It’s Rattlesnake Mating Season!
By Kelsey Grousbeck, Intern
As you make your way around Jasper Ridge and surrounding hills, it’s not just the rock formations that are serpentine. The Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis oreganus) is native to Northern California and breeds in the late summer, favoring these rocky grasslands for their habitat. Though rattlesnakes strike fear into many hikers, that is typically all the striking they do. The California Department of Fish and Game assures hikers that attacks are accidental and, unless provoked, these snakes favor retreat and give clear warning signs (such as their rattle) before attacking (http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/issues/snake.html).
The Northern Pacific Rattlesnake is also found in mixed woods and sagebrush from central California up to Washington and British Columbia, extending into parts of Idaho. Depending on their surroundings, their coloring can vary from olive to gray or tan with darker blotches. They get to be an average length of about 2 feet, with some as long as 5 feet, and in the wild it is estimated they live to be about 15 years old. Their prey consists of reptiles, amphibians and small rodents, though the adult California Ground Squirrel has developed immunity to their venom and responds aggressively if attacked.
Range of Northern Pacific Rattlesnake in California
Though they breed in the summer, rattlesnake females store the sperm and do not reproduce until the following spring. A female Northern Pacific Rattlesnake can reproduce only once every three years because they must double their body weight before pregnancy. The increased weight allows them to survive since they fast for almost 19 months during pregnancy and the following hibernation period. Females give birth to about 2-8 live young in mid-September. These young have underdeveloped “buttons” where their rattles will be, which they do not fully develop until they are over a year old. Juvenile rattlesnakes, despite not having developed rattles, still contain as much venom as adults.
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
Rattlesnake bites are rarely fatal to humans, so if you have been bitten don’t panic. Instead, rinse the wound with soap and water, remove anything that may constrict swelling such as watches or rings, apply a cool, wet cloth to the area and get to a hospital or poison control center as soon as you can. Do not apply a tourniquet or ice to the bite and never cut the wound or try to suck the venom out with your mouth, as those practices can end up harming you further.
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
To avoid an unfavorable interaction with a rattlesnake, be sure to wear proper hiking boots and long pants while hiking in areas that could be snake habitat. Additionally, step on top of rocks or stumps as opposed to over them, since snakes enjoy resting against the side of these trail obstacles. To be extra cautious, use a walking stick to prevent a threatened snake from attacking if you accidentally walk too close.
The most important fact to remember when you come across a rattlesnake is that they are a threatened species and should be respected and left alone. Once you know how to avoid engaging a rattlesnake, hiking in the summer and fall can be very exciting, especially when you can try to spot young rattlesnakes before they head to their burrows to hibernate. So happy trails and beware any ominous rattle sounds!
Edit: These photos were taken yesterday by Audrey at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve!
Rattlesnake Mating Dance © Audrey Rust
Rattlesnake Mating Dance © Audrey Rust
Rattlesnake Mating Dance © Audrey Rust
Be Tick Aware
By Kelsey Grousbeck, Intern
As summer rolls along, friends and families continue to make their way to many of the Peninsula’s open spaces to hike, picnic and enjoy the outdoors. Unfortunately, the outdoors can enjoy us just as much. Summer is a peak feeding time for many species of ticks, which feed on large mammals such as deer, dogs and humans. Some ticks are harmless to humans besides a painful bite and a minor infection, but the Deer Tick (Ioxodes scapularis) and the Western Black Legged Tick (Ioxodes pacificus) can transmit Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme Disease, to humans and pets.
Ioxodes scapularis (Deer Tick)
Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is a treatable condition, but it can cause great discomfort and serious complications if it goes undiagnosed. The symptoms of Lyme Disease vary between cases, but often include fatigue, headaches, general joint and muscle aches, muscle twitches, uncontrollable irritability and mood swings, and at least one rash on the body. The tell-tale “bulls-eye” rash often associated with Lyme Disease unfortunately only occurs in 30% of the cases, so any rash, especially one that disappears and reappears intermittently, should be looked at.
The bad news about ticks is that they feed in the nymph stage when they are about the size of a poppy seed, making them almost impossible to spot before they are on you. The good news is that they are very slow-moving and require about 24 hours of being in the host to successfully transmit the bacteria, so thoroughly checking pets and yourselves nightly can greatly reduce your risk of infection. There are many products for pets that prevent fleas, ticks and other insects from biting them, unfortunately many of these products fail to kill ticks, which often means your pets will carry ticks into your home where they can find their way onto you.
The number of cases of Lyme per 100,000 people from '93-'05.
If You are Bitten
Ticks are often found in moist, shaded environments as well as high grasses or overgrown forest areas. Once they are on their host, they try to migrate to warm, moist areas such as the head, neck or under the arms before they bite. Their bite has a numbing agent in it, so it is nearly impossible to feel when you are being bitten. If you find a tick with its head stuck in your skin, you should remove it immediately but correctly, since you do not want to press the body and inject the bacteria into your system. To properly remove a tick, firmly grasp the head as close to your skin as possible with a pair of tweezers (NOT your fingers) and carefully pull the tick out. After that, rinse the area and treat it with an antiseptic, then seek medical attention as soon as you can. If you are able, bring the tick with you so it can be tested for the bacteria or any other diseases. Since Lyme Disease has an incubation period that can range from a couple days to many months, it might not present itself immediately. To be safe, you should encourage your doctor to prescribe medication, typically Doxycycline or Amoxicillin, even if the initial test comes back negative.
Prevention
The easiest way to prevent Lyme Disease is to prepare accordingly before going outdoors. Wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt in light colors to easily spot ticks and tuck your pants into your socks to prevent ticks and other insects from reaching your ankles. Bug Sprays containing DEET can kill and repel ticks as well, so spray your clothes before you go out. Additionally, avoid fallen logs or areas that deer might frequent because nymph ticks, the age where they feed, have been found to favor those areas. Though they can be nuisances, ticks should not be a deterrent from spending time outside. Now that you are aware of the risk, you shouldn’t have any problem hiking safely!
Battling Invasive Plants at Gregerson
By Meghan Scanlon, Conservation Project Manager
In 2008, POST documented a dense 41-acre French broom (Genista monspessulana) infestation on Gregerson, a 203-acre property above the coastside community of El Granada that POST acquired in November 2007.
Gregerson was historically grazed, but by the mid-1980s the then-fallow fields had been infested by a “broom forest.” The previous owners disced and planted it with oats for several years, but stopped doing so in late 2004. Since that time, broom reemerged and migrated into surrounding scrub habitat. The below map identifies the boundaries of the broom population as of April 2008.
Map of initial work.
The broom was encroaching on a population of endemic Montara Mountain blue bush lupine (Lupinus eximus). POST knew that if left untreated, French broom would likely come to dominate the entire area, forming a monoculture that would make it all but impossible for the Montara Mountain blue bush lupine and other native species to survive.
POST took immediate action, treating 35 acres of infestation before plants went to seed in March 2008. In 2009, POST worked to complete initial treatment of the entire infestation, and to re-treat the areas treated in 2008.
Hard at work.
With continued treatments in March 2009 and April 2010, POST effectively eliminated all mature French broom on the property, as well as new sprouts that had emerged after the initial 2008 treatment. The following map identifies the areas that contained broom seedlings as of June 2010. Note how the population has been substantially reduced!
Progress!
Ongoing follow-up treatment, which entails primarily spraying or pulling new seedlings by our dedicated volunteers, will be required for several years, due to this plant’s persistent seedbank.
Thanks to this effective treatment and scheduled follow-up monitoring and treatment, the Montara Mountain blue bush lupine, other Montara Mountain endemics, and other native plants will be able to thrive in this unique natural community.
POST
Jeff Powers
Paul Ringgold
Meghan Scanlon