Landscape Permeability for Grizzly Bear Movements in Washington and Southwestern British Columbia
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Landscape permeability for grizzly bear movements in Washington and southwestern British Columbia Peter H. Singleton1'3, William L. Gaines2, and John F. Lehmkuhl1 1U.S. Forest Service, Pacific NorthwestResearch Station, 1133 NorthWestern Avenue, Wenatchee WA98801, USA 2U.S. Forest Service, Wenatchee NationalForest, 215 MelodyLane, Wenatchee WA98801, USA Abstract: Providingopportunities for grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) to move between blocks of habitat is importantfor the long-termconservation of grizzly bearpopulations. While the particularsof grizzly bear habitat selection during long-distance movements are poorly understood, some landscape characteristicssuch as road density and land cover type are correlatedwith grizzly bear habitatuse at various scales. We compiled digital maps of roads, human populationdensity, land cover class, and topography to evaluate the resistance of the year 2001 landscape to grizzly bear movement in WashingtonState and adjacentportions of Idaho and British Columbia (BC). We developed habitat associationand dispersalhabitat suitability models based on publishedliterature and used geographic informationsystem (GIS) weighted-distanceand least-cost analysis techniquesto evaluate landscape permeabilityfor grizzly bear movement. Our analysis identified 5 blocks of potential grizzly bear habitat in Washington and adjacent areas, including the Columbia-Selkirk Mountains, the North Cascades, the CentralCascades, the South Cascades, and the Coast Range. We evaluated landscape permeability between these habitat blocks and highlighted potential linkage areas. Our models indicatedthe Stevens Pass fracturezone between the North and CentralCascades blocks was the most permeable,followed (in orderof relativepermeability) by the Fraser-Coquihallafracture zone between the North Cascades and the Coast Range, the Okanogan-Kettle fracturezone between the North Cascades and the Columbia Mountains,and the SnoqualmiePass fracturezone between the Central and South Cascades. This evaluation provides a consistent measure of the expected potential for grizzly movement across a broadlandscape that can be used to target areas for finer-scaleevaluation and help identify landscapemanagement priorities at a regional scale. Key words: grizzly bear, habitat modeling, highways, landscape connectivity, meta-population,North Cascades Ecosystem, Ursus arctos Ursus15(1) WorkshopSupplement:90-103 (2004) Maintainingopportunities for animalsto move across demographicfluctuations (McCullough 1996). This is broad landscapes is an importantconservation consid- a particularly important consideration for long-lived eration for some sensitive wildlife species (Noss and species with large spatial requirements and low re- Cooperrider1994). Most animals are not uniformlydis- productive rates, such as grizzly bears (U.S. Fish and tributed across large landscapes. They occur in pop- Wildlife Service [USFWS] 1993, Weaver et al. 1996) ulations or subpopulationscentered on areas of suitable and other large carnivores(Beier and Loe 1992, Noss et habitat.Depending on the species and the characteristics al. 1996, Dobson et al. 1999, Edelmann and Copeland of the landscape between habitat patches, groups of 1999, Pierce et al. 1999, Reudiger et al. 2000). populationsmay function as a meta-population(McCul- Maintenanceand restoration of landscapepermeability for lough 1996). Providing animals opportunitiesto move is a particularlyimportant consideration ecosystems across broad landscapes in a functioning meta-popula- such as the North Cascades, which support relatively to be tion can mitigate negative effects of genetic isolation, small populations of grizzly bears and are likely random disturbances (such as fire or storms), and isolated from other populations (USFWS 1997, North CascadesGrizzly Bear Recovery Team 2001, Servheenet al. 2003). Substantialeffort has been expendedto assess [email protected] landscape permeabilityfor grizzly bears in the Rocky 90 LANDSCAPEPERMEABILITY FOR GRIZZLYBEARS * Singleton et al. 91 Mountains(Servheen and Sandstrom1993, Meitz 1994, populationin the Canadianportion of the NorthCascades Boone and Hunter 1996, Walker and Craighead 1997, Ecosystem consists of 17-23 adult and subadultgrizzly Servheen et al. 2003), but permeability has not been bears, including 5-6 reproductive females. The U.S. assessed in and aroundthe North CascadesEcosystem. portionof the North CascadesEcosystem is a designated Prior to Anglo-American settlement, grizzly bears grizzly bearrecovery zone (USFWS 1997). The Canadian were distributed through much of western North portionof the ecosystem is an areaof specialmanagement America. By 1970 grizzly bears remained in only 2% emphasisfor grizzly bears (NorthCascades Grizzly Bear of theirformer range within the contiguousUnited States RecoveryTeam 2001). Currentmanagement activities for (USFWS 1993, Servheen 1999). Though numbershave grizzly bears in the North Cascades Ecosystem are increased since their listing under the Endangered reviewed by Gaines et al. (2000 and 2001). Species Act (16 U.S. Code 1531-1544) in 1975, the While physicallycapable of long distancemovements, current distributionof grizzly bears in the contiguous grizzly bears do not frequentlymake such movements, United States is restricted to the Northern Rocky particularlyin the fragmentedhabitats of the northwest- Mountains, the Selkirk Mountains, the Cabinet-Yaak ern United States and southwesternCanada (McLellan Ecosystem, the Yellowstone Ecosystem, and the North andHovey 2001, Servheenet al. 2003). Adult male home CascadeEcosystem (USFWS 1993, Mattsonand Merrill ranges of grizzly bears in North America are 500-2,500 2002). Maintenanceor restorationof connectivity both km2 (M.N. LeFranc, M.B. Moss, K.A. Patnode, and within and between these remnantpopulations is a key W.C. Sugg, 1987, Grizzlybear compendium, Interagency conservationconcern for grizzly bears (Servheen et al. Grizzly Bear Committee, Missoula Montana, USA), 2003) and was explicitly identified in the Grizzly Bear indicatingthe ability to move long distances. However, Recovery Plan for the United States (USFWS 1993). McLellanand Hovey (2001) found thatthe averagenatal Grizzly bears have been and continue to be presentin dispersal distance of grizzly bears in the Rocky the North Cascades Ecosystem in Washington and Mountains near the U.S.-Canadian border was 30 km southernBritish Columbia (Bjorkland1980; Almack et for males (n = 18) and 10 km for females (n = 12). al. 1993; P.T. Sullivan, 1983, A preliminarystudy of Maximumdispersal distances were 67 km for a male and historic and recent reportsof grizzly bears in the North 20 km for a female. They stated,"Our results suggest that Cascadesarea of Washington,Washington Department of meta-populationreserve designs must provide corridors Game, Olympia, Washington, USA). Grizzly bear wide enough for male grizzly bears to live in with little numbers in the North Cascades Ecosystem were sub- risk of being killed" (McLellanand Hovey 2001:838). stantiallyreduced following Euro-Americansettlement as Several models have been developed that evaluate a result of intensive killing for the fur trade and for habitat suitability or habitat effectiveness for grizzly predatorreduction, followed by rapid human encroach- bears (Clevengeret al. 1997, Mace et al. 1999, Merrillet ment into grizzly bear habitat (Sullivan unpublished al. 1999, Carrollet al. 2001). Other modeling applica- report 1983, Almack et al. 1993). Sullivan (unpublished tions evaluatedhabitat linkages and potentialmovement report 1983) documented425 grizzly bear hides taken routes for grizzly bears. Servheenand Sandstrom(1993) around the Cascades between 1846 and 1851. Small developed a model to identify grizzly bearlinkage zones numbers of grizzly bears continue to be present in the incorporatingroad density, distance to developments, North Cascades Ecosystem. Almack et al. (1993) docu- hiding cover, and riparianhabitat. This model has been mented 20 confirmedgrizzly bear observationsscattered applied in a numberof areasin the Rocky Mountainsof throughout the U.S. portion of the North Cascades Montana, Alberta, and British Columbia (Mietz 1994, Ecosystembetween 1967 and 1991 (including9 locations Sandstrom1996, Apps 1997, Servheen et al. 2003). of grizzly beartracks, 1 food cache, 6 visual observations, Boone and Hunter(1996) designed a diffusion model and a grizzly bear that was killed in 1967). L.W. Gyug to evaluate landscape permeability in the Northern Forest (1998, development plan blue-listed species Rockies, using land cover and ownership to calculate for inventory mammals: assessment of grizzly bear resistance to movement. Walker and Craighead(1997) habitat use and populations, timber harvest mitigation conducted least-cost corridor analysis to highlight in the strategies North CascadesGrizzly Bear Population potential movement corridors for grizzly bears in the British British Unit, Columbia; Columbia Ministry of Rocky Mountains.Their model incorporatedvegetation Southern Environment, Interior Region, Kamloops, type, edge length, and road density as predictors of British Columbia,Canada) evaluated grizzly bear detec- landscape permeability. Kobler and Adamic (1999) tions andhabitat conditionsand estimated that the current developed a decision tree model from bear sighting Ursus 15(1) WorkshopSupplement:90-103 (2004) 92 LANDSCAPEPERMEABILITY FORGRIZZLY BEARS * Singleton et al. locations and least-costpath analysis to predictEurasian East of the Cascade Range,