I take my bike rides along the Rillito River Park It's only about 25k's round trip, and flat, but it's one of the only places you can really go flat out on a bike in the city. The city has landscaped the route with mesquite trees, watered through an irrigation system that uses reclaimed water.
I've noticed hundreds of these little guys:
They are thriving because of the availability of water. It got me wondering if it's going to be a problem in the future. How many of these little guys can that system support? Are we going to see a plague of groundsquirrels like the rabbit plagues in Australia? Are they going to get strange diseases because of the partially treated sewage?
There was one that was dead on the path. I assume it was bikepath (road)kill - a first for me.
