A method of controlling jack rabbits on a range rehabilitation project in California
[Article]
Wetherbee, Frank A.
A program to control black-tailed jackrabbits, which caused considerable damage to a vegetative conversion project that transformed sagebrush rangeland to drought-resistant grasses, is described. On this 6,000-acre site in Modoc County, CA, jackrabbits were controlled by use of portable baiting stations containing either oat, barley, or sliced apple formulations of a strychnine bait, preceded by prebaiting. About 90% of the kill occurred, following prebaiting, on the first night of toxic bait exposure. Bait stations were enclosed within portable deer and cattle-proof baiting pens. This method of bait application was considered to be about as effective as the trail baiting method, but with less hazards to nontarget wildlife. Despite control success, adequate jackrabbit reduction was overshadowed somewhat by reinvasion from adjacent sagebrush areas. Specifications for portable baiting pens, bait stations, and bait formulation recipes are provided.