Progress 02/02/96 to 02/01/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Sampling for genetic differences between population segments in the Yaak and Whitefish range was completed in 2003. DNA analysis results from this sampling are due in 2004. GPS collars have been deployed in selected areas to monitor grizzly bear movements in relation to human activities such as housing development, highways, and forest roads. PARTICIPANTS: Not relevant to this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Habitat fragmentation is a serious threat to grizzly and other wildlife populations. This work will determine the extent of fragmentation and how human activities impacts and fragment wildlife species. This information can be used to develop management responses to minimize human impacts and to restore connectivity across the landscape.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
This project continued with continued work in the Cabinet/Yaak ecosystem, the Swan Valley and in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Three task forces are now working in western Montana and north Idaho on linkage efforts to implement linkage zone management across public lands, private lands, and highways in the identified linkage zones in these areas. The mission statement for this work is: What we are trying to do is maintain historic levels of wildlife movement and population connection (historic in this sense means prior to fragmentation by human intervention). This issue is especially important where ongoing human actions like transportation systems and site developments are fragmenting historically connected habitats and wildlife populations. A link to a report for public land managers produced under this joint effort detailing a protocol for management of public lands in wildlife linkage zones can be found at http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/wildlife/igbc/Linkage/Public
Lands.htm
Impacts
Habitat fragmentation is a serious threat to grizzly and other wildlife populations. This work will determine the extent of fragmentation and how human activities impacts and fragment wildlife species. This information can be used to develop management responses to minimize human impacts and to restore connectivity across the landscape.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/30/04
Outputs
This project continued with continued work in the Cabinet/Yaak ecosystem, the Swan Valley and in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Three task forces are now working in western Montana and north Idaho on linkage efforts to implement linkage zone management across public lands, private lands, and highways in the identified linkage zones in these areas. The mission statement for this work is: What we are trying to do is maintain historic levels of wildlife movement and population connection (historic in this sense means prior to fragmentation by human intervention). This issue is especially important where ongoing human actions like transportation systems and site developments are fragmenting historically connected habitats and wildlife populations. A link to a report for public land managers produced under this joint effort detailing a protocol for management of public lands in wildlife linkage zones can be found at http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/wildlife/igbc/Linkage/Public
Lands.htm
Impacts
Habitat fragmentation is a serious threat to grizzly and other wildlife populations. This work will determine the extent of fragmentation and how human activities impacts and fragment wildlife species. This information can be used to develop management responses to minimize human impacts and to restore connectivity across the landscape.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03
Outputs
Sampling for genetic differences between population segments in the Yaak and Whitefish range was completed in 2003. DNA analysis results from this sampling are due in 2004. GPS collars have been deployed in selected areas to monitor grizzly bear movements in relation to human activities such as housing development, highways, and forest roads.
Impacts
Habitat fragmentation is a serious threat to grizzly and other wildlife populations. This work will determine the extent of fragmentation and how human activities impacts and fragment wildlife species. This information can be used to develop management responses to minimize human impacts and to restore connectivity across the landscape.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 02/02/96 to 02/01/01
Outputs
Habitat fragmentation occurs when contiguous blocks of habitat are broken into pieces, with the pieces being separated from one another by unsuitable habitats. Habitat fragmentation is usually accompanied by habitat loss, that is, the area of the remaining parcels sum to less than the area of the original contiguous block. Habitat fragmentation is particularly severe for grizzly bears in the conterminous United States whose habitat has been fragmented into 5 pieces constituting 2% of their former range. Valleys containing human developments of varying intensities separate each of these pieces. As human development continues, such developments become increasingly effective barriers to grizzly bear movement. Maintaining connectivity or "linkage" between small, isolated populations could prevent many of the detrimental consequences of habitat fragmentation. Immigrants can bolster populations reduced due to catastrophic events or negative environmental conditions. The
connected populations function as one "metapopulation", where local population processes are balanced by immigration and emigration. We have produced a report to the state and federal agencies in the Northern Rocky Mountains that identifies linkage zones for movement of large carnivores to enhance this conservation. This report (Servheen, C., J. Waller, and P. Sandstrom. 2001. Identification and management of linkage zones for grizzly bears between the large blocks of public land in the Northern Rocky Mountains. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Montana, Missoula. 87 pp.) has been adopted by 9 state and federal agencies. Task forces have been formed to implement the recommendations in this report and this will begin in early 2002.
Impacts
The expected results of this report will be the development of an organized effort to implement linkage zone management to maintain and enhance opportunities for movement of wildlife between the existing large blocks of land in the Rocky Mountains.
Publications
- Servheen, C., J. Waller, and P. Sandstrom. 2001. Identification and management of linkage zones for grizzly bears between the large blocks of public land in the Northern Rocky Mountains. Presented at the 2001 International Conference on Ecology and Transportation. September 2001. (in proceedings)
- Servheen, C., J. Waller, and P. Sandstrom. 2001. Identification and management of linkage zones for grizzly bears between the large blocks of public land in the Northern Rocky Mountains. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Montana, Missoula. 87 pp.
- Boyce, M., E. Kirsch, and C. Servheen. 2002. Bet-hedging applications for conservation. Bioscience. In press.
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Progress 01/01/00 to 12/31/00
Outputs
Research along Highway 2 south of Glacier Park continued in 2000. This is the project update from 1 June through 15 September, 2000. Spring trapping began as scheduled, starting with a helicopter darting operation on the 1st and 2nd of June. The objective was to capture as many grizzly bears as possible to support both the Highway 2 project and the Badger/Two Medicine motorized trail-use project. The Badger/Two Medicine project is being conducted by the US Forest Service Lewis & Clark National Forest, with Tabitha Graves, a University of Montana graduate student. This Masters level project is scheduled for 2 years and we hope that it will provide valuable information concerning the effects of motorized trail use on grizzly bear movements and habitat use patterns. The US Fish and Wildlife Service, Blackfeet Indian Nation, and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks have been acting as cooperators on this project. Foot snaring began in the Highway 2 corridor on
June 3rd and continued through June 30th. Terence McCleland and John Waller operated 8 trap sites between Java Creek and Lubec Hills. We captured 12 black bears (10 males, 1 female, 1 unknown), and 4 grizzly bears (1 male, 3 female). GPS collars were placed on two of the females (# 24 and 26). The other two were small subadults. Dan Carney of the Blackfeet Indian Nation deployed an additional 3 GPS collars. These collars were placed on an adult female with 2 cubs (#921), a large subadult female (# 293) and subadult male (# 286). Thus we deployed a total of 6 GPS collars during our spring trapping season. Two of the 6 were recaptures from 1999, (# 921 and 922). Collared bears were located twice weekly. Male grizzly bear number 286 dropped his GPS collar shortly after capture. Female number 26 dropped her GPS collar on August 7. Subadult male number 2 has not been located since leaving his den in Devil Cr on April 15th. An adult male black bear captured in 1998 was found road killed
near the Summit campground on July 8th. To date we have accumulated over 550 aerial relocations (140 in 2000). Unfortunately, the bears equipped with GPS collars do not appear to have crossed Highway 2 except for bear 24. Two VHF-collared bears continued to cross the highway in 2000. We have documented 79 separate crossing incidents from June 1998 through September 15th, 2000. Ten crossings have occurred in 2000. Montana Department of Transportation provided us with 2 Peek traffic counters for the 2000 field season. They were deployed on Highway 2 at the east and west ends of the study area and monitor traffic continuously. These counters have functioned very well and provided detailed, directional traffic counts for 1999. We also continue to monitor train traffic using BNSF train counters. These data will be used in conjunction with the GPS collar data to determine if bear movements are influenced by vehicle and train traffic volume. GPS collars deployed in 2000 are scheduled to
release automatically on October 21st.
Impacts
The Highway 2 project is seeking to document the specific crossing areas for grizzly bears across Highway 2. If the specific crossing areas can be identified, crossing structures for allowing the animals to cross the highways. This will improve human safety, and minimize wildlife mortality.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/99 to 12/31/99
Outputs
Research along Highway 2 south of Glacier Park continued. By June 10th, 1999 we had 10 trap sites operational. Trapping continued until July 1st. During this period we captured 11 grizzly bears and 3 black bears. Valuable assistance during the capture of sub-adults was provided by Tim Manley of MFWP and Barry Wollenzien and Kyle Johnson of GNP. All captures were completed without incident or injuries. Adult females 14, 921, and 922 were fitted with GPS collars. We are continuing to locate those bears captured during 1998, and the 3 females equipped with GPS collars in 1999, from fixed-wing aircraft twice per week. Male grizzly bears numbers 6 and 7, captured in 1998, have disappeared and attempts to relocate them have been unsuccessful. Number 6 was last located in April, 1999 at Elk Lake and number 7 was last located along the Spotted Bear River in August, 1998. To date we have accumulated nearly 400 aerial relocations, 208 in 1998. Unfortunately, the bears equipped
with GPS collars do not appear to have crossed Highway 2. The 4 VHF-collared bears continued to cross the highway in 1999. We have documented 21 separate crossing incidents through September 30th, 15 fewer than at this time last year. John Vore, MFWP, has assisted us greatly through his participation in the aerial telemetry effort. We have also assisted MFWP by aerially locating management bears in the South and Middle Fork Flathead River drainages and in the Flathead and Swan Valleys, and by providing radio collars and ear tag transmitters during the fall of 1998. Our GPS collars are equipped with a VHF beacon whose pulse rate is indicative of the success of the last GPS fix. Based upon this pulse rate, the collars on bears 14 and 921 successfully obtained GPS fixes from their date of deployment to the date of release. Although expected battery life of the GPS unit was 90 days from date of deployment, these collars appeared to have functioned properly for 126 days. The collar on bear
922, however, does not appear to have functioned properly since mid-August. The data collected by the GPS collar will be downloaded from the collar by Telonics and returned to us sometime in November. Montana Department of Transportation provided us with 2 Peek traffic counters for the 1999 field season. They were deployed on Highway 2 at the east and west ends of the study area and monitored traffic continuously from June 5th through October 15th. We now have over 2,000 hours of hourly traffic counts. We also obtained access to BNSF train counters and downloaded the daily records of trains passing through the study area. These data will be used in conjunction with the GPS collar data to determine if bear movements are influenced by vehicle and train traffic volume. A paper was presented describing the Highway 2 project and our results to date at the Third International Conference on Wildlife Ecology and Transportation Conference in Missoula during September. We also conducted a field
trip to the study area. It was well attended and many favorable comments were received.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- Waller, J., and C. Servheen. 1999. Documenting grizzly bear highway crossing patterns using GPS technology. Pp.21-24 in Proc. Third Intl. Conf. Wildl. Ecol. and Transportation. Missoula, MT.
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Progress 01/01/98 to 12/31/98
Outputs
A GIS-based model has been developed to allow the evaluation of the spatial distrubution of human activity across the landscape. This model scores each individual pixel based on a combination of factors. The model has been applied to the Swan Valey, the North Fork of the Flathead, the Middle Fork of the Flathead, and the I-90 corridor between Missoula and Lookout Pass, the Highway 93 corridor over Evaro Hill, and the Highway 200 corridor from Paradise to the Idaho line. Locally-based habitat management plans have been written by local residents in the Swan Valley and the North Fork of the Flathead. These management plans outline ways that local citizens can live with wildlife and details ways that people can make decisions on their lands that will allow wildlife to live there. Further application of this model is on going in the Northern Rockies. The modeling of the linkage areas between all large federal land habitat blocks in the Rocky Mountains is scheduled to be
completed by December 1999.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- Servheen, C., J. Waller, and W. Kasworm. 1998. Maintaining connectivity across high-speed highways for grizzly bear populations shared between the United States and Canada. in Proc. Second International Conference on Wildlife ecology and Transportation. Feb. 1998, Ft. Meyers, Florida.
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Progress 01/01/97 to 12/31/97
Outputs
A GIS-based model has been developed to allow the evaluation of the spatial distrubution of human activity across the landscape. This model scores each individual pixel based on a combination of factors. The model has been applied to the Swan Valey, the North Fork of the Flathead, the Middle Fork of the Flathead, and the I-90 corridor between Missoula and Lookout Pass, the Highway 93 corridor over Evaro Hill, and the Highway 200 corridor from Paradise to the Idaho line. Locally-based habitat management plans have been written by local residents in the Swan Valley and the North Fork of the Flathead. These management plans outline ways that local citizens can live with wildlife and details ways that people can make decisions on their lands that will allow wildlife to live there. Further application of this model is on going in the Northern Rockies.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- HILDEBRAND, G.V., S.D. FARLEY, C.T. ROBBINS, T.A. HANLEY, K. TITUS, AND C. SERVHEEN. 1996. Use of stable isotopes to determine diets of living and extinct bears. Can. J. Zool. 74: 2080-2088.
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Progress 01/01/96 to 12/30/96
Outputs
A GIS-based model has been developed to allow the evaluation of the spatial distrubution of human activity across the landscape. This model scores each individual pixel based on a combination of factors. The model has been applied to the Swan Valey, the North Fork of the Flathead, the Middle Fork of the Flathead, and the I-90 corridor between Missoula and Lookout Pass, the Highway 93 corridor over Evaro Hill, and the Highway 200 corridor from Paradise to the Idaho line. Locally-based habitat management plans have been written by local residents in the Swan Valley and the North Fork of the Flathead. These management plans outline ways that local citizens can live with wildlife and details ways that people can make decisions on their lands that will allow wildlife to live there.
Impacts
(N/A)
Publications
- HILDEBRAND, G.V., S.D. FARLEY, C.T. ROBBINS, T.A. HANLEY, K. TITUS, AND C. SERVHEEN. 1996. Use of stable isotopes to determine diets of living and extinct bears. Can. J. Zool. 74: 2080-2088.
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