Midpen board meeting Wednesday 9/23
@truthseqr, @newtpatrol, @sea-kangaroo, @anudibranchmom, and @joescience1 and everyone else interested -
Midpen is holding a board meeting on Wednesday 9/23, 7 pm, about their newt study and the Beaty parking lot. On the last meeting, 3 board members decided to postpone the plan to build a parking lot and a trail on Alma Bridge Rd., until they get more data about the newt population and mortality. During the next meeting, they will discuss the plan for the newt study (in collaboration with POST and HT Harvey) and the parking lot with the entire board. The board might decide to change the decision, and aprove the parking lot plan. This is highly important, as it will add more traffic to the area, even if the parking lot is closed in winter.
You can find more info about the meeting on their website - https://www.openspace.org/about-us/meetings/bod-20200923?utm_source=Midpen+E-mail&utm_campaign=db60b8cc39-20200922_bod_newts-beatty&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6372d4124b-db60b8cc39-87542615
You can read about the newts and the parking lot in the agenda packet, and you can write a public comment here - https://www.openspace.org/public-comment
Merav
Comments
@merav, thanks so much for alerting us to this upcoming Midpen board meeting. My blood pressure is already shooting up after reading the text of Agenda Item 6 (https://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/20200923_Agmt_NewtMortalityPopulationStudyAlmaBridgeRd_R-20-104.pdf). Here are a few things that rubbed me the wrong way:
(1) "Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) began to work with a consultant biologist in 2018"
H.T. Harvey didn't actually do any work in 2018 (I took Jeff & Neal on a "tour" of the roadkill area on 11/14/18; Jeff looked for newt egg masses one day in March 2019 and one day in May; they analyzed our data using a statistical software package and wrote their report in August). They used our data, but disparaged and misinterpreted it, then wrote a report that I was not allowed to review until 4 months after it was released to the "partners." It contained many errors. Because of this, I don't trust that agency.
(2) "Recent discussions with key landholding partners determined the need for further study that builds on existing community science data to better understand the issues and provide scientific-based findings"
as if our findings aren't scientific-based...
(3) "This study will fill data gaps relative to the number of adult newts attempting to cross Alma Bridge Road to breed in Lexington Reservoir and the percentage killed by vehicular strikes during a single breeding season. The study will also evaluate potential long-term mortality impacts on the local newt population and timing of peak newt movement."
OK. At first glance, that sounds good. It would be interesting to know what the total newt population is. However, if they determine that 5,000 deaths per year does not "impact the local newt population", will they allow more traffic on the road? If they determine that the "peak newt movement" is from Dec - Feb, will they allow the Beatty area to be opened in Nov and Mar-May?
(4) "... a qualified biologist from one of the partner agencies paired with volunteers (to reduce overall study costs) will conduct daily field operations."
hahaha. Good luck getting volunteers to make daily surveys along the 4.1 miles of road during the 5 month newt migration season!!! Twice-weekly surveys were painful enough. On the other hand, it would be good for the "qualified biologists" to do some daily surveys to get some first-hand experience doing what we've been doing for 2.5 migration seasons (~12 months of bi-weekly surveys).
I wonder if Midpen will recruit volunteers from its vast pool of volunteers for this project? They wouldn't allow me to ask Midpen volunteers for help in 2018 - they said it was a liability issue for them.
(5) "Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) began to work with a consultant biologist in 2018 to analyze existing volunteer data. This analysis found a substantial number of adult newts killed on the road during the 2018-2019 breeding season, a concentration of mortality along a few road segments, and the need for additional study to estimate the adult newt breeding population size and associated percentage at risk of being killed by vehicle strikes. "
Again, they mention working with H.T. Harvey since 2018 (why lie about it?). They call 11,000 dead newts a "substantial number"??? OMG, what an understatement!! They say the mortality is concentrated "along a few road segments." Are you kidding me? We've documented roadkill along the entire 4.1 mile length of Alma Bridge Rd.
Also, I'm concerned about how they will conduct their population study. I've read that when they trap amphibians, they amputate the toes so they can tell if the roadkill they later find was actually counted. I'm totally against imposing any torture or any further suffering on the poor newts, just to satisfy administrative curiosity. (This article describes how reptiles and amphibians are tagged for identification during population studies.
TAGGING REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS https://www.nmt.us/tagging-reptiles-and-amphibians/)
(6) "Work with County Roads to install traffic counter stations to get daily vehicle totals over the study period."
I'm very glad to see this. Daily vehicle totals have been sorely missing, although I asked POST early on to gather traffic data. They told me there was already traffic data available. One concern: will the normal traffic patterns on Alma Bridge Rd. be altered by Covid-19? Specifically, if the Los Gatos Boating Club is closed, that will significantly reduce traffic on the road and may skew the analysis.
(7) " Information from the study will also be provided to CDFW to help determine if listing of the California newt as a “species of special concern” in the Lexington Reservoir subwatershed is warranted"
this is the most impactful goal of the study, in my opinion.
@merav, I'll have to think about how to present these concerns in a letter to the board. Could I ask you to review my letter before I send it?
You raised some important points.
As I mentioned before, although it sounds horrific, I don't see a problem with marking the individuals, and it is important for the study.
I'd be happy to read your letter @truthseqr. We could also talk over the phone.
@merav, I respectfully disagree. I believe it's painful for a newt to have its toes amputated. The above article says there are other ways of tagging them that are more humane. Also, as we discussed earlier, most of the roadkill victims are so smashed, it would be hard to tell if their toes were amputated or not.
Also, although it would be interesting to have a population count for the Lexington newts, is it really essential? We already know that >11,000 newts have died on Alma Bridge Rd. Doing a population study isn't going to change that or help in any way, in my opinion (other than possibly getting the newts at Lexington listed as a CA species of special concern).
When MidPen and POST do this study, they will take control of the narrative and be able to spin it any way they want (like H.T. Harvey did with their first report). I'm not comfortable with that. I get the feeling that they don't believe our numbers and that's why they want a "more scientifically rigorous process" to prove us wrong and minimize the mortality.
I do agree. Most newts would be too smooshed to be able to see anything.
I completely agree that the population study is not needed. I can't understand why would anyone think that 11,000 dead newts might be just fine, and further research is needed. And I didn't like all these little comments about our research...
It looks like no mitigations will be put in place before the 2020-2021 migration season. I fully expect another 5,000 newts to be killed on Alma Bridge Rd. this upcoming migration season, jacking the total death toll up to 16,000 or thereabouts. If Midpen & POST take over the study, they will only monitor a small subset of the study area (i.e. the hot spots) and draw all their conclusions from that. There will be no way for us to document the full catastrophe of newt mortality for the season, because they will remove the corpses they find from the road.
I think this whole proposal is just a stall tactic to avoid doing anything constructive to halt the carnage.
I think we should continue our survey, regardless of their study. We can skip the 6 study sites, where they will count and remove newts daily. They might share their data with us, or not. I think we should do the same thing we did last year - survey the whole road once a week when the season begins, and twice a week in high-season. Would anyone like to join in? I am willing to do half a road once a week. I'm not sure I can do more than that. @truthseqr, @newtpatrol, @sea-kangaroo, @anudibranchmom, and @joescience1
I agree with @truthseqr that its a stall tactic at best. And I agree with Anne and @merav about all the unnecessary, snide little comments about our research. Perhaps they feel their jobs are threatened because you and the volunteers do/did such a good quality job?
I would like to continue to help out for 2020-2021, but is there anything I can do that doesn't involve moving the hundreds of sad little squashed bodies? Photos is about my limit. :-( Let me know please!
Do we know for sure that they will in fact count and remove newts from the 6 study sites as they say they will? I agree that we should do exactly the same thing as last year - the whole road in halves.
@merav, @anudibranchmom,@newtpatrol, @sea-kangaroo, and @joescience1
Sorry, team, but I think I have done everything in my power to help the newts and it's now time for me to pass the torch. My days of counting bloody newt carcasses are over. The powers that be have more than enough data to understand there is a very serious roadkill problem at Lexington. This project has taken its toll on me and is adversely affecting my health. It breaks my heart and wounds my soul to see so much death and not be able to stop it. The newts haunt my dreams and sleepless nights. Plus all the political maneuvers surrounding this issue are making me very angry and sucking the life force out of me. I might be able to support the team in other ways, though. Time will tell.
Merav is now the official leader of the volunteer effort. Please support her in any way you can.
i cannot commit to more than one half of the road 2x month, but i will throw my name in the hat for that.
with regards to the capture-release-recapture i don't know what other method of marking amphibians you could use... but also agree it would be near worthless with the majority of the poor, flattened carcasses.
truthseqr,
thank you for your dedication and perseverance in this long and depressing endeavor. there is hope for the newts somewhere at the end of this windy road.
@truthseqr, I so admire you for noticing, caring, and building this into everything it has become. These agencies are now actually aware of the carnage, and perhaps doing something (however possibly misguided) about it, in large part to your effort not only to pound the pavement documenting, but process the results into useful scientific data and reach out to them. Thank you for getting this started, and I completely understand needing to let go of the stress it's causing.
@merav, thank you for letting us know about this meeting, I'll spend some time today writing a public comment. While I am also disappointed/offended at how this newt patrol project gets minimized in some of these documents, I do also see them repeatedly talk about building upon it (I'll be interested to find out what that means), and money is being provided to do so, which seems like a positive outcome of all of this work. Now, does it only count as "science" if an overpaid, undercaring consultant does it? MidPen is so good at honoring and supporting their other, official volunteers, which makes it somewhat surprising to see this effort not be given the credit it's due (maybe they're just annoyed that it's caused them additional work...) I do wonder whether they will ask any of us about providing the data or otherwise plugging them into the iNat project, or joining their crew of "volunteers to reduce overall study costs". It would be extremely disappointing if they didn't come to Anne/Merav/us for integration and advice before proceding.
I can surely see collecting additional live population data to complement the death data. And it does make sense to me for them to target hot spots (which, thanks to us, they know exist) for initial mitigation efforts, while understanding that isn't the whole picture. I am glad to see that they're recommending limiting parking with permits, and closing it during migration season, that's a good start, but of course it only addresses the additional burden caused by this particular project. One other interesting thing is that their further study will be provided to CDFW to determine if newts should be considered a species of special concern in the watershed. I don't know what the ramifications of that would be, but it seems like another small, good step.
And Merav, you're awesome for taking over the project. I was hoping that it wouldn't be necessary, and/or MidPen et al would be picking up where we left off as part of their work, but at this point it sounds like they're not thinking holistically, and not even giving proper credit to this project. Perhaps they will improve before it's all finalized, and perhaps they will try to integrate their effort into ours, or expand to cover the whole area. But if it doesn't feel adequate, I'm in for patrolling again, half of the road/week, perhaps less so in the spring, if I can actually get out for wildflower roadtrips this year. Are there any other avenues for possibly recruiting others? I did throw out the idea of creating a simple data collection guidance document to help new people, and am still willing to do it if useful.
I just finished a meeting with Neal Sharma from POST and Shani Kleinhaus from SCVAS. Neal sent me their research proposal a few days ago week, and today we talked about it. I felt it was really important to fully understand their intentions, and to try and coordinate our efforts. POST and Midpen are going to hire HT Harvey to conduct a population study on Alma Bridge Rd. In short, they will place 6 200 ft fences in the sections on their map, and with pitfall traps along the fence. Every day they will check the traps and document roadkills along the 6 sections. They will remove all dead newts from the road.
This has a few implications for us:
they won't be surveying the whole road, only along the 6 fences
they will remove all dead newts along these sections --> we won't be able to survey these sections. Even if we do, that will be meaningless unless we'll get the data for the other days from HTH (as they will remove the newts from the roads the rest of the days, unlike the rest of the road surveyed)
I'm still not entirely sure this study is necessary. I wish they would spend the time and money on finding a solution. We already know there's a problem. There are at least two positive outcomes - learning more about the newt population and the effect of the road, and possibly changing their conservation status locally.
After this meeting, and reading all your comments (thank you!) I'm even more convinced that we should continue our survey. Both teams can work side by side. I am hoping they will share their data with us, I've got some ideas about how that could be done. If we collect the data we can always analyze it the way we find fit. If we disagree with the way they analyze the data, we can always analyze our own data. The newt season will be here sooner than we think. It's almost October... I've been on the road every week until the fires began. I will try and get back there this week or next, doing my half road Wednesday survey. It does seem like we will need more volunteers. Do you know anyone who might be interested? @sea-kangaroo - are you in?
Questions:
What will they do with the newts that are caught in the traps? Will they set them all loose on the same side of the road as the trap? One car could wipe them all out in one pass, if that's the case.
If there are traps on both sides of the road, then theoretically, there shouldn't be any roadkill along those six 200 ft. sections of road because all the newts should be in the traps.
How do they plan to tag the newts caught in the traps?
Thanks to everyone for your kind comments. I wish you all well.
We didn't talk about tagging.
They will release all the newts in the direction they were heading - if they were on their way to the lake, they will release them on the other side of the fence. If they were coming up from the lake, they will release them on the other side of the road in a suitable habitat. This all sounds fine to me.
There will be plenty of roadkills, as the fences will be set on the downslope side of the road only, meaning that newts coming down from the hill on their way to the lake will need to cross the road in order to get to the fence. They will be able to calculate the percentage of successful crossings - comparing the number of dead newts on the road along the fence with the number of live newts caught in the pitfall traps on that side of the road. Having said that, they won't be able to calculate a similar number for the newts coming back from the lake - the second half of the season I assume, as the newts won't be able to cross the fence and will be caught in the traps (and release happily on the other side).
@newtpatrol, I forgot to reply to your question regarding the guidance document. I think that's a great idea, especially if we'll get new volunteers joining us. I would also add photos of similar things - I recently found out that something I thought was an unknown amphibian is a banana slug.
I'm sure banana slugs and newts can look similar after a Goodyear kiss and a few days of rain... :(
It seems so cruel to knowingly allow hundreds, if not thousands, of newts to die just so they can get their population numbers, which are only estimates at best. They could use those fences to save the newts instead.
Well, at least now, after Midpen's board meeting (9/23), I think I understand why they need to do the population study. They explained that they don't own the road, and they don't have the funds for this project - for building structures and maintaining them. As much as I would like someone to at least try and solve the problem ASAP, I guess this is a (small) move forward.
Another important point - all speakers yesterday acknowledged the significant role citizen scientists and advocates have had in this project. I think that's also an important step forward, from where we were on the HT Harvey report...
I told Neal Sharma from POST that we will continue our survey this season, and that I'd be happy to collaborate with their study, if they need my help.
Was anyone from the county there, did they have any acknowledgement of their responsibilities?
Thank you for attending.
I don't think so. It was a Midpen board meeting. Neal from POST was there, to speak about the newt study. The meeting was recorded, it might be available somewhere.
Well, it made the MidPen newsletter: https://www.openspace.org/visit-a-preserve/plants-wildlife/newts.
It is odd to me that they recommend against moving live newts off of a trail/road. Yes, they emit a neurotoxin, so don't lick them along the way, but I guess it's out of an abundance of caution. I always move live newts in the direction they're going, and it baffles me to see them squished even along hiking trails. I can kinda sorta understand not seeing them while driving (if people haven't trained themselves to see), but while hiking? I guess it's more likely to be bikes, but still, aren't people keeping an eye on the ground for rocks etc?
I agree, it's likely the bikes. I think some people ride very fast, so I'm not surprised they can't see a newt crossing the trail, when their color is so similar to the soil. And it's not just newts - I see lizards and snakes, and countless insects, on these trails as well...
I think people should move them, and yes, avoid licking them. Is it that difficult? :) I hope people will get more aware of the problem.
I was thinking of creating a webpage about our project and the newts. I think that would be useful, so that people that hear about it can find our information easily. What do you think? We could have links to our iNat projects, Anne's information pamphlet, media posts, such as Midpen and Mercury News, and a mailing list people could join for advocacy and volunteer options.
I think we need at least 1-2 new volunteers, probably a few more, to be able to complete the survey this year. Does anyone have any idea how we could recruit more people? Do you have anyone in mind? I would like to order yellow vests for everyone, with "newt patrol" printed on them. Would you wear one??
@truthseqr, @newtpatrol, @sea-kangaroo, @anudibranchmom, @joescience1
Great idea to create a webpage, @merav! And yellow vests are an excellent idea to help protect the volunteers while they're out on that dangerous road.
You might ask Julie Anderson (MROSD) if it would be possible to have the MROSD Volunteer Coordinator help identify some of their hundreds of volunteers who might be willing to participate. They could sign a disclaimer/waiver/whatever form necessary so that MROSD won't be held responsible if an accident occurs. I could try again, but they turned me down in 2018.
Thanks, Anne. I think Midpen will try to use their volunteers for their own study. I just reached out to two friends teaching at West Valley College. I will also try SJSU. And I think I found a volunteer through the conservation council meeting I'm on now.
And I also got info there about another interesting connection - apparently there's lots of state money for molecular conservation studies. There's a research there focusing on tiger salamanders. Maybe he'd be interested in studying the newts. With genetic tools you can identify the newts to species, and possibly to sex. It would be interesting to see which species we get more on the road, and if there's population sex bias already. Cheryl S. Brehme, the newt expert from USGS, said she's expecting there would be a sex bias, as males migrate to the lake every year, and females usually migrate every 3 years. I think that might be interesting.
@merav, yes it would be really interesting to find out how many newts of each species are killed on the road. Most of the dead newts we've found can't be identified to species by morphology because they're too smashed. However, for the 2018-2019 season, we recorded the following:
164 California newts (61% of identifiable roadkill)
104 Rough-skinned newts (39% of identifiable roadkill)
In other words, only 268 of the 4,883 total were identifiable to species level. So, it would be really interesting to do DNA analysis and get a more accurate count of each species.
This is the first I've heard that females only migrate every 3 years. That's very interesting. I've read that the males migrate first and get set up for mating, then the females follow. So most of the early roadkill is presumably male. It would be nice to have DNA analysis to get clarity on that as well. Did Cheryl tell you how the sex bias might affect population viability?
@merav, let me know how I can help with your website.
This is basically what Cheryl said. I can ask her next time we speak.
I'm glad you're excited about the website - I'll get it started. I thought of adding a separate page to my bioblitz.club website. I'll make something and share it with you.
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if there is a sex discrepancy with regards to the death rate... population viability might depend on how promiscuous the males are.
i think vests are a good idea, i always wore one when i was walking the road.
Hi, sorry I missed a bunch of tags! I haven't been online as much and had been avoiding my notification queue because it gets so huge.
My knee is fully healed and I can commit to half the road once a week for the season. A safety vest is a great idea and I would definitely wear one.
Anne, I can only sincerely echo what everyone has said-- don't feel sorry for even a second, because you've created this whole project, bringing newt awareness from zero to a multiyear project with many people and agencies involved, and I truly admire the effort, thought, and dedication you've put in this whole time.
Hi @sea-kangaroo, thanks for your sweet comments.
I'm so glad your knee is fully healed. That took a long time. It must've been so discouraging waiting for it to heal. Soft tissue injuries are the pits.
I'd wear a vest, especially if it says newt patrol, and especially on that road.
And it sounds like I should get on making a HowTo!
~ Stacie
@sea-kangaroo - glad to hear you're feeling good, and that you're in! We're in pretty good shape now!
Now we have @sea-kangaroo, @newtpatrol, and me for half the road once a week for the season, and @anudibranchmom - not sure if that's once a week, and I hope you could remove the newts. I agree it's horrific, but it makes the survey so much easier. There's no need to think about duplicates and waste time. In the middle of the rain we might not need to do it, but when it's dry, it becomes important. We could discuss the details later.
We also have @ joescience1 for half the road twice a month. And I might have a couple of other volunteers that will be available from time to time as well, so all in all, it's looking great!
Yes, @newtpatrol, please go ahead and start working on the guide. Let me know if you need any help from me. I recently started using a counter to count things on the road, and I highly recommend it (it's simply called counters).
And you could use the vests all the time :)
@sea-kangaroo, @merav and anyone else who would like to comment, I've made a first draft of the newt patrol tutorial.
There's a Word/Google doc version here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/111Jdrnt_juRG6UP6TbQpVvRSOSrtd_6A/view?usp=sharing
It's currently set so anyone with this link can comment but not edit. I'm happy to give anyone else edit permission to make this a collaborative document, just send an access request.
If you'd rather just see a PDF version:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10q2UEyijo5wCdjZoTZRhW0OSWo6oSWeh/view?usp=sharing
Any and all feedback is welcome. I've added a few comments and specific questions, but would also like to know if it's too much information, or not enough, is anything missing or unclear, etc. I'm sure I'll rethink some things after stepping away for a while too. Thanks for the input!
Very complete yet thoughtfully laid out and easy to understand.
thank you for your work that will help improve the quality of our data recorded.
@newtpatrol - excellent document! Thanks!
One small correction - the project name will change to the new migration season : 2020-2021
@newtpatrol - this is great!!
I did write some comments and suggestions - I hope not too many :)
.
@joescience1 @truthseqr and @merav, thank you for reviewing! Merav, your comments are great, I appreciate them all. I won't have time to work on this again until the weekend, but will incorporate your suggestions.
@newtpatrol @merav @truthseqr @sea-kangaroo @joescience1 Although I have been a lurker/foot soldier in this effort, I perhaps can help out in the editorial department if needed: I used to be a journalist/managing editor (and a marketing VP). I am incredibly impressed with all of you, your dedication is inspiring. And slower than we may like, perhaps, but I think we are achieving something here.
@anudibranchmom, you are welcome to make edits to the document, just let me know which email address I should give edit access to.
@newtpatrol, @merav, it's important to track the dead juveniles. I created a subproject for them under the main umbrella project. Stacie, could you please add something to your guide telling volunteers how to identify juveniles and tag them with the keyword "juvenile". Thanks!
While doing my weekly survey (no newts) this morning, I saw the HT Harvey team. They started digging their pitfall traps today. I spoke with Jeff Wilkinson, and asked him to record all newts before they removed them from the road. He said they will send us the pictures and we can upload them to iNat. This is great - this way we will be able to keep our dataset complete this year as well. I think this would be a good project for someone who's interested in helping us but lives remotely. We can set up an online folder for easy access.
I also realized today that County Roads are paving the whole road. Last week it looked like it's only specific sections of the road. I hope they won't use it against the project next year, when, hopefully, someone will suggest a solution to the problem. (since they already spent XM$ on that road in 2020, why should they do it again...)
Finally, could you tell me your size for the yellow vests? I finished preparing my design, with text in the front and picture and text in the back (newt drawing + "newt patrol"). The sizes run from s-xxxl, and it will take a long time to get them, so I'd like to order them quickly. If you're not sure about your size, you can check your size here - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P24RZM9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
@truthseqr, @newtpatrol, @sea-kangaroo, @anudibranchmom, @joescience1
@merav, great work getting HT Harvey to commit to giving you photos of all the newts they survey!!!
I can upload the photos, if you want. I just don't want to go out on the road and take pictures of dead newts any more, but I'll help identify them.
I hiked at Sierra Azul last week and noticed they were repaving Alma Bridge Rd. I think you could use the argument that if they can find the funds for repaving a road that doesn't really need to be repaved, then why can't they find the funds for helping the newts?
@merav, @biohexx1 might be interested in doing some remote work, if his schedule allows. In March 2019, he drove all the way here from San Diego to participate in a roadkill survey with me. He also co-authored our article about the newts in Bay Nature Magazine:
"Bay Nature Article: Citizen scientists tracking roadkill on Alma Bridge Road have found thousands of dead newts this season."
https://baynature.org/2019/02/06/traffic-is-driving-a-newt-massacre-in-the-santa-cruz-mountains/
Also, @alexb0000 has been very active in verifying Pacific Newt roadkill observations for our projects. He might be interested in helping remotely as well.
Yes, I'm up for research, writing, editing or anything else you might have in mind. I live in San Diego.
I am glad we are now in touch with the Center for Biological Diversity.
i would take a large, do you want us to paypal you?
I forgot to mention that @biohexx1 has been with me in spirit since the very beginning when I saw the first roadkill in Dec 2017 and every step of the way since, giving me a shoulder to cry on and encouraging me to keep trying when I was most discouraged. Thanks for your support, @biohexx1, it means the world to me.
@merav, I had the craziest idea in the wee hours of the morning - what if we start a GoFundMe for the newts?
@truthseqr , you made this all happen! A citizen-scientist who spearheads an environmental cause is actually a primary research scientist and wildlife advocate. Still a long way to go but I commend you on all you've done and still yet to organize. A Go-Fund me campaign is an excellent idea but needs much social media exposure. Maybe CBD could help out? Herp groups?
@merav a small for me, and let me know which method you prefer for repayment
Yesterday I spoke with Tiffany Yap, Senior Scientist and Wildlife Corridor Advocate from the Center for Biological Diversity. She would like to help with advocacy efforts - they can help us next time we need to send letters or do public speaking, they can help create media materials, such as videos, and also she personally would like to volunteer and help count newts. She lives in San Francisco, so that won't be too often, but I told her that even occasional help would be good.
CBD has a wide range of influence. A short video showing the newts in their environment and as roadkill would be a good step in raising awareness.
I love CBD. They're effective in advocating (often litigating) for the non-human portion of the planet, and are one of the few environmental groups who are outspoken about human overpopulation.
Re: GoFundMe - what would that money be useful for? MidPen et al are securing funding for their work and whatever mitigation comes of it. I'm happy to pay for a vest, and we all work for free (although I bet I'm not the only one who would love to somehow make a living being an iNaturalist...) Maybe my sights are set too low or limited, but honestly I've been hoping that this project would be able to wind down, as it does its job of raising awareness and as more official people with funding are giving it the attention it deserves. Or perhaps merge with it, so we're working together. Regardless, we'd need to keep on top of them until happy with the outcome, which is where media would be helpful.
And sorry if I missed something, but it seems like we should be coordinating somehow with whatever the MidPen crew does, and not just doing completely our own separate thing. I know that Merav has been in contact with several related people to get more details on their plans, I just don't want it to turn into an Us vs Them thing, we're all trying to help.
Maybe we could set up a Zoom meeting if we feel we need to coordinate?
I think a zoom meeting is a good idea. There's so much going on, it might be good to meet. When Midpen came up with their plan I wasn't sure what we should do. They were hoping we would join them and volunteer for the population study and save them some money (there's at least $250K invested in this so far). But when I looked at the details of their research proposal, I decided that our survey is even more important than before. As much as I am doing my best to collaborate with everyone, and I believe our data should be available to everyone, past experience tells me we need to be cautious. We don't know what they will do with their data and how they might twist it, and how their experiment could affect the situation on the road. I wouldn't like to get to the end of the season and see that they concluded it's not that bad and they don't need to do anything. If we keep going, we will be able to compare this year's data with the previous two years. It's more than that, I think they need us to keep going, as they have no control for their study.
The bottom line, as I see it, is that we should collaborate with whoever is interested in helping out - Fraiser, Midpen, the County - I'm happy to help as much as I can. With Midpen, we really need to coordinate our efforts, otherwise we might interfere with each other's work. That's why I initiated a conversation with HT Harvey, and I think it should work out.
I'm happy to answer any questions or meet on zoom if anyone is interested. It will be nice to see each other!
Merav
@newtpatrol, I know that Dr. Fraser Shilling has been working to secure funding for a raised roadway via grants. I think the estimated cost was somewhere between $350K - $1 million, I'm not sure. Dr. Shilling was heading a team consisting of the Santa Clara County (SCC) Roads & Parks, Midpen, POST, Audubon, Sierra Club, CA Fish & Wildlife, & USGS Ecology Group, Merav and myself. Then Midpen & POST went off by themselves to do this population study with HT Harvey, not inviting any of the other members to participate. They were even hesitant to share data, but our fearless leader, @merav, was persistent and got them to commit to sharing.
Fraser's grant proposal to Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) was recently turned down for the second year in a row. There are too many worthy projects and not enough money to fund them all.
As far as I know, Midpen, POST, & HT Harvey are only doing a population study. They haven't committed to any mitigations. SCC Roads doesn't want to do anything - they say it will increase their workload and they don't have the money to do it. There's a lot of politics involved and a lot going on behind the scenes that we are not privy to. Merav has been keeping up with it to the extent that they share info with her. I dropped out because it ties my guts in knots and makes me sick.
Please note that the population study being conducted by Midpen, POST & H.T. Harvey is only looking at six 100 ft. segments of Alma Bridge Rd. (That's 600 ft or 0.1 mile of the 4.1 miles of our study area!)
I trust Merav's judgment and fully support her decisions.
I can set up a Zoom meeting. Anytime Thurs, Fri, Sat or Sun works for me.
First, sorry for sounding so negative in my previous post. I was feeling crappy yesterday, and that's exactly the wrong time to publicly comment on anything, especially since I have a contrarian nature even on the best of days.
And thanks to everyone for the additional background info, that makes me aware of my naïveté. I also didn't realize that there was no funding included in the MidPen plan to actually do any sort of mitigation, for some reason I thought there was, coming out of the Beatty project. I do trust the judgement of Merav and Anne, who have so much more experience dealing with this, while also wishing for cooperation between our work and MidPen's.
A Zoom call would be great, much more efficient. However, this week is messy for me. I cannot do next Thursday, and the following days are iffy at the moment, as I might be going away with a friend for their birthday, but plans haven't yet solidified. Of those days, Sunday would be the safest.
No worries, @newtpatrol. How would you know all that was going on unless someone told you? I didn't want to share too much of that stuff with the team for fear it would be depressing and discouraging to you all like it was to me.
Sorry you had a rough week. Hopefully the upcoming week will be better.
Mon - Wed are not good for me, but any other day/time is fine for a Zoom call.
Thanks for your comment, @newtpatrol. And I think this discussion is important, and I'd be happy to continue over zoom. I'm pretty flexible, depending on the time of the day.
https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/98843524121?pwd=UVMwNFB5MFYwQW41ZFlmU2p6c2poUT09
Passcode: 369400
Oct 25, 2020 11:00am, Pacific Time.
I can change this date and/or time if need be.
Thanks, @biohexx1. Works for me.
works for me!
Works for me too.
I'll be there too, thanks @biohexx1.
Don't forget the password above. It will prompt you for it when you attempt to enter.
thank you!
See you'all at 11am!
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