Southern GYA Mesocarnivore Detection Project 2015

Southern GYA Mesocarnivore Detection Project 2015

Southern GYA Mesocarnivore Detection Project
2015-2016
Lynx, Wolverine, & Marten
US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station
Bridger-Teton National Forest
Shoshone National Forest
Grand Teton National Park
John Squires, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station
Gary Hanvey, USFS Region 1
Ann Roberts, Bridger-Teton National Forest
Jason Wilmot, Bridger-Teton National Forest
Photo Philip Lyons
Questions we are
trying to answer:
1) Are they here? Presence
2) Can we infer absence
with a known detection
probability (p)?
3) Find minimum numbers
4) Document distribution
Canada Lynx
Threatened
North American Wolverine
Sensitive
Pacific Marten (Dawson and Cook 2012)
Management Indicator
Ken Curtis
Fisher-Sensitive
Mike Lillrose
US Fish and
Wildlife
Service
Revised Lynx
Critical
Habitat
September
2014
Gary Hanvey
Lynx
detections
in the
Yellowstone
Ecosystem
(2005)
(2005-2006)
Kerry Murphy, et al
Spatial Records in GIS
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Historic Data thru 1999 (McKelvey et al)
WGFD Data 1996 – 2000 (Squires/Oakleaf)
WGFD Data 2000 – 2002 (Squires/Oakleaf)
Colorado Data 1999 – 2010 (Shenk et al)
Methods
Snow Tracking
Camera captures (sight mark-recapture)
Set up to handle
3 DNA collection methods
• Carpet pad hair-snare (McKelvey et al.)
• Tree collection device (barbed-wire or gun brushes)
(Long et al.)
• Backtracking (McKelvey et al. & Ulizio et al.)
Southern GYA Mesocarnivore Monitoring
2015-2016 BTNF, RMRS, GTNP, SNF
Southern GYA Mesocarnivore Monitoring
2015-2016 BTNF, RMRS, GTNP, SNF
1.9 million acres
8 X 8 km grid
10 km of track search
effort per cell. High p.
(Squires, et al 2012)
• Late seral, multi-storied stands with a spruce-fir
component and dense horizontal cover in the understory
(Berg et al. 2012)
• High potential for supporting snow shoe hares
Aply paste call
lure on or above
bait.
Bait (e.g. hind quarter
of road-killed deer) 6-7’
above snow surface.
Loops of barbed wire
4-4.5’ above ground
or snow surface**
Lynx hair snare.
Scented per protocol.
18+ inches above
snow surface.
20 of the 38 cameras deployed
were located in an area that is
mapped as both Lynx habitat
(BTNF 2014) and Wolverine
habitat (Copeland, et al, 2010).
Thank you!
Key Partners
Brandon Houck, Shoshone National Forest
Renee Seidler, Wildlife Conservation Society
Sarah Dewey, Grand Teton National Park
Scott Jackson, US Forest Service
Primary funding and resources
Greater Yellowstone Coordinating Committee
USFS National Carnivore Program
Bridger-Teton National Forest
Shoshone National Forest
Grand Teton National Park
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
People!
Kerry Murphy, Pam Bode, Leah Yandow, Ashley Egan, Mike Lillrose,
Mariya Osipchuk, Mike Nelson, Matt Workman, Ray Spencer, Don
Delong, Amy Williams, Jenny Lucchese, Aryn Kresl, Lindsay Martinez,
Ty Koci, Mariya Osipchuk, Mike Cahill, Jason Pindell, Adam Hymas,
Mike Burdick, Gary Fralick, Ken Mills, Rick Lancaster , Nate Berg