Spatial Distribution of the Common Loon (Gavia Immer) in New Hampshire

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Spatial Distribution of the Common Loon (Gavia Immer) in New Hampshire University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Spring 2005 Spatial distribution of the common loon (Gavia immer) in New Hampshire Mark W. Brennan University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Brennan, Mark W., "Spatial distribution of the common loon (Gavia immer) in New Hampshire" (2005). Doctoral Dissertations. 261. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/261 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. ® UMI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE COMMON LOON (GAVIAIMMER) IN NEW HAMPSHIRE BY Mark W. Brennan B. S., University of Massachusetts, 1982 M. S., University of Connecticut, 1986 M. S., Purdue University, 1986 DISSERT AION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resources May 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3169078 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3169078 Copyright 2005 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation has been examined and approved by: )ii isertation Director, Dr. I^ssell G. Congalton Professor of Remote Sensing & GIS (1 } jJ-f-'U.A. If Dr. Peter J. Pekins Professor of Wildlife Ecology ~2 Dr. Mimi L. Becker Associate Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy Dr. Robert T. Eckert Professor of Environmental Conservation and Forestry Dr. Jeffrey H. Gove fessor of Natural Resources 2 5 #4 drch Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my wife Debra and sons Joshua, Wesley and Adam for their patience, understanding and encouragement while mixing work, school and family life during the last few years. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work reported on in this dissertation was completed over multiple years and prepared by the principal author to complete requirements for a Ph. D. in Natural Resources at the University of New Hampshire. During this journey many individuals were consulted and I gratefully acknowledge their generous inputs, assistance, support and encouragement as mentioned below. I thank my dissertation committee members for continued guidance, persistence and patient during my studies: Dr. Russell Congalton, Dr. Peter Pekins, Dr. Robert Eckert, Dr. Mimi Becker and Dr. Jeffrey Gove. This research would not have been possible without the effort of the Loon Preservation Committee. This organization has spent countless hours since 1975 collecting data concerning Common Loon characteristics on New Hampshire lakes and pond, and served as the primary data set for this research. May thanks are extended to: Kate Taylor, Harry Vogel, Linda Johnson, Paul Schmidt, Keith Nelson, Jordan Purdy and Rawson Wood. The Audubon Society of New Hampshire, New Hampshire Fish & Game, U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency and BioDiversity Research Institute staff also provided assistance with data collection and compilation, technical review and general guidance during this research. Special thanks for participation on this project go to: Richard Moore, John Lanier, Drew Major, Ken Munney, Anne Kuhn, Jane Copeland, Diane Nacci and Dave Evers. Thanks are extended to Gerry Kinn, Tom Ofenstein and Martha Dionne for their iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. guidance with spatial analyses and literature searches, and to Fay Rubin at the UNH Complex Systems Center for providing statewide data sets used in the spatial analysis. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION............................................................................. Hi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................... iv LIST OF TABLES...... ...... x LIST OF FIGURES ...... xii ABSTRACT....................................... xv CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..... ..........1 2 COMMON LOON MANAGEMENT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: A MULTI­ ORGANIZATION APPROACH. ............................ 6 2.1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................. 6 2.2 METHODS FOR INFORMATION GATHERING. ............................................8 2.2.1 Document Review .......................... 8 2.2.2 Personal Interviews. ....... 8 2.2.3 Observation of Key Meetings ............. 9 2.3 PRIMARY ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED WITH NEW HAMPSHIRE LOON MANAGEMENT............................................................................... 9 2.3.1 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ...............................................................................11 2.3.2 New Hampshire State Government................. ....... ...11 2.3.2.1 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHFG) ....................................... ..11 2.3.2.2 Department of Environmental Services. ............ 12 23.2.2.1 Wetlands Bureau ........................................................................................13 2.3.2.3 New Hampshire Geographically Referenced Analysis and Information Transfer System (GRANIT)............................... 13 2.3.3 Marine Patrol ...... ..14 2.3.4 Local Government ..................................................................... ....14 2.3.5 Local Organizations ...................... 15 2.3.6 Private Sector Contributions. ................. 15 2.3.7 Non - Governmental Organizations (NGO) ............................................... 16 2.3.7.1 Loon Preservation Committee (LPC). ...................... 18 2.3.8 Volunteers.. ........................................................ ..20 2.3.9 Organizations Located Outside of New Hampshire ........................... ....21 2.4 LOON MANAGEMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE ....... ......22 2.4.1 Federal and State Role ............... 22 2.4.2 LPC Role ............... 24 2.4.3 Successes and Challenges within New Hampshire Loon Management Structure............................. 26 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2.5 FINDINGS.................. ....28 2.5.1 Results Of Current Work On Loon Management In New Hampshire. ........28 2.5.2 LPC Specific Results .................... 28 2.5.3 Local State and Federal Organization Specific Results. ................. 30 2.6.4 Community Based Management Strategy. ......... ..30 2.6 CONCLUSIONS ........... 34 2.6.1 Future Research..... ............. ......35 3 LOON DATABASE AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT............................ 37 3.1 INTRODUCTION..................... 37 3.2 LOON CHARACTERISTICS ............... 38 3.3 STUDY AREA... ...................... 43 3.4 LOON DATABASE DEVELOPMENT ..................... 47 3.4.1 Biological Data .................... 47 3.4.2 Biological Data Conversion ...................... 48 3.4.3 Lake Data ...................... 49 3.4.4 Fishery Data .................................. 50 3.4.5 Nest Site Locations ............................ 50 3.4.6 Thematic Layers ................. ..50 3.4.7 Loon Data Management System ............................... 51 3.5 RESULTS & DISCUSSION.. ........................... 52 3.5.1 Biological Data ................................ 52 3.5.2 Lakes Data..................... 54 3.5.3 Fishery Data. .............................. 55 3.5.4 Nest Sites.............. 56 3.5.5 GRANIT Data........................... 57 3.5.6 Loon Management System. ..................... ...58 3.6 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS............. 59 4 LOON BIOLOGICAL AND NEST SITE DATA ANALYSIS ..........................62 4.1 INTRODUCTION................ 62 4.2 OBJECTIVES..... ..... 63 4.3 BACKGROUND.................. .63 4.4 STUDY AREA ................ 67 4.5 ANALYSIS METHODS.............. 71 4.5.1 Loon Data. ................................ .71 4.5.2 Visual Data Analysis. ............ ....72 4.5.2.1 Tracking Analyst
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