RESPONSES OF CANADA LYNX, SNOWSHOE HARES, SPRUCE GROUSE, AND FOREST SONGBIRDS TO FOREST MANAGEMENT IN COMMERCIALLY MANAGED LANDSCAPES IN THE NORTHEASTERN U.S.

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: MCINTIRE-STENNIS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1007194
• Project Start Date: Oct 1, 2015
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2020
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE
(N/A)
ORONO,ME 04469

Performing Department
Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology

Non Technical Summary
Maine has the largest population of U.S. federally threatened Canada lynx in the lower 48 states, which specialize on the snowshoe hare as a primary prey species. Further, commercially managed forests in Maine support the largest spruce grouse population in the eastern U.S. Finally, Maine has >50% of the spruce-fir forest in the coterminous U.S. and is estimated to provide > 95% of the nesting habitat in the U.S. for some migratory birds associated with conifer forests such as the bay-breasted warbler, which is a federal conservation priority and has declining population trends throughout its U.S. range. The University of Maine (UMaine) has a long reputation of research on forest-wildlife habitat interactions and has produced numerous publications on relationships and responses of Canada lynx, snowshoe hares, and other forest wildlife to commercial-scale forest management.UMaine has been also been the source of several studies of spruce grouse research spanning back to the 1970's, and Maine supports a sizeable population of this bird, which has been identified as a species at considerable risk within the northeast U.S. region (e.g., populations are considered endangered in New York and Vermont and of special concern in New Hampshire) by the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Ongoing work by M.S. student Stephen Dunham has documented high rates of occupancy within previously clearcut conifer stands that have been regenerated with the aid of glyphosate application and with precommercial thinning. This suggests that forest management might provide opportunities to enhance spruce grouse populations, but more information on the relative survival and reproductive rates of spruce grouse within these human-modified habitats is needed to make meaningful conservation and forest management recommendations. Research to evaluate the demographic responses of spruce grouse to different forest management treatments (e.g., uncut mature conifer, regenerating clearcut, selection harvest, pre-commercially thinned stands) will be the focus of the spruce grouse component of the new project during 2015.Additionally, Maine supports the greatest diversity of conifer-dependent forest songbirds in the eastern U.S. and is the core of the breeding range for several species with declining national trends. Past research in the P.I.'s lab has used a time series of satellite imagery to document widespread fragmentation and reduction in the extent of conifer forest habitats in commercially managed forests of northern Maine since 1970, which may be threatening the ability of Maine's commercial forestlands to support nationally significant populations of Canada lynx, snowshoe hares, spruce grouse, and conifer-associated forest songbirds.Our goals are to:1) document seasonal utilization of snowshoe hares in diets of Canada lynx in northern Maine and evaluate spatio-temporal dynamics in hare populations across different forest management treatments; 2) estimate demographic rates (adult survival for males and females, nest success, chick survival) of spruce grouse using a combination of radio-telemetry and capture-mark-recapture methods; compare those rates across stands with different forest management treatments, and model effects of forest management treatments on demography; and3) evaluate effects of different forest management treatments on community diversity, occupancy, and relative abundance of conifer-associated forest birds, particularly migrant species of federal conservation priority.

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
135	0613	1070	100%

Knowledge Area
135 - Aquatic and Terrestrial Wildlife;

Subject Of Investigation
0613 - Mixed conifer-broadleaf forests;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;

Keywords

canada lynx

spruce grouse

birds

forestry

snowshoe hare

clearcut

harvesting

Goals / Objectives
1) Document seasonal utilization of snowshoe hares in diets of Canada lynx in northern Maine and evaluate spatio-temporal dynamics in hare populations across different forest management treatments.2) Estimate demographic rates (adult survival for males and females, nest success, chick survival) of spruce grouse using a combination of radio-telemetry and capture-mark-recapture methods; compare those rates across stands with different forest management treatments, and model effects of forest management treatments on demography.3) Evaluate effects of different forest management treatments on community diversity, occupancy, and relative abundance of conifer-associated forest birds, particularly migrant species of federal conservation priority.

Project Methods
Lynx Food Habits Component of Objective #1: Winter lynx scats that were opportunistically collected during winter fieldwork in 2001 (period of low hare density), as well as scats that were collected with the aid of a scat detection dog in summer 2011 (period of higher hare density) will be genetically analyzed to confirm lynx origin using PCR procedures at The University of Washington. Scats will analyzed using frequency of occurrence and percent occurrence (Murdoch et al. 2010) of prey items based on color and banding patterns of hair, identified teeth and bones, presence of feathers, beak, and scales, and hair medullary structure. Results on prey occurrences and niche breadth will be analyzed and compared to diets for other southern lynx populations, and for lynx within the core of the geographic range within the northern boreal forest zone.Snowshoe Hare Spatio-Temporal Dynamics Component of Objective 1: My lab has surveyed hare populations on > 66 different research stands (average = 26/year) in northern Maine for time periods spanning 4-13 years. I propose to analyze via time-series analysis the hare densities on stands through time and across space (sites spaced from Telos to Clayton Lake) to evaluate questions of population stability, spatial synchrony of hare populations across Maine, effects of forest succession on hares, and effects of stand-scale forest practices on hares. We are evaluating the effect of stand age versus the evidence for spatial synchrony to evaluate whether stand succession or extrinsic cycles are driving changes in hare densities at the scale of the stand. Finally, our long term data for regenerating conifer-dominated clearcut stands (used as a benchmark of hare densities for lynx) are concentrated in 2 study areas (n = 7 in Telos and n = 8 in Clayton Lake), which are separated by 80 km. This large spatial extent allows will allow me to evaluate whether changes in hare populations are localized or result from large-scale regional fluctuations independent of stand-scale forest management. Spruce Grouse Component (Objective 2): Our primary study site is the Telos area of the North Maine Woods in Piscataquis County, northern Maine. We will capture and individually mark male and female spruce grouse using a combination of leg banding and radio collaring. Data from Phase 1 will be combined with an additional three years of data collected as part of this newly proposed research. Our final target sample size will be at least 120 spruce grouse of each sex, marked and monitored across the entire 6-year period. During the first two years of data collection, >60 unique spruce grouse were captured and marked, suggesting our total capture goal is achievable. Including this length of study and volume of birds is important so that we can adequately capture variation in demographic rates through time. Evaluating population dynamics across six years will also allow us to test for environmental drivers of annual population change, such as variable weather patterns, that may affect spruce grouse population dynamics.We will use a combination of radio telemetry and mark-recapture methods to collect data on survival and reproductive success of individual male and female spruce grouse (Objective 1). Survival will be evaluated year-round, as well as during distinct biological seasons (e.g. breeding and overwinter). Reproductive success will be monitored during the spring and summer breeding season (May - August). We will monitor birds in each of the three stand types, and will also sample vegetation characteristics, such as tree basal area or forest understory composition and structure, at spruce grouse locations.Forest Songbird Component (Objective 3)Study Sites - Many of our established research sites in northern Maine are part of an ongoing study on forest harvest effects on forest carnivores and are 15-20 ha in size. These study areas are 15-20 stands partitioned into harvest selection intensity and age categories ranging from no harvest, to selection harvest, to shelterwood harvest, and including regenerated clearcuts (17-40 years post-cut).Avian Surveys -Bird surveys with auditory point counts and remote acoustic recorders will occur across 2 summers during April-July. We will collect vegetation structure and composition data (e.g., overstory basal area, canopy closure, species, understory composition and structure, coarse woody debris condition) during July and August (estimated time on ground for vegetation surveys is 1-2 days per stand). Historical (1970-2007) changes in landcover and forest structure in Maine have been assessed by Simons (2009) and by Legaard and Sader (University of Maine, in prep) based on a satellite time series, which will be used to infer broad-scale habitat implications of the stand-scale relationships that are observed during this proposed study.We will take a hierarchical approach to extensively and intensively survey forest stands during mid-May to late-June, the breeding season for forest birds in this region. Vegetation data available from previously studied, as well as newly selected stands, will be related to avian metrics. Stands will contain 3-5 sampling points each, and each point will be surveyed twice duringtwo breeding seasons using standard 10 min point count methods (Ralph et al. 1993). All individuals seen or heard will be recorded by species. Points will be sampled between a half hour after sunrise and 1030 on days with appropriate weather conditions. Observations will be categorized into five detection types (calling, displaying, flyovers, singing, visuals), and sex will be determined if possible. We will record detections by distance categories and one-minute time intervals to calculate detection probabilities (Farnsworth et al. 2005). We will deploy acoustic recorders periodically throughout the surveys and use the recording to assess bird song detectability by our survey crew, as well as to identify birds calling in the study stands outside the survey periods. We will use program DISTANCE to estimate density (Thomas et al. 2010) for species with sufficient calls detected. For less common species we will calculate indices of relative abundance.Because we will sample a wide range of habitat conditions resulting from a variety of harvest types and ages, we will use regression analyses to relate vegetation data to avian metrics. We also will explore a classification and regression trees (CART) approach for analyses. Context of the study areas will be described with spatial land cover data layers created in 2008 in Maine (Legaard and Sader, University of Maine, in prep) and publically available land cover layers for the other study areas. Updated land cover data will be identified as they become available, or the land cover data will be updated with ground truthing as appropriate. If data layers quantifying amount of mature forest in the landscape are deemed accurate, we will use program TITAN (Baker and King 2010) to calculate relative abundance thresholds for this metric for individual species and for the overall avian community. To evaluate response of the avian community to forest change in a broader context, we will seek out and assemble point count data sets for the Eastern Spruce-Hardwood Forest physiographic area collected over the last ~10 years. We will explore using available National Land Cover Data to examine relative change in mature forest compared to harvested forest, and to relate those changes with our point- count data. Survey data will be compared with data from previous surveys conducted by Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences in mature and harvested forests in study areas in north-central Maine. We also will examine our survey data in the context of regional breeding bird survey and population trend data to assess potential causes for regional trends based on stand- and landscape-scale habitat relationships identified during this study.

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences includedacademic, agency, and NGO scientists (i.e., via theses, journal publications and conference presentations), forest and wildlife managers (via field tours, workshops, annual reports, and targeted presentation of results with management recommendations), and the general public influencing policy on forest and wildlife management (via press releases, media coverage, and presentations). We have reached all of these audiences via scientific publications, presentations at conferences, participation at meetings with forest landowners and managers, review of a national Species Status Assessment, presentations to forest industry stakeholders, final sub-project reports, a stakeholder sponsored field tour, andvia collaboration with media as a source for articles targeted to the general public. Primary examples of deliverables to target audiences include: A final report for the snowshoe hare spatio-temporal component of Objective #1 was submitted to the Endangered Species Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during summer 2019. That report is informingongoing decisions regarding proposed de-listing of the U.S. federally threatened Canada lynx. A final Ph.D. dissertation (Rolek 2018) summarizing final results of the forest song birds component (Objective #3) was completed and is available through the Fogler Library at The University of Maine. Copies were distributed to the Migratory Bird Office, Northeastern Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a public seminar was provided at The University of Maine in December 2018. University scientists, graduate students, state and federal agency biologists, as well as representatives from conservation NGO's, were in attendance at the public seminar. A final technical report of the forest songbirds component was presented as a workshop (January 2017) and as a written final report (2018) to biologists at the Regional Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A presentation of final results from the forest birds component focusing on forest management applications and interpretations was presented to landowners and managers of commercial forestlands in Maine at the October 2019 meeting of the Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit (MCFRU). A final written report on the spruce grouse demographic component (Objective #2) was provided to State of Maine agencies and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in December 2018. A final written report focusing on forest harvesting relationships with spruce grouse demographics was disseminated to forest landowners and managers of the MCFRU in September 2019 and a presentation of those final results was presented to MCFRU in April 2019. Final results of the spruce grouse demographic component (objective #3) were presented to scientists, biologists, and ornithologists at the Annual Conference of the American Society of Ornithologists in June 2019. An invitedfield tour and presentation of our findings regarding priority forest songbirds and forest management was presented to academic and forest industry stakeholders in New Brunswick, Canada. Results summarizing the ineffectiveness of zoning to conserve wintering deer habitats were presented to forest managers and state/provincial agency representatives from Maine and New Brunswick in November 2018. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Seven graduate students received support and/or training and four of those completed dissertations/theses/research projects during this5-year project. Additionally, four technicians with B.S. degrees, seven undergraduate students, and one post-doctoral scientist received professional experiences and training during the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our results were communicated via annual reports to forest landowners and managers, in three final written reports highlighting each of the primary project goals of the project, via short summary communications targeted towards forest managers, through workshops for agency biologists, as oral presentations to stakeholders, via presentations at scientific conferences, and via peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals. Additional peer-reviewed journal articles are anticipated. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this project wesuccessfully accomplished all three of the major goals (listed above) without any significant deviations. Primary outcomes of these accomplishments were: 1) Wedocumented specialization on snowshoe hares by Canada lynx at their southern range margin across a range of seasons and across years with fluctuating hare densities.These results refute the hypothesis that lynx are generalist predators in the U.S.and focuses and simplifies conservation of U.S. federally threatened Canada lynx on the adequate provisioning of habitat for one principal prey species. 2) The presence or absence of cycles in southern hare populations has been debated for over a century. This project provides the first empirical documentation of dampened cycles in southern hare populations and has profound implications for lynx conservation and broader ecosystem functioning given the keystone role of hares in northern forest systems. 3)We documented nearly a magnitude-level effect of different forest harvest treatments on snowshoe hare densities, which provides important new insights into managing forests in the Acadian region to promote featured species and forest biodiversity. 4) We determined that patterns of forest occupancy by spruce grouse are positively influenced by some forms of forest management (e.g., clearcutting followed by herbicide application and pre-commercial thinning), but that the suite of forest harvest techniques practiced in Maine's northern forests have variable effects on vital demographic rates of spruce grouse. 5) We determined that demographic rates of spruce grouse were insufficient to maintain a positive growth rate of the population during the 6 years of our study.This finding is consistent with trends observed in other areas near the southern extent of the species' range, and suggests that future monitoring and conservation actions may be needed to sustain viable spruce grouse populations in Maine. 6) We documented that assemblages of spruce-fir associated birds had greatest abundance in regenerating clearcuts combined with postharvest treatments (i.e., herbicide and precommercial thinning), and within stands having ≥60% spruce-fir tree composition. This suggests that some forms of forest harvesting and silviculture may be beneficial for conserving spruce-fir birds. This was further emphasized by our finding that richness of spruce-fir avian assemblages were greatest in stands with immature trees and greater spruce-fir tree composition, and that regenerated clearcuts with prior postharvest treatments of herbicide and/or precommercial thinning had greater spruce-fir tree composition compared to other treatments. 7) Our findings indicate that road edges reduce habitat for spruce-fir birds. Overall, our results suggest that forest management could promote habitat for spruce-fir birds through: 1) application of postharvest treatments such as herbicide and precommercial thinning; 2) using management that targets focal species by using outcome-based silviculture; 3) minimizing extent of road edges and roadside buffers.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rolek, B. W., D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, and P. B. Wood. 2018. Regenerating clearcuts and post-harvest treatments promote spruce-fir avian assemblages and richness in managed stands. Forest Ecology and Management 427:392-413.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Simons-Legaard, E. M., D.J. Harrison, and K. R. Legaard. 2018. Ineffectiveness of local zoning to reduce regional loss and fragmentation of wintering habitat for white-tailed deer. Forest Ecology and Management 427:78-85.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Loman, Z. G., W. V. Deluca, D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, B. W. Rolek, and P. B. Wood. 2018. Landscape capability models as a tool to predict fine-scale forest bird occupancy and abundance. Landscape Ecology. 33:77-91; https://doi.org /10.1007/s10980-017-0582-z.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Loman, Z. G., E. J. Blomberg, W. V. Deluca, D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, and P. B. Wood. Landscape capability predicts upland game bird abundance and occurrence. Journal of Wildlife Management 81:1110-1116; OI:10.1002/jwmg.21265.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Simons-Legaard, E.M., D.J. Harrison and K.R. Legaard. Habitat monitoring and projections for Canada lynx: linking the Landsat archive with carnivore occurrence and prey density. Journal of Applied Ecology 53:1260-1269; DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12611.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Rolek, B.W., D. J. Harrison, D. W. Linden, C. S. Loftin, and P. B. Wood. in review. Associations between breeding conifer-associated birds, forestry treatment, time since harvest, and vegetation in regenerating stands. Journal of Applied Ecology.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Blomberg, E., J. Tebbenkamp, S. Dunham, and D. Harrison. Forest management legacies affect demographics and population dynamics of spruce grouse in northern Maine. Forest Ecology and Management.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2020 Citation: Loman, Z. G., W. V. Deluca, D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, B. W. Rolek, and P. B. Wood. How regional-extent forest bird habitat models benefit from fine-scale structural data varies by species. Landscape Ecology.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Loman, Z. G., W. V. Deluca, D. J. Harrison, , C. S. Loftin, W. S. Schwenk, and P. B. Wood. Forest birds usefulness as representatives using fine scale proxy models. Landscape Ecology.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Blomberg, E. J., J. Tebbenkamp, S. W. Dunham, and D. J. Harrison. 2020 Population dynamics of spruce grouse in the managed forest landscapes of northern Maine. Final Project Report to the Maine Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Maine, Orono. 60 pp.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Harrison, D. and E. Simons-Legaard. 2020. Responses of marten populations to 30 years of habitat change in commercially managed landscapes of northern Maine. Pages 68-75 in S. Anderson and M. Ferguson, editors, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2019 Annual Report, University of Maine, Orono.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Harrison, D. J. and Z. G. Loman. 2020. Temporal dynamics and forest treatment-scale responses of snowshoe hare populations in Maine 2001-2015. Final report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for Cooperative Agreement Number F14AC01237. The University of Maine, Orono. 43 pp.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Harrison, D., E. Simons-Legaard, K. Fagan, and T. Woollard. 2019. Responses of marten populations to 30 years of habitat change in commercially managed landscapes of northern Maine. Pages 62-68 in Roth, B.E., editor, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2018 Annual Report, University of Maine, Orono.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Rolek, B., D. Harrison, C. Loftin, and P. Wood. 2019. Managing spruce-fir forests: for the birds. Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit Research Note, University of Maine, Orono. 2pp.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Blomberg, E. J., J. Tebbenkamp, S. W. Dunham, and D. J. Harrison. 2018. Demography and population status of spruce grouse in northern Maine forests. Final Contract Report to Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The University of Maine, Orono. 53pp.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Simons-Legaard, E., D. Harrison, and K. Legaard. 2018. Evaluating deer wintering habitat zoning through remote sensing. Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit Research Note, University of Maine, Orono. 2pp.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Tebbenkamp, J. M., E. J. Blomberg, and D. J. Harrison. 2018. Population dynamics of spruce grouse in the managed forest landscapes of northern Maine. Pp. 72-76 in Roth, B.E., editor, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2017 Annual Report, University of Maine, Orono.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rolek, B. W., D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, and P. B. Wood. 2018. Effects of forest management practices in the Acadian northern hardwood/conifer forests of Maine on forest bird communities, with emphasis on species of regional conservation priority and concern. Final Contract Report submitted to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, MA. 62 pp.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Tebbenkamp, J.M., E. J. Blomberg, and D. J. Harrison. 2017. Population dynamics of spruce grouse in the managed forest landscapes of northern Maine. Pages 61-64 in Roth, B.E., editor, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2016 Annual Report, University of Maine, Orono.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Dunham, S. and D. Harrison. 2017. Spruce grouse habitat in the Acadian forests of Maine: Results and recommendations for forest managers. CFRU Research Note 17-01, Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit. University of Maine. Orono.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Harrison, D., S. Morano, and S. Olson. 2016. Relationships among forest harvesting, snowshoe hares, and Canada lynx in Maine. Pages 52-56 in Roth, B.E. (Ed.) Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2015 Annual Report. University of Maine. Orono.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Tebbenkamp, J., E. Blomberg, D. Harrison, and S. Dunham. 2016. Population dynamics of spruce grouse in the managed forest landscapes of northern Maine. Pages 57-61 in Roth, B.E. (Ed.) Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2015 Annual Report. University of Maine. Orono.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Rolek, B., D. Harrison, C. Loftin, and P. Wood. 2016. Bird communities of coniferous forests in the Acadian region: habitat associations and responses to forest management. Pages 57-61 in Roth, B.E. (Ed.) Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2015 Annual Report. University of Maine. Orono, ME.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Harrison, D., and S. Olson. 2015. Relationships among forest harvesting, snowshoe hares, and Canada lynx in Maine. Pages 68-74 in B.E. Roth, editor, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2014 Annual Report, University of Maine, Orono.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Dunham, S., and D. Harrison. 2015. Patch occupancy, habitat use, and population performance of spruce grouse in commercially managed conifer stands. Pages 75-79 in B.E. Roth, editor, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2014 Annual Report, University of Maine, Orono.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Rolek, B., D. Harrison, C. Loftin, and P. Wood. 2015. Bird communities of coniferous forests in the Acadian region: Habitat associations and response of birds to forest management. Pages 80-88 in B.E. Roth, editor, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2014 Annual Report, University of Maine, Orono.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Olson, S. J. 2015. Seasonal influences on habitat use by snowshoe hares: Implications for Canada lynx in northern Maine. M. S. thesis, University of Maine, Orono. 154 pp.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Dunham, S.W. 2016. Spruce grouse habitat ecology in Maines commercially managed Acadian forest. M. S. thesis, University of Maine, Orono. 87pp.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Sandrock, B. C. 2017. Assessing snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) populations through incidental capture: a spatio-temporal analysis. M.W.C. final report. University of Maine, Orono. 38 pp.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rolek, B. W. 2018. Associations between avian spruce-fir species, harvest treatments, vegetation, and edges. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Maine, Orono. 210 pp.

Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:1) A final report for the snowshoe hare spatio-temporal component of Objective #1 was submitted to the Endangered Species Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during summer 2019. That report will inform ongoing decisions regarding proposed de-listing of the U.S. federally threatened Canada lynx. 2) A final Ph.D. dissertation (Rolek 2018) summarizing final results of the forest song birds component (Objective #3) was completed and is available through the Fogler Library at The University of Maine. Copies were distributed to the Migratory Bird Office, Northeastern Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a public seminar was provided at The University of Maine in December 2018. University scientists, graduate students, state and federal agency biologists, as well as representatives from conservation NGO's, were in attendance at the public seminar. 3) A presentation of final results from the forest birds component focusing on forest management applications and interpretations was presented to landowners and managers of commercial forestlands in Maine at the October 24, 2019 meeting of the Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit (MCFRU). 4) A final written report on the spruce grouse demographic component (Objective #2) was provided to State of Maine agencies and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in December 2018. A final written report focusing on forest harvesting relationships with spruce grouse demographics was disseminated to forest landowners and managers of the MCFRU in September 2019 and a presentation of those final results was presented to MCFRU in April 2019. 5) Final results of the spruce grouse demographic component (objective #3) were presented to scientists, biologists, and ornithologists at the Annual Conference of the American Society of Ornithologists in June 2019. 6) Results summarizing the ineffectiveness of zoning to conserve wintering deer habitats werepresented to forest managers and state/provincial agency representatives from Maine and New Brunswickin November 2018. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three graduate students and one undergraduate student received training during the past fiscal year. One was aPh.D. candidate who graduated and moved on to professional employment with a non-governmental conservation organization. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During the current year, results have been disseminated as three final contract reports for funders and stakeholders, as short technical summaries, as presentations to stakeholders, as papers presented at scientific conferences, and as a recently submitted journal article. Stakeholder and partners have included federalagencies (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Endangered Species and Migratory Bird offices), state agencies (Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands,and Maine Outdoor Heritage Funding partners), and non-governmental organizations (The Nature Conservancy, Forest Society of Maine). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Primary efforts in the final year of the project will consist of converting the information provided in three lengthy technical reports into several journal articles for scientific publication. Our goal is to complete, submit, revise as necessary,and publish 5-7 articles in peer-reviewed journals during the final year of this project. Additionally, a Ph.D. student will workonanalyses and writing for hisdissertation evaluatingeffects of forest management on demographic rates of spruce grouse, and will be mentored towards completion by the Project Director in 2020.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During the current reporting period we completed data compilation and analyses for the spatio-temporal dynamics of snowshoe hares component of objective 1 (field data collection during 2001-2015), for the spruce grouse component of objective 2 (field data collection 2015-2017), and for the forest birds component of objective 3 (field data collection completed in 2016). We subsequently completed three final written contract reports (see publications) to sponsors who provided extramural funding; copies of reports were disseminated to all project collaborators and stakeholders and, in aggregate, addressed all of the major goals of this project. Additionally, we presented results verbally via Powerpoint presentations to project stakeholders during 3 events, produced two short (2-page) technical reports for distribution in hard-copy andelectronically to stakeholders, made additional presentations to collaborators and scientists at technical meetings and via focus groups. One paper was submitted for publication toa highly rated forestry-wildlifejournal. Additionally, a Ph.D. student working on goal #3 completed his dissertation,graduated, and secured employment as a researchanalyst for a non-profit conservation organization. Results are informing de-listing decisions for federally threatened Canada lynx by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, conservation priorities for declining populations of spruce-fir associated forest birds, and managementof the spruce grouse, which is considered aspecies of greatest conservation need by the state of Maine.

Publications

• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Harrison, D. and Z. Loman. 2019. Spatial and temporal dynamics and forest treatment-scale responses of snowshoe hare populations in Maine 2001-2015. Final report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for Cooperative Agreement Number F14AC01237. The University of Maine, Orono. 40 pp.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Blomberg, E. J., J. Tebbenkamp, S. W. Dunham, and D. J. Harrison. 2018. Demography and population status of spruce grouse in northern Maine forests. Final contract report to Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The University of Maine, Orono. 53pp.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Blomberg, E. J., J. Tebbenkamp, S. W. Dunham, and D. J. Harrison. 2019. Population dynamics of spruce grouse in the managed forest landscapes of northern Maine. Final contract report to Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit. The University of Maine, Orono. 61pp.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Rolek, B., D. Harrison, C. Loftin, and P. Wood. 2019. Managing spruce-fir forests: for the birds. Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit Research Update, University of Maine, Orono. 2pp.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Simons-Legaard, E., D. Harrison, and K. Legaard. 2018. Evaluating deer wintering habitat zoning through remote sensing. Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit Research Update, University of Maine, Orono. 2pp.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Blomberg, E.J., J. Tebbenkamp, S Dunham, and D.J. Harrison. 2019. Population ecology of spruce grouse in commercially-managed forests. American Ornithological Society Annual Conference, Anchorage, Alaska. 24-28 June.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Blomberg, E.J., J. Tebbenkamp, S Dunham, and D.J. Harrison. 2019. The role of forest disturbance in habitat relationships and population ecology of spruce grouse. Midwest Fire Science Consortium Webinar Series. January.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Harrison, D., E. Simons-Legaard, K. Fagan, and T. Woollard. 2019. Responses of marten populations to 30 years of habitat change in commercially managed landscapes of northern Maine. Pages 62-68 in Roth, B.E., editor, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2018 Annual Report, University of Maine, Orono.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Rolek, B.W., D. J. Harrison, D. W. Linden, C. S. Loftin, and P. B. Wood. in review. Associations between breeding conifer-associated birds, forestry treatment, time since harvest, and vegetation in regenerating stands. Journal of Applied Ecology.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rolek, B. W. 2018. Associations between avian spruce-fir species, harvest treatments, vegetation, and edges. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Maine, Orono. 210pp.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Blomberg, E.J., J. Tebbenkamp, S Dunham, and D.J. Harrison. 2019. Spruce grouse demographics in the commercially managed forests of northern Maine. Final project report presented to Advisory Committee of Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit, Orono, Maine. 11 April.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rolek, B.W., D. Harrison, C.S. Loftin, P.B. Wood. 2018. Effects of management in Acadian conifer forests on forest bird communities. Final project report presented to Advisory Committee of Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit, Orono, Maine. 24 October.

Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences includes academic, agency, and NGO scientists (i.e., via theses, journal publications and conference presentations), forest and wildlife managers (via field tours, workshops, annual reports, and targeted presentation of results with management recommendations), and the general public influencing policy on forest and wildlife management (via press releases, media coverage, and presentations). This year we have reached all of these audiences via scientific publications, presentations at conferences, participation in meetings with forest landowners and managers, review of a national Species Status Assessment, presentations to forest industry stakeholders, annual reports, participation in a stakeholder sponsored field tour, and via collaboration with media as a source for articles targeted to the general public. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Four graduate students (3 Ph.D., 1 M.S.) and 3 undergraduate students received training via their participation in project activities. Additionally, a post-doctoral scientist participated in the forest bird and snowshoe hare components of the project and expored new analytical approaches, while gaining experiencein manuscipt preparation. Presentations at conferences and to USGS stakeholders also provided training opportunities for practicing professionals. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Three manuscripts were published in refereed scientific journals and 2 papers were presented at a national conference and at a statewide meeting of agency stakeholders. Additionally two technical reports were developed and disseminated to 1) U.S. Fish and Wildlife migratory bird program scientists and 2) commerical forest landowners and managers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) Two scientific manuscripts wil be developed and presented to professional journals in 2019 to summarize final results of the snowshoe hare population dynamics study based on pellet counts surveys from 2001-2015. Additionally, we will survey hare occupancy based on traps (n=290) surveyed across 10 consecuive trap-nights in T4 Rll and T5 R11 WELS, Maine. Surveys will be conducted to replicate sampling conducted in 1994-1997 and 2018. That aspect of the project will be analyzed and developed into manuscripts and reports to cooperators in 2020. 2) We will compete modeling and analyses of demographic data for spruce grouse in commercially managed landscapes and will submit final reports to Maine Outddor Heritage Fund, Maine Department of Inland Fisheriesand Wildlife, and Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit (CFRU). We will submit 2 papers for presentation to professional conferences, will present results at meetings ofthe CFRU, and we will develop two manuscripts for submissions to refereed journals. 3) The primary Ph.D. dissertation summarizing findings from the spruce-fir passerine bird component of the project will be completed and distributed to project stakeholders. Additionally, results will be presented to the CFRU Advisory Committee, a short reserach bulletinwill be developed and distributed to practicing foresters via the CFRU, and 2 scientific publicaions will be completed and submitted to refereed journals to summarize:1) communiy-level responses of spruce-fir birds to commercial forest harvest treatments; and 2) response of spruce-fir birds to abrupt and transitional edges resulting from commercial forest harvesting activities.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) With the assistance of a post-doctoral scientist (Zachary Loman) we completed anayses of synchonicity, cyclicity, and periodicity for a 15-year data set of snowshoe hare densities from 2001-2015 on commercial forestlands across northern Mane. Additionally, we developed a database from systematic trapping records and evaluated habitat-specific dynamics in hare populations from 1994-1997. We replicated trapping protocols with ~2500 trap-nights of effort in 2018 and are building a database to allow us to compare relative rates of hare occupancy across years and forest management treatments. Final reports to collaborating agencies and organizations (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit) are ongoing (completion expected winter 2019) and manuscript preparations will be a primary activity in 2019. 2) We completed fieldwork to documentdemographic rates (adult survival for males and females, nest success, chick survival) of spruce grouse using a combination of radio-telemetry and capture-mark-recapture methods; to compare those rates across stands with different forest management treatments, and to model effects of forest management treatments on demography.We used radio telemetry to locate nests, monitor broods, and detect mortality of both juvenile (post-independence but prior to first breeding) and adult (post-first-breeding) spruce grouse.We monitored 150 radio-marked spruce grouse during our 6-year study, and located and monitored 26 nests, 60 broods, 43 juvenile and 116 adult spruce grouse. We collected >1000 spruce grouse locations that contributed to our understanding of spruce grouse use of commercial forest stands. We evaluated the consequences of spruce grouse use of forest stands with varying management histories (silvicultural treatments and time since stand harvest) on nest success, brood success, juvenile survival, and adult survival. We also constructed stage-structured population models to a) quantify spruce grouse population growth rates based on our measured demographic rates, b) evaluate potential vital rate contributions to population growth, and c) illustrate the potential contributions of forest management to population growth. Modeling has been completed and we are developing final reports for funding agencies (Maine Department of Inland Fishereis and Wildlife and Maine Oudoor Heritage Fund). Development and submission of manuscripts and dissemination of findings to stakeholders will be primary activities in 2019. 3) We completed a study of theeffects of different forest management treatments on community diversity, occupancy, and relative abundance of conifer-associated forest birds, particularly migrant species of federal conservation priority.A Ph.D. dissertation summarizing project findings (B. Rolek) will be finished and distributed to project cooperators (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Cooperaive Forestry Research Unit) during December 2018. One manuscript (Rolek et al. 2018) was published in Forest Ecology and Management, and 2 manuscripts are completed and are undergoing in-house review prior to submission to journals.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Loman, Z. G., W. V. Deluca, D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, B. W. Rolek, and P. B. Wood. 2018. Landscape capability models as a tool to predict fine-scale forest bird occupancy and abundance. Landscape Ecology 33:77-91.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Tebbenkamp, J. M., E. J. Blomberg, and D. J. Harrison. 2018. Population dynamics of spruce grouse the managed forest landscapes of northern Maine. Pp. 72-76 in Roth, B.E., editor, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2017 Annual Report, University of Maine, Orono.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rolek, B. W., D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, and P. B. Wood. 2018. Regenerating clearcuts combined with postharvest forestry treatments promote habitat for breeding and post-breeding spruce-fir avian assemblages in the Atlantic Northern Forest Forest Ecology and Management 427:392-413; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.05.068.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rolek, B. W., D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, and P. B. Wood. 2018. Effects of forest management practices in the Acadian northern hardwood/conifer forests of Maine on forest bird communities, with emphasis on species of regional conservation priority and concern. Final Contract Report submitted to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, MA. 62 pp.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Loman, Z., D. Harrison, B. Rolek, W. Deluca, C. Loftin, and P. Wood. 2018. Latent indicators and bayesian model selection in identifying forest bird habitat modeling error. Paper presented at American Ornithological Society Meeting. Tucson, Arizona, 9-14 April.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rolek, B.W., D. Harrison, C.S. Loftin, P.B. Wood. 2018. Softwood forest birds and forestry in New England. Presentation to Cooperating Committee Meeting for Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Orono, Maine, USA. 22 March.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Simons-Legaard, E. M., D.J. Harrison, and K. R. Legaard. 2018. Ineffectiveness of local zoning to reduce regional loss and fragmentation of wintering habitat for white-tailed deer. Forest Ecology and Management 427:78-85; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.05.027.

Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences includes academic, agency, and NGO scientists (i.e., via theses, journal publications and conference presentations), forest and wildlife managers (via field tours, workshops, annual reports, and targeted presentation of results with management recommendations), and the general public influencing policy on forest and wildlife management (via press releases, media coverage, and presentations). This year we have reached all of these audiences via scientific publications, presentations at conferences, particpation in an industry sponsored workshop, review of a national Species Status Assessment, presentations to forest industry stakeholders,annual reports, particpation in a stakeholder sponsored field tour, and via collaboration with media as a source for articles targeted to the general public. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A non-thesis Master of Wildlife Conservation student completed a degree under this project in 2017 and was advised by the Principal Investigator. Additionally, two ongoing Ph.D. students conducted their primary dissertation research focusing on this project and were co-advised by the Principal Investigator. Two summer undergraduate technicans were trained and supported on the project and 4 recent graduates were hired as non-student technicians. Additionally the two graduate students, as well as a third graduate student who completed in August 2016,were supported to attend and present their results at a national conference. Finally,the Principal Investigator traveled to 2 national conferences where he attended papers and workshops addressing analytical and field approaches relevant to this research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?One scientific publication (Journal of Wildlife Management) , 2published annual reports, 10scientific presentations at conferences and to stakeholders, a workshop for federal agency personnel (USFWS), and two published technical reports targeted at forest managers and working foresters were disseminated during the fiscal year. Several manuscripts were also completed and submitted, while another is in pre-submission review. A Masters of Wildlife Conservation final report was completed and disseminated to federal agency stakeholders. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) We will contract with a post-doctoral scientist to complete analyses for spatio-temporal analyses of the hare project related to Goal#1. The draft lynx food habits manuscript objective related to goal #1 will also be submitted for publication. 2) Analyses and modeling related to the spruce grouse survival component of Goal #2 will be completed and a draft manuscript summarizing those results will be written and submitted. Field work on the adult survival and nest selection and survival portions of the spruce grouse project will be completed by 30 June 2018. 3) The Ph.D. student on the forests birds project (Goal #3) will complete and defend his dissertation, 3 manuscripts from that work will be submitted to scientific journals, and results will be presented to stakeholders including federal agency biologists, forest landowners, NGO's (e.g., Audubon and The Nature Conservancy), and to other scientists at professional conferences.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal #1: The lynx dietary portion of this goal was completed in 2016 and efforts to publish the results are underway (draft manuscript completed). In 2017, anon-thesis Masters student completed a project to catalog and summarize >1000 incidental captures of hares across 290 live-traps that were systematically surveyed for >9000 trap-nights during a 4 year period. A post-doctoral scientist was supported to conduct occupancy based modeling analyses to evaluate effects of forest management treatments on rates of occupancy, colonization, and extinction at the scale of the individual trap site and to evaluate trends in rates of occupancy across years. Analyses are completed and a development of a manuscript is underway. Additionally, an ACCESS database was completed for 31 sites that were surveyed using pellet counts annually during the interval 2001-2015. Analysis of spatio-temporal patterns in hare density across years and across forest management treatments will be a primary objective in 2018. Goal #2: We continued our field work during 2016-2017 to estimate demographic rates (adult survival for males and females, nest success, chick survival) associated with a range of forest harvest treatments. To date, we have documented 44 mortalities over 484 grouse-months for radio-equipped grouse. We have also monitored habitat characteristics and survival at 19 grouse nests (success rate of nests to date is 58%) in an effort to link nest success with forest harvesting patterns. Finally, we have radio-monitored 44 adult grouse during summer, have visually documented and verified the exact locations of birds on 189 occasions, and have measured vegetation at both actual (i.e., used) and at random locations to evaluate resourceselection of both reproductive and non-reproductive grouse. Field work will be completed in June 2018 and analysis,report writing, and dissemination of final results will be the prmary activities in late 2018 and 2019. Two posters based on preliminary results from this work were presented at a national conference in October 2016. Goal #3: We completed the component of objective #3 on effects of forest management treatments on the community diversity of conifer-forestassociated birds and have a journal manuscript summarizing those results completed and undergoing USGS peer review prior to submission to Forest Ecology and Management. The portion of objective #3 dealing with responses of individual bird species to forest mangement treatments is nearing the completion of the modeling and analysis phase and will be submitted to a journal for publication during 2018. Results are based on 65,435 bird detections acquired during 6,129 point-count surveys via field work conducted in 2013, 2014, and 2015. The final aspect of objective #3 dealing with landscape-scale responses of birds to forest harvesting treatments is in inital stages of analysis and will be a primary activity in 2018. Results of community-level component of the project have been presented at a number of conferences, workshops, and to a stakeholders group of forest landowners and forest managers (see Products).

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Loman, Z. G., E. J. Blomberg, W. V. Deluca, D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, and P. B. Wood. Landscape capability predicts upland game bird abundance and occurrence. Journal of Wildlife Management 81:1110-1116; DOI:10.1002/jwmg.21265.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Loman, Z. G., W. V. Deluca, D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, B. W. Rolek, and P. B. Wood. Landscape capability models as a tool to predict fine-scale forest bird occupancy and abundance. Landscape Ecology.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Loman, Z. G., W. V. Deluca, D. J. Harrison, P. B. Wood, C. S. Loftin, and W. S.Schwenk. Submitted. Forest birds usefulness as representatives using fine scale proxy models. Diversity and Distributions.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Simons-Legaard, E. M., D.J. Harrison, and K. R. Legaard. Submitted. Efficacy of regulations to reduce winter habitat loss and fragmentation in deer wintering areas. Biological Conservation.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2017 Citation: Rolek, B. W., D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, and P. B. Wood. Regenerating clearcuts and post-harvest treatments promote spruce-fir avian assemblages and richness in managed stands. Forest Ecology and Management (undergoing USGS internal review).
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Tebbenkamp, J.M., E. J. Blomberg, and D. J. Harrison. Population dynamics of spruce grouse in the managed forest landscapes of northern Maine. Pages 61-64 in Roth, B.E., editor, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2016 Annual Report, University of Maine, Orono.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Dunham, S. and D. Harrison. Spruce grouse habitat in the Acadian forests of Maine: Results and recommendations for forest managers. CFRU Research Note 17-01, Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit. University of Maine. Orono, ME.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Dunham, S. W., D. J. Harrison, and E. J. Blomberg. Spruce Grouse Habitat Ecology in Maines Commercially Managed Acadian Forest. Presented at the Adapt, Adopt, Advance: Resiliency in Natural Resource Management Conference, Bangor, Maine. March 9.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Harrison, D. J., B. W. Rolek, C.S. Loftin, P.B. Wood. Effects of forest management practices in Acadian conifer forests on forest bird communities, with emphasis on species of conservation priority. Presentation to Advisory Committee of Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit, Orono, Maine, April 12.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Loman, Z., D. Harrison, C. Loftin, P. B. Wood. Validation of Designing Sustainable Landscapes Models using forest game birds, passerine birds, and a representative species approach. Workshop presented to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Division. Hadley, MA, USA. 12 January.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Loman, Z., D. Harrison, C. Loftin, P. B. Wood. Designing sustainable landscapes evaluation: where were going and where weve been. USGS Maine Coop Unit Cooperators Meeting. Orono, ME, March 22.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Loman, Z. G. Loman, .W. V. Deluca, D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin,, Petra B. Wood. Do representative forest songbirds effectively predict occurrences of ecologically similar species? Paper presented at Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Annual Conference, Rayleigh, NC, April 11.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Rolek, B.W., D. Harrison, C.S. Loftin, P.B. Wood. Spruce-fir birds and forest management in Northern New England. Workshop presented to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Division. Hadley, MA, USA. 12 January.
• Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Rolek, B.W., D. Harrison, C.S. Loftin, P.B. Wood. Softwood forest birds and forestry in New England. Presentation to Cooperating Committee Meeting for Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Orono, Maine, USA. 22 March.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Loman, Z.G., E. J. Blomberg, W. D. Deluca, D. Harrison, C. Loftin, and P. B. Wood. 2016. Landscape capability as a predictor of upland game bird space use in the northeastern United States. Presentation at The Wildlife Society Annual Conference. Raleigh, North Carolina, October 15-19.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Harrison, D. J., B. W. Rolek, C.S. Loftin, P.B. Wood. Effects of forest management practices in Acadian conifer forests on spruce-fir bird communities. Presentation to Irving Corporation Wildlife Biologists and Foresters and to the New Brunswick Forest Research Advisory Committee Advisory, Sainte Anne de Madawaska, New Brunswick, Canada, May 30.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: N. S. Parkhill, N. S., J. Tebbenkamp, S. Dunham, D. Harrison, and E. Blomberg. Effect of forest structure on nest site selection by spruce grouse across two scales. Poster presented at The Wildlife Society Annual Conference. Raleigh, North Carolina, October 15-19.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Tebbenkamp, J., E.Blomberg, D. Harrison, and R. Holberton. Is autumnal display associated with territorial defense or mate prospecting? A case study with spruce grouse. Poster presented at The Wildlife Society Annual Conference. Raleigh, North Carolina, October 15-19.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Rolek, B.W., D. Harrison, C.S. Loftin, P.B. Wood. Regenerating clearcuts and post-harvest treatments increase spruce-fir avian assemblages and richness in managed stands. Presentation at The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico. September 27.

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences includes academic, agency, and NGO scientists (i.e., via theses, journal publications and conference presentations), forest and wildlife managers (via field tours, workshops, annual reports, and targeted presentation of results with management recommendations), and the general public influencing policy on forest and wildlife management (via press releases, media coverage, and presentations). This year we have reached all of these audiences via scientific publications, presentations at conferences, via workshops for agency and industy personnel, annual reports, and via the completion and dissemination of a graduate thesis that was made available in hard and electronic format to the state wildlife management agency, forest landowners and managers, and to NGO's. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The P.I. attended 2 international conferences where he attended papers and workshops addressing analytical and field approaches relevant to this research. Additionally gradauate students and a post-doctoral scientist working on the project attended and presented results from this project at 3continent-wide professional conferences and at one regional conference. Graduate training was provided to 2 Ph.D. students and 3Masters students whose research is centered around project objectives.Two temporary undergraduate student technicians also received field training in 2016. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?One scientific publication (Journal of Applied Ecology) , 3 published annual reports, 6conference presentations, a workshop for federal agency stakeholders, 2 presentations to forest industry cooperators, and one presentation to state agency and NGO cooperators, and a graduate thesis were produced to facilitate dissemination of project results to communities of interest during the past year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) A post-doctoral scientist will be hired and will collaborate with the project P.I. to analyze, report, and disseminate results from the snowshoe hare temporal-spatial dynamics aspect of goal #1. Additionally, a Master's project on spatio-temporal relationships of hares across forest management treatments will be completed and a manuscript on seasonal food habits of lynx across periods of differing hares densities will be completed and submitted to a refereed journal. 2) We will submit 2 manuscripts from the male occupancy and brood female habitat selection portion of goal# 2 and will continue field research for the spruce grouse demographics portion of goal #2. 3) We will complete and submit 2 manuscripts on the forest bird species-level and community-level responses to forest management (goal #3) to refereed journals in 2017 and will initiate landscape-level analyses on relationships of forest landscape composition and fragmentation on forest birds. 4) We will conduct a workshop for U.S. Fish and Wildlife personnel to disseminate results in January 2017 and will present results to the forest industry cooperators in April 2017. Additionally we plan to present results at one regional and 3national/international conferences in 2017.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The Canada lynx dietary component of goal #1 was completed and was presented as a chapter in a graduate thesis completed in 2015. That portion of the project has been prepared as a manuscript to be submitted in 2017 and was presented at an international conference in October 2015. Field work has been completed on the spatio-temporaldynamics ofsnowshoe hares portion of goal number 1 and preliminary results were presented in the 2015 Annual Report to the Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit. In 2017 a post-doctoral scientist will be hired to lead the analysis of this extensive dataset spanning 31 sites surveyed from 2001-2015 for snowshoe hare density across 5 forest management treatments. Additionally, a Master's student evaluated historical data on spatio-temporal habitat relationships of hares as influenced by forest management treatments based on field data collected during 1994-1998. The first phase of the spruce grouse project identified in goal #2 was completed in 2016. The primary product was a completed M.S. thesis addressing: 1) patterns of occupancy and abundance of male spruce grouse across 4 forest management treatments; and 2) habitat selection by female spruce grouse during the brood rearing season. Those results were presented at international conferences in 2015 and 2016 and were presented to forest landowners and managers as a final project presentation to the Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit. Two manuscripts resulting from that work are in preparation and will be submitted to refereed journals during 2017. The demographic portion of the study is continuing and during the 2016 field season we radio-monitored 54 spruce grouse. We located and monitored 7 nests, and obtained weekly location and survival data for 14 females and 8 males. We also measured vegatation at weekly locations of males and females and at dependent random locations. All radio-marked birds were located twice per week from 1 August-30 September and are continuing to be monitored. We will conduct a third field season in 2017 and will proceed with analyses and report writing in 2018. Work on the forest birds aspect of the project (goal #3) progressed from field work to data compilation and anaysis during 2016. We developed a database that cataloged the 65,435 bird detections acquired during 6,129 suveysduring our field work in 2013, 2014 and 2015. We also incorporated within stand vegetational and structural measurements and stand treatment types (clearcut, mature, pre-commercially thinned following clearcut, selection harvest, and shelterwood harvest) into the database for our 117 stands that were surveyed across 4 national wildlife refuges, in Baxter State Park, and across the commercially managed forestlands of northern Maine. Initial analyses have indicated that vegetation characteristics ordinate strongly according to stand treatments and that forest bird communities ordinate strongly to both forest management treatments and to vegetation metrics (e.g., tree basal area, spruce-fir composition, quadratic mean diameter) that are readily manipuilated via forest harvesting. In 2017 we plan to expand our analyses to model occurences of federal priority bird species, to evaluate the broader landscape attributes influencing community and species-specific patterns of stand-level occupancy by forest birds. Wewill also complete and submit 2 manuscripts from our work to refereed journals in 2017,will present a summary of our results to forest landowners and managers at the April 2017 meeting of the Maine Cooperative Forestry Research Unit, and will conduct a workshop for USFWS biologists in January 2017.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Simons-Legaard, E.M., D.J. Harrison and K.R. Legaard. 2016. Habitat monitoring and projections for Canada lynx: linking the Landsat archive with carnivore occurrence and prey density. Journal of Applied Ecology 53:1260-1269.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Dunham, S.W. 2016. Spruce grouse habitat ecology in Maine's commercially managed Acadian forest. M.S. Thesis, University of Maine, Orono. 87pp.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Olson, S. J., D. J. Harrison, A. K. Fuller, J. H. Vashon. Canada lynx food habits responses to seasons, and to low vs. high hare density periods: Always a specialist? Poster presentation at The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, October 21-22, 2015.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Rolek, B.W., D. Harrison, C.S. Loftin, P.B. Wood. Opportunities to enhance habitat for spruce-fir passerines using commercial forest management. Paper at North American Congress for Conservation Biology, Society for Conservation Biology, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, July 17-20, 2016.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Rolek, B.W., D. Harrison, M. Hartley, C.S. Loftin, P.B. Wood. Opportunities to enhance habitat for spruce-fir passerines using commercial forest management. Paper presented at North American Ornithological Conference, Joint meeting of American Ornithological Union, Cooper Ornithological Society, Wilson Ornithological Society, Association of Field Ornithologists, and Society of Canadian Ornithologists,Washington D.C. August 16-20, 2016.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Loman, Z. G., D. J. Harrison, C. S. Loftin, and P. B. Wood. Validating predictions of upland game bird space use in multiple management contexts. Paper presented at Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Annual Conference, Annapolis, MD, April 4, 2016.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Loman, Z.G., W.V. Deluca, D. Harrison, C.S. Loftin, B.W. Rolek, P.B. Wood. Evaluation of a fine-grained landscape conservation planning tool for songbird conservation in the Northeastern United States. Poster at North American Ornithological Conference, Joint meeting of American Ornithological Union, Cooper Ornithological Society, Wilson Ornithological Society, Association of Field Ornithologists, and Society of Canadian Ornithologists. Washington D.C. 16-20 August, 2016.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Dunham, S.W., and D.J. Harrison. Female spruce grouse habitat selection during the brood-rearing season in managed conifer forests. Poster presented at 6th North American Ornithological Conference. Joint meeting of American Ornithological Union, Cooper Ornithological Society, Wilson Ornithological Society, Association of Field Ornithologists, and Society of Canadian Ornithologists.Washington, DC. August 17, 2016.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Harrison, D., S. Morano, and S. Olson. 2016. Relationships among forest harvesting, snowshoe hares, and Canada lynx in Maine. Pages 52-56 in Roth, B.E. (Ed.) Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2015 Annual Report. University of Maine. Orono, ME. 83 p.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Tebbenkamp, J., E. Blomberg, D. Harrison, and S. Dunham. 2016. Population dynamics of spruce grouse in the managed forest landscapes of northern Maine. Pages 57-61 in Roth, B.E. (Ed.) Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2015 Annual Report. University of Maine. Orono, ME. 83 p.
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Rolek, B., D. Harrison, C. Loftin, and P. Wood. 2016. Bird communities of coniferous forests in the Acadian region: habitat associations and responses to forest management. Pages 57-61 in Roth, B.E. (Ed.) Cooperative Forestry Research Unit: 2015 Annual Report. University of Maine. Orono, ME. 83 p.