2.
The purpose of these overpasses
is to minimize the impacts of
fragmentation, which along with
habitat loss, serves as the
leading factors for wildlife
extinction.
The bighorn sheep herd in this
area is one of the largest and
most important in the country,
and efforts such as these are
intended to help ensure the
sustainability of this herd for
future generations of wildlife
enthusiasts, while also
providing for improved safety
for motorists.
People come from aller on the
world for the watchable wildlife
opportunities in Arizona.
This young lady is taking home
the memory of a lifetime.
>> Associated with the
overpasses is wildlife fencing.
This fencing is high enough to
keep sheep from jumping it
easily.
The fencing funnels them down to
the wildlife overpasses and a
couple of bridges we have in the
project, and the fencing is also
linked to culverts along the
project so other animals can
pass under the highway safely.
>> Built into each fence is
what's called an escape ramp.
When an animal gets caught
inside the feints on the side of
the highway, they can come to
the escape ramp, jump out, and
they're not caught inside the
feints corridor.
A barrier like a roadway, canal,
or fencing, blocks the movement
of animals from others of their
kind or essential habitats.
>> Bighorn sheep like all other
wildlife need access to
resources to keep them alive,
like water and food, and summer
winter range, breeding grounds,
and if you cut off access to
that they don't have a way to
get to those resources.
Over time you see genetics not
getting across the roads and
barriers and that leads to
inbreeding, and you might see
reduced fitness or the ability
of those animals to have young,
and all the other negative
effects that come with
inbreeding.
And after a while they can't get
to the resources they need to
survive, and over time they can
go instinct.
We have installed digital video
recording system to monitor
their use or nonuse of the
overpasses.
ADOT was very helpful with
establishing this system to make
it actually integrated into the
structure itself to make it more
robust against weather or
rodents chewing through wires or
whatnot.
You can see a portion of the
system here, which is comprised
of some infrared lights, which
may not catch sheep since
they're daytime animals, but
will catch any other animals
using the overpass at night.
In the center of two infrared
lights you have a colored video
camera that records anything
crossing the structure at mid
bridge here.
>> The digital video record can
system use as photo beam Trigger
that shoots across the
structure.
Located about eight to 10 inches
off the deck, anything that
Broncos the foe --s the photo
beam will start all the cameras
rolling.
We have three here -- one in the
center and one at either end.
That way biologists can catch
the bighorn sheep as they
approach the structure, and
witness whether they actually
crossed or not.
>> We also have three of these
cameras at the west end of the
overpass, and those cameras not
only allow us to see sheep
coming across this structure,
but it also allows us to monitor
the sheep who may approach the
structure and decide not to
cross.
We're able to correlate that
digital video recording of the
sheeps' behavior and correlate
that with traffic volumes on the
road to see if that has any
effect on their behavior,
whether they decide to cross or
not to cross the structure.
>> All three overpasses have
been used by bighorn sheep, and
of those, a majority are male.
But of all of them that make an
approach, about half do cross,
and they'll make multiple
crossings.
>> We also have to save as a
backup to our video system and a
trail camera.
So it snaps still photos, again,
of anything crossing the
structure at any time of the
day.
On this particular structure
we've monitored a few young rams
coming down, and they were
practicing head butting as
they're coming down the
approach.
I think from the other highway
projects we have that it's shown
that the few brave animals that
initially will go across, others
will start to follow them, then
it will just become a regular
behavior in their movements.
On top of the overpasses we have
tried to match the surroundings
as much as possible.
When the sheep come up to the
overpasses you want it to look
just like what they've been
traveling through as they go
across the landscape.
So they're not bothered by it,
or they're not alarmed by it.
The idea is they just continue
down the ridge they were
originally walking down and
right onto the other side of the
road.
This is one of the 50-foot wide
structures.
We have two of these and the
3rd one is double this width,
so there's one structure that's
100 foot wide.
And they're all 200 foot across.
The data we do collect from all
those overpass structures will
be analyzed.
We'll be looking for the number
of sheep that approach the
structures, the number of sheep
that cross the structures so we
can get a passage rate.
And all that is correlated with
the amount of traffic and time
of day.
We also look at those movement
patterns associated with
different seasons that are
important to the bighorn sheep.
We'll also look at, are males
using it more than females?
Is it even?
And how does that change as time
goes on?
>> This project has been a
partnership between the Arizona
department of transportation,
federal highways, Arizona game
and fish department, Brophy land
management, and the national
park service.
As far as the research project
goes, the partners are ADOT,
game and fish, and the federal
aid wildlife restoration
program.
Arizona desert bighorn sheep
society funds and manpower were
unveil able to this research
project as well.
The upgrades to U.S.
highway 93
will benefit the traveling
public through efficiency and
safety.
Furthermore, the wildlife
overpasses will reduce the
incidents of wildlife vehicle
collisions while maintaining
habitat connectivity.
Though it may take several years
for large segments of the
population to readily out these
these structures, we've already
documented their use by sheep
even as the concrete seems to be
barely dry.
The partnership between natural
resource and transportation
agencies represents the first
time in Arizona that wildlife
research was conducted and Rudy
Espino result incorporated into
project design before
construction began.
And represents the success and
partnerships between agencies of
Denvering disciplines but
similar goals.
>>> The north KAiBAB plateau
contains some of the most
beautiful and regularred country
in Arizona.
It covers over 1200 square miles
north of the Grand Canyon, with
elevations ranging from 5,000 to
9,000 feet.
The KAiBAB is home to many
wildlife species, including a
large herd of mule deer whose
health and well-being are very
important to Arizona game and
fish, which has the
responsibility for managing all
wildlife in the state.
On this cold day in march,
they're conducting a health
assessment of the herd to
determine their condition coming
out of winter.
>> The main impetus for doing
this condition testing is to
assess the carrying capacity and
how well the range is able to
handle these deer from year to
year.
And then if we have a
particularly bad year, or series
of bad years, we'll also have a
baseline of a number of years to
be able to compare it to under
various climatic conditions.
>> The study began in 2010 and
is in its second year.
With with meltdown year to go.
Then it will be conducted every
three years thereafter.
The initial results are looking
positive, with this herd showing
signs of improvement over last
year's.
>> The health assessment we're
look at fat levels using
ultrasound, we measure the fat
thickness.
The deer this year have been in
pretty good condition.
We've had fat levels we're
measuring one to three
millimeters on the back fat.
Last year they were in poor
condition, we came off a real
severe winter in 2009-2010, it
was probably the severest winter
we've had in 20 years, and
condition was low.
So they've improved this year
since the winter was a little
milder.
>> But the trick to giving a
mule deer a health check-up is
that first you have to catch it.
>> The helicopter goes out and
searches for deer scattered
around here on the KAiBAB.
There is no shortage of deer it
appears.
It's tricky in this type of
habitat.
It's fairly heavily wooded.
We try to push the deer out into
the open where they're -- they
can be more easily captured, but
deer, like any prey species,
tries to avoid capture like
this, and they tend to seek the
see forested cover.
>> Maneuvering close to the deer
takes a pilot with a lot of
experience and a steady hand.
Once the deer is in the right
position, the gunner lets his
net fly and the deer is brought
down.
Then, with the helicopter still
hovering, the passenger jumps
out to contain the deer.
Of course if the deer isn't
completely subdued in the net,
then the capture becomes more of
a foot race.
Once the deer is safely hobbled,
it's blindfold and placed in a
travel bag to reduce stress on
the animal, and flown to the
work site.
When the helicopter arrives,
several people with a stretcher
rush out to unload the deer and
carry it to the work area.
The first order much business is
to get its weight.
52.
>> Then what is often the most
time consuming are and trickiest
part of the procedure
begins -- untangling the deer
from the net without injury to
it or its handlers.
After the deer is freed from the
knelt and its powerful legs
secured, it's carried to the
medical tent where the health
assessment takes place.
>> First thing we do when we're
checking the deer after they've
been captured is we look them
over quickly for injuries and
then also take their
temperature, because it's very
common for these deer to get
overheated during the capture
process, and if that happens and
becomes too extreme, we could
have a real problem with them.
So we try and cool them down
quickly if they come in
overheated.
And then the next part is to go
ahead and assess their status.
This year the deer seem to be
looking a little bit better.
There's a little more fat on
their bodies.
And this directly affects the
milk of the doe and how well
she's able to care for that fawn
when it hits the ground.
Which is going to be here in
another month or two.
The sonogram is part of the
condition test can.
We're actually using the
ultrasound to measure the depth
of the fat under the skin, and
we are look at that basically at
the base of the tail.
The other way we assess their
body condition is by feeling how
much certain points of their
body stick out.
One main point is the withers
between the shoulder blades, and
then the other is there's a
ligament between the tail and
the pelvis.
And we feel how much of that we
can pinch.
So it's kind of like with people
you pinch an inch, only we're
pinching it in a couple
different places.
We do some disease assessment.
We look for hemorrhagic disease,
which is a viral disease, and we
also look for blue tongue virus.
Last year we had no evidence of
those diseases up here.
It's more for just monitoring
the basic health of the
population.
>> The doe also receives an ear
tag for identification purposes.
And any injuries she may have
sustained during capture are
quickly attended to.
>> Deer are incredibly strong,
incredibly feisty, but with a
real will to survive, and
interacting up close with humans
is not something they relish.
So dealing with them at that
left can be very strenuous
physically.
I have determined through mild
injuries that it's really a
young man's job, and probably
when you are starting to
approach the tail end of year
career, some of those duties are
best left to the new guys who
are young and tough and rough
and tumble.
Not that I don't enjoy it still,
because as I said, actually
laying your hands on animals and
taking those measurements and
dealing with them up close is
something that the vast majority
of society never gets to
experience.
>> With several people
collecting samples, the work
goes quickly and the entire
health assessment can be
completed in only a few minutes.
Then the deer is ready to be
released.
If the capture site was less
than a mile from the processing
location, then the deer can be
released on site.
In this instance, the doe is
carried several yards from the
tent and released facing away
from the activity.
When releasing an animal, it's
important to be aware of any
obstructions like trees
ordaining Russ terrain such as
gullies or cliffs.
Generally, the hobbles are
released first, then the
blindfold is slipped off.
Everyone lets go, and the doe
quickly gets the heck out of
dodge.
If the deer was captured more
than a mile away from the work
site, then it is placed back in
its travel bag and returned to
the area where it was captured.
To help keep the deer calm while
waiting for transport, everyone
tries to keep the noise level
down, since people are predators
to this prey species.
Once the helicopter is back on
site, the deer receives a free
return trip to its herd.
>> The deer capture presents a
pretty neat opportunity for
somebody that's interested in
wildlife and wildlife work in
that it's hands-on.
You're actually handling the
animal, which is really a rare
thing.
People often assume we're hands
on with the critters all the
time, but we're really not.
We observe them constantly, but
actually happeneds on, and
taking measures and things of
that nature, relatively rare
occurrence.
>> The deer population is real
good here in the KAiBAB.
This is one of those herds that
has been studied a lot in the
past because of its major boom
and busts, and deer, probably at
least four or more times in the
past have exceeded their
carrying capacity out here.
So the more information we have
on the herd, we can keep it
below that carry capacity level.
That will be a good thing for
us.
The idea behind wildlife
management is to keep a stable
population, stable harvest.
So we don't want to see these
big increases in the population
and eventual crashes.
Because then we won't be able to
provide that recreational
opportunity consistently year
after year.
>> While this study is
beneficial to the people of
Arizona, and their mule deer
population, it comes at no cost
to the taxpayer.
The money for this study was
raise from the sale of special
mule deer license tags by the
Arizona deer association, the
mule deer foundation, and the
Arizona big game super raffle.
After three days of battling
rough weather, 24 does were
captured and released unharmed,
and the survey results show a
definite improvement over the
previous one.
The average body weight was five
pounds heavier this year, which
translates to the deer having 7%
body fat, where the year before
they were down to only 2.4% body
fat.
This means the does and their
unborn fawnless have a much
greater chance of survival,
thereby assuring the future of
this historic mule deer herd on
the north KAiBAB.
>> John Marvin from Sierra Vista
caught the first one.
But Robert woods from Flagstaff
set a new state record with this
monitor, 19.25 inch, gila trout.
But before they could do that, a
lot of people were doing this.
>> This is going to be the first
recreational stocking of gila
trout in Arizona.
It will be the first fishery for
gila trout in Arizona.
>> On February 23rd, 2011, the
first season for gila trout in
Arizona history opened in the
mountains west of the town of
Stafford.
The Arizona game and fish
department in cooperation with
the U.S.
fish and wildlife
service, U.S.
forest service,
and volunteers from old pueblo
trout unlimited and the San
Pedro fly casters, stocked the
reservoir with about 800 gila
trout that came from the Mora
national fish hatchery and
technology center in New Mexico.
This is the first known fishing
season for gila trout in
Arizona.
Gila trout, which are a trout
species native only to Arizona
and New Mexico, are listed as
federally threatened under the
Endangered Species Act.
Currently, gila trout only
occupy a small number of streams
in Arizona, which are used
toward recovery of the species.
>> They're threatened under the
Endangered Species Act, but they
are fishable population as part
of the 4D rule under Endangered
Species Act.
So we are able to regulate
fisheries here.
>> Currently, fishing is closed
at all gila trout recovery
streams in Arizona.
Including fry creek above the
reservoir.
>> Everything above the
reservoir is closed to fishing.
That's the recovery population,
and it's closed to fishing right
now.
Hopefully it will be open to
fishing when it's got enough in
there to support some angling
pressure.
Hopefully in the next several
years that will be open.
>> These mountains are the only
place in the world people can
fish for two native Arizonan
species of trout -- the Apache
trout and gila trout and five
overwall species all in the same
area.
>> On the north side of the
mountain where the streams are
flowing into the gila river,
we're going to have gila trout,
and on the south side of the
receiver where they're flowing
into the Wilcox PLAYA, we have
Apache trout hybrid with
rainbows and on top at RiGGS
lake we stock brown trout, and
rainbow trout.
If you made your trip to the
mountains you could fish for all
species of trout on this
mountain.
The recovery of the gila trout,
they recover by lineage.
There's four lineages of gila
trout, and they're all the in
New Mexico.
Right here in fry creek we have
the south diamond creek lineage,
in ash creek we're going to put
the spruce creek lineage, and
there's also main Diamond and
whiskey creek lineages.
We have fish from south diamond
and grapevine creek and Bruce
creek fish and raspberry creek.
In in New Mexico there are a lot
more recovery streams.
We're just getting started in
Arizona.
But we're making a long-term the
of progress.
>> Anglers are able to fish for
the gila trout stocked in the
fry Mesa reservoir because they
were surplus fish from the
hatcheries.
There is a one-fish bag and
possession limit for gila trout,
but it's recommended of
recommended to practice catch
and release.
>> That's our show for this
week.
For more information on Arizona
game and fish or anything you've
seen in tonight's episode, go to
our website.
I'm Jim Paxon.
We'll see you next week.
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