This year, six ECORP biologists assisted with the Mohave Ground Squirrel Conservation Council’s (MGSCC) live trapping study for the Long-Term Pilot Study on Mohave ground squirrels (MGS). The live trapping study began with a training day and trap set up on May 18, 2025, and ran for 10 days, ending on May 29, 2025. The MGSCC is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) www.mgsconservation.org organization that is at the forefront of Mohave Ground Squirrel conservation. For the Long-Term Pilot Study, the MGSCC is working with USGS to collect detailed data on MGS. The study is funded through a grant from the California Department of Fish and Game’s Wildlife Conservation Board.
ECORP biologists, Taylor Dee, Caroline Garcia, Josh Harris, Sam Harrison, Alden Lovaas, and Wendy Turner assisted permitted biologists during the 2025 live-trapping study. ECORP biologists assisted with opening traps in the morning (starting as early as 0345), checking traps throughout the day, marking white-tailed antelope squirrels (AGS), and assisted with data collection and processing for MGS captures. The procedure for processing MGS included pit tagging, ear tagging, tissue sampling, scat sampling, weighing, fur marking neck measurements, and photo documentation.
ECORP biologists gained a lot of experience with MGS during the live trapping study. Collectively ECORP biologists spent approximately 290 hours on the site learning from multiple permitted biologists (Wendy Turner had the opportunity to work with 8 different permitted biologists).
The MGSCC has just posted the early results of the study to date in a Story Board on their website: https://mgsconservation.org/long-term-monitoring
To find out more about the Mohave Ground Squirrel Conservation Council, please contact Don Mitchell in the Redlands office at (909) 307-0046.
