Hello again,

I guess that's what I get for being in a hurry.

Yes, Kelly is right, there are places to the south of the proposed
highway that are good for squirrels. On McChord, however, I don't think
there are any places that are good for breeding. The areas where they have
been recorded recently, the Mondress Wetlands and the oaks to the east of
the Spanaway Marsh are where the highway will go directly through. The
places on McChord are all oak stands that are no where near maturity. The
Oaks near the Skeet range on McChord comes close, but it is a small stand.

Hope that helps,

Russell

On Fri, 30 Jan 1998, Kelly Mcallister wrote:

> On Thu, 29 Jan 1998, Russell Rogers wrote:
>
> > However, lets say that the squirrels were to use the overpass. Where would
> > they go? The highway is proposed to bulldoze through the only two stands
> > of suitable habitat for the squirrels.
>
> I think Russell needs to clarify this point. There is suitable habitat for
> Western Gray Squirrels strung or scattered about on both Fort Lewis and
> McChord. A very important issue is the isolation of one portion of this
> occupied habitat (McChord) from the rest (Fort Lewis). I am not familiar
> with the two stands Russell is referring to but they must be the only
> two stands that provide habitat connectivity between McChord and Fort
> Lewis rather than the only two stands of habitat suitable for the squirrels.
> There are other suitable stands of habitat if you look at the entirety of
> these two military bases.
>
> Kelly McAllister
>
>