2012 Forest Park Wildlife Report December 2012
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Forest Park Wildlife Report December 2012 Forest Park Wildlife Report December 2012 Author John Deshler Portland Parks & Recreation Project Team John Deshler, Forest Park Wildlife Study Coordinator Kendra Peterson-Morgan, Ecologist, City Nature West Emily Roth, Natural Resources Planner Portland Parks & Recreation Management Team Nick Fish, City Commissioner Mike Abbaté, Director Deb Lev, City Nature Manager Astrid Dragoy, City Nature Zone Manager Technical Advisory Committee Nancy Broshot, Professor, Department of Biology, Linfield College Char Corkran, Wildlife Consultant, author Dave Helzer, Environmental Specialist, Bureau of Environmental Services Jim LaBonte, Taxonomic and Survey Entomologist, Oregon Department of Agriculture Anita Morzillo, Assistant Professor, Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University Technical Editor Judy Jewell Portland Parks & Recreation 1120 SW 5th Ave., Suite 1302 www.PortlandParks.org Portland, OR 97204 Commissioner Nick Fish Tel: (503) 823-7529 Fax: (503) 823-6007 Director Mike Abbaté Sustaining a healthy park and recreation system to make Portland a great place to live, work and play. ii Forest Park Wildlife Report • December 2012 The following people contributed information about Forest Park’s wildlife: James Allison Eric Forsman Chris Looney Laura Roberts Cherry Amabisca Andy Frank Chad Marks-Fife Arnie Rochlin Brendon Boudinot Jerry Fugate Chris Marshall Emily Roth Tim Brimecombe Wink Gross Dave Marshall Bob Sallinger Nancy Broshot Laura Guderyahn Susan Masta Dale Shank Melissa Brown Stephen Hatfield Ian Matthews Lynn Sharpe Jeremy Buck Marc Hayes Monte Mattsson Deb Sheaffer Mary Bushman Dave Helzer Taya Mclean Max Smith Steve Canon Lori Hennings Aileen Miller Al Smith Scott Carpenter Shervin Hess Anita Morzillo Mikala Soroka Carol Chesarek Justin Jiatt Harry Nehls Sarah Swanson Lucy Cohen Mark Hitchcox Fred Nilsen Jim Swingle Art Colson Nathan Hodges Gary Ordway Kris Taylor Char Corkran James Holley Eric Pederson Sue Thomas Josh Darling Samantha Hopkins Mark Perkins Chad Tillberg John Deshler Marcy Houle Kendra Petersen-Morgan Craig Turner Andrew Dietrich Mark Huffaker Jay Peterson Matt Wagoner Laurie Dizney Susan Hurley Gavrilla Piper Susan Watts Marissa Dorais Graham Klag Jon Plissner Katy Weil Patrick Edwards Kammy Kern-Korot Chris Prescott Tom Williamson Jim Emerson Jim LaBonte Bill Price Doug Wittren Judy Emerson Eric Lagasa Claire Puchy Richard Worth Steve Engel Jason Law Kristie Reddick Alan Yeakley Rachel Felice Deb Lev Dan Richardson Meghan Young Shawneen Finnegan Nathan Lichti Robert Richardson COVER PHOTOS: Coastal cutthroat trout, Melissa Brown Coastal giant salamander, John Deshler Haplotrema vancouverense, Bruce Marcot Wilson’s warbler, Scott Carpenter Pterostichus lama, Jim LaBonte Spotted skunk, Dan Richardson Heptageniid, Patrick Edwards Douglas squirrel (Tamiasciuris douglasii) Portland Parks & Recreation iii Table of Contents Executive Summary.........................................................................................1 Introduction and Objectives ........................................................................1 Park Description and Key Wildlife Habitat Components .............................1 Wildlife Information .....................................................................................2 Threats to Forest Park Wildlife ...................................................................6 Gaps and Next Steps .................................................................................6 Summary ....................................................................................................8 Introduction ......................................................................................................9 Objectives ................................................................................................. 10 Report Framework ......................................................................................... 11 Audience ................................................................................................... 11 Wildlife ...................................................................................................... 11 Special Status Species ............................................................................. 12 Wildlife Gap Analysis ................................................................................ 12 Eras .......................................................................................................... 13 Edge Habitats ........................................................................................... 14 Forest Park Description and Wildlife Habitat Key Components ..................... 15 Landscape ................................................................................................ 15 Wildlife Habitat Key Components .............................................................18 Habitat Distribution ...................................................................................20 A Broad Description of Forest Park Wildlife ..................................................23 Vertebrate wildlife: Birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish ..........23 Birds .....................................................................................................23 Mammals .............................................................................................24 Amphibians, Fish, and Reptiles ...........................................................25 Invertebrate wildlife: Mollusks and Arthropods .........................................26 Mollusks ...............................................................................................26 Arthropods ...........................................................................................26 Historical Changes to Wildlife Diversity ....................................................27 Detailed Wildlife Information: Vertebrates .....................................................29 Birds .........................................................................................................29 Mammals ..................................................................................................37 Fish ...........................................................................................................44 Amphibians ...............................................................................................45 Reptiles ..................................................................................................... 47 iv Forest Park Wildlife Report • December 2012 Black-headed grosbeak (Photo: Scott Carpenter) Detailed Wildlife Information: Invertebrates ...................................................49 Mollusks ....................................................................................................49 Arthropods ................................................................................................50 Worms ......................................................................................................55 Threats to Forest Park Wildlife ......................................................................57 Climate Change ........................................................................................57 Non-native invasive plants ........................................................................58 Non-native wildlife ....................................................................................59 Invertebrates ........................................................................................59 Vertebrates ..........................................................................................59 Habitat alteration beyond the park boundary: Population isolation and loss of foraging and breeding areas .............60 Habitat alteration within the park boundary: Utility corridor management .................................................................61 Illegal Park Activities: Transient campers, rogue trails, nocturnal recreation, plant harvest ... 61 Domestic cats at the park perimeter .........................................................63 Air Pollution ..............................................................................................64 Water quality degradation in Balch Creek ................................................64 Parasites, poisons and persecution ..........................................................65 Fire and fire management .........................................................................65 Gaps and Next Steps ....................................................................................67 Glossary ........................................................................................................75 Appendix A: Figures .....................................................................................79 Appendix B: Tables .......................................................................................95 Appendix C: Footnotes ............................................................................... 135 Portland Parks & Recreation v Red-legged frog Forest Park Wildlife Report • December 2012 Executive Summary Introduction and Objectives The primary objectives of this report are to provide both a broad description of Forest Park wildlife and detailed species information based on the best available data, whether historical, recent, anecdotal, or rigorously collected via research. Other major goals of this report are to • identify gaps