Photos from copyright free sources
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| Western Grey Squirrel |
Maya Kaup, a sophomore Biology student is studying the Western Grey Squirrel population in the Salem area. The Western Grey Squirrel, which evolved to reside here millions of years ago, is rapidly losing ground to the Eastern Grey Squirrel, a competitive species introduced by humans in 1919, as well as by human-caused loss of habitat.
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| Eastern Grey Squirrel * |
In her research, Kaup found that Western Grey Squirrels had no foothold within Salem city limits – in any park or neighborhood – with the exception of two individuals she discovered on the land east of South Church Street between Pringle Creek and Mission Street S.E. – the hospital property. Kaup noticed the two in January, a sight traditionally seen every five years or more, but for only a few weeks. However, Kaup continued to see the two and later, two additional, smaller others, which suggests that the first are a breeding pair who have settled on the property. The group can still be seen, living off the large trees that are currently slated for cutting.
This “mature oak-conifer habitat,” Kaup says, “is crucial for the survival of Western Gray Squirrels… Westerns are closely associated with oak woodlands, and due to the loss of these in the Willamette Valley they are losing their habitat, in addition to being driven away by invasive squirrels and the roar of human development.”
Kaup’s advisor, Dr. David Craig, is chair of the Department of Biology at Willamette University, is equally concerned. If the trees on the hospital property are cut, as currently planned, he says, “only one thing will happen; the Western Grey Squirrel will be quickly gone and we’ll have local extinction.”
Dr. Jason Niedermeyer teaches Biology and Animal Behavior at South Salem High School and did several undergraduate research projects on squirrels when he was a Willamette student. “We’ve seen occasions,” Niedermeyer says, “of the Western Grey Squirrel attempting a comeback here, but they never seem to make a toehold.” From an aesthetic standpoint, he adds, “they’re just a beautiful squirrel. They’re a beautiful slate grey; their vocalizations are very musical. For 53 million years they’ve been the quintessential squirrel here, and now in Oregon’s state capital it’s kind of sad they aren’t the tree squirrel any more. There’s something sad about our leaving the world less dense than we found it.”
The hospital property is also a successful breeding site for several pairs of the slender-billed white-breasted nuthatch, another animal identified by the ODFW as a “species of concern.” For both the Western Grey Squirrel and the nuthatch, the Oregon Conservation Strategy specifically identifies private development and removal of Oregon white oaks as contributing problems and asks for voluntary conservation action.
On October 2, Craig wrote to Alan Costic, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Salem Hospital, identifying the two species and saying that if the hospital elected to cut the significant trees on the property, “you choose to destroy some of Oregon’s unique natural heritage, and increase the likelihood that we will end up with two more endangered species requiring expensive investments to prevent extinction.“
In his letter, Craig asked Costic and Salem Hospital to “return to the drawing board” and develop a site plan that preserves at least 30 of the 40+ trees currently targeted for removal. He expressed particular interest in saving most, if not all, of the ancient Oregon White Oaks, Douglas Firs and trees of greater than 24” diameter.
“The Western Grey Squirrels were here first,” Kaup says. “It seems sad that people drove them out and then, just when they’re trying to come back, we decide to cut their trees down.”
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NOTE: to read more about Western Grey Squirrels, see Neighborhood Naturalist's Winter 2012-13 Newsletter.
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* Eastern Grey Squirrel photo by BirdPhotos.com (BirdPhotos.com) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons