Ranch Needed for Ground Squirrel Study

Do you have a ranch in San Benito County or Monterey County with ground squirrels? I'm doing a study looking at the economic impacts of ground squirrels to ranching operations and I'm looking for three ranches to be study sites.

At each ranch, I will need to have 4, plots. Each plot will be one acre. One plot should have no squirrels, one plot should have low density squirrels, one plot should have medium density squirrels, and one plot should have high density squirrels. The plots will need to be flat so I can see the entire plot from one location. Ideally, all 4 plots would be in the same field so they have the same level of cattle grazing. Also, plots need to be at sites where squirrels were not controlled this year.

Please let me know if you (or anyone you know) have a ranch fits the bill. In terms of field work, I would come to the ranch for 3-4 days in a row in May. I would count squirrels in the morning and then estimate forage production and bare ground, including taking some forage clippings. Then I'd count squirrels again in the afternoon. I would put out 8 small marking flags at each plot so I can see the boundary of the plots.

I will need to start doing field work on May 6, which is coming up fast! So, I'm hoping to have all the ranches (or at least one or two) figured out by then. Eek!

If you or anyone you know is interested, please contact me at drorao@ucanr.edu or 831-637-5346 x14.

Thank you!