Is it Worth it?

Physically Worth it?

What About Fiscally?

Anything Else Still Needing to Be Done?

The recovery plan, which includes the recovery of many San Joaquin species, is estimated to cost $40,104,000 (Williams, 1998). However this number is somewhat misleading since the plan is designed to recover 34 species in the San Joaquin area, making it much more expensive than if it were just the riparian brush rabbits. For a better idea of the cost of riparian brush rabbit recovery, it was estimated to cost $1,138,559.18 to run the captive breeding program between 2003-2005 (Monitoring Translocated Riparian Brush Rabbits, 2002) and grants as large as $2.7 million has been acquired for the program (Williams, Kelly, Hamilton, 2002). Additionally, while there is no cost estimates, acquisition of property is also likely going to cost a good amount of money as the project continues.

While this is a large investment into riparian brush rabbits and their ecosystems, it is safe to say that it is one that is worth every penny. With a $54 billion dollar agricultural (Medina, 2014) and $131 million dollar Central Valley salmon industry (The Economics of Salmon, 2016) on the line, not to mention the potential millions of dollars saved in flood damage, it is hard not to see a reason to protect riparian brush rabbits and their riparian forest habitats. For the security of one of California’s major economic source and for the jobs of 100s of fisheries and farms alike, it is imperative that we save the riparian brush rabbit and their habitat for generations to come. Even looking past the money, who would want to see an animal this cute go extinct or an ecosystem this rare disappear? If all else fails, riparian brush rabbits have a lot of existence and aesthetic value while their riparian forest ecosystems have a lot of bequest value in their rarity, making riparian brush rabbit more than just a monetary loss but a loss of a true Californian treasure, a fate that should never come to fruition.

The Recovery Plan for the riparian brush rabbit in the San Joaquin Valley’s goal is to save both the riparian brush rabbit and its ecosystem from destruction. One of the main ways this goal is being achieve is though attempting to expand Caswell Memorial State Park with private property acquisition to maximize the amount of land it has for the riparian brush rabbits. Along with private property acquisition, other habitat restoration effort have included revitalizing decadent shrubs, reducing fire risk with the introduction of fire roads, creating bunny mounds to provide refuge from floods and reducing nonnative predation, from animals like feral cats and dogs. Additionally the recovery plan commits to creating strong genetic diversity in the current population to ensure its health. To achieve this captive breeding programs have been started to keep the rabbit alive Some trade offs of this plan is that current land owners would have to sell or give up their property, something most people are unwilling to do along with being both expensive and hard to accomplish (Williams, 1998). However, based on how connected riparian brush rabbits are to the riparian forest and how important riparian forest are to the success of the Central Valley, any necessary acquisition should be a no brainier since without the riparian brush rabbit, we will lose a lot more than just a bit of private property.

Are the physical and fiscal cost of the riparian brush rabbit recovery plan truly worth it?

Short answer, a lot. Here is just some of what can still be done to further protect the riparian brush rabbit:

Expand the land acquisition program, either buying back land or creating tax breaks for those who give their land to Caswell Memorial State Park or other surround park lands.
Create a feral and domestic animal education programs, informing the public to keep animals in monitored or fenced areas to prevent the killing of riparian brush rabbits.
Ban the use of poisons used to kill squirrels/rats which riparian brush rabbits eat; mandate traps instead of bait (William, 1998).
Force on full riparian forest restoration and not just the restoration of its endangered species
Revegetate levees to provide flood protection and continue the creation of rabbit mounds
Better and more often census data on the riparian brush rabbit population.
Focus on efforts to rid of channelization and dams in the San Joaquin River, allowing the river to flow naturally without interruption. Additionally floodplain rehabilitation projects are also important.
General education on the benefits of protecting riparian brush rabbits and their riparian ecosystems to the public.

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