Written on December 6, 2011 at 9:26 am by Carla Voorhees

DoD 2011 NPLD Project – Burrow Masters 2011, Umatilla Chemical Depot

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DoD is funding 41 National Public Lands Day (NPLD) sites on military installations in 2011. The event encourages volunteers to explore and enjoy America’s natural wonders through outdoor recreation. Find out more about one of these projects below.

Oregon (Umatilla Chemical Depot, Army): Participants dug burrows for Burrowing Owls, acquired GPS locations for all burrow sites, provided training and knowledge about owl ecology to volunteers, and helped make progress towards supporting 75+ nesting pairs in 2012. Umatilla Chemical Depot wants to become a source population of Burrowing Owls for the Pacific Northwest.

: The first resident of the artificial burrows, her name is “Buffie”. We had installed the artificial burrow the day before she moved in the next morning! Next to her is the entance to the ten foot tunnel that leads to the burrow.

: Volunteers installing artificial burrows.

: A chick removed from the burrow for banding.

: A burrowing owl that has been coming back to the installation for 3 years, his name is “Groucho”.

: A volunteer removes the top bucket (which we fill with dirt) to gain access to the burrow so we can reach down into the burrow and remove chicks for banding. The bottom bucket has the bottom cut out.