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It really makes me sad to realize the CHL is pretty much gone.

I wouldn't go so as far to say they are gone. If you understand the paper, there are holes where there are many populations that were not even touched. The RIMROCK area for instance, I know an area close but still not in the immediate vacinity that in certian years are teaming with horned lizards. although I've found many young adults I have never actualy found a full adult yet, but in Auagust and Septemeber it's not been unusual to find up to 25 horned lizards in a few hundred yards. I've shared this with Lester and the time he did check on the area he did not find much. So there are a lot of variables, such as another area in Riverside where I've observed many young horned lizards about this time of year but this last year I haven't seen a one. So did i miss them or did they not reproduce as much, i'm not sure except of what I have observed. Obviously the encroachment and building homes has totally effected the overall. We can all remeber bygone days when we could hike outside our houses and catch horny toads all the time. But there are some areas that have high populations, which of the ones I've observed I've only shared with lester for study purposes. Just my opinion and observations which are not documented science, I absoloutly loved the report.....

Well, I have been hiking around Santa Barbara (Red Rock too) and have NEVER seen a HL ever. So I dunno, I would love to see one just to know there are around here.
- Jim

I found an area in April near where I live, but in the national forest with an apparently strong population. My wife and I were hiking and she nearly stepped on one. So we started looking around and saw one more that day. I was fascinated because I hadn't seen one on perhaps 20 years. So I went back the next day and saw 4 others (maybe some of the same?). Over the rest of that month and June I saw another dozen or so in the same general area. This evening after work I went back to that area as I have every weekend for the last month. I haven't seen an adult or juvenile there in over a month. Lester tells me the adults are in a summer hybernation phase so I was looking for youngn's. Well, today finally found one little guy. Very cool! Body was about as small as my thumbnail. Hard to believe he is going to grow into the big lizards I saw in the spring. There is also another place I used to see them in the late 70's. I used to work in the Acton area in the country when I was a teenager. Well, I went back to the area in late april and sure enough the lizards were still there in that general area. I have also seen sign of them in several other areas within a 20 mile radius. So they are still out there and must be in some numbers too. Anyways, thats the way it was.
Cheers!

I have heard there are some in Ojai but I don't know where.http://forum.kingsnake.com/horned/messages/771.html