On a still morning in Humboldt County, BHA volunteers gathered at the Lacks Creek Management Area for the second year in a row to expand elk and deer habitat by reducing encroaching conifers on coastal prairies.
When we arrived at the Beaver Ridge Prairie on Saturday morning, volunteers spread out across the hilly prairie as a couple blacktail bucks looked on with curiosity. Hand saws and hatchets made quick work of the encroaching douglas firs as thick stands fell to reveal bunch grasses and oak woodlands.
Lacks Creek Management Area includes 8,949 acres of public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and primarily serves the public as a recreational area for hunting, mountain biking, hiking and wildlife viewing. The area is largely a mixed conifer forest with pockets of oak woodlands and home to ten different prairies totaling about 140 acres. The BLM is working to enhance prairies by reducing conifer encroachment through hand thinning. These efforts will enhance habitat connectivity and increase forage yield for Roosevelt elk, black-tailed deer, and black bear. Currently, a herd of over 300 Roosevelt elk are known to utilize the northernmost portions of Lacks Creek.
By reducing conifer encroachment on native prairies this work aims to encourage range expansion of Roosevelt elk across the Lacks Creek Management Area, providing greater opportunities for hunters and wildlife enthusiasts on public land.
After the work was complete, volunteers camped at the Beaver Ridge Trailhead and were treated to a feast provided by CA BHA board member Dave Allen who cooked up elk stakes on the fire for all.
Hopefully this work will pay dividends for the future generations of hunters and anglers who may be fortunate enough to hunt large herds of Roosevelt elk within the Lacks Creek Management Area one day.
About Devin O'dea
Devin grew up abalone diving, spearfishing, and backpacking in CA before discovering a love of bowhunting and wing shooting. He worked as a marketing manager for a carbon division of Mitsubishi, but the allure of adventure and wild places led him to BHA