| Contacts: | Denise Adamic, 719-269-8553, Tina Brown, 303-239-3668 |
BLM Colorado Uses "Critter Cam" for Wildlife Monitoring (10-22-12)
Lakewood, CO- The Bureau of Land Management, Colorado is sharing some unique photos of wildlife with the public. Wildlife Biologists at the Royal Gorge Field Office use water tanks or “guzzlers,” to manage grazing and increase water access for wildlife. The BLM placed still cameras or “critter cams,” on public lands along the Front Range to monitor wildlife using the water tanks. Not only do the cameras provide valuable data to the biologists, but they also capture some amazing close-up photos of animals not typically seen on a day-to-day basis.
“Biologists use these cameras to gather invaluable information regarding species use of various habitats,” said Matt Rustand, Wildlife Biologist, Royal Gorge Field Office.
In one incident, the BLM constructed a fence around one particular guzzler to protect it from migrating cattle, while still allowing large wildlife, such as deer and elk, to jump over the fence and continue to drink the water. A camera placed at this site proved the animals were not using the guzzler due to the fence. The biologists in the RGFO realized that they needed to step in and resolved the problem by removing the fence. Without the cameras the biologists wouldn’t have known there was a problem at the site.
These cameras snap thousands of photos but rarely capture an animal in plain sight, when one does, the results are truly spectacular. Now, the BLM is sharing these photos with the public. Through BLM Colorado’s Facebook, Flickr and Twitter pages, you can view photos of bear, elk, bighorn sheep, turkeys, bobcats and deer from the “critter cam.”
BLM Colorado’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BLMColorado?ref=hl#!/BLMColorado
BLM Colorado’s Twitter page: https://twitter.com/BLMColorado
BLM Colorado’s Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blmcolorado/
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
2850 Youngfield Street Lakewood, CO 80215