2024 San Gabriel Sheep Census
Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2024 San Gabriel Mountain Bighorn Sheep Survey! We had about 120 volunteers show up Saturday night at orientation and approximately 110-115 of those folks showed up Sunday morning to survey! Unfortunately, due to the weather, visibility was low throughout the day and only 8 bighorn sheep were seen – 7 at Middle Fork Lytle Creek and 1 at South Fork Lytle Creek. These numbers are not alarming to us and are to be expected in unfavorable weather conditions. The inclement weather also prevented us from conducting the helicopter survey this week. Because we could not complete a comprehensive survey this year, we are unable to generate a population estimate. Nonetheless, it sounds like everyone had a great time out there in the San Gabriel Mountains! I also wanted everyone to give a big thanks to the SCBS and US Forest Service for helping organize and lead this effort. Their many years of experience with this event, this area, and these sheep are indispensable. We want to express our gratitude to all the volunteers. We appreciate you all showing up Saturday night and then again Sunday morning in unfavorable conditions. We hope you enjoyed learning about these amazing animals and getting an opportunity to see them in their habitat. ~ Amelia Viera, Project Coordinator & Environmental Scientist, South Coast Region, California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Middle Fork Lytle Creek: This year the Middle Fork of Lytle Creek was well attended by a solid group of volunteers, lead by myself and husband Steve Marschke. We were looking forward to finally having a helicopter crew flying above us; it was budgeted and authorized but the weather was not cooperative. The day was an unpredictable patchwork of clouds, sun, wind, and rain. Nevertheless, the weather was quite beautiful to behold. I found the shifting wispy clouds magical despite the fact that they were ruining our visibility. The volunteers were undaunted and the lead group, captained by Steve, hiked to the assigned higher elevations. Our particular group of sheep that was spotted did not appear until the end of the day, about halfway between the base camp and Steve’s group. Fortunately, most volunteers were able to see those seven sheep on their way down the mountain. I was very happy all those folks were rewarded with successful sightings to complete their day. A reporter from Spectrum News, Jeremy Lindenfeld, attended our hike and his news coverage video can still be viewed: Here’s the link: https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/environment/2024/03/11/cdfw-volunteers-bighorn-sheep-survey . I would also like to mention that we sold a lot of SCBS T-Shirts at the orientation meeting the night before; at this particular gathering we had Venmo and Zelle capabilities. ~ Debbie Miller Marschke, SCBS co-lead Middle Fork of Lytle Creek
Deer Canyon: David and Arioch M’Greene lead a group to Deer Canyon. David has authored an article about his experiences which appears below in his story, He told me that this year, there was a presence of something called a “Poodle-Dog Bush” (eriodictyon parryi) which I had never heard of. Apparently it has a pretty purple flower but it’s worse than poison oak. It will cause an allergic reaction you won’t forget. It tends to flourish in areas after a fire, so maybe it’s having a banner year in 2024. Don’t touch! ~ Editor note
Highway 39: Several members of our group drove up to Crystal lake to camp out after the orientation meeting. We went to bed with a little snow falling and we woke up Sunday morning with a little snow falling. Our group met at the gate on Hwy.39 at 6:30am for a safety talk and check-out. The snow quit falling but we were in the clouds most of the day making it difficult to look for sheep. We had 34 volunteers spread out over 3.5 miles along the road with no success at finding sheep. We all checked in back at the gate by 12:30pm. Most of the volunteers were first timers and even with no sheep observed they are interested in coming back next year. One couple traveled from Fresno to participate in the census. Maybe next year the weather will cooperate. ~ John Nelson, SCBS leader Highway 39 group
Barrett Stoddard: We had a great group on the Census this year! 2024! I believe we all had a good hike, and some even bagged a Peak. Meaning Stoddard Peak. We did not see any Sheep this year. Not for lack of trying! The weather was marginal, the peaks were covered on and off throughout the day. The help from the DFW was good and everyone with the DFW was very nice and took a lot of the responsibility off of myself and Kathleen Daugherty (leaders) with sign in/out, shuttling everyone to the gate. I can't remember everyone's name but thank you DFW. Some of us even saw a rainbow! ~George Sutton, SCBS Barrett Stoddard Trail Lead
South Fork Lytle Creek: Scott Gibson and Jeff Villepique lead the group of volunteers to the South Fork of Lytle Creek. They had 15 strong hikers, and one bighorn sheep sighting. This trail was particularly challenging this year with the rain, fog, wind and brush. Scott powered on and took the farthest census point (there were 6 points in total), so kudos to Scott for leading by example.
The California Dept of Fish and Wildlife, partnered with the US Forest Service and SCBS, conducts this annual Bighorn Sheep Census in the San Gabriel Mountains annually. It is consistently on the first weekend in March, so save the date of March 1-2, 2025 for next year’s census. If you can step up and be a trail leader or assistant leader next year, please contact DFW Amelia Viera 858-239-9505 or any SCBS trail leader in advance, we can assist in pre-hiking and preparation for 2025.
Sheep Survey 2024: Deer Canyon
By David M’Greene
Science is a hard thing. Bigger brains (Mostly Arioch's) than mine and all that. Even though we did not find any sheep, I am told that our survey for our area was a success. We established a "confirmed absence." Apparently that has value in the science community. I listened to a conversation between my son Arioch, our proctor Jessica, and a volunteer named Brandon. They were three Environmental Scientists types. So I have been assured that what I say about the scientific value of our survey is accurate. Now I know most Sheep Survey reports are short and to the point, ie: 12 Rams, 4 Ewes, 2 Lambs. Weather Poor. But that is just not my style, so here we go.
On March 3rd of 2024 I endeavored to lead a group up Deer Canyon. Over the weeks leading up to the Sheep Survey Date, I made a couple of scouting excursions which also included clearing the section of unused former truck trail called the West Cucamonga Truck Trail. Don't worry, the sections that we maintain are well below the wilderness line, but also well above what both Nestle Water and Cucamonga Valley Water District take care of. I had eleven volunteers and a Cal Fish and Wildlife corporate stooge/proctor joining me for the epic hike and climb to Deer Canyon. Everyone arrived at the gate on time, we rushed in and began the introduction process. Our proctor was Jessica West, and honestly, she was a delight. Unlike the proctors we had in 2020, she was unafraid to get out of her truck and into the cold, drizzling morning air. She gave us our CDFW safety brief, and then let me add the Water District brief on requirements to enter this area. Norm Lopez had brought extra spotting scopes for anyone that needed one. David Hawxhurst was part of this group and his pictures capture something that mine do not. Has to be the camera. This was a mostly solid group this year. Capable hikers. Rugged Outdoors types. Mostly. A huge improvement over the bunch that sent text messages in 2020 on the morning of the count about not wanting to get their Jeeps wet in the rainy conditions from that year. What can I say? Jeep guys, right?
So the Toyota drivers in my group offered to allow the volunteers in not so high ground clearance vehicles to pile into their rigs and drive up from our staging area to a further up the canyon point where we would begin the actual hike. It was slow going as for one of our second time volunteers Marcus, it was the first time putting his rig into 4x4 mode. By the time we got to the parking location, Marcus was all smiles and excitement. He did not know what his Toyota could do. I knew it would be fine because I have been out with David Hess and seen that the units are capable. Of course, Arioch, driving our lead vehicle, his old Jeep Cherokee "Baby Tank," was hopelessly bored with the pace. After a short, but time consuming drive, I think everyone was ready to get on the hike.
The first distance covered leading to where we get on the Cucamonga Truck Trail is very smooth and actually a road that if not for the recent storm, we would have driven further up. What it lacks in obstacles, it makes up for in elevation gain. It is always funny to me how everyone starts off fast and then quickly fizzles out. Everyone except Arioch and another SCBS volunteer named Julian. With Arioch, I always know when I will be passing him. Julian was a surprise. He can move with a purposeful pace, is sure footed, and recognizes stuff around him. Reminds me of myself, thirty years ago. We also had Brandon. an Environmental Scientist, who looked like he could be cast as a firefighter on any number of television shows. I loved listening to him and Arioch talk about science. The group was solid and the conversation was easy. Before I knew it, we were at the first Nestle Vault built over a natural spring that they have the water rights to. It was also where the going started to get rough.
When I initially scouted, the route was covered in snow to as low as three thousand five hundred feet. As I got higher, the snow got deeper. I had a concern that if the snow all melted, it would reveal buried brush obstacles that I was walking over. Sure enough, on the third, that is exactly what happened. The big storm the night before was nowhere near as cold as had been predicted, and the rainfall had washed away the lower elevation snow. For my volunteers, it meant pushing through some very thorn endowed brush. Being a thoughtful leader, I had the volunteers in REI super lightweight, very expensive, super cool outerwear lead the way. Fun fact, the REI wearer was the reason I said "mostly" up above. But don't let me get ahead of myself.
The section of the historic truck trail that we use is just a tad longer than three quarters of a mile. It took me over four hours to clear a way through that short section when I did the initial scouting and trail
maintenance. Remarkably, that section only has a ninety seven foot elevation gain. With the exception of only a couple of tough spots, the pathway I had created was intact. Along this section, multiple stops were made for the analysis of bear and mountain lion scat. I see it all the time, so no big deal for me. But the group was for the most part very excited about what they were finding. When we got to the point on the route where we left the truck trail for the Deer Canyon entrance into the wilderness, Julian spotted a lone loose Bighorn Sheep horn. Everyone got excited, cameras came out, and there were a lot of smiles. I thought to myself, "I'll be damned, maybe we will see some sheep today." Arioch spent a few minutes answering questions about age, diet, and why sheep die. Then we were on the move again and getting into the rough stuff.
Now the volunteers got to see first hand what all the warnings the night before had been about. Water was rushing down the canyon, a result of last night's deluge and the melting snow. It was both gorgeous and exhilarating! The rock climbing began and the questions of "How much further?" started. We were mostly having a good time. Everyone got excited again when we came upon a Ram's skull. More pictures and high fives! We kind of lucked out in terms of where our observation points were when they were a few hundred feet below the snow line, so we would not be sitting in snow. But...... It was obvious that there were no footprints of any sort in the snow on the mountains around us. Below us, the clouds were violently moving under the power of the wind. I knew the Bighorn would be hunkered down. I still explained where to look and what to look for. We broke off into smaller groups to take cover, set up scopes and start the watch. Because of conditions, I opted to move our exit time forward by an hour. The group took the news in stride.
So far, in my humble opinion, I have been pretty "glass is half full" in my story telling. Now, let me be me for a moment. I had an expert mountaineer in my group. She made sure I knew her qualifications while she informed me that my backpack was too big and too heavy. She went so far as to inform me my pack was dangerous for the conditions we were climbing over. Then, at another point, she told me "I am usually bored when I do volunteer events, but this is really a hike!" So I thought she was not so bad. But then she starts refusing to go up treacherous climbs on the same route as everyone else. She, being an expert mountaineer can come up with a better route. We all go around catclaw. She goes through it. We all skip the water crossings at the narrowest point. She splashes through the deepest sections. Along the way, she manages to get on the same track as everyone else long enough to announce that her "guide sense" would have had us turning around a long time ago. At the first viewing location, when I suggest she and a young girl she brought climb up the shale, settle in and start watching, she tells me that climbing up to where I am pointing could take her an hour. I tell her to just be safe and pace herself. She goes off on me about how she is not even winded. She announces "We need to be off of this hill by one o'clock before the rain comes in!" She doesn't want to get wet! Norm would have been proud of me if he had seen my victory against the internal conflict within my very soul as I struggled to not let her know that maybe she should be winded and that the whole group was an hour and forty eight minutes off the timetable from waiting for her to finish her trailblazing. She opted to not climb and settled in at a lower location. The group had agreed to hunker down for an hour and fifteen before coming down from their various points of view to recongregate. My expert could only make it about forty minutes before she got too cold. So she opted to just head down on her own! Lucky for me, Hawxhurst was able to tell me where she had gone. How does John Nelson handle these types? You just know John does not put up with crap like this. I wonder if this is why we now have proctors. Too many volunteers went up, not enough came down?
I will admit it was cold as we hunkered down. I started feeling badly about having brought these volunteers to a place with no Bighorn. Bob Jewell loves to tell me that I am too hard on myself, and he would have had a lot to say if he was there. I did enjoy watching my son set his scope up and I did enjoy listening to him bitch about the MRE I had given him for lunch while we watched. His suffering in the cold kept me warm. That is how our family functions. Again, I had to marvel at how beautiful it was in this untouched wilderness. Watching the clouds swirl around us was breathtaking!
Finally, the trip down. I won't say names, but someone's boots came apart on the rocks. Luckily my too heavy backpack had a roll of duct tape in it. Crisis averted, we continued our descent. I enjoyed a long conversation with Tyler and Kelsey, a couple from west of Los Angeles that heard about this survey online. They will be back at future events because they NEED to see the Bighorn. I watched Arioch help others down the steepest parts and I felt pride. He let me know that he had hurt his knee on one of the slippery chutes, but he covered it well and made sure no one else knew. One of our family rules amongst the men of the House of M is that no one ever sees us showing pain. Good job son. Good job. We collected mylar balloons from the Long Beach Grand Prix and any other out of place litter we found. If nothing else, we improved the conditions of where only the wild tread.
At the end of the survey, with everyone back at the parking area signing out with our corporate stooge, I got to make my farewell speech. I don't remember much about what I said because I was all worked up about some dumb ass on a dirt bike illegally riding up the canyon and being all shocked and surprised that we were coming down and that I stopped him and sent him home. What I do remember telling my volunteer group is that while many people find it rewarding to give time to the wilderness and to the wildlife and to know that they did their part for conservation and preservation, this group's true reward was getting out of Deer Canyon with their lives. What better reward is there? And make no mistake, defying death really is a great reward. Liberating. Everyone should experience it.
When I got home, my wife Lori (also a bigger brain than mine. Where do you think Arioch got it from?) did not ask if we saw any Bighorn. She asked if I had a good day on the mountain with my son. Yeah, I did. It was a great day.