BANDELIER NEWS RELEASE

Back by popular demand! Join Mark Peyton of Valles  Caldera National Preserve and Sarah Milligan of Bandelier National Monument on Monday, Feb  28 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to discuss mountain lion ecology in the Jemez Mountains and listen to some of the unique observations while working with this cryptic species as part of the Large Mammal Monitoring Project. 

The Large Mammal Monitoring Project is an ongoing collaborative effort being led by Dr. James Cain with the U.S. Geological Survey, New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in collaboration with Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve, U.S. Forest Service and New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. The goals of this project are to monitor the  responses of mule deer, elk, black bear, and mountain lion to prescribed fires, restoration thinning, and previous wildfires. 

This encore presentation will be presented in person at the Los Alamos Nature Center (with a tentative limit of 25 attendees, pending county guidance), but you can also join virtually. 

In person seating is limited, so please register in advance at Event Details – Pajarito  Environmental Education Center (peecnature.org). Admission: Free (please select an in-person or virtual ticket). 

About the Presenters: 

Mark Peyton is the National Park Service wildlife biologist for Valles Caldera National Preserve.  His wildlife interests include threatened and endangered species conservation and carnivore  behavior and resource use. He has worked with mountain lions, black bears, mule deer, and elk  on the Large Mammal Monitoring Project since the project began in 2011. 

Sarah Milligan is the Natural Resource Program Manager at Bandelier National Monument. She  started her NPS career as a firefighter at Lassen Volcanic National Park then worked in the Fee  program at Acadia National Park before moving to Bandelier. Sarah graduated from Oregon  State University with a Master’s in Wildlife Management. She has worked on many projects at  Bandelier, including the reintroduction of native trout and beavers. 

Dr. James Cain will not be presenting at this talk but is the researcher in charge of the Large  Mammal Monitoring Project. He is the Assistant Unit Leader of the U.S. Geological Survey, New  Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and Affiliate Professor in Fish, Wildlife,  and Conservation Ecology at New Mexico State University. Dr. Cain is the principal investigator  for the Large Mammal Monitoring Project in the Jemez Mountains. Dr. Cain’s research interests  are primarily in wildlife-habitat relationships, population ecology, foraging ecology, and the  influence of management practices on native wildlife species. 

For more information about this and other PEEC programs, visit http://www.peecnature.org, email  publicity@peecnature.org or call (505) 662-0460.  

Bandelier National Monument entrance fees are $25 per private vehicle, $20 per motorcycle, or $15 per  bicycle/individual. All entrance passes are valid for 7 days. Camping fees are not included in entrance  fees. America the Beautiful– the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes are accepted for  entrance fees. The full suite of America the Beautiful – the National Parks and Federal Recreational  Lands passes as well as Bandelier Annual passes are available for purchase at the visitor center. For more  information about types of passes and prices, visit: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm. 

Bandelier National Monument is open every day from sunrise to sunset The park visitor center and park store operated by Western National Parks Association in Frijoles Canyon are open each day, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm.  

For information about Bandelier visit http://www.nps.gov/band, call the visitor center, (505) 672-3861, ext. 0. Like us on Facebook BandelierNPS, follow us on Instagram and Twitter@BandelierNPS. 

About the National Park Service -more than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for  America’s 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close to home recreational opportunities. Learn more at http://www.nps.gov and on  Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.