Ranchers give wildlife a helping hand

Eastern Oregon critters are getting a lift this spring from ranchers who graze cattle on public land allotments. Worried that thirsty birds and small mammals fall into cattle watering troughs, get stuck and drown, biologists with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife came up with a quick, simple solution: a metal ramp that helps the animals get out of the trough. Officials haven't done a mortality count from ranch watering troughs. But in a land where the sage-grouse populations are vulnerable, every loss is critical, they say. The installation of water trough ramps was a priority for the Baker County Sage-grouse Working Group, which saw the trough problem affecting populations of bats, birds and small mammals in the Blue Mountain ecoregion. Money from the Upland Game Bird Stamp built 120 ramps, and ranchers are installing them this spring...The Oregonian