Fast forward 10 years and Dan and I are again in a muddy pit, surrounded by bones. Only this time, they are the giant bones of an extinct Columbian Mammoth, found by a curious farmer in an artichoke field in Castroville, CA. The farmer was grading a wall for irrigation when his grader uncovered what he thought was granite. Being a curious and intelligent fellow, and knowing that granite does not belong in the coastal farmlands, he got off his grader for a closer look. By pure coincidence, this farmer had always been interested in bones, even as a child. He once toyed with going into archeology, but the tug of the family farm kept him in the fields. In short order, he recognized the porous white substance as bone and called the local university.  Many farmers would have plowed this right under, recognizing the halt it would put in their work and planting while excavation work was under way. This fellow thought the experience of finally getting to live some of his childhood dreams was worth the potential hassle. Now he spends his days in the pit, carefully dusting off bones with sponge brushes, or straining buckets of dirt through a wet-screen searching for pieces of bone or tusk missed during the initial excavation and bringing his family through to share in the experience. His nieces were there taking pictures, cataloging bones and gathering material for what I’m sure, is going to be the best science project in the local 8th grade class. More details on Columbian Mammoths after the pictures.

The town of Castroville. Artichoke capital of California. Now home to Mammoths.

Panoramic view of the excavation site in an artichoke field.

This is a composite from about 100 separate images of the dig site.

Dan helps volunteers clean some of the larger pieces.

Dan does some detailed clearing around a mammoth tooth.

Different layers in the soil where the farmer was clearing when he found the mammoth bones.

Wet screening can be cold on a windy day. Volunteers search the clay soil for missed pieces of bone and tusk.

Boss-man Dan.

A mammoth molar, one tooth, nearly 8 inches.

One of the mammoth tusks.

Interior view of the mammoth tusk.

Keep away from Jason's diggins.

The people involved are at risk of mammoth fever.

Columbian Mammoths (Mammuthus columbi) are effectively “North American Mammoths.”  M. columbi is thought to have evolved from an earlier Old World species: Mammuthus trogontherii (the Steppe Mammoth).  In Eurasia the same ancestor, M. trogontherii, evolved into M. primigenius (the Wooly Mammoth), which later also migrated into North America.
The range of M. primigenius (the Wooly Mammoth) and the range of M. columbi (the Columbian Mammoth) overlapped in some areas of North America; but M. columbi extended as far south as Mexico and Nicaragua, while M. primigenius remained in the more northerly latitudes.  For the most part, both of these species appear to have gone extinct some time around 12,500 – 9,000 years ago. However, researchers have become aware of several small remnant populations on Wrangell Island in the Bering Straits and also on the Santa Barbara Channel Islands; these populations appear to have continued for several thousand more years before they too became extinct.

Hawkwatch.org volunteer Gretchen Henne releases a Cooper's hawk after taking its measurements, checking its health and banding the leg for future identification.

High on a windswept ridgeline in the Goshute mountains of Eastern Nevada sits Aaron Viducich, a thick flannel shirt draped across his shoulders and eyes glued to a monstrous pair of binoculars. “Another Cooper’s Hawk,” he says pointing at what appears to be a speck of dust miles away. “Cooper’s Hawk,” repeats his partner Laurel Ferreira and logs it on the Hawkwatch.org daily observation sheet.

Viducich is the lead observer for Hawkwatch International at their research station in the Goshute mountains and with good reason. He can tell just by the size and movement of a bird what species it is when all others see is a formless speck. “Some birds flap a lot, others move only the tips of their wings. Some are smooth, some lanky and awkward,” he says by way of explanation.

The Toano mountain range, of which the Goshute mountains form the southern part, turns out to be one of the largest migratory raptor flyway west of the Mississippi. At times, the observers will log several hundred raptors of various species, so you have to be fast, and you have to be good.

Hawkwatch International (HWI) has been studying the fall raptor migration in the Goshute Mountains since just before 1980 when HWI founder Steve Hoffman and his colleague Andy White, then both in college, looked at a map and took what they knew about raptors to decide that the previously unknown Goshute mountains would be perfect for the birds. After blazing a trail up the steep mountainside, they discovered one of the largest and most active migratory routes in the country. Banding and research started soon after, and Hawkwatch International was born.

Since its inception, HWI has banded more than 60,000 birds at the Goshute site and accumulated a nearly 30-year data set of what birds are migrating when, and in what condition.

Deneb Sandack is the lead bander and project coordinator in the Goshutes. “To see trends, you must have a lot of data going back a long time. Raptors are at the top of the food chain and any problems in the ecosystem will show up in the hawks first,” she said. Some of these birds travel from Alaska to Veracruz, Mexico each year others migrate anywhere in-between. With new technologies, such as mini satellite transmitters, scientists have determined that certain species, such as Peregrine falcons have been known to travel 800-1000 miles in a single day. The average for most of these raptors is more like 200-400 miles in a day.

HWI’s primary goal is data collection and education. They make much of their research and observations available online, and other scientists can incorporate that into their specific studies on climate change and the environment. Even though their job is simply to collect accurate data and not draw conclusions, one of their banders, a Frenchman by the unlikely name of William Blake, couldn’t help but make an observation as he held a beautiful male Kestrel for release. “We have definitely seen a decline in the Kestrel population over the last 5 years,” he said, “Though exactly what is causing that we can’t really say.”

Hawks and falcons which make up a class of bird called Accipiter, which are forest hunters, are the first large migratory wave to wash over the Goshutes in September. Raptors don’t like to flap and they don’t like barren spaces. They prefer to ride thermals or ridge generated wind lift and glide from place to place conserving their energy. Later in September and into October, the larger birds such as Eagles, Goshawks and Red Tails begin to move through in droves. The migratory season in the Goshutes runs September through October, with a peak around late September. Bird watchers and enthusiasts willing to make the 2 mile, 1800 foot climb up to the station are rewarded with literally hundreds of birds of prey gliding by often just above their heads.

The observers sit on a large exposed ridge where they can see off in all directions. A plastic owl on a pole sits just feet away. Contrary to popular belief, owls don’t scare off the birds. Owls are the natural predator of birds and hawks will often spectacularly dive-bomb the plastic owl just feet from observers. In another section of the ridge, the banders use live birds under ultra thin and light netting to attract and capture birds. The raptors attack the lure and are safely caught in the netting. Banders remove them from the netting and place them head-first into a large, ventilated can. Once the bird’s heads are covered, they calm down and measurements are taken, sometimes a feather sample for analysis, a small metal band is clipped on their leg and they are released usually in 5-10 minutes. Occasionally if a bird is especially calm and the crew is not overly swamped, they will allow visitors to release the birds, a rare treat!

In addition to gathering valuable scientific data, the Goshute research site also provides an opportunity for the public to learn about the conservation needs of raptors either on site, or by scheduling a presentation with one of their volunteers. But just like everything else these days, HWI is feeling the effects of the economy. “We once had 6 blinds, each with a team of banders, and were able to tag over 100 birds a day during the migration,” said Sandack. “Now we are lucky if we have two people working and get 30 birds.” Volunteering at a remote site like this so close to the birds is a very special experience, something lead observer Erin Viducich prolongs by traveling around the world and volunteering or working at other seasonal sites. You don’t need to be as good as Erin to help out, but you do need some basic bird identification skills, and you really need to like being away from everything, cell phones, computers, people, everything. Contact HWI for more information about volunteering or to make a donation or adopt a hawk.

Hawkwatch also maintains an observation and research site in San Francisco near the Golden Gate where visitors can see migrating raptors Sept. through November most years.

Looking out across the Goshute Mountains in Eastern Nevada from the Hawkwatch raptor observation post towards Wells.

A trail log and signs greet visitors as they enter the wilderness area and make their way up the trail to the Hawkwatch International raptor research station in the Goshute mountains of eastern Nevada.

Hawkwatch International volunteer bird observers Aaron Viducich and Laurel Ferreira spend the day scanning the sky and logging the birds that pass by each day.

Hawkwatch International volunteer bird observers Aaron Viducich, front, and Laurel Ferreira spend the day scanning the sky and logging the birds that pass by each day.

A detail photograph of the small metal band which corresponds to unique information about each bird captured.

An adult male Cooper's Hawk waits to be released. Notice the red eyes, the eyes of this hawk can vary from bright yellow to orange to bright red.

A volunteer prepares to release a young female Kestrel as observers continue to watch for birds in the background at Hawkwatch International's Goshute mountain research station. Male Kestrel's have beautiful blue patches on the backs of their wings.

Hawkwatch International volunteer Deneb Sandack, left, releases a small Red Tail hawk, while Gretchen Henne releases a male Cooper's Hawk on the right.

A young Red Tail hawk flies away after being banded and released by Hawkwatch International volunteers in the Goshute mountains of Nevada.

When visitors make the long hike up to the Goshute mountains Hawk observation and research site, Hawkwatch volunteers often try to allow guests to release a bird assuming that the bird is calm and not stressed and the volunteers have the time. Here my wife Monique gets to let a Sharp-Shinned hawk loose. Notice at the time of this photo, the bird is actually free to go and just resting in her palm. It stayed like that, just lying there for nearly a minute before leisurely getting up and flapping away.

Setting up the grids and starting the species count near the 14,250 foot summit of White Mountain for the first US 5-year resurvey as part of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments or (GLORIA) climate change survey at the first US master-site in the White Mountains.

Story by Scott Sady

Photography by Scott and Monique Sady

Mount Barcroft, a rocky, windswept 13,040-foot peak in the White Mountains above Bishop, CA, is an unlikely candidate for a global climate change laboratory. For the 28 scientists and research students huffing and puffing their way up its flanks this early July morning however, it marked ground zero in the US for studying the effects of climate change.

Mount Barcroft is one of seven permanent study sites established in 2004 in the White Mountains as part of the GLORIA project.

GLORIA (or Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments) is actually a standardized protocol for taking a census of the plant diversity and distribution on alpine peaks that scientists around the world can use to get repeatable and scientifically relevant data.

GLORIA started in Austria on a shoestring budget by a group mostly composed of scientists and volunteers in 1994. The first few permanent sites were established across Europe in 2001 after years of hammering out the methodology to be used. In 2004 the University of California’s White Mountain Research Station, which has facilities at 10,150 feet and 12,410 feet in the White Mountains, and even has one of the highest research stations in the US on the summit of White Mountain Peak at 14,250 feet, became the first and only US master site.

Connie Millar, a research scientist with the US Forest Service, was instrumental in brining the project to the US. “We had a real concern about the lack of integration in the mountain sciences,” said Miller during a slow, rocky drive up to White Mountain Peak.
“Above tree line, alpine summits are very consistent throughout the world. They are more affected by the environment and less by human and other factors,” she said, making them a sort of high-altitude canary in the coalmine.

The GLORIA protocol brings that integration by dictating a very specific method for choosing study plots, mapping them out in a repeatable way, and surveying and cataloging the results in an international database.  GLORIA requires that the study plots are resurveyed every 5 years. This was the first resurvey of a site in the United States.

Since the initial permanent US survey site was established in the White Mountains in 2004, new sites have been established in the Rockies, the Cascades, Alaska, the High Sierra near Mount Dana, and in Lake Tahoe on Freel and Job’s peaks.

In addition to documenting the plant coverage and diversity, other GLORIA volunteers were placing hundreds of tiny temperature sensors to get an exact picture of what the temperature is doing in each of these micro-climates. Another group of scientists were counting the butterfly populations near each of these peaks. Butterflies follow their food, plants, and are another indicator for climate change. Two researchers have even designed a specialized leaf blower to work in reverse and suck out all the insects under .5 meter x .5 meter nets, which are later painstakingly sorted and identified to get an idea of the insect populations around each of these plots.

In Europe, where these surveys have been going on for longer, scientists have noted the steady upslope march of plants and increases in their density as our climate warms.

What changes might we see on the first US resurvey? While this project is too new for statistically relevant findings, most of the young research assistants trudging up the flanks of Mt. Barcroft that day wanted to be the first to find a new species in their study plot.

They didn’t have to wait long. Shortly after setting down their backpacks just outside the study area 22 year-old ecology student Allison Louthan let out a squeal. The cause of all this excitement? A tiny delicate purple flower called “Mimulus mephiticus,” but much more fun to refer to by its common name, the Skunky monkeyflower. The Skunky monkeyflower, true to its name, emits a foul odor. It also was not present in the study plot during the first survey 5 years-ago. This time they found 3 plants growing.

Adelia Barber, a PhD researcher from the University of Santa Cruz studying the ancient bristlecone pine trees that share this bleak mountain realm cautions against drawing any conclusions from such a young study. “I’m not totally convinced that we are observing actual species change yet,” she said. “These species may not have been present 5 years-ago because it was a drier year. What I can say for certain is that after 2 rounds of GLORIA, we know every species growing on each of those peaks right now. Exactly where they are and approximately what density they are growing at. We may not be certain what is going on with them right now, but any future climatic change can be documented in precise detail.”

That is exactly the reason that the GLORIA project was established. It is hard to say with absolute certainty that the climate is changing anything if you don’t first have a well-documented baseline for comparison. Now we have it. The next several years should really show us beyond a doubt what climate change is doing to our beloved mountain peaks.

The University of California's Crooked Creek research station in the White Mountains, CA.

Getting one of the equipment vehicles unstuck after finishing up the species count on the 14,250 foot summit of White Mountain for the first US 5-year resurvey as part of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments or (GLORIA) climate change survey. The University of California's White Mountain Research Station played host to the week-long structured biological and ecological re-survery of several alpine peaks.

Survey plot lines at the first site at Barcroft peak, 13,040 feet up in the White Mountains. This was the first US resurvey as part of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments or (GLORIA) climate change survey at the master-site in the White Mountains. The University of California's White Mountain Research Station played host to the week-long structured biological and ecological re-survery of several alpine peaks.

Scientists and research students head up to re-survey first site at Barcroft peak, roughly 13,040 feet in the White Mountains. This was the first US resurvey as part of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments or (GLORIA) climate change survey at the master-site in the White Mountains. The University of California's White Mountain Research Station played host to the week-long structured biological and ecological re-survey of several alpine peaks.

WMRS research scientist Jeff Holmquest does a bug sample during the first US 5-year resurvey as part of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments or (GLORIA) climate change survey at the first US master-site in the White Mountains. The University of California's White Mountain Research Station played host to the week-long structured biological and ecological re-survey of several alpine peaks.

WMRS research scientist Jeff Holmquest does a bug sample during the first US 5-year resurvey as part of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments or (GLORIA) climate change survey at the first US master-site in the White Mountains. The University of California's White Mountain Research Station played host to the week-long structured biological and ecological re-survey of several alpine peaks.

Taking notes during the plant species count near the 14,250 foot summit of White Mountain for the first US resurvey as part of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments or (GLORIA) climate change survey at the master-site in the White Mountains. The University of California's White Mountain Research Station played host to the week-long structured biological and ecological re-survey of several alpine peaks.

White Mountain Research Station associate director John Smiley, left and Scientific consultant Stuart Weiss try to identify a butterfly during a butterfly count as part of the first US 5-year resurvey as part of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments or (GLORIA) climate change survey at the first US master-site in the White Mountains.

Steve McLaughlin, a botanist and retired professor at the University of Arizona was the go-to man for difficult plant species identification during the GLORIA project survey of plant species and distribution on the alpine peaks in the white mountains.

Researcher Jimmy Spaulding sets up the grids and starting the species count near the 14,250 foot summit of White Mountain for the first US 5-year resurvey as part of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments or (GLORIA) climate change survey at the first US master-site in the White Mountains. Owens Vally and the high sierra rise in the background.

GLORIA project headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

US GLORIA mastersite in the White Mountains near Bishop, CA.

Over a club sandwich and a beer, we talked about Tom’s job, which I had driven out there to document as part of a look into the interesting work that volunteers do with the NDOW. Tom is a sage grouse counter. The NDOW has identified several leks, or mating areas, where the male grouse returns to each year to basically show off and try to attract a mate.  How they find these places, I don’t know since it took us several hours of driving on a rugged dirt road, and then about 1/2 hour carefully picking our way through with no road at all to find the spot.

Tom, however, knew this lek well. It is one of several he has been returning to each year at dawn, to count the number of male grouse strutting and calling for mates. The NDOW hopes that over time, they can build a reliable picture of the health of the Nevada sage grouse population by counting the birds on these leks around the state each year.

Tom has been doing this since 2001. “I moved here in 2000 and read a blurb in the newspaper asking for sage grouse volunteers. I had never seen a sage grouse before and thought that would be a great way to see one.” After an initial training program, Tom has been doing it ever since.

It takes a special kind of person to do volunteer work for the NDOW. The places you go are remote. You are often alone, sometimes for days without seeing another person, but the experience of absolute solitude and the close encounters with nature are worth it for many.

“Volunteers are vially important to the NDOW,” said Kim Toulouse, Volunteer Program Manager for NDOW. “With more than 1,500 known leks scattered throughout the state, it is virtually impossible for us to count them with our staff.”

Toulouse said the NDOW needs volunteers in many facets of the agency but are most in demand for education programs such as hunter education, angler education and wildlife education. Toulouse had this to say about reasons to volunteer with NDOW:

1. When you stay home you get too many telemarketing calls.
2. Your family could use a break from you.
3. You might need help yourself some day.
4. It’s hard to win a game of solitaire.
5. Soap operas all sound alike.
6. If you don’t go out each day, you get old.
7. Why let your boss or husband have all the fun in life?
8. The car needs a workout.
9. Your mom would be proud of you.
10. Who cares about money?

The reality is people volunteer for a variety of reasons.  Some volunteer to become known in the agency, in other words they want to work for us.  Others want to spend time with wildlife.  Still others just want a new challenge and something “cool” to do.  Many are altruistic and want to share what they know.  It really boils down to the individual and their own motivations.

Tom Beard searches the landscape for signs of a Sage Grouse Lek , or mating area, in the Black Rock desert north of Gerlach, that he will be counting in the morning. The Nevada Department of Wildlife needs volunteers who like the outdoors and are sometimes required to drive and camp for several days in the most remote corners of Nevada.

Tom Beard relaxes by his car after arriving near the Sage Grouse Lek, or mating area in the Black Rock desert north of Gerlach, that he will be counting in the morning. The Nevada Department of Wildlife needs volunteers who like the outdoors and are sometimes required to drive and camp for several days in the most remote corners of Nevada.

Phlox grows from a dead gnarled stump near our camp in the Black Rock desert north of Gerlach, NV.

Sunset falls after we reach camp. Tom and I will be up before dawn, carefully approaching the lek as close as we can without disturbing the birds, and counting them.

The sun starts to rise and it is time to go to work. Tom Beard counts Sage Grouse at their Lek , or mating area, in the Black Rock desert north of Gerlach. The Nevada Department of Wildlife needs volunteers who like the outdoors and are sometimes required to drive and camp for several days in the most remote corners of Nevada.

Tom Beard takes notes during a count at his Sage Grouse Lek, or mating area, in the Black Rock desert north of Gerlach. The Nevada Department of Wildlife needs volunteers who like the outdoors and are sometimes required to drive and camp for several days in the most remote corners of Nevada.

Male sage grouse strut and call for mates during the breeding season on this lek, or mating ground, in the Black Rock desert north of Gerlach. Sage Grouse return to the same remote areas each year to prance and strut and try to attract a mate for a few weeks each spring. The Nevada Department of Wildlife needs volunteers to reach these remote locations and observe and count the grouse at each site to try and get a handle on how healthy the Sage Grouse population in Nevada really is.

Male sage grouse strut and call for mates during the breeding season on this lek, or mating ground, in the Black Rock desert north of Gerlach. Sage Grouse return to the same remote areas each year to prance and strut and try to attract a mate for a few weeks each spring. The Nevada Department of Wildlife needs volunteers to reach these remote locations and observe and count the grouse at each site to try and get a handle on how healthy the Sage Grouse population in Nevada really is.

Male sage grouse strut and call for mates as Tom Beard counds them in the background during the breeding season on this lek, or mating ground, in the Black Rock desert north of Gerlach. Sage Grouse return to the same remote areas each year to prance and strut and try to attract a mate for a few weeks each spring. The Nevada Department of Wildlife needs volunteers to reach these remote locations and observe and count the grouse at each site to try and get a handle on how healthy the Sage Grouse population in Nevada really is.

Elephant seals during mating season at Ano Nuevo State Nature Reserve north of Santa Cruz, California.

On a sandy beach 55 miles south of San Francisco, it takes more than a dozen roses to get the girl. There, at the Año Nuevo State Nature Reserve, 5000 lb males battle ferociously for the right to reproduce at the world’s largest mainland colony of Northern Elephant Seals.

During the breeding season, December through March, pregnant females come ashore beginning in December to have their pups. Mothers nurse their pups for about a month before mating and returning to the ocean.

The birthing, breeding and battling peaks around Valentine’s Day. Wildlife and travel photography and images are easily made of the elephant seals and pups during wildlife tours. For these images I walked with the group and was easily able to capture shots with my nikon D3 and a 70 – 200 f2.8 mm lens. If it was not raining at the time, I could have used a Nikon 200- 400 mm lens for exceptional close-up wildlife photography.

According to the park’s website, Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino first glimpsed the rugged point on New Year’s Day in 1603. His expedition diarist named it Punta de Año Nuevo, (new year in Spanish,) and it remains today nearly as rugged and wild as when Vizcaino sailed by over 400 years ago.

In order to protect the seal colony, which has grown from only 35 males in 1975 to more than 5400 animals, including 1700 pups born at present, reservations are required and all visits are guided during the breeding season.

“This is a totally unique wildlife experience less than an hour from a major metropolitan area,” said head ranger Gary Strachan. “It’s an almost African safari-like experience where you can walk among the animals.”

With a variety of lodging nearby, ranging from rustic tent-cabins to nice hotels, a youth hostle in a lighthouse, and campgrounds, this trip is a great family travel experience and destination.

Elephant seals during mating season at Ano Nuevo State Nature Reserve north of Santa Cruz, California.

Elephant seals during mating season at Ano Nuevo State Nature Reserve north of Santa Cruz, California.

Elephant seals during mating season at Ano Nuevo State Nature Reserve north of Santa Cruz, California.

A High School science class from Richmond takes in the vast beach full of Elephant Seals and their pups.

Picture of a full grown male Elephant seal compared to a car