Mapping the density and extent of the southern-most population through out the Santa Maria Valley
CBI staff verified a new population of the endangered Stephens’ kangaroo rat in the Santa Maria Valley, San Diego County, California, by trapping and reconnaissance surveys and performed numerous adaptive management and monitoring tasks to help sustain this isolated population. Tasks included:
- Mapping the density and extent of population
- Performing GIS habitat modeling to predict other potential habitat in the region
- Providing tissue samples for genetic analyses, which demostrated that the population is unique and highly inbred
- Preparing a Biological Assessment for the expansion of the Ramona Airport in the heart of the population and a Habitat Management Plan to sustain the population via adaptive management and monitoring
- Preparing and implementing a translocation program to salvage kangaroo rats prior to construction of an expanded airport runway through the heart of the population, house them in captivity, release them to improved habitat areas, and monitor success of the translocated population and the overall population in the area for several years
