Wildlife Conservation and Management

Jackson Hole Cooperative Elk Studies Group, Grand Teton National Park, 1995 Annual Report

United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 10:49:22 PDT

A modelling effort using POP-II software was presented to show the effects of altering the harvest structure of the reduction. The relatively high harvests of the last two years may result in maintaining the current Park population levels. A variety of scenarios increasing the number and proportion of cows harvested show the greater effects cow harvests have on reducing the population relative to bull harvests.

Proceedings of the Fourth Western Black Bear Workshop

United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:16:33 PDT

The status of black bears in North America ranges from pest to threatened. The species appears relatively secure throughout most parts of its range except the southeastern coastal plain; in this region a number of disjunct populations exist on primarily publicly owned lands. Concern over the status of Ursus americanus luteolus led to a petition to list this subspecies under the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act is arguably the most important wildlife legislation in recent years. However, applying this valuable, but young, untested, and evolving legislation to the black bear subspecies is judged unwarranted and premature because of the following reasons: (1) extensive restocking efforts with Ursus americanus americanus from outside the region and empirical evidence of breeding with native animals, (2) bears of different subspecies using dispersal corridors and likely past and future artificial shuffling of bears, (3) genetic evidence of a homogeneous population throughout the region, (4) likely influence of nutrient-rich habitats and phenotypic responses by the bears, (5) historically applying artificial subspecific criteria, (6) historically underestimating initial population estimates and documenting these underestimates through intensive site-specific studies, (7) large amounts of existing bottomland hardwood forests in Louisiana and their concomitant relative stability into the future because of public ownership and regulation, (8) recent history of applying the Endangered Species Act to some charismatic megafauna and resulting problems of consistency, equitability, flexibility, expediency, and perceptions as well as breadth of interpreting the present Endangered Species Act, and (9) many remaining important, unanswered questions. Certainly, the more than 30 "populations" in the Southeast need our attention, particularly the smaller, more disjunct ones. The Endangered Species Act is a valuable tool but the wrong one to apply in this instance without substantially more documentation, research, and modification. Help for bears in the region may better be provided through existing state, federal, and private cooperation by a regional organization such as the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Strutting Sounds and Strutting Posturing of Two Utah Sage Grouse Populations

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:02:26 PST

Sound and video tape recordings and still pictures were taken of two populations of strutting male sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). The two populations studied were from the Strawberry Valley and Parker Mountains. Sixteen elements of sounds were identified in the strutting sequence. These elements were the same for both populations. Video tape and still picture analysis revealed that both populations were similar in posturing during the strutting sequence. We concluded that the Parker Mountains sage grouse population is suitable in terms of breeding display behavior to augment the Strawberry Valley population. Sexual compatibility would need to be determined in future studies.

Birds of a Great Basin Sagebrush Habitat in East-Central Nevada

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 14:05:37 PST

Breeding bird populations ranged from 3.35 to 3.48 individuals/ha over a 3-year study conducted from 1981 to 1983. Brewer's sparrows, sage sparrows, sage thrashers, and black-throated sparrows were numerically dominant. Horned larks and western meadowlarks were less common. Results are compared with bird populations in Great Basin sagebrush habitats elsewhere in the United States.

Bird Populations in and Adjacent to a Beaver Pond Ecosystem in Idaho

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:17:54 PST

We compared breeding bird populations and community organization between a beaver pond habitat dominated by willows (Salix spp.) and an adjacent nonwillow riparian habitat on Summit Creek in east-central Idaho. For the previous 14 years both habitats had been protected from livestock grazing by a fenced excloser (122-ha). Bird populations were determined by spot-mapping on 9-ha plots in spring 1989. Structural (physiognomic) differences in vegetation between the two habitats and the availability of impounded water on the beaver pond site were reflected in associated breeding bird populations. Total bird density in the beaver pond habitat was three times that of the adjacent riparian habitat. Similarly, our estimates of total bird biomass, bird species richness, and bird species diversity were 3.49, 3.25, and 1.67 times higher, respectively, in the beaver pond habitat. Further, there were more foraging and nesting guilds represented on the beaver pond plot than esewhere. Our findings suggest that beaver pond ecosystems can provide important habitats for nongame breeding birds.

Sage Grouse Status and Recovery Plan for Strawberry Valley, Utah

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:52:58 PST

Since 1939, an estimated 3,000 sage grouse in Strawberry Valley, UT, have declined to some 180 birds, mainly because of reservoir construction and eradication of big sagebrush to promote livestock forage. A 4-year study of numbers and movements of radio-tagged grouse has provided the basis for a recovery program calling for rejuvenation of big sagebrush and forbs important to grouse, replacement of mating grounds lost to human activities, consideration of sage grouse biology in management decisions, and formation of a sage grouse recovery team.

Assessment of Nongame Bird Habitat Using Forest Survey Data

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 15:12:11 PDT

Forest Survey data have potential for use in obtaining information on the condition and diversity of the Nation's forest resources relevant to wildlife habitat that is needed for planning and monitoring at State and regional levels. In this study, Forest Survey data were used to assess nongame bird habitat potential based on food and shelter requirements on 24 plots. These assessments were then evaluated using bird numbers. Results of the analyses showed some correlation of bird numbers with tree canopy variables, and illustrate the potential for using Forest Survey data for wildlife habitat assessment, for identifying opportunities to improve habitat through management, and for predicting change in conditions over time.

The Delphi Method: Application to Elk Habitat Quality

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:00:27 PDT

This paper reports on the results of a study designed both to gather important information through Delphi and to evaluate several key features of the Delphi process. We intend to present information developed, and also describe and discuss Delphi so as to make resource managers more comfortable with it, aware of its potential, and willling to consider it along with other information gathering tools.

Integrated Restoration Strategies Towards Weed Control on Western Rangelands

U.S. Forest Service — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:59:13 PDT

An attempt to find native plant materials competitive with cheatgrass to help break the cheatgrass-fire cycle and begin the transition from exotic annual-dominated vegetation to native perennial dominated vegetation.

Conservation assessment of greater sage-grouse and sagebrush habitats

Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:18:15 PDT

An unbiased assessment from an ecological perspective of the current status and the potential factors that influenced the long-term conservation of greater sage-grouse populations and the sagebrush ecosystems on which they depend.