(PHOTO SOURCE:TOM KOERNER,USFWS)
review of the Resources Management Division roles and responsibilities regarding game management, with the expectation that the REC will increase their involvement in the review of harvest data, review of authorized harvest limits, and identification of population enhancement measures.
Additionally, in 2004 a sportsman club was established on Base. This organization is expected to provide user input into the Game Management Program and volunteer labor for projects in support of the Program.
Wildlife game species at Camp Pendleton include California quail (Callipepla californica), mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus), mourning dove (Zenaida macroura), band-tailed pigeon (Columba fasciata), desert cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii), brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani), southern mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus fuliginatus), and many waterfowl species.
Sustainability in game management should favor using methods that do not require regular inputs of labor or materials to maintain continued benefits for wildlife and a harvestable surplus of game animals indefinitely. Management practices benefiting game species on Base include providing additional water sources, prescribed burns, restoring plant communities, and population monitoring for game species.
The REC Game Management Program is organized into four Elements. These Elements are: 1) Game Species Management Plans; 2) Game Data Collection; 3) Game Program Overview; and 4) Bison Herd Management. These Elements are detailed in the following sections and identify Element Objectives and Actions planned to assist in meeting the Goals and Objectives of this program.
4.3.4.1. Game Species Management Plans
Objective: Manage the Base’s wildlife game species (deer, small game, and waterfowl) in a scientifically sound manner to provide a high-quality hunting experience for those permitted to hunt on Camp Pendleton.
Hunting and active management of the southern mule deer population at Camp Pendleton has been ongoing since at least 1955. To facilitate management of this species, the Base contracted Dr. Floyd W. Weckerly of Humboldt State University to analyze accumulated deer survey and hunting data, review the existing management plan, and develop a revised
management plan for sustained yield hunting on Base (Weckerly 1998). Findings from that study indicated that the Camp Pendleton management program for the deer population is sound and effective. Dr. Weckerly provided additional recommendations to improve the
program. The REC plans to develop two additional plans for small game and waterfowl management.
4.3.4.2. Game Data Collection
Objective: Collect game species data that is scientifically to use in setting appropriate hunting bag limits, monitor for over-harvest, and identify health/disease conditions.
Since 1955, Base game wardens and wildlife staff have collected and evaluated game species data. Fairly extensive game data records, in annual Base hunting reports dating back to 1955, are available for deer hunting effort and harvest. Starting in 1987, in an effort to expand data input and reinforce game management plans, deer hunting reports began including deer age, weight, and sex. Currently, the REC staff collects hunter harvest information including harvest date, number of animals, species, sex, and age of game animals harvested. Additionally, lower incisors are collected from each harvested deer and used for age estimation. In many years since 1990, the Base has conducted helicopter surveys to estimate deer population size. Aerial deer surveys conform to CDFG methods and the Base shares results with CDFG. Information is also collected from deer road kills. Less extensive data is collected for other game species on Base, including small game (since at least 1970) and waterfowl (since at least 1985). REC staff tally the number of doves, rabbits, pigeons, squirrels, and ducks harvested. They also measure hunter effort for small game and waterfowl hunters and record sex data for quail and waterfowl. Other monitoring methods have included performing quail cow-call counts and estimating juvenile and adult ratios for quail and doves.
4.3.4.3. Game Program Review
Objective: Annually review, report, and revise the Base Game Management Program to ensure that it is scientifically defensible, supports a recreational hunting program, concurs with a Bird Air Strike Hazard (BASH) program, and is consistent with military mission and other Base species management programs.
The Base Game Program is managed in cooperation with the CDFG and follows California law and the annual framework established by CDFG. Section 640, Title 14, California Code of Regulations (Management of Fish and Wildlife on Military Lands) and Sections 3450 through 3453 of California Fish and Game Code allow the Base sufficient flexibility in administering its hunting and fishing program, to avoid conflicts with military training and maintain sustainable game species populations.
The Game Management Program is reviewed by the REC, annually, to provide a quality, sustainable hunting experience for military and civilian patrons. Harvest bag limits, dates of seasons, and areas available for hunting are adjusted based on the results of these reviews, data that is collected from harvested animals, and from customer comments. Reviews will also identify any required changes to existing or proposed plans and any enhancements required to improve species populations or the quality of the program.
4.3.4.4. Bison Herd Management
Objective: Manage the Base bison population in a scientifically sound manner that minimizes mission conflicts and impacts to habitat and safety.
Most of California is not part of the bison’s original range. The San Diego Natural History Museum, however, has 11 fossil records of an extinct species of bison that lived in the area about 100,000 years ago. The climate was likely much wetter and had more grasslands during that period (Lee 2008). In 1973, plains bison (Bison bison bison) were reintroduced onto Camp Pendleton as a gift from the San Diego Zoo because they did not have enough room to keep the animals (Lee 2008). Between 1973 and 1979 fourteen bison were presented to Camp Pendleton as part of this program. From 1979 to 2008 the bison herd grew from 14 to approximately 150 individuals, according to the 2008 helicopter population survey (2008 CPEN bison survey results, unpublished report).
The Base’s bison herd is not intensively managed, and is one of only two bison conservation herds in California; the other herd is on Santa Catalina Island. Management of the bison herd includes: monitoring the herd’s growth rate and age composition, moving bison away from ranges that are actively firing euthanizing badly injured animals. Culling the herd may be necessary in the future to limit training stoppages caused by bison wandering onto active firing ranges.
Most bison in the United States have genes from domestic cattle. Bison were bred with cattle to produce animals with improved qualities for human food production (Lee 2008). In 2008, researchers from Texas A&M culled 10 bison and collected tissue samples for genetic and disease screening (Asmus pers. comm. 2011). They used mitochondrial and nuclear DNA to screen for cattle genes. Their results did not find evidence of cattle gene introgression or the presence of disease (Derr 2011). In 2010, researchers from the University of Missouri confirmed the presence of cattle genes in one bison using a more sensitive detection method, SNP 50 (Taylor et al. 2010).
Camp Pendleton began to formally review and evaluate its alternatives for bison herd management by writing an Environmental Assessment (EA) in compliance with NEPA guidelines. The anticipated completion time for the Bison Management EA is 2012.
4.3.5. Migratory Bird Management Program
Camp Pendleton’s varied habitat assemblage supports a rich diversity of resident and migrant bird species. As of April 2009, 347 bird species have been recorded on Base, including resident breeders, migrants, and vagrants (i.e., birds wandering from their normal home range). Birds warrant protection and study because they are an important indicator of