Mendocino County Blacktail Association Projects

Fish and Game tranquilize deer yearly in their management program, and place radio, and GPS units on them, so they can track them for herd data studies.It is vital to have this information to understand how deer are responding to new and old influences in their habitat, such as lion predation, coyote predation, bear predation , natural mortality due to environmental changes and other things that haved changed over the years such as the commercial Marijuana industry which are devastating the deer herds in the public lands. MCBA volunteer Jack Booth, retired Mendocino County Fish and Game Biologist , Paul Trouette Preident MCBA, and Lee Nerli Member MCBA spend their time here in 2007 finding the collar from a deer,in the Mendocino National Forest, Andersen Creek Area.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

MCBA projects will focus on developing a sustainable balance between wildlife and habitat within Mendocino Counties vast forests. It is the alarming decline of the counties Columbian Blacktail Deer herd that caused this organization to be formed and to focus its attention on creating a strategic plan for the benefit of this declining natural resource.

We believe that accurate studies, conducted by professional biological analysis, will give us the information necessary to build a balanced wildlife program for the specific areas in need.

Many wrongly believe that the California Department of Fish & Game (CDF&G) is to blame for the decline in the areas deer herd, this is not the case. Due to significant budget cuts, understaffing and political bias, the department has it's hands tied and are doing the best they can with limited resources and manpower.

#1. The Wilderness Mountain Lion Study Project. Numerous heated debates surround the issue of the mountain lion and mountain lion numbers. The MCBA is currently initiating a privately funded study to dissolve the mythology around the lion issue. Proper management is our goal. We are developing a plan to count the densities of lions, and other natural predators in given areas for proper management in the future. We need private funds to accomplish this. It is our belief, that the majority of Californians would not wish the extinction of one species to the benefit of others.

The two most important questions we hope to answer are;

We feel that with proper scientific research these and numerous other question concerning predation issues can be addressed. The study we are undertaking will help to satisfy the publics need for fresh data and answer the above question, as well as answering numerous other questions, relating to lion predation, habitat, and home range issues.

# 2. Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Projects. It is the general consensus of the CDF&G, that habitat quality is the number one concern when looking at the future of our wildlife.

The MCBA is working with and following closely the direction of the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the CDF&G as well as other entities that are helping map out and support our projects for optimum effectiveness and efficiency. In short our wildlife needs proper feed derived from good nutritious habitat to survive.

In closing, the MCBA is in need of your time and dollars to support of our "Managing for Wildlife" projects. All of our projects are designed to help our resident Blacktail deer herd as well as numerous other native species and to benefit everyone who utilizes Mendocino counties abundant natural resources.