EPISODE #223: THE BLUE CROW
Destruction of High Desert forest on public land has led to a 78% drop in pinyon jay populations over the past 50 years. This is EPISODE #223: THE BLUE CROW.
The pinyon jay is the steward of the pinyon forests, for which the forest feeds and houses this crucial blue crow. Of the thousands of pinyon nuts the blue crow puts away for the winter, usually working with its mate and both returning to the spot throughout the year to store or collect, the few pine nuts left behind grow into new pinyons, expanding the reach of the woodland. More woodland means more wildlife, more carbon-breathing conifers, more precious Western water stored in the ground, more wildlife corridors that connect mule deer and desert bighorn and mountain lions along mountain and valley to vast zones of wilderness. Now this iconic corvid of the West is threatened with extinction, and up for Endangered Species designation. You can take action, and the Pinyon Juniper Alliance and Great Basin Bird Observatory are good places to start.
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New soundscapes by RedBlueBlackSilver. Written & hosted by Ken Layne. Thanks for supporting this advertising-free podcast at our Desert Oracle Patreon page.