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Incidental Take Plan for Maine's Trapping Program

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Incidental Take Plan for Maine's Trapping Program Incidental Take Plan for Maine’s Trapping Program Submitted to U. S. Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Prepared by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife1 41 SHS, 284 State Street Augusta, ME 04333-0041 Plan as accepted October 28, 2014 Minor amendments September 24, 2015 1 This document was written by Jennifer Vashon, Walter Jakubas, and John DePue, 650 State Street, Bangor, Maine, 04401; James Connolly, 284 State Street, Augusta, Maine, 04333. Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................... 10 1.0 Introduction and Background ......................................................................... 13 1.1 Permit Coverage ...................................................................................... 13 1.2 Permit Duration ........................................................................................ 13 1.3 Regulatory/Legal Framework for Plan...................................................... 13 1.4 Plan Area ................................................................................................. 14 1.5 Species to be Covered by Permit ............................................................ 16 2.0 Environmental Setting / Biological Resources .............................................. 17 2.1 Environmental Setting .............................................................................. 17 2.2 Biological Resources ............................................................................... 21 2.2.1 Canada Lynx ............................................................................................ 21 2.2.2 Wolves (Canis lupus, Canus lupus lycaon) .............................................. 28 2.2.3 Migratory Birds ......................................................................................... 29 2.2.4 Plant Species of Concern ........................................................................ 30 3.0 Project Description / Activities Covered by Permit ....................................... 31 3.1 Project Description ................................................................................... 44 3.2 Incidental Take of Lynx from Furbearer Trapping Program ..................... 53 3.3 How legal and illegal trapping action are covered by the Plan ................. 61 4.0 Potential Biological Impacts / Take Assessment ........................................... 63 4.1 Direct and Indirect Impacts ...................................................................... 64 4.2 Anticipated Incidental Take: Canada Lynx .............................................. 76 5.0 Conservation Program / Measures to Minimize and Mitigate for Impacts .............................................................................................................. 82 5.1 Biological Goals and Objectives .............................................................. 82 5.2 Measures to Minimize Impacts ................................................................ 82 5.2.1 Minimization Measures Commitments, Implementation, Monitoring, and Reporting .......................................................................................... 86 5.3 Measure to Mitigate Unavoidable Impacts ............................................. 111 5.4 Changed Circumstances ........................................................................ 126 5.5 Unforeseen Circumstances .................................................................... 136 6.0 Funding ........................................................................................................... 138 6.1 Funding for Plan Measures .................................................................... 138 6.2 Plan Implementation Costs .................................................................... 138 6.2.2 Plan Mitigation Costs ............................................................................. 142 6.3 Plan Monitoring Costs ............................................................................ 142 Incidental Take Plan For Maine’s Trapping Program Amended September 2015 Page 2 7.0 Measures Considered but Not Implemented ................................................ 143 7.1 Alternative I. Discontinue Trapping Statewide ...................................... 143 7.2 Alternative II. Discontinue Trapping Selectively .................................... 143 7.3 Alternative III. Other Minimization and Mitigation Measures ................. 144 8.0 Future Amendments ....................................................................................... 149 8.1 Administrative Changes ......................................................................... 149 8.2 Minor Amendments ................................................................................ 149 8.3 Major Amendments ................................................................................ 150 9.0 Literature Cited ............................................................................................... 154 Incidental Take Plan For Maine’s Trapping Program Amended September 2015 Page 3 List of Figures Figure 1.1 The distribution of Canada lynx in Maine from ecoregional snow track surveys, sightings of lynx (primarily tracks) by IFW biologists, incidental takes, and telemetry data from 2000 until 2011. Points in WMD 17 and 23 are from telemetry over a 26 and 9 day period by two radiocollared lynx that did not remain in the area. Conversely, the single observation in WMD 18 was a lynx caught in a trap that meets the criteria for extending lynx minimization measures. .................. 15 Figure 3.1.1 Maine’s Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs). ..................................... 47 Figure 3.1.2 Diagram of a foothold trap and its various parts (AFWA 2006a). ............. 48 Figure 3.1.3 Diagram of a standard killer-type trap and its various parts (AFWA 2006a). ..................................................................................................... 49 Figure 3.1.4 Diagram of a duffer trap designed for raccoons (AFWA 2006c). ............. 49 Figure 3.1.5 Diagram of a wire box or cage trap (AFWA 2006a). ................................ 49 Figure 3.1.6 Hancock, suitcase type live trap for beaver (AFWA 2007). ...................... 50 Figure 3.1.7 Statewide trapper effort, expressed as the number of traps nights spent to capture the target species. Trap nights are defined as one trap set for a 24-hour period. Data are from the fall trapping season in Maine (mid-October through December 31) in 2010 and 2011. ........... 53 Figure 3.2.1 Locations of 51 radiocollared lynx in northern Maine during the 1999 to 2006 regular trap season when killer-type traps were set for marten and fisher. The area in green was used to estimate exposure of lynx to traps (i.e., number of marten and fisher harvested and number of trappers). ......................................................... 57 Figure 3.2.2 Locations of 23 radiocollared lynx in northern Maine during the 2007 to 2011 regular trap season when killer-type traps were set for marten and fisher. The area in green was used to estimate exposure of lynx to traps (i.e., number of marten and fisher harvested and number of trappers). ......................................................... 58 Figure 5.2.1 An example of a lynx exclusion device for killer-type traps. Note the opening for a fisher or marten to enter the trap is located on the top panel on the far right end. The killer-type trap (shown) is set near the left end of the trap, and the bait would be placed to the left of the trap in the cage. Specifications for a lynx exclusion device are described in Maine's trapping rules. .................................................. 88 Figure 5.3.1 This figure shows how the five groups of radiocollared lynx used the same areas and the appropriateness of IFW estimates of high quality hare habitat (HQHH) as mitigation for lethal take of incidental capture of lynx in Maine’s trapping program. ......................... 115 Incidental Take Plan For Maine’s Trapping Program Amended September 2015 Page 4 Figure 5.3.2 Provisional map of the proposed 22,046 acre HMA (black dashed line; original 10,411 acre HMA solid black line in IFW’s July 29, 2013 Plan) for Canada Lynx in Maine showing the year in which stands were commercially cut. The harvest treatment for each stand is given in Figure 5.3.3. ................................................................ 118 Figure 5.3.3 Provisional map of the proposed 22,046 acre HMA (black dashed line; original 10,411 acre HMA solid black line in IFW’s July 29, 2013 Plan) for Canada Lynx in Maine showing the harvest treatment each forest stand received. The year in which the stand was cut is given in Figure 5.3.2. ............................................................. 119 Figure 5.3.4. Current forest type map of the 22,046 acre proposed habitat management area (HMA) for lynx on the State of Maine Bureau of Parks and Land’s Seboomook Unit in northern Maine. The dark black line marks the boundaries of the 22,046 acre HMA. ..................... 120 Figure 5.4.1 Decision Tree Changed Circumstance #1: Lynx are being caught in traps at a higher rate than expected. ................................................. 130 Figure 5.4.2 Decision Tree Changed Circumstance #2: Lynx are being injured in traps at a higher rate than expected. ................................................. 132 Figure 5.4.3 Decision Tree Change Circumstance #3: Lynx
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