Feral Cats Update
Please, spread the word that feral cats are a big risk to native wildlife, and that there are humane solutions to the problem!
Feral cats (or former domestic cats now living outside of homes) are an invasive species in wildlands, and cause significant loss to birds and other wildlife. This large population of cats has devastating consequences for the population of birds and small mammals. A study by the Smithsonian Institution and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that domestic cats kill about 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion small mammals each year in the lower forty-eight states. Predation by domestic cats is the number one direct, human caused threat to birds in the US and Canada.
In November our Placer Group and the Audubon Society co-authored a letter to the city of Roseville, asking them to take actions to humanely reduce the population of feral cats on city-owned properties. In March we received a response from the city saying they are aware of the problem and are taking actions. These include the city working with the SPCA’s Trap, Neuter/spay, and Release program (TNR). The City’s Animal Control division works with the SPCA, and refers community members to it. Cat traps can be loaned for free to community members to assist with capturing nuisance or other feral outdoor cats, which are then taken to the shelter. The city also said that they posted relevant signage in parks and other open space areas, and the Animal Control division maintains frequent communication with the local organizations that feed outdoor cats.
Our letter was effective in highlighting the problem to the city and in getting a documented response from them. We are now looking for volunteers to do counts of feral cats on city properties, talk with the SPCA, and assess whether the city is indeed supporting a humane feral cat reduction program like they say they are. "Trust, but Verify"
Please contact Paul Comiskey at paulcomiskey@hotmail.com if you are interested in participating. Thank you.
NextGen Outreach by Sierra Club Placer Group
Your Executive Committee has begun to cultivate a growing relationship with Sierra College’s ECOS Club.
On April 6 Harry White and Barry Grimm supported a field seminar for seven ECOS students at Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Carmichael. The easily viewable wildlife and blooming wild flowers were a major bonus as the seminar focused on developing enhanced observational skills and formation of hypotheses. Plus, it was a beautifully sunny spring day with an armada of clouds sailing by.
As a gesture of friendship all 7 Sierra College students accepted complimentary first year memberships in the Sierra Club.
To extend our relationship with our new Sierra College friends, Placer Group has accepted ECOS' kind invitation to participate in their April 25 Earth Day Festival on the Sierra College campus in Rocklin.
Come by our Sierra Club booth on the Lower Quad. Meet some old friends and make some new ones. Pick up a Make America GREEN Again sticker plus other goodies. Visit the free Natural History Museum right on the Quad. Music and food vendors too!
Information about ECOS can be found on their website,
https://sites.google.com/view/sierracollegeecos/home
The Sierra Club thanks ECOS for their commitment to environmental stewardship!
