To preserve body heat and food, they hibernate during the winter season. They live in sandy coastal soils, where adequate vegetation is found, and create underground burrows as shelter. Pacific pocket mice are found in California in the United States, and Baja California in Mexico. Let’s find out the answer to the question, “is the pocket mouse an endangered species?” Habitat and Diet To avoid being seen by predators such as feral cats, it mimics the color of soil. The mouse’s dorsal color is an adaptation for protection from predators. The dorsal side of the mouse is pinkish and brown, while the ventral side is usually white. A mere 4.25 inches to 5.2 inches in length, and 0.25 oz to 0.33 oz in weight, its body is entirely covered by silky fur. “The goal of the grant is to determine, are they there or not?” Fowler said.The Pacific pocket mouse is one of the smallest and lightest rodent species. “In order to determine if any impacts need to be mitigated for a project, a survey of the area for the existence of the PPM must occur first, which, in part, is the purpose of the grant.”įowler added the surveys could be similar to those conducted in the Center for Natural Lands Management and could consist of putting the track tubes at Harbor Park and/or Hilltop Park. “It’s possible that the PPM have expanded their territory on to the city controlled open space parks,” Fowler said. This was after the old Margarita Road asphalt was removed and vegetation was restored, which eliminated a potential barrier for the mice population.įowler said the city and the Coastal Commission have talked about projects that could be a possibility in the area including a trail extension and/or a visitor viewing project on the City of Dana Point’s Harbor Point Park. In 2013, the mice were detected near the Harbor Point Conservation Park, and adjacent to the Hilltop Conservation Park property boundaries of the reserve. The population began to multiple with increased protection and habitat restoration. Only a few of the mice were discovered in the Headlands Conservation Area and solely within the Center for Natural Lands Management Dana Point Preserve. This area was mainly set aside for the mice, the California Gnatcatcher and 17 rare plant species. The Headlands Development and Conservation Plan set aside approximately 55 acres of Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area within the 120-acre development site on the Headlands. The mouse was put on the Endangered Species List by the U.S. The Pacific Pocket Mouse was discovered in the Headlands in 1993, and only three other populations were subsequently discovered in the area. “The tubes were placed onsite throughout the spring/summer and help record the thumb-sized nocturnal rodents,” Fowler said. Fish and Wildlife, put out “track tubes” in designated square grids to survey areas annually. This would generally indicate that they might expect somewhere between 80-120 individual organisms,” Fowler said.įowler said the center, in coordination with U.S. “They do not have final counts yet, but have observed Pacific Pocket Mice (PPM) activity in 90 of 131 grid locations. The grant will allow the Natural Resources Protection Office to seek contractor assistance to monitor the mice within Hilltop and Harbor Point Conservation Parks and to complete data analysis and report compilation.īrad Fowler, Director of Public Works & Engineering, stated there is not a final count of how many mice are in the area, but the Center for Natural Lands Management at the Headlands are currently undertaking their annual late spring survey of the area. In their Tuesday night meeting, City Council approved the authorization and acceptance of a grant that would assist the city in determining whether Pacific Pocket Mice have expanded in their location on the Headlands.
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