Fire breaks are maintained by “periodic discing of the earth and spreading of mulch” (CFWO 48). In response to potential fires, the Marine Corps undergo fire management activities such as the maintenance of fire breaks and fuel breaks. For the PPM, non-native grasslands are not the preferred environment to live in compared to living in the native shrublands. Furthermore, the use of live firing ranges within these areas can degrade the PPM’s habitat because wildfires can be ignited by fire training which results in the “conversion of shrublands to nonnative grasslands” (CFWO 46). Expansion of their training areas entails the removal or reduction of vegetation that degrade the habitat quality of the PPM by “by reducing vegetative cover and availability of seed resources, and reducing the quality of soils for constructing burrows” (CFWO 46). Military training activities that are conducted by the Marine Corps can have negative impacts on the Pacific pocket mouse since activities take place in close proximity to PPM populations such as in southern part of the San Mateo Creek and by the Santa Margarita River. Apart from this main factor, there are several other ways that humans can negatively impact the habitats of the Pacific pocket mouse, which include military training activities such as live fire training, maintenance of firebreaks and fuel breaks, and recreation activities and unauthorized habitat disturbances from the public. This can be easily explained through the construction of new roads, buildings, and neighborhoods over the years in these areas of California. Fish and Wildlife Service, concluded that “habitat destruction from urban, suburban and agricultural development is the principal factor responsible for the decline of the subspecies” (Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office 43).
The Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, a branch of the U.S. Due to the nature of the areas where the Pacific pocket mouse lives, these areas, over time, are subjected to instances of human development that destroy their habitats.
0 kommentar(er)
