Watershed & Wildlife
Explore the Watershed: New Wildlife Video and Trail Camera Gallery
We've added a western pond turtle video and an expanded trail camera gallery to the Watershed Wildlife page — 47 candid photos and videos of the animals that share this landscape.
The Yuba watershed supports a remarkable range of wildlife, and we've been quietly building a dedicated space to share what our cameras and field biologists have been seeing. Today we're excited to announce two new additions to the Watershed Wildlife page.
Western Pond Turtle Video
Field biologist Jeff Alvarez walks through what a western pond turtle's shell can reveal — its sex, approximate age, and the history of injuries and recoveries written into the scutes. Western pond turtles (Actinemys marmorata) are a California Species of Special Concern, and the populations in the lower Yuba watershed have long been a focus of informal monitoring by local naturalists.
The video is a short, accessible introduction to reading these animals in the field — worth watching whether you're a seasoned naturalist or just curious about what lives along our creeks and rivers.
Trail Camera Gallery: 47 Species Portraits
Our trail cameras are placed throughout the watershed at known wildlife travel corridors, meadow edges, and riparian areas. Since we started running them, they've documented an impressive cross-section of the animals that move through this landscape when people aren't around.
The newly expanded gallery includes 47 images and videos spanning mammals, birds, and reptiles:
- Large mammals: black bear (adults, subadult, and cubs), mountain lion and cubs, bobcat, gray fox
- Medium mammals: ringtail, raccoon, Virginia opossum, American mink, striped skunk, dusky-footed woodrat
- Small mammals: northern flying squirrel, Douglas squirrel, western gray squirrel, black-tailed jackrabbit, mouse
- Birds: pileated woodpecker, northern saw-whet owl, band-tailed pigeon, common raven, dark-eyed junco, hermit thrush, hairy woodpecker, spotted towhee
- Reptiles and amphibians: California toad, and more
Each image is captioned with the species name. Click any thumbnail to open the full-size photo in a lightbox.
More from YWI
Welcome Lynne Westerfield, Our New Landscape Resilience Project Manager
YWI is delighted to welcome Lynne Westerfield as our new Landscape Resilience Project Manager. A recent arrival to the San Juan Ridge with more than two decades in conservation, Lynne will help plan, implement, and monitor forest and watershed resilience work across the Yuba River watershed.
We're Hiring: Education Programs Lead
YWI is hiring a part-time, seasonal Education Programs Lead to coordinate our fall and early-winter community education — anchored by the annual Fungus Foray & Wild Mushroom Exposition — and to help rebuild a tradition of classes, walks, and hands-on stewardship events. The position is open until filled.
YFN Summer Field Tour: Broadcast Burn Units
The Yuba Forest Network is hosting a free, all-day field tour on June 24 — an on-the-ground look at two active prescribed fire projects along the South Yuba River. Visit broadcast burn units, hear from project leads, and explore the landscape-scale strategies behind the work.