COMMISSION

and many of the surviving target plants have mutated or hybridized after the last foliar
herbicide application in 2013.
Current projected goals plan to move back to aggressive physical removal of the remaining
invasive stands and controlling new growth with foliar broadcast herbicide. Resource crews
will continue to monitor for tamarisk growth and help determine effectiveness of herbicide
use on mutated/hybridized species.
Reptiles
Reptile monitoring at Ocotillo Wells SVRA follows the pitfall trapping protocol designed by
the United States Geological Survey (USGS) (Fisher et al. 2008). One permanent pitfall
trapping array has been placed at each of the 12 plots. The pitfall trapping array is placed
with the center pitfall bucket at the center of each plot. The arrays are laid out as outlined in
the USGS pitfall monitoring protocol (Fisher et al. 2008). Each array consists of three snake
traps, four pitfall traps, and three funnel traps, with each array being the sample unit.
Sampling occurs twice per year in the fall (October) and in the spring (June), with three
trapping nights per array per sampling effort. Each morning, the number of each species
of reptile found in the arrays is counted. Each animal caught is marked with a permanent
marker on the ventral side to note the incidence of recaptures to better track the number of
individuals captured.
Small Mammals
Small mammal sampling occurs twice per year
in the fall (October) and in the late winter/early
spring (February/March), with three trapping nights
per plot. Traps are checked once per day in the
morning so that trapped animals are released
before temperatures rise. Each morning, the
number of each species of small mammal found in
the traps is counted. Each animal caught is marked
with a permanent marker on the ventral side to
note the incidence of recaptures.
Badger
Vegetation
Vegetation can play an important role in the overall health of the desert ecosystem by
providing forage and habitat or by physically altering or affecting the habitat in which it
is present and facilitating positive interspecific interactions in the community (Noy-Meir
1979, Tielborger and Kadmon 2000, Bertness and Callaway 1994). For example, in the
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