Nevada Bioblitz 13-17 April 2017

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s_stocking
Posts: 79
Joined: October 11th, 2012, 7:37 pm
Location: Las Vegas, Nv

Nevada Bioblitz 13-17 April 2017

Post by s_stocking »

Nevada Dept of Wildlife (NDOW) is sponsoring a Bioblitz at Kershaw-Ryan State Park and Rainbow Canyon in southern Lincoln county on 13-17 April. The state park will be our base of operations, and they have tentatively indicated our group will be able to camp for free. The park campground has drinking water and shower facilities; there are no electrical hookups for RVs.

http://parks.nv.gov/parks/kershaw-ryan

The state park and Rainbow Canyon are just south of Caliente, NV; the Muddy river travels south thru the canyon with running water most of the year. This area is a great transition zone between the Great Basin and Mojave Deserts. Both Great Basin (Crotalus lutosus) and Speckled (C. mitchelli pyrrhus) rattlesnakes have been found in the canyon; the southern end of the canyon near the Clark County line transitions to sandy creosote scrub with the potential to find the sidewinder (C. cerastes), Mojave rattlesnake (C. scutulatus), Chuckwalla (Sauromalus after) and Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum). The northern part of the canyon has the potential to produce the Sonoran Mountain kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana), Wandering Garter snake (Thamnophis elegans), and the Regal Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus Regalis). A number of these, if confirmed, would be range extensions.

The event goals will be to document herpetofauna of the area. Plan on this to be a no-collecting event for live animals. Photo vouchers with NAHERP are highly encouraged. Temporary custody of select species may be authorized for genetic sampling and photo voucher, permit guidance will be forthcoming. I expect we will be able to salvage roadkill.
s_stocking
Posts: 79
Joined: October 11th, 2012, 7:37 pm
Location: Las Vegas, Nv

Re: Nevada Bioblitz 13-17 April 2017

Post by s_stocking »

I apologize for the duplicate post; not sure what happened there. Please refer to this one, as I will provide updates here.

First, if you wish to RSVP for the event please let me know by 24 March. I apologize for the short turnaround but we need to give Kershaw-Ryan a solid number of attendees so they know how many camping spot we expect to occupy. Also you don't have to commit to all 5 days/4 nights; folks are invited to attend for 1 or 2 nights, or even a day trip if that's all the time you have. Please PM me or email me at [email protected].

Second, from Jason Jones at NDOW:
"The trip goals will include documenting as many species as possible for the database. Surveys will include road cruising, hiking transects, and listening for calling amphibians. The trip will be led by Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) herpetologist Jason Jones and assisted by Steve Stocking.

Note that collecting will only be temporary for data and genetic voucher collection under NDOW research permits. For those attending, you will be required to sign up as an NDOW volunteer (please do so online beforehand; although volunteer forms will be available at the site) then you can have more opportunities handling and salvaging selected critters! Additionally time spent on the survey can be counted towards volunteer hours (e.g., resumes, CVs, community service [yikes!]). Finally, mileage on your vehicle may also be considered volunteer and may give you upwards of a $0.56 per mile deduction when doing your federal taxes…Consult with our volunteer coordinator for more info (Abbey Czarnecki see below) on this event and/or your tax guru for claiming mileage.

To register as an NDOW volunteer:
Start here (http://www.ndow.org/Education/Volunteer/Wildlife/) scroll down to the bottom (“Q: How do I become a Volunteer”) and click on the “Volunteer” hyperlink to start the volunteer application process. Alternatively go to "Volunteer opportunities, "scroll down to "Herp Survey" (note: as of this post date the survey is being added to the website). The direct link is here.

If you need additional info contact:
Jason L. Jones
702-486-5127 ext. 3718
[email protected]

If you need help registering contact:
Abbey Czarnecki
702-486-5127 ext. 3850"

For those who have attended previous events (Newberry Mountains in 2015, or Virgin Mountains last year) you can check NDOW.org to ensure you are still registered (you should be). Also Abbey is very helpful.

Let me know if you have any questions-

Cheers,
Steve
Jimi
Posts: 1955
Joined: December 3rd, 2010, 12:06 pm

Re: Nevada Bioblitz 13-17 April 2017

Post by Jimi »

I believe you can count me, Rye, and Thomas in - we we already planning on something down that-a-way during that time period.

I will check with them and let you know via PM or e-mail.

thanks Steve, awesome location for a season opener field trip - I'm excited!
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Rancorrye
Posts: 400
Joined: June 18th, 2012, 8:05 pm
Location: Utah
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Re: Nevada Bioblitz 13-17 April 2017

Post by Rancorrye »

I will be there and PM sent.
simpleyork
Posts: 513
Joined: March 6th, 2012, 12:45 pm
Location: utah

Re: Nevada Bioblitz 13-17 April 2017

Post by simpleyork »

Wish I could make this, school though gets in the way
s_stocking
Posts: 79
Joined: October 11th, 2012, 7:37 pm
Location: Las Vegas, Nv

Re: Nevada Bioblitz 13-17 April 2017

Post by s_stocking »

Greetings All,

We're a few days out, and 10 people are confirmed to be at this Bioblitz. The weather forecast looks pretty good- Highs in the low 70's in the Caliente area, Highs in the low 80's in the Carp area, some windy conditions on Thursday.

Here's the list of confirmed and potential species to be found in Rainbow Canyon between Caliente and Carp. Because the area has only been intermittently explored, the list of potential species is quite long, and I divided them into likely and possible species.

Confirmed Species:
Anaxyrus microscaphus/woodhousii
Crotaphytus bicintores
Callisaurus draconoides
Sceloporus uniformis
Uta stansburiana
Aspidoscelis tigris
Diadophis punctatus regalis
Hypsiglena chlorophaea
Lampropeltis getula
Pituophis catenifer
Rhinocheilus lecontei
Sonora semiannulata
Tantilla hobartsmithi
Crotalus cerastes
Crotalus mitchelli pyrrhus
Crotalus oreganus lutosus


Likely Species:
Pseudacris hypochondriaca
Anaxyrus cognatus
Anaxyrus punctatus
Spea intermontana
Gopherus agassizii
Gambelia wislizenii
Coleonyx variegatus
Heloderma suspectum cinctum
Dipsosaurus dorsalis
Sauromalus ater
Phrynosoma platyrhinos
Sceloporus graciosus
Sceloporus occidentalis
Plestiodon skiltonianus utahensis
Coluber flagellum
Coluber taeniatus
Salvador hexalepis

Possible Species:
Ambystoma mavortium
Hyla Arenicolor
Lithobates catesbeiana
Lithobates pipiens
Urosaurus graciosus
Xantusia vigilis
Arizona elegans
Lampropeltis pyromelana
Chionactis occipitalis
Coluber constrictor
Phyllorhynchus decurtatus
Thamnophis elegans vagrans
Trimorphodon biscutatus
Rena humilis
Crotalus scutulatus


If anyone wants to attend at the last minute, please drop me a PM.

Cheers,
Steve
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