Technical Report
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TECHNICAL REPORT Using Snow-track Surveys to Evaluate Wildlife Use of Forests Affected by Mountain Pine Beetle in North-central British Columbia FRASER MACDONALD1 AND R. SCOTT MCNAY1 MARCH 19, 2010 1Wildlife Infometrics Inc., PO Box 308, Mackenzie, BC, V0J 2C0, [email protected] Prepared for Abitibi-Consolidated Company of Canada - Mackenzie, under contract # ACCC2010FIA01 CITA TION: MacDonald, F. and R.S. McNay 2010. Using Snow-track Surveys to Evaluate Wildlife Use of Forest Affected by Mountain Pine Beetle in North-central British Columbia. Wildlife Infometrics Inc. Report No. 346. Wildlife Infometrics Inc., Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada. WII Report346_Snow-track_Survey_MPB_Mackenzie TSA_2009-10.doc MACDONALD AND MCNAY WILDLIFE INFOMETRICS INC. ABSTRACT The winter time use of pine forests affected by the Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB, Dendroctonus ponderosae) by wildlife within the Defined Forest Area of the Mackenzie Timber Supply Area in north-central British Columbia were assessed using wildlife snow- track surveys during the winter of 2010. The snow track surveys were completed in partnership with the Tsay Keh Dene and Kwadacha First Nations during two sessions: January 15th to 24th and February 14th to 23rd. Transects were surveyed within moose (Alces alces) and woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) Ungulate Winter Ranges (UWR) in close proximity to the communities of Tsay Keh and Kwadacha in north-central British Columbia. We hypothesized that there would be a significant difference in species use between caribou UWR and moose UWR. The level of species use was defined as the number of tracks observed per day, per 100 meters of transect (NT/D100m). Analysis determined that the factors of session and strata (UWR types) were not significant in determining the amount of tracks observed. The factors of study area and wildlife species were significant, and shared no discernable interaction. Tracks of the following species were observed: red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), marten (Martes americana), fisher (Martes pennanti), lynx (Lynx canadensis), ermine (Mustela erminea), least weasel (Mustela nivalis), wolf (Canis lupus), wolverine (Gulu gulo), deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), spruce grouse (Falcipennis canadensis), ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus), rocky mountain elk (Cervus elaphus), caribou, and moose. Red squirrel and snowshoe hare tracks were observed at higher rates than the other species. Tracks of deer mice, fisher, lynx, ermine and weasel were observed at lower rates than all the other species. It is our hopes to continue and expand the snow-track project for the winter of 2010- 2011. The project represents a unique opportunity to combine traditional snow-tracking knowledge with science to effectively monitor the effects of ecosystem change on local wildlife resources as the level of MPB attack progresses. Snow-tracks survey in MPB 2009-10 i MACDONALD AND MCNAY WILDLIFE INFOMETRICS INC. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................................................................i LIST OF TABLES..............................................................................................................................................iii LIST OF FIGURES ...........................................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................2 STUDY AREA.....................................................................................................................................................3 The Communities ............................................................................................................................................3 Kwadacha First Nation ..............................................................................................................................3 Tsay Keh Dene............................................................................................................................................4 Ungulate Winter Range...................................................................................................................................5 Caribou .........................................................................................................................................................5 Moose............................................................................................................................................................5 METHODS...........................................................................................................................................................6 Ungulate Winter Range Determination........................................................................................................6 Caribou .........................................................................................................................................................6 Moose............................................................................................................................................................6 Field Sampling..................................................................................................................................................7 Snow Track Surveys....................................................................................................................................8 Snow Measurements...................................................................................................................................8 Habitat Plots ..............................................................................................................................................10 Weather.......................................................................................................................................................11 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................................................11 RESULTS............................................................................................................................................................12 Snow and Weather Observations................................................................................................................12 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................................................13 DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................................................15 LITERATURE CITED....................................................................................................................................19 APPENDIX A. Species codes........................................................................................................................21 Snow-tracks survey in MPB 2009-10 ii MACDONALD AND MCNAY WILDLIFE INFOMETRICS INC. LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Randomly-selected caribou and moose UWR polygons by study area.......................................7 Table 2. The significance of species and study area (r-square = 0.207660) as factors of the number of tracks observed per day per 100 meters of snow-track transect. Tsay Keh and Kwadacha, North-central BC, January-March 2010...............................................................................14 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Wildlife snow-track study area including caribou and moose winter range polygons, North-central British Columbia, January-March 2010. ............................................................................4 Figure 2. Randomly selected caribou and moose winter range polygons for snow-track surveys within proximity the communities of Tsay Key (A) and Fort Ware (B), North-central British Columbia, January-March 2010.......................................................................................................9 Figure 3. Snow-track transect, displaying snow stations, habitat plots, and tracks encountered within a randomly selected caribou winter range polygon, Tsay Keh, BC, January-March 2010 (refer to Appendix A for wildlife species codes). ..........................................................................10 Figure 4. Number of tracks observed by species, per day, per 100 meters of snow-track transect near Tsay Keh and Kwadacha, North-central BC, January-March 2010. Wildlife species codes in the figure are as follow (refer to Appendix A for all species): TAHU (red squirrel), SMMU (small Mustelid), RUGR (grouse), PEMA (deer mouse), OTHR (other species), MAPE (fisher), MAAM (pine marten), LYCA (lynx), LEAM (snowshoe hare), CALU (wolf), and ALAL (moose).............................................................................................................14 Snow-tracks survey in MPB 2009-10 iii MACDONALD AND MCNAY WILDLIFE INFOMETRICS INC. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The study was funded by the BC Forest Investment Account Land-Based Investment Program and completed under contract to