Cheatgrass and raptors

(click here for the pdf)

 

Editor's Letter, by Caroline Goldman Director, HawkWatch International

The Salt Lake Tribune

June 09, 2013

 

The peregrine falcons nesting on the Joseph Smith Building aren’t the only birds having a tough time (“Despite 4 eggs, peregrine falcons may have only one offspring,”Tribune, May 28). Other wild raptors, notably golden eagles, are struggling in Utah’s West Desert.Unlike downtown’s peregrines, scientists have some ideas about what’s causing the eagles’ decline. Recent studies show that the spread of invasive — and extremelyflammable — cheatgrass pushed the eagles over the edge in 2007, when large fires, including the Milford Flat blaze, swept through the region.The increased intensity, duration and number of fires are due to cheatgrass on land with far fewer shrubs, fewer prey animals hiding in those shrubs and a 50 percentdecline in golden eagle nest success, compared to the pre-fire period of 1998–2007.Cheatgrass doesn’t go away easily, but we can stop it from spreading into new areas. Fire management, shrub protection and minimizing human activity in lesser-disturbed regions are our best bets.If we can’t kick our cheatgrass problem, it may not be long before golden eagle sightings become a thing of the past.