Subject: Pipes for gophers?
Date: Nov 14 11:59:02 1995
From: Kelly Mcallister - mcallkrm at galadriel.dfw.wa.gov


Hi everyone:

I typed the following lengthy message a while ago and tried to post it but
it hasn't shown up in my In-box so I presume something went awry. Here, again:

I was a little surprised when I read my tweeters' messages this weekend and
saw the discussions on the gophers. I knew there were some missing elements
and, yes, maybe an inaccuracy or two.

The Roy Prairie pocket gopher is currently considered a subspecies of the
Western Pocket Gopher (Thomomys mazama). This subspecies exists as a relict
inhabitant of the glacial outwash prairies on the north side of the Nisqually
River near Roy, Washington. This gopher, like all gophers, tends to be in
conflict with the endeavors of humans wherever they come into close contact.
Gardeners, Christmas tree growers, ranchers, and others don't usually like
gophers because of their digging and eating habits.

On the Roy prairies, housing subdivisions and gravel mining seem to be the
most prevalent developments of the land. One of the many fine things that the
late Dr. Murray Johnson accomplished was an agreement with John Miles of Miles
Sand and Gravel which provided gopher habitat during the operation of a new
gravel extraction operation and also provided for restoration of areas after
the gravel mining was complete. Of course, there was a net loss of habitat
because of this gravel mining. Most of the known range of the
gopher is private land and the landowners usually have goals that go beyond
the conservation of gophers. There is little opportunity here for a
"landscape level" approach to conservation.

In the case that was covered on television, a new subdivision was going through
the local permitting process and the issue of the pocket gophers was raised.
The Roy Pocket Gopher is a State Candidate for listing as Sensitive,
Threatened, or Endangered. Most of the area proposed for lots was not gopher
habitat but a road through gopher habitat was required. The road was going
to be built so that the various fill materials produced a six foot high,
raised roadbed. There was some concern about this road being a barrier to
gopher movement. The developer suggested bottomless culverts which would
provide narrow corridors of "undisturbed" prairie passing beneath the road
and connecting gopher habitat. No one pretended to know whether gophers
would actually use these under-road tunnels but they seemed reasonable and
the developer was totally agreeable to the plan. It became a condition that
the County put on the permit for the subdivision. In addition, some lots
were not allowed because they would have eliminated native prairie that serves
as gopher habitat.

It is amusing that so much has been made of the bottomless culverts. The
developer proposed the idea. How can anyone say that they have not worked?
If, in the course of the next 50 years, they provide for movement of dispersing
gophers to new habitat just once, that would be success.

Why has so much been made of the culverts? The lots that were sacrificed for
gopher habitat probably represented a much greater monetary loss.


Oh well, such are the games that are played to influence public opinion.

Kelly McAllister