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National Park Service U.S National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science A Summary of Historical Wildlife Harvest in North Cascades National Park Complex, Washington Natural Resource Report NPS/NOCA/NRR—2015/1084 ON THE COVER From top left in clockwise order: Mule Deer, Mountain Goat, Elk, Bobcat, Black Bear, and Cougar. Photographs from: NPS files. A Summary of Historical Wildlife Harvest in North Cascades National Park Complex, Washington Natural Resource Report NPS/NOCA/NRR—2015/1084 Roger G. Christophersen National Park Service North Cascades National Park Complex 810 State Route 20 Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 November 2015 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate comprehensive information and analysis about natural resources and related topics concerning lands managed by the National Park Service. The series supports the advancement of science, informed decision-making, and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series also provides a forum for presenting more lengthy results that may not be accepted by publications with page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received informal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available in digital format from the North Cascades National Park website (http://www.nps.gov/noca/index.htm) and the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/nrpm/). To receive this report in a format optimized for screen readers, please email [email protected]. Please cite this publication as: Christophersen, R. G. 2015. A summary of historical wildlife harvest in North Cascades National Park Complex, Washington. Natural Resource Report NPS/NOCA/NRR—2015/1084. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 168/130564, November 2015 ii Contents Page Figures................................................................................................................................................... iv Tables .................................................................................................................................................... iv Appendices ............................................................................................................................................. v Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. vi Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................ vii Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Study Area ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Methods .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Data ................................................................................................................................................ 4 Results .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Deer ................................................................................................................................................ 6 Elk .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Black Bear ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Cougar .......................................................................................................................................... 10 Mountain Goat .............................................................................................................................. 11 Furbearers ..................................................................................................................................... 12 Small Game .................................................................................................................................. 14 Discussion/Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 16 Literature Cited .................................................................................................................................... 19 iii Figures Page Figure 1. Location of Game Management Unit 426 Diablo and adjacent units relative to NOCA boundary. ................................................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2. Location of Game Management Unit 301/244 Clark and adjacent units relative to NOCA boundary. ............................................................................................................................... 3 Tables Page Table 1. Deer general harvest summary (all methods) from GMUs 426 Diablo and 301/244 Clark, WDFW Regions 2 and 4, and statewide, 1997–2013. .................................................. 6 Table 2. Elk general harvest summary (all methods) from GMUs 426 Diablo, 437 Sauk, 418 Nooksack, 301/244 Clark, 243 Manson, WDFW Regions 2 and 4, and statewide, 1997–2013. ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Table 3. Black bear general harvest summary for GMUs 426 Diablo and 301/244 Clark, BBUs 3 and 6, and statewide, 1997–2013. ............................................................................................ 9 Table 4. Cougar harvest summary for GMUs 426 Diablo and 301/244 Clark, CMUs 3 and 5, and statewide, 1997–2013. ........................................................................................................ 10 Table 5. Mountain goat harvest summary from GMUs adjacent to NOCA for years data were available, 1948–2013. ................................................................................................................. 11 Table 6. Harvest summary of bobcat and otter CITES1 pelt sealing reports from Skagit, Whatcom, and Chelan counties, 1997–2008. ....................................................................................... 12 Table 7. Harvest summary of furbearers trapped in Skagit, Whatcom and Chelan counties, 1997–2009. ........................................................................................................................... 13 Table 8. Harvest summary of small game for Skagit, Whatcom, and Chelan counties, 1997–2013. ........................................................................................................................................... 14 iv Appendices Page Appendix A. General deer harvest (all methods) for GMUs 426 Diablo and 301/244 Clark, WDFW Region, and Statewide, 1997–2013. .......................................................................... A-1 Appendix B. General elk harvest (all methods) for GMUs 301/244 Clark, 418 Nooksack, 300/243 Manson, 426 Diablo and 437 Sauk, WDFW Region, and Statewide, 1997–2013. ............. B-1 Appendix C. Black bear harvest (all methods) for GMUs, BBMUs, and Statewide, 1997– 2013.................................................................................................................................................... C-1 Appendix D. Cougar harvest (all methods) for GMU’s, 426 Diablo and 301/244 Clark, CMUs 3 and 5, and Statewide, 1997–2013. ....................................................................................... D-1 Appendix E. Mountain goat harvest (all methods) from GMUs adjacent to NOCA for years information was available, 1948–2013. .................................................................................... E-1 Appendix F. Summary of furbearer CITES pelt sealing reports from Skagit, Whatcom, Chelan Counties, Region and Statewide, 1997–2008. ....................................................................... F-1 Appendix G. Harvest summary of furbearers (trapping) from Skagit, Whatcom and Chelan counties for years data were available,
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