Over the last several months the entries for the “Journal from the James” have included periodic accounts on the results of our trail camera efforts around town. The project, “What’s Wild in Idyllwild,” was an attempt to document the common and not-so-common wildlife species that share the mountain retreat we call home. We put our…
James Reserve Assistant Director Dr. John Laundré was born and raised in the Midwest (Wisconsin) and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees there. He received his doctorate from Idaho State University in 1979. Since then, he spent the next 30 years working on large-mammal predator-prey ecology in the western U.S. and northern Mexico. His experience…
By James Reserve Assistant Director John Laundré We have heard a lot this past several months about El Niño — about how it is or was supposed to deluge us with rain — and other dire predictions. And in some areas, especially further north, that seems to be the case. However, here, with every predicted…
Many of our readers are familiar with the James Reserve from our writings and public talks. However, few know that the James officially consists of not only our site near Lake Fulmor, but a second site on the other side of the mountain in the northeast foothills of Mt. San Jacinto. So I want to…
For those of you who remember the “Journal from the James” article on bobcats, I had mentioned I would follow with more periodic articles on the wildlife that have been showing up on the cameras we have placed around Idyllwild and Pine Cove. In this month’s installment, I have decided to write about two closely…
With the abundant snow that has fallen in Idyllwild, an appropriate topic for this month’s contribution from the James Reserve is winter. Even though we may have thought winter started a couple of months ago, in reality we are only in the first few weeks of the official winter season. Marked as starting around Dec….
On Nov. 19, the Idyllwild Community Center sponsored my presentation at its Speakers Series at Silver Pines Lodge. The topic was the motion-sensitive cameras I’ve placed around Idyllwild and that I wrote about in a previous installment of “Journal From the James” (April 9, 2015). The presentation was well attended and I enjoyed letting the…
With the drought persisting in our area, a lot of concern, and rightfully so, has arisen regarding the loss of many of our trees. As usual, when we have trees dying, especially after a forest fire, we hear the arguments that these trees need to be cut down so they don’t go to “waste.” When…
By Assistant Director John Laundré Greetings from the sky island of Machu Picchu, Peru. I write this as we return to Cusco after a heady day at the famous Inca ruins. As we took the train in the morning to Machu Picchu, the spectacular mountain views reminded me of our mountain home in Idyllwild. Though…
By Director Dr. Jennifer Gee Lots of mythical hybrids lurk in our collective cultural subconscious, from centaurs that are half-human/ half-horse, to human fishes known as mermaids. More commonplace (and real) hybrids are domestically engineered, such as mules and hinnies, the result of crossing donkeys and horses. But hybridization also happens in nature. Individuals from…
