Wolverine Spring in California’s Central Sierra Trumps Punxsutawney Phil

Many other animals, particularly large carnivores need adequate room to roam, or they'll end up on the endangered species list: 1) if they're not already there, and 2) for what that's worth. Here, at Donner Summit, in the central Sierra, the particular status of a species may be worth very little in the face of Royal Gorge LLC's proposed 1000 plus units, as the development, if built, will slam the door on crucial migratory corridors.

Royal Gorge LLC's planned development sits between the Granite Chief Wilderness Area and the headwaters of the Wild and Scenic North Fork American River, and the proposed Castle Peak Wilderness Area. Also betwixt Granite Chief, and the proposed Castle Peak Wilderness Area lie, as well as Interstate 80, and the intercontinental railroad tracks, a 60's suburban development, 4 downhill ski resorts, and, the saving grace, Van Norden Meadow, a large Alpine Meadow that, besides providing a much needed migratory corridor, is also the headwaters of the South Yuba River. The developer, Royal Gorge LLC has most recently suggested damming a canyon and stream feeding the North Fork, and has a potential dam on Van Norden Meadow on the back burner; either could prove a death knell for the animals that traverse those routes.

Royal Gorge LLC has told Placer County they'll count private land between houses and duplexes as open space, because it will have easements that 'read' as open space. Wild animals don't do a lot of 'reading', last time I looked, and a tangle of roads and houses, even though it might satisfy a county's lenient standards for open space, certainly won't provide the habitat and passage areas necessary for the survival of many species.

It is likely that martens, and badgers inhabit this area, but no one dreamed a wolverine was even a remote possibility. The wolverine having his or her 15 minutes of fame (and hopefully many years of many happy returns) over at Sagehen Creek Field Station between Truckee and Sierraville, a few basins over from Donner Summit, could be a remnant, or perchance a lone wanderer, traveling far afield from the green fields of home, figuratively speaking. Then again, perhaps wolverines have been particularly good at laying low in the central Sierra, and this wolverine has significant others dotted about the mountains. Cousins by the dozens, we can hope.

California is pretty well known for seismic events, but who would have guessed the discovery of a lone animal could have such reverberations? The wolverine, if indeed still present in the Central Sierra in numbers, could definitely upset the apple cart in terms of how any proposed development's impacts on wildlife should be assessed for compliance with federal and state law. As reported in the Sacramento Bee, it is uncertain how Federal Forest Service managers will respond to this news, "According to Tahoe National Forest public affairs officer Ann Westling, officials in the agency's Washington, D.C., headquarters told her not to comment about the wolverine." Indeed. The wolverine isn't commenting, either.

I'm taking suggestions for designs of T-shirts. Any suggestions?

For more about Royal Gorge LLC's proposed development on Donner Summit, and to read the bonus poem ( a big thanks to Philip K. Dick), 'Do Developers Dream of Electric Wolverines?', please visit www.savethesummit.com Also, for T-shirt suggestions, or comments, please email me at ktg@savethesummit.com

Kathryn Gray is a graduate of the School of Social Ecology, University of California at Irvine, and Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley. She and her husband, Joseph Gray, founded a specialized semiconductor company in 1989. Now retired, they spend their time on environmental causes, including monitoring the large development proposed on Donner Summit.