Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Investigations 2007 IGBST photo Annual Report of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team Data contained in this report are preliminary and subject to change. Please obtain permission prior to citation. To give credit to authors, please cite the section within this report as a chapter in a book. Below is an example: Podruzny, S. 2008. Occupancy of Bear Management Units by females with young. Page 19 in C.C. Schwartz, M.A. Haroldson, and K. West, editors. Yellowstone grizzly bear investigations: annual report of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, 2007. U.S. Geological Survey, Bozeman, Montana, USA. YELLOWSTONE GRIZZLY BEAR INVESTIGATIONS Annual Report of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team 2007 U.S. Geological Survey Wyoming Game and Fish Department National Park Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks U.S. Forest Service Idaho Department of Fish and Game Montana State University Edited by Charles C. Schwartz, Mark A. Haroldson, and Karrie West U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey 2008 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1 This Report ............................................................................................................................................. 1 History and Purpose of the Study Team ................................................................................................. 2 Previous Research ................................................................................................................................... 2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................................... 4 Bear Monitoring and Population Trend .................................................................................................. 4 Marked Animals ......................................................................................................................... 4 Assessing Trend and Estimating Population Size from Counts of Unduplicated Females ................................................................................................................ 9 Possible Cub Adoption in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem ................................................. 15 Occupancy of Bear Management Units by Females with Young .............................................. 19 Observation Flights .................................................................................................................... 20 Telemetry Relocation Flights ..................................................................................................... 23 Estimating Sustainability of Annual Grizzly Bear Mortalities .................................................. 24 Key Foods Monitoring............................................................................................................................ 28 Spring Ungulate Availability and Use by Grizzly Bears in Yellowstone National Park ............ 28 Spawning Cutthroat Trout .......................................................................................................... 31 Grizzly Bear Use of Insect Aggregation Sites Documented from Aerial Telemetry and Observations ........................................................................................................................ 34 Whitebark Pine Cone Production ............................................................................................... 37 Habitat Monitoring ................................................................................................................................. 39 Grand Teton National Park Recreation Use ............................................................................... 39 Yellowstone National Park Recreational Use ............................................................................ 40 Trends in Elk Hunter Numbers within the Primary Conservation Area and 10-mile Perimeter Area .............................................................................................................. 41 Grizzly Bear-Human Conflicts in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem ................................................. 42 LITERATURE CITED ....................................................................................................................................... 45 Appendix A: Monitoring Whitebark Pine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: 2007Annual Report ....... 50 Appendix B: Assessing Habitat and Diet Selection for Grizzly and American Black Bears in Yellowstone National Park ......................................................................................................... 57 Appendix C: Testing Remote Sensing Cameras to Count Independent Female Grizzly Bears with Cubs-of-the-Year, 2006–2007 ............................................................................................ 58 Appendix D: Grizzly Bear Habitat Monitoring Report: Greater Yellowstone Area National Forests and National Parks ..................................................................................................................... 68 Appendix E: 2007 Wapiti and Jackson Hole Bear Wise Community Project update ..................................... 111 Appendix F: Reassessing methods to distinguish unique female grizzly bears with cubs-of-the-year in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem ........................................................... 115 • Monitoring all sources of mortality for Introduction independent females and males (≥2 years old) within the entire GYA. Mortality limits are set at ≤9% for independent females, ≤15% for INTRODUCTION (Charles C. Schwartz, independent males from all causes. Mortality Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, and David limits for dependent young are ≤9% for known Moody, Wyoming Game and Fish Department) and probably human-caused mortalities (see Estimating sustainability of annual grizzly This Report bear mortalities). The contents of this Annual Report summarize results of monitoring and research from the 2007 Habitat monitoring includes documenting the field season. The report also contains a summary abundance of the 4 major foods throughout the GYA of nuisance grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) including winter ungulate carcasses, cutthroat trout management actions. (Oncorhynchus clarki) spawning numbers, bear use The grizzly bear was removed from protection of army cutworm moth (Euxoa auxiliaris) sites, and under the Endangered Species Act on 30 April 2007 whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) cone production. (USFWS 2007a). Under the Revised Demographic These protocols have been monitored and reported Recovery Criteria (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the IGBST for several years and are reported here. [USFWS] 2007b) and the demographic monitoring Additionally, we continued to monitor the health of section of the Final Conservation Strategy for whitebark pine in the ecosystem in cooperation with the Grizzly Bear in the Greater Yellowstone Area the Greater Yellowstone Whitebark Pine Monitoring (USFWS 2007c), the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Working Group. A summary of the 2007 monitoring Team (IGBST) is now task with reporting on an array is also presented (Appendix A). The protocol has of required monitoring programs. These include been modified to document mortality rate in whitebark both population and habitat components. Annual pine from all causes, including mountain pine beetle population monitoring includes: (Dendroctonus ponderosae). • Monitoring unduplicated females with cubs- Also the Conservation Strategy requires of-the-year (COY) for the entire Greater maintenance of secure habitat, livestock allotments, Yellowstone Area (GYA). The IGBST developed sites at 1998 levels in each BMU subunit. developed improved methods to estimate the This year, the first report detailing this monitoring annual number of females with COY and we program is provided. This report documents 1) detail them in this year’s report (see Assessing changes in secure habitat, open motorized access route trend and estimating population size from density, total motorized route density inside the PCA, counts of unduplicated females). 2) changes in number and capacity of developed sites • Calculating a total population estimate for inside the PCA, 3) changes in number of commercial the entire GYA based on the model averaged livestock allotments and changes in the number of Choa2 estimate of females with COY. permitted domestic sheep animal months inside the Methods used to estimate the number of PCA, and livestock allotments with grizzly bear independent females and independent males conflicts during the last 5 years (see Appendix D). (age ≥2 years old) are also provided (see The IGBST continues to work on issues Assessing trend and estimating population size associated with counts of unduplicated females with from counts of unduplicated females). COY. These counts are used to estimate population • Monitoring the distribution of females with size, which is then used to establish mortality young of all ages and having a target of at least thresholds. The methods used to estimate total 16 of 18 Bear Management Units (BMUs) females with COY and population size have been within the Primary Conservation Area (PCA) revised (IGBST 2005, 2006) and are detailed in this occupied at least 1 year in every 6, and no report.