Trout Creek Warden’s Report, March 9, 2013

Laurie Rockwell, warden for Trout Creek Er #7 submitted the following report:

• a mild morning at 5c at 7.45,minimal wind and lots of sunshine! A great start for my first tour of 2013.Snow coverage was from 0 to 8cm.
• I saw or heard 4 species of birds,including the expected hooting Dusky Grouse.
• I found my first ever Fire Moss,Ceratodon purpureus, on the top of the west ridge. In leaf were Bluebunch Wheatgrass, toadflax,Pasture sage  and Sagebrush Buttercup.
• no mammals were seen. I did find an unusual dropping of scat:cat-like,about10cmx 7cm,black and about the size of my little finger;it was not coyote scat.
• I put up 2 new ER signs-at the talus slope and at the height of the ER on the east ridge.
• the rotted fence post just south of the gate has been replaced with T-bar.
  

  Three-tipped Sage,(Artemesia tridentata), one of the only 2 plantsLaurie has found on the reserve.