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Predicted Grizzly Bear Habitat in the Bitterroot Ecosystem
No full textMany conservation actions must be implemented with limited data or scientific models. This is especially true when planning recovery efforts for extirpated populations, such as grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) within the Bitterroot Ecosystem (BE) of Idaho and Montana, where strategies for reestablishing a resident population are currently being evaluated. Here, we applied individual integrated step‐selection models developed for the nearby population in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem to predict movement and habitat selection in the BE. We approached simulation two ways, to predict how grizzly bears might naturally recolonize the BE, and how reintroduced bears or an established population would use the BE. Recolonizing bears used the region northeast of the BE and in the northern two thirds of the BE most heavily. Reintroduced bears used the northern two thirds of the BE along with the areas west of this most heavily. In both cases, public and private lands were important to simulated bears. These results can inform conservation decision and success of grizzly bear recovery efforts
Montana’s 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan Revision
No full textState Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) play a critical role in prioritizing conservation for Species of Greatest Conservation Need for state fish and wildlife agencies. SWAPs identify aquatic and terrestrial Species of Greatest Conservation Need and their habitats, describe threats that impact those species and habitats, highlight conservation actions to address those threats, and outline a monitoring plan. SWAPs are submitted on a 10‐year cycle to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are required for states to be eligible for grants through the State Wildlife Grant Program. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is currently working on the third iteration of Montana’s SWAP in preparation for its release in fall of 2025. To accomplish the 2025 revision, FWP hired a SWAP coordinator, who then formed a SWAP Steering Committee to guide the revision and set up 4 internal SWAP teams (terrestrial species team, aquatic species team, habitat team, and spatial team) to help write the revision. FWP will also develop a process for soliciting feedback on plan components from external partners throughout the revision process. In this talk, we will 1) provide background information on Montana’s SWAP, 2) share Montana’s plan to complete the revision, 3) outline Montana’s proposed major revisions for the 2025 SWAP, and 4) seek input from the audience on what revisions they would find most useful in the 2025 SWAP
Moose Abundance and Recruitment on The Blackfeet Indian Reservation and Glacier National Park
No full textAcross much of their range, moose (Alces alces) abundance and recruitment rates have been declining, including areas in and around Montana. These concerning trends have prompted wildlife managers to implement monitoring plans to assess the status of their moose populations. However, moose are often difficult to monitor given their unique behavior and ecology. Moose are relatively shy animals that rarely aggregate and exist at low densities in densely forested regions. In addition, they have no unique markings to differentiate individuals. Given these difficulties and current trends in moose populations, we used two relatively new survey methods to estimate the abundance and calf recruitment rate of moose on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and Glacier National Park. During the summers of 2022 and 2023, we randomly placed 100 cameras across our study area. We analyzed moose detection data from our cameras using two alternative models, Space‐to‐Event and Time‐to‐Event. The Blackfeet Tribe, in conjunction with the University of Montana and Glacier National Park, will determine the efficacy of these models to estimate moose abundance and recruitment, and assess the population’s status and potential trajectory. Results obtained from this research will guide conservation strategies on the Reservation and in the Park. Suitable management strategies are crucial because the Blackfeet Tribe takes a conservative approach to moose management in the absence of baseline data. Sustainable management of moose is especially crucial as moose provide a significant source of revenue for the Blackfeet Fish and Wildlife Department through the sale of hunting permits
Reinventing Ancient Human Practices: Efficacy of Livestock Guard Dogs at Keeping an Apex Predator away from People
No full textHistoric practices to reduce dangerous interactions between people, livestock, and large carnivores are returning alongside the recovery of some large carnivore populations. Emerging novel scenarios where people and carnivores interact make it important to identify nonlethal tools to reduce risk to people and facilitate coexistence. We tested an ancient practice in a novel way by placing livestock guard dogs (LGDs) at farmsteads (i.e., areas with a family home and grain bins) with chronic interactions with grizzly bears (Ursus arctos). Grizzly bears are attracted to spilled grains around storage bins, causing concern over human safety near homes. We found several lines of evidence supporting the use of LGDs to deter bears and protect people in areas where grizzly bears visit farmsteads. There were 58‐fold fewer camera detections of bears visiting farmsteads with LGDs compared to paired neighbor farmsteads that did not receive an LGD (i.e., control sites). After LGDs were deployed, there was an 87.5% reduction in bear collar locations near farms relative to before. At sites with LGDs, uncomfortable behaviors in bears increased. LGDs did not wander uncontrollably and were primarily active at night when bears were also more likely to be near farmsteads. Farmers had a positive experience using LGDs and would recommend them to others. Our results suggest LGDs can serve to protect specific locations and offer a new use of an old tool
Evaluating and Mapping Pronghorn Responses to Fences
No full textUnderstanding pronghorn movement responses to fences is essential for improving landscape permeability of pronghorn. Our study used hourly collar locations from adult female pronghorn in 8 Montana herds and identified encounters with fences to: 1) evaluate movement responses as a function of fence and landscape attributes, and 2) map fence permeabilities. We mapped 37,878 km of fences, of which we collected structural attributes for 979 km, and identified fence encounters from movements of 702 collared pronghorn. We evaluated the correlation of pronghorn responses to fence encounters with fence types and landscape variables. We calculated fence permeabilities based on the ratio of altered to total encounters weighted by how many unique individuals encountered each fence. We found that woven wire fences substantially reduced crossings and increased crossing times, while both low (average lowest wire height <41 cm) and high (average lowest wire height ≥41 cm) strand fences were relatively permeable. Crossing probabilities increased through time modestly for strand fences but only negligibly for woven wire fences. Pronghorn knowledge of and fidelity to permeable locations along fences likely allow some woven wire fences and most strand fences, regardless of the average lowest wire height, to be permeable. Improving landscape permeability for pronghorn should primarily focus on removing or replacing woven wire fences and incorporating variation in lowest wire heights. We made available to conservation practitioners interactive HTML maps of fence permeabilities for each herd as a tool for identifying potential movement barriers and prioritizing remediation efforts
Importance of Individual and Environmental Factors Driving Body Condition in Female Elk
No full textAlthough ungulate body condition is often considered to be a product of the nutritional quality of forage on the landscape, body condition integrates both energetic costs and benefits and is influenced by more than forage resources. Individual factors such as reproductive effort represent significant energetic costs, and female body condition may be impacted by neonate survival. Our research evaluates how individual and environmental factors influence ingesta-free body fat (IFBF) in female elk (Cervus canadensis) to improve understanding and interpretation of body condition data. Seven years (2015-2021) of IFBF data were collected from monitored and recaptured female elk (n = 139) in the Ya Ha Tinda (YHT) population in Alberta, Canada. We are determining the best fitting linear mixed-effects model to explain IFBF as a function of both individual (age, previous reproductive outcome, pregnancy status) and environmental factors (migratory strategy, forage quality, predation risk, movement quantity, winter severity). Preliminary results indicate that age and prior reproductive success influence female body condition, with >3% estimated difference in IFBF between females whose calves survived for 90 days or more the previous summer (mean IFBF = 9.2%) and those whose calves did not (mean IFBF = 12.6%). Conclusions from this research will help scientists and managers interpret variation in ungulate body condition data and understand the important effects of juvenile survival on adult female body condition in the context of changing predator systems across North America
Landscape Features Outperform Habitat to Explain Genetic Connectivity of Bighorn Sheep in Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park
No full textWe evaluated bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) telemetry data and genetic samples collected in Glacier National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, and the Blackfeet Reservation to estimate the influence of landscape features on bighorn sheep genetic connectivity. Over 168,400 GPS locations were collected between 2002 and 2011 for 97 bighorn sheep, and we generated genomic data for 95 individuals using the High-Density Ovine array. Using a machine-learning optimization approach, we conducted a landscape genetic analysis of genomic kinship between all pairs of individuals with GPS locations during the rut (November through December). We evaluated a local resource selection model to represent habitat and a suite of possible landscape characteristics predicted to influence genetic connectivity, including water bodies, tree cover, shrub cover, and other surface characteristics, such as slope and distance to steep terrain. We found that water bodies and tree cover were the most important predictors of resistance to genetic connectivity in the study area. We applied this information to predict how genetic connectivity of bighorn sheep may be influenced by current and future changes to the landscape, such as tree cover reduction due to wildfire. Our results provide insights regarding the spatial scale and landscape influences of gene flow in a native bighorn sheep population with no history of translocations. This information can be used to determine if certain habitat characteristics can be managed to facilitate or impede long-term connectivity among bighorn sheep populations and determine if genetic connectivity of bighorn sheep may be affected by climate change
Recommendations for Unbiased Population Monitoring of Dusky Grouse in Montana
No full textNo rigorous state-wide monitoring programs currently exist for dusky grouse. Difficult-to-reach habitat and low probability of detection makes monitoring dusky grouse difficult. Our objectives were to evaluate sampling and analytical methods for producing annual unbiased estimates of average local abundance, as well as the effect of survey conditions and survey timing on the probability of detecting dusky grouse. We compared point counts vs transects, and route type (off-trail, trail, road). We evaluated and compared four analytical methods using simulations: time-to-detection model and N-mixture model for point counts, raw count (naïve) and hierarchical distance sampling model for point counts and transects. We found surveys located along roads/trails best balanced the trade-offs between sampling effort and survey design requirements, despite limiting inferences to dusky grouse populations located in prime habitat along roads/trails. Simulations indicated that N-mixture models where sites were visited four times resulted in unbiased estimates of local population size with the highest precision. Detection of dusky grouse was highest on clear days, with little wind and background noise, with surveys occurring 0-200 minutes post-sunrise during 5-20 May. Based on our preliminary results, we recommend conducting surveys along roads/trails at 240 sites under optimal conditions during May within 3.5 hours post-sunrise using electronic playback to increase detection. We recommend surveying each site four times and estimating population size using a N-mixture model. Our results provide baseline information necessary for the development of a state-wide monitoring program for Montana and illustrate a process applicable for developing dusky grouse monitoring elsewhere
Assessing Hunting Regulation Complexity in the United States (Poster)
No full textTo counter the decades-long decline of hunters, state wildlife agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have made substantial investments in recruiting, retaining, and reactivating hunters, known as R3 programs. Central to R3 efforts is understanding and developing tools to mitigate barriers that different demographics face in hunting or learning to hunt. While complex hunting regulations have long been proposed as a potential barrier to R3 efforts, there is no synthesis regarding how the complexity of hunting regulations varies among states and impacts R3 efforts. We (1) summarized the peer-reviewed and gray literature about hunting regulation complexity, and (2) documented the complexity of the most recent (2021-22 or 2022-23) firearms deer, upland bird, and waterfowl hunting regulations across all 50 states and identified outliers which were regulations shared by five or fewer states. We reviewed 23 articles or reports which addressed regulation complexity and indicated complexity is a barrier to R3 objectives, but not the primary driver of the decline in hunting participation. We identified 225 unique regulation categories which potentially add to the real or perceived complexity of hunting regulations. Hunting regulation complexity likely interacts with other factors to make hunting more intimidating or less appealing to new or lapsed hunters and more work is needed to determine how specific regulations may act as barriers to R3 objectives
Beaver Reintroduction and Willow Changes in the Southern Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness
No full textWillow is a critical component of the southern Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness (ABW) ecosystem because it provides critical forage and habitat to local wildlife populations. Riparian meadows in the southern ABW were once occupied by beaver, but by the mid-1900’s they were extirpated through trapping, disease, and willow stand degradation from moose browsing. After several decades of absence, 50 beaver were reintroduced by the Forest Service and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks starting in 1986. While factors such as reduced moose browsing may have supported a recovery of willow height, we hypothesized that reintroduced beaver contributed to an increase in willow canopy cover. Therefore, our objective was to analyze the long-term success of beaver colonies in the southern ABW and quantify changes in willow canopy cover. We used annual stream-side surveys across four drainages in the southern ABW to record the number and location of beaver colonies from 1986 to 2021, and aerial imagery to describe changes in willow canopy cover in 13 meadows occupied by beaver. Using binomial regression, we evaluated the relationship between willow canopy cover and beaver colony density and longevity. We found that beaver have remained at carrying capacity over the last two decades, and average willow canopy cover increased from 16% in 1981 to 37% in 2019. The probability of willow occurrence increased the longer beaver occupied an area and with colony density. This study shows that beaver in the southern ABW persisted for decades after reintroduction and enhanced willow habitat