2010. Proceedings of the 24Th Pronghorn Workshop, Wyoming
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2010 Proceedings May 18 – 21, 2010 Laramie, Wyoming PROCEEDINGS of the TWENTYFOURTH BIENNIAL PRONGHORN ANTELOPE WORKSHOP 2010 Edited by WGFD Pronghorn Working Group Laramie, Wyoming, USA May 18 – 21, 2010 Sanctioned by Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 24th Biennial Pronghorn Workshop Sponsors Hayden-Wing Associates, LLC Natural Resource Consultants North American Pronghorn Foundation 24th Biennial Pronghorn Workshop Supporters The Wildlife Society, Central Mountain and Plains Section Wildlife Heritage Foundation of Wyoming 24th Biennial Pronghorn Workshop Donors Brunton, Kathy Firchow, Andrew Nikirk, Cabelas, Danner Boots, Gretchen Hurley, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wildlife Management Institute, Tom Ryder, Mark Zornes, Richard Kroger, Wyoming Game and Fish Department ii Table of Contents Section I Workshop Agenda ....................................................................................................... 1 Section II Status Report .............................................................................................................5 Province and State Status Report on Pronghorn Antelope 2010 ................................................... 5 Section III Submitted Papers .................................................................................................... 23 Current Federal Plan for the Pronghorn in Mexico …………………………………..……....... 23 Notations on a Recent Translocation of Pronghorn from Nara Visa, New Mexico to Coahuila, Mexico..27 Hunting and Trophy Horn Size in Male Pronghorn...................................................................... 30 Pronghorn Survival in Wyoming.................................................................................................. 46 Where Are All The Pronghorn Fawns: Is Low Fawn Recruitment An Issue Revisited?..............65 Seasonal Forage Use and Availability by Pronghorn Antelope in North-central Arizona……... 79 Modeling Fence Location and Density at a Landscape Level Scale in Montana......................... 95 Gastrointestinal Nematode Concentrations of Pronghorn in Trans-Pecos, Texas...................... 112 Pronghorn Populations in Relation to Predator Control Practices: an Assessment of a Case History in Oregon....................................................................................................................... 119 Section IV Abstracts ................................................................................................................ 129 Session 1: Pronghorn Status and Updates Current Federal Plan for the Pronghorn in Mexico. .................................................................. 129 Wind River’s Pronghorn: A Modern Conservation Success Story............................................. 130 Session 2: Funding Programs and Education National Pronghorn Interpretive and Visitors Center................................................................. 130 Wyoming Game & Fish Department’s Private Lands Public Wildlife Access Program…….. 131 Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resource Trust Program................................................................. 132 Session 3: Pronghorn Management and Inventory Techniques Evaluation of Line-transect Sampling for Densities of Pronghorn in Alberta.............................132 An Electronic Data Recording System to Aid in Improving Population Estimates from Aerial Surveys.........................................................................................................................................133 Potential Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Surveying Pronghorn Populations in Southeastern Wyoming................................................................................................................133 Notations on a Recent Translocation of Pronghorn from Nara Visa, New Mexico to Coahuila, Mexico.........................................................................................................................................134 Hunting and Trophy Horn Size in Pronghorn..............................................................................134 Pronghorn Survival in Wyoming.................................................................................................135 Session 4: Pronghorn Forage and Habitat Management Where are all the Pronghorn Fawns: Is Low Fawn Recruitment an Issue Revisited?................ 135 The Role of Preformed Water in American Pronghorn Antelope Diets in a Semidesert Grassland......................................................................................................................................136 Diet Composition and Quality of Pronghorn in Southern Arizona..............................................136 Seasonal Forage Use/Availability by Pronghorn Antelope in North Central Arizona…………137 A Model for Habitat Based Population Management……………………………………….….137 Genetic Variation of Pronghorn Populations in Texas…………………………………………138 Pronghorn Response to Wind Energy Development on Crucial Winter Range in South-central Wyoming………………………….………………………………………………………...…..138 Session 5: Impacts and Impediments to Pronghorn, and Mics. Topics Pronghorn and Petroleum: Have We Reached a Breaking Point in the Upper Green River Basin of Wyoming?...............................................................................................................................139 Cumulative Effects of Development on Pronghorn Distribution and Movements across the Northern Sagebrush Steppe…………………………………………………………………..…140 Green River Valley Land Trust’s Corridor Conservation Campaign…………….…….………141 Location Density at a Landscape Level Scale in Montana………………………………….….142 Internal Parasite Concentrations of Pronghorn in Trans-Pecos, Texas…………………........…143 Physical and Chemical Capture of Pronghorn………………………………………………….143 Poster Presentation Abstracts Surgical Sterilization of Coyotes offers a Non-Lethal Alternative………………………….144 Horn Growth and Age in Harvested Wyoming Pronghorn………………………………….144 Factors Influencing Pronghorn in the Chihuahuan Desert of White Sands Missile Range, South- central New Mexico…………………………………………………………………………….145 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Fences are More Than Barriers to Movement…………..….145 Pronghorn Age and Horn Size in Southern Alberta………………………………………….…146 Modeling Pronghorn Migration Corridors in the Northern Great Plains…………………….…146 Effects of Fence Type on Pronghorn Movement in North Central Montana……………..…....147 An Assessment of Fifty-five Years of Predator Influences on Pronghorn Neonates……..........147 Section V Business Meeting...................................................................................................... 149 Business Meeting Minutes ......................................................................................................... 149 Borrendo Award Nomination and Rich Guenzel Picture........................................................... 151 Summary of Pronghorn Workshops Held to Date ..................................................................... 156 2010 Workshop Attendees ......................................................................................................... 158 Section VI Field Trip……………………………………………………………………….…162 WORKSHOP AGENDA 24th Biennial Pronghorn Workshop May 18-21, 2010 Laramie, Wyoming Sanctioned by: Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Hosted by: Wyoming Game and Fish Department The Wildlife Society, Wyoming Chapter ----------------------------------------Tuesday, May 18------------------------------------------ 5:30pm 9:00pm Registration & Social (Sponsored by Wyoming Biologists’ Association and Wyoming Game Warden’s Association) -----------------------------------------Wednesday, May 19-------------------------------------- 6:30am 8:00am Registration & Continental Breakfast (Sponsored by The Wildlife Society, WY Chapter) 8:00 am 8:10 am Welcome/Introductions/Program & Conference Logistics 8:10am 8:30am Opening Remarks, Steve Ferrell, Director WGFD Session 1: Pronghorn Status and Updates (Chair - Greg Hiatt, WGFD) 8:30am 8:55am Pronghorn Status Updates - all attending States Rebecca Schilowsky, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Cheyenne, WY 8:55am 9:20am Current Federal Plan for the Pronghorn in Mexico Jorge Cancino, Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas del Nororste 9:20am 9:45am Wind River's Pronghorn: A Modern Conservation Success Story Pat Hnilicka, USFWS, Lander, WY 9:45am 10:10am Break (Sponsored by Wyoming Wildlife Federation) Session 2: Funding Programs and Education (Chair - Jeff Short, WGFD) 10:10am 10:35am National Pronghorn Interpretive & Visitors Center Lynette Haack, Vice-President, Rawlins, WY 10:35am 11:00am Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Private Lands Public Wildlife Access Program Brian Olsen, WGFD, Casper, WY 11:00am 11:25am Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resources Trust Program Bob Budd, Riverton, WY 11:25am 11:30am Wrap-Up / Logistics 1 11:30 am 1:30 pm Lunch & Business Meeting Session 3: Pronghorn Management and Inventory Techniques (Chair - Heather O’Brien, WGFD) 1:30pm 1:55pm Evaluation of Line-transect Sampling for Densities of Pronghorn in Alberta Michael Grue, Alberta Conservation Association, Lethbridge, Alberta 1:55pm 2:20pm An Electronic Data Recording System to Aid in Improving Population Estimates from Aerial Surveys Rich Guenzel, WGFD, Laramie, WY 2:20pm 2:45pm Potential Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for Surveying Pronghorn Populations in Southeastern Wyoming Brian Beyer, Joint Training &Experimentation Center, Guernsey, WY