California Porcupine Population Appears To Be Declining
The Sacramento Bee reported on the decline of California’s porcupine population. The Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center collected data from U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and California Department of Fish and Game on all porcupine sightings throughout 2011. Over the entire year in the area from Lake Tahoe to the southern tip of the Sierra Nevada reports totaled only 14 live porcupines and eight roadkill . Porcupine population is also declining in the Northeastern part of the California.
Most California porcupines are found east of I-5. Probable causes of the decline in porcupines are the use of hunters and rodenticides by logging industry (one of porcupines favorite foods is Ponderosa Pine seedlings) and the use of rodent bait by illegal marijuana plantations ( porcupines damage the tubing used to divert water from streams). Additionally porcupines reproduce at the relatively slow rate of one offspring per year. Read more at: Porcupines an increasingly rare sight in California forests, scientists say – Environment – The Sacramento Bee.
Natural History Wanderings 
Meanwhile in Pennsylvania they are hunting porcupines. See story at NPR The Porcupine Black Market Comes To Pennsylvania
LikeLike
By: Sandy Steinman on March 8, 2012
at 11:32 PM
Unfortunately, porcupines are the favorite food of endangered Pacific fishers.
LikeLike
By: John Wall on March 8, 2012
at 11:19 AM
One of the ways they have tracked the Porcupines decline is that none of the dead fishers examined had signs of consuming porcupines.
LikeLike
By: Sandy Steinman on March 8, 2012
at 12:01 PM