Jim Yoakum: Wildlife biologist wrote the bible on pronghorns
Brian Nordli
WHAT IS A PRONGHORN
WHAT: Pronghorns are a part of the family Antilocapridae, stand 5 ft. tall, and weight 90-120 pounds.
WHERE: They are found only in North America and primarily in grasslands.
HISTORY: Pronghorns are often synonymous with antelope in North America, but they are not related. Larry Gilbertson, Chief of Game for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, said when settlers came to North America, they described the pronghorn as an antelope because it was the closest animal it resembled. Antelope, however, are only found in Africa or in zoos.
The fruits of Jim Yoakum's wildlife career rests in a book many call the "Pronghorn Bible" on a shelf behind his couch.WHERE: They are found only in North America and primarily in grasslands.
HISTORY: Pronghorns are often synonymous with antelope in North America, but they are not related. Larry Gilbertson, Chief of Game for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, said when settlers came to North America, they described the pronghorn as an antelope because it was the closest animal it resembled. Antelope, however, are only found in Africa or in zoos.
It's about the size of a Phone Book and the weight of a pronghorn fawn (7 pounds). Yoakum co-wrote "Pronghorns: Ecology and Management" with Bart O'Gara. Yoakum focused on the animal's wildlife habits and propensity to live in wide open grasslands with no fences or civilization in sight; a life he envied. O'Gara stayed indoors working on the reproductive system, diseases and blood work. It took them 32 years to write the tome.
Yoakum is considered the foremost expert on pronghorn, similar to antelope, and was the first wildlife biologist for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. He retired 25 years ago, but he has dedicated his life to the wild. At 85, it would be easy to relax and reflect on a full career, but Yoakum, who is losing sight out of one eye, has become a "genuine hippie" as he says because of the hip surgery a month ago, and can't hear as well as he used to, refuses to be fenced in.
"One of the things that is rare is when he retired from his job, he didn't retire from his profession," said Tina Nappe, who considers Yoakum family. "It's really amazing, his knowledge and experience is rare, and they don't have enough of that."
Home in the wild
Yoakum's wildlife career sprang out of three of the toughest years of his life.
When he turned 17 years old, he volunteered for the U.S. Navy during World War II because it was expected of any physically fit male. He found himself on a Navy vessel, trapped within a metallic fence, walking on a metallic floor, surrounded by the blue ocean, with only a few fish and birds to keep him company.
He had lived in the tiny town of Templeton, Calif., in San Luis Obispo County, and grew up during the summer campouts in the woods with his sister and father chopping woods, where "there was a sense of freedom," he said. The smell of diesel fuel and sight of the cold, lifeless metallic fence on the ship drove him crazy. He detested it, but he wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
"Those three years gave me eight years of college and set me up for life," Yoakum said. "I never would've been able to go to college before"»there are some good things in everything."
Yoakum attended Humboldt State University, a tiny college in the California Redwood Forest. No one in his family had gone to college. He studied wildlife management and botany, and focused on pronghorns, which earned him a fellowship to Oregon State University, where he went to graduate school for wildlife management.
He has helped raise pronghorn and studied their eating habits, how that changed over time, and how they interacted with other animals among other things. Yoakum fell in love with the animal's propensity to reside in wide open grass lands where people and civilization was scarce. He said he is perhaps one of the last few experts on a specific animal in the wildlife field.
"Times are changed quite a bit since the '60s and '70s," Yoakum said. "A lot of wildlife was highly specialized like in the medical field. "» Some would specialize with just working with elk, or mule, sage brush, well, I was pronghorn."
Yoakum's career with the Bureau of Land Management involved analyzing how the wildlife, livestock and civilization utilize the public lands. He determined what changes needed to be made on the land so the wildlife can thrive properly. His job has taken him to every state in the U.S. and Mexico, and province in Canada that has pronghorn.
A wild life
On Yoakum's kitchen table is a 900-page Sheldon Wildlife Management Plan marked with hundreds of yellow post-its with numbers and notes scrawled on them.Some mark a page where he learned something new, and others are suggestions. Nappe said he is meticulous in his work, like his photo collection that consists of thousands of wildlife pictures all numbered and recorded when and where it was taken. They are still in demand for pamphlets and books on wildlife.
Sheldon Wildlife Refuge officials had asked him to offer advice before last week's deadline for public comment, and he has already read through it once.Fred Wright, who is a friend of Yoakum, said his opinion is highly regarded in the wildlife field. Nappe said Yoakum's courage and strong opinion to do what is best for the wildlife and not the government makes it tough to earn his approval on plans.
"He lets people know what he thought," Nappe said. "He says what he thinks, and what he thinks is what's best for wildlife."
Yoakum and Moka, his 14-year-old Labrador, reside in the house in Verdi he purchased with a Veteran Affairs loan in 1967, which he calls the happiest decision of his life. Deer routinely make trips through his front yard, and the only fence is a wooden one on his porch, which overlooks a scenic view of pines and wildlife. Inside, the walls are covered in paintings and photos of pronghorns and other animals. His kitchen table is littered with pronghorn figures and conservation papers.
The home was built with a generator because there was no electricity or civilization at the time. Even though he prefers the freedom of wide-open land, the neighbors that live near him helped take care of him after his hip surgery. Besides, the wilderness is just outside his back porch; not a metallic fence in sight.
"Wildlife has been my entire life," Yoakum said. "All my life."
Yoakum is considered the foremost expert on pronghorn, similar to antelope, and was the first wildlife biologist for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. He retired 25 years ago, but he has dedicated his life to the wild. At 85, it would be easy to relax and reflect on a full career, but Yoakum, who is losing sight out of one eye, has become a "genuine hippie" as he says because of the hip surgery a month ago, and can't hear as well as he used to, refuses to be fenced in.
"One of the things that is rare is when he retired from his job, he didn't retire from his profession," said Tina Nappe, who considers Yoakum family. "It's really amazing, his knowledge and experience is rare, and they don't have enough of that."
Home in the wild
Yoakum's wildlife career sprang out of three of the toughest years of his life.
When he turned 17 years old, he volunteered for the U.S. Navy during World War II because it was expected of any physically fit male. He found himself on a Navy vessel, trapped within a metallic fence, walking on a metallic floor, surrounded by the blue ocean, with only a few fish and birds to keep him company.
He had lived in the tiny town of Templeton, Calif., in San Luis Obispo County, and grew up during the summer campouts in the woods with his sister and father chopping woods, where "there was a sense of freedom," he said. The smell of diesel fuel and sight of the cold, lifeless metallic fence on the ship drove him crazy. He detested it, but he wouldn't trade the experience for anything.
"Those three years gave me eight years of college and set me up for life," Yoakum said. "I never would've been able to go to college before"»there are some good things in everything."
Yoakum attended Humboldt State University, a tiny college in the California Redwood Forest. No one in his family had gone to college. He studied wildlife management and botany, and focused on pronghorns, which earned him a fellowship to Oregon State University, where he went to graduate school for wildlife management.
He has helped raise pronghorn and studied their eating habits, how that changed over time, and how they interacted with other animals among other things. Yoakum fell in love with the animal's propensity to reside in wide open grass lands where people and civilization was scarce. He said he is perhaps one of the last few experts on a specific animal in the wildlife field.
"Times are changed quite a bit since the '60s and '70s," Yoakum said. "A lot of wildlife was highly specialized like in the medical field. "» Some would specialize with just working with elk, or mule, sage brush, well, I was pronghorn."
Yoakum's career with the Bureau of Land Management involved analyzing how the wildlife, livestock and civilization utilize the public lands. He determined what changes needed to be made on the land so the wildlife can thrive properly. His job has taken him to every state in the U.S. and Mexico, and province in Canada that has pronghorn.
A wild life
On Yoakum's kitchen table is a 900-page Sheldon Wildlife Management Plan marked with hundreds of yellow post-its with numbers and notes scrawled on them.Some mark a page where he learned something new, and others are suggestions. Nappe said he is meticulous in his work, like his photo collection that consists of thousands of wildlife pictures all numbered and recorded when and where it was taken. They are still in demand for pamphlets and books on wildlife.
Sheldon Wildlife Refuge officials had asked him to offer advice before last week's deadline for public comment, and he has already read through it once.Fred Wright, who is a friend of Yoakum, said his opinion is highly regarded in the wildlife field. Nappe said Yoakum's courage and strong opinion to do what is best for the wildlife and not the government makes it tough to earn his approval on plans.
"He lets people know what he thought," Nappe said. "He says what he thinks, and what he thinks is what's best for wildlife."
Yoakum and Moka, his 14-year-old Labrador, reside in the house in Verdi he purchased with a Veteran Affairs loan in 1967, which he calls the happiest decision of his life. Deer routinely make trips through his front yard, and the only fence is a wooden one on his porch, which overlooks a scenic view of pines and wildlife. Inside, the walls are covered in paintings and photos of pronghorns and other animals. His kitchen table is littered with pronghorn figures and conservation papers.
The home was built with a generator because there was no electricity or civilization at the time. Even though he prefers the freedom of wide-open land, the neighbors that live near him helped take care of him after his hip surgery. Besides, the wilderness is just outside his back porch; not a metallic fence in sight.
"Wildlife has been my entire life," Yoakum said. "All my life."
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