Several areas in the San Joaquin Valley provide places to hunt waterfowl in years of high rainfall when alkali sink playas fill with water deep enough to make resting habitat for ducks and geese. Structures placed at the edges of playas to conceal hunters include large drums that are dug into the soil to ground level. When left uncovered, these structures are death traps for many small reptiles and mammals, including endangered species. In 1991, six blunt-nosed leopard lizards (Gambelia sila) were retrieved from blinds around two playas in land recently acquired by The Nature Conservancy (managed by the Center for Natural Lands Management) as part of the Semitropic Ridge Preserve. In addition, another survey in 1994 during the burying of these sunken blinds revealed numerous dead reptiles and small mammals. Included in remains that were identifiable were ten blunt-nosed leopard lizards and 17 Tipton kangaroo rats (Dipodomys nitratoides nitratoides), both state and federally-listed endangered species. I recommend that hunting clubs be informed of this problem and that active blinds be covered when not in use, and that abandoned blinds be removed or filled in.
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