West Mojave Plan FEIR/S - Desert Managers Group

3.3.5.2 Mojave River VoleLife History. The Mojave River vole occupies moist habitats along the middle reaches ofthe Mojave River.Population Status in the Planning Area: The range of this subspecies is entirely withinthe West Mojave planning area. It is found in wetland and riparian habitats along the MojaveRiver between Victorville and Helendale. Additional potential habitat lies upstream ofVictorville towards Hesperia. Voles have been captured at Harper Lake, Edwards Air ForceBase near Piute Ponds and Rogers Dry Lake, and at China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station. It isunknown which subspecies these specimens are.Regulatory Status: BLM Sensitive, California Species Of Special Concern.Threats Affecting the Mojave River Vole: Habitat destruction and fragmentation dueto agriculture and urbanization are the primary threats. Concentrated off-highway-vehicle useand other surface-disturbing activities are also threats. Virtually all the potential habitat alongthe Mojave River, with the exception of the Mojave Narrows Regional Park, is in privateownership.3.3.5.3 Yellow-eared Pocket MouseLife History: This mouse inhabits the eastern slopes of the Piute Mountains and SierraNevada along the western fringe of the Mojave Desert. Little information is available regardinghabitat requirements except that it has been found in Joshua tree woodland, desert scrub, pinyonjuniper,mixed and montane chaparral, sagebrush and bunchgrass habitats. It occurs primarily insandy soils with sparse to moderate shrub cover with elevations of known localities rangingbetween 1030-1615 meters.Population Status in the Planning Area: Most of the range of the yellow-eared pocketmouse is within the West Mojave on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and Piute Mountains.The species is known from Kelso Valley, Horse Canyon, Sage Canyon, Freeman Canyon, IndianWells Canyon and Sand Canyon. Similar habitat, which may harbor the species, is present bothnorth and south of this region, as well as in intervening canyons.Regulatory Status: BLM sensitive.Threats Affecting the Yellow-eared Pocket Mouse: Given the small range of theyellow-eared pocket mouse, any major disturbance of its known or suspected habitat could havesignificant deleterious effects. Cattle and sheep grazing pose a potential threat due to the effectson plant assemblages or erosion of soils. Off-highway vehicle activity and mineral extraction areother potential threats, due to their effects on native vegetation. Most of the canyons supportingthe species have roads and are therefore accessible. Wind-energy production also poses apotential threat, resulting from impacts associated with road networks.Chapter 3 3-172