Dr. Tim Mullican, biology professor at Dakota Wesleyan University, has recently published his research on the Black Hills Bear Lodge meadow jumping mouse.
Mullican's findings, "Population Estimates and Habitat Associations of the Bear Lodge Meadow Jumping Mouse in the Black Hills of South Dakota," appears in the journal, Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science, 2014, Vol. 93.
"The Bear Lodge meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius campestris) is commonly reported from the Black Hills of South Dakota and the adjacent Bear Lodge Mountains of Wyoming, however little information is available regarding its population densities and habitat associations," Mullican states in the paper's abstract.
His research took place from June 2010 to July 2012, taking samples from 18 sites over the course of three nights. A total of 88 jumping mice were captured at 14 of the 18 sites, located in Lawrence, Meade, Pennington and Custer counties. Mullican utilized live-trapping methods to capture the creatures, which are typical mouse-size, with a very long tail and large hind feet which they use to hop around like a kangaroo.
Mullican found that jumping mice in the Black Hills are one of the most common species along small streams and do not appear to be declining in numbers. As a result of his study, the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks have decided to remove the Bear Lodge meadow jumping mouse from its list of species of greatest conservation need.
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According to Mullican, the results of this study make it much less likely that an environmental group, such as WildEarth Guardians or the Center for Biological Diversity, will be able to successfully petition the federal government to list this population as federally threatened or endangered, which could threaten development and mining activities.
Without evidence that the Black Hill's population of jumping mouse is stable, the federal government would be obligated under the Endangered Species Act to protect its habitat and populations, which has happened in Colorado and Wyoming with Preble's jumping mouse.
